After liberation, the survivors' first mission was to discover the fate of their loved ones. Returning to their cities and towns, formerly home to thriving, longstanding communities, they were confronted with the enormity of the tragedy. They searched for other survivors, and tried to extract information from the locals about their loved ones. Their hopes dashed, they checked the published lists of survivors, and tried to contact family members living in Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine) or the US in the attempt to garner some information. In most cases, they discovered that their families had been murdered. When all hope of finding living relatives was lost, they mustered their strength and energy and looked forward, seeking to build new families and communities.
Frida Spitzer was born in 1909 in Prievidza, Czechoslovakia. In 1933 she met Binyamin Bandi Gero, who had come to Budapest as part of a Hungarian sports delegation. They kept in touch by mail, and got married in Budapest in 1935. Their son Theodore-Tibi (Yaakov) was born one year later.
In 1941, Binyamin was sent to the Hungarian Labor Service. He wrote letters to Frida expressing his longing for her and their son, and Frida sent him letters and parcels of food and tobacco. After two years of correspondence, he vanished without a trace. Frida succeeded in obtaining a permit to live with Tibi in a safe house under Swiss diplomatic protection. Before leaving home, she buried a wooden box of family photographs in the courtyard.
At war's end, Frida tried to find out what had happened to Binyamin. She returned home; Binyamin wasn't there, but she retrieved the box of photographs. After two years of waiting in vain for her husband's return or for some word from him, she discovered that Binyamin had been killed in an accident while building a dam. The photographs and letters became the last tangible mementos of her beloved husband and their life together. Frida was recognized as a war widow and made a living as a seamstress. In 1949, she immigrated to Israel with her son.