History has repeated itself for two generations of Jews from the same family who found comfort on the streets of Mumbai as they sought to avoid and evade the attention of murdering anti-Semites.

In fact, the unchanging generosity and comfort offered by ordinary Mumbaikars helps to highlight what happened to Herschel Cinowitz during the World War II and 67 years later to his grand nephew, Jonathan Ehrlich.

Back in 1941, Cinowitz was one of the few survivors from the small Polish town of Yedwabne that was overrun by the Nazis. Their storm troopers forced local Jews to dig their own graves into which they were interred after being burned alive.

Cinowitz was one of the lucky ones who managed to escape and make his way to safety and salvation in Bombay, later Mumbai. He never forgot the Nazis, but he also never forgot the kindness and help he received from ordinary Indians on the streets of Mumbai.

Fast forward to November 2008 when the son of Cinowitz’s nephew — his grand nephew Jonathan Ehrlich — found himself trapped by terrorists.

His heart-rending account of survival, documented in blogs, has been praised for its Pulitzer-winning quality of writing.

Vancouver-based Ehrlich, who works for an Internet company, was visiting Mumbai last November when the terrorists launched their deadly attacks on the Taj and Oberoi hotels, as well as the Chabad Jewish centre on Nariman Point.

Fortunately for Ehrlich, who was staying at the Trident, he did not respond to the knock at his door late one night as the terrorists swarmed across the hotel corridors looking for victims.

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