This chopped liver comes from Yoav Polachek’s mother Ziva, who was born in Poland and survived World War II as a toddler. She fled with her mother from ghetto near Krakow east to Russia.

This simple eggplant salad that’s topped with bits of raw onion comes from Miri Polachek’s Romanian grandmother Ema and her mother Sara, who died in Auschwitz. It’s best made during the summer when eggplants are at their peak.

Dorit Golender’s family recipe is for an old world style of gefilte where the fish was stuffed back into its skin. We've adapted the recipe to make it a touch easier to execute.

During WWII, artist Vivian Reiss's parents were saved by the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Despite their tragic history, her parents found reasons to celebrate after the war, hosting cocktail parties with Hungarian dishes like this one.

Hungary is landlocked, so tinned fish is a prominent part of the cuisine, explains artist Vivian Reiss. Having lived through WWII, her mother Marianne kept plenty of sardines in the pantry for dishes like this rich pate.

For her cocktail parties, Marianne Reiss prepared bowls of this traditional herring salad, “which I still crave and whip up often,” shares her daughter, the artist Vivian Reiss.

In the Polish town of Lodz, Becca Gallick-Mitchell’s great-grandmother Esther often made her mother’s kreplach recipe for Shabbat dinner before the Holocaust. Today, Becca makes a version with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

“My Friday afternoon chicken soup and galuska memories with my mom and grandma are some of my best memories,” Julia Silverberg Nemeth says. Her mother, who was a survivor, hid their Jewish identity from Julia her entire life.

Fasírt, (pronounced foh-shet), are Hungarian patties traditionally made with breadcrumbs, but Baily Kohn’s great-grandmother Alta Blima preferred to use soaked challah in their place.

This chicken paprikash recipe comes from Alex Sternberg’s mother who survived Auschwitz. Serve it with egg noodles, potatoes, or anything else you like to soak up the sauce.

"To have cholent in a Yiddish home, in prewar Poland, in Lodz, was a must. There was no Shabbat without the cholent," explains Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor David Lenga. This is his family's recipe.

Italo Camerino’s Roman Jewish family used to cook this spaghetti dish when he was growing up in Montreal. Use the simmering time for the sauce to make the pasta and a salad, too. 

Italo Camerino's parents both lived in Rome's Jewish ghetto when it was raided by Nazi soldiers on October 16, 1943. While many perished, they both survived. This is a recipe they made for Italo when he was growing up in Montreal.

Susie Stark Serevenich’s mom Handa used to fry a batch of these crispy chicken wings the family calls “bubbie chicken” for her grandchildren to tide them over until Shabbat dinner. 

“Looking back, no dinner was complete without Auschwitz appearing on the menu. I digested my meals together with the stories of my parents’ painful memories,” Alex Sternberg explains. This recipe comes from his late mother.

After surviving World War II, Italo Camerino's parents moved to Montreal. When they returned to Italy to visit family, Italo remembers enjoying special dishes like this one at his aunt Graziella's kosher restaurant in the Roman ghetto.

“There were never small portions of anything in our home,” says Donna Steinhorn, whose mother, Magdalena, immigrated to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia after the Holocaust.

This stuffed cabbage recipes trace back to Miri Polachek’s paternal grandmother Ema Lazar Abraham and her mother Sara, who died in Auschwitz.

Growing up, Donna Steinhorn recalls her mother Magdalena making strapačky, a potato dumpling that’s reminiscent of gnocchi. When Magdalena was 15, she was deported to Auschwitz.

An homage to Donna Steinhorn’s Slovakian background, these sweet cabbage noodles with jammy caramelized onions are a quintessential Eastern European comfort food.

In Rome, fried or "Jewish-style" artichokes are one of the city's most iconic dishes. Be sure to serve them with lemon wedges.

In this classic Roman Jewish recipe, zucchini are fried, soused with vinegar, and left to marinate for hours with garlic and herbs.

Holocaust survivor Alta Blima Hartstein used to make kindl for holidays and big family gatherings. The dough is made with red wine, seltzer, and yeast and the cookies have a sweet, chewy walnut filling.

Made with potatoes and flour, these Hungarian noodles are cut by hand. In Julia Silverberg Nemeth’s family they are tossed with poppy seeds, topped with powdered sugar, and served with apricot or plum jam.

A multilayered Hungarian pastry with poppy seeds, walnuts, and apples, fluden is a wonderful project recipe to make for Purim or on a winter weekend. This recipe is finished with a bit of apricot jam. 

Disguised as a gentile, Martha Roth survived the Holocaust as a teenager by escaping from Slovakia to Hungary. After the war, she made her way to Israel with no physical tokens of her past, but strong memories of her mother's recipes, including this one.

After World War II, Eugene Ginter was emaciated. "I was so skinny. I had these gigantic ears and a small face, and I didn’t like food," he explains. His mother would make him simple chocolate sandwiches to coax him to eat.

This traditional compote recipe comes from Benjamin Lesser’s grandfather who lived in Mukatch, Hungary before the Holocaust. His home was “on a major street called Sugar — an appropriate name for that sweet home,” Benjamin explains.

Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor David Lenga remembers that his mother worked diligently to gather the ingredients for this recipe during World War II. The hand pies are filled with sweet and juicy blueberries.

Every winter, Julia Silverberg Nemeth's mother Edith would fry these doughnuts for the family. A Holocaust survivor, Edith hid their Jewish identity from Julia.

Darázsfészek is similar to a cinnamon roll, filled with butter and nutty walnuts, and baked until caramelized on top. If you prefer a dessert without nuts, swap them for a splash of vanilla.

Akin to monkey bread, Yonit Naftali's family calls this sweet treat "crown cake." “The crown shape resembles the crown of the Torah that is paraded around the synagogue on Simchat Torah,” Yonit explains.

Cookbook author Jake Cohen’s great-great-aunt Lotte always arrived at holiday meals with a Tupperware of her famed meringue cookies studded with chocolate chips and walnuts.