It’s not surprising that our ancestors chose to call Kolomea home. Lying at the base of the Carpathian foothills, the Prut River gently winds through this beautiful town. In the distance the mountains of the Hutsulshchyna Park rise to meet the heavens, which transform at dusk into hues of lavender, red and gold, leaving a peacefully surreal impression. But this serenity belies Kolomea’s violent past. Once home to over 60,000 Jews, the town was not spared the tumult of Jewish history. Those who were lucky fled with their lives, while the unlucky perished. Many survivors lost contact with family members and spent the remainder of their lives either anxiously hoping to reconnect or desperately trying to forget. In the midst of the violence much of our recorded history was destroyed and the chaos of those bitter days left little time for record-keeping. But there is one record that remains extant –our DNA that lies providently within each of us. By examining our DNA, with cooperation amongst descendants, we can put our families back together. Piece by piece we can rebuild that which was taken and reclaim our esteemed lineage. It is our privilege to leave a legacy to our children and to honor our fathers’ memory; a heritage for them to cherish and the approbation they so richly deserve.