Chana Stiefel

The Tower of Life Chana Stiefel

The true story behind the Tower of Life, a permanent Exhibit at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.



There once was a girl named Yaffa. She loved her family, her home, and her beautiful Polish town that brimmed with light and laughter. She also loved helping her Grandma Alte in her photo studio. There, shopkeepers, brides, babies, and bar mitzvah boys posed while Grandma Alte captured their most joyous moments on film. And before the Jewish New Year, they sent their precious photographs to relatives overseas with wishes for good health and happiness.

But one dark day, Nazi soldiers invaded the town. Nearly 3,5000 Jewish souls -- including family, friends, and neighbors of Yaffa -- were erased.

This is the stunning true story of how Yaffa made it her life's mission to recover thousands of her town's photographs from around the world. And in doing so she built her amazing TOWER OF LIFE (a permanent exhibit in the National Holocaust Memorial Museum) to restore the soaring spirit of Eishyshok.