The Declaration of Independence at 250—and My Parents' Search for Freedom

The Kubik Report · Jul 3, 2026 · 47m

I share one of the most personal stories of my life—the remarkable journey of my parents from war-torn Ukraine and Germany to freedom in the United States. As teenagers, they were taken from their homes during World War II and forced into slave labor in Nazi Germany. They survived relentless bombing, imprisonment, liberation by American forces, betrayal by Soviet authorities, and a daring escape into the British Zone before beginning a new life in a United Nations refugee camp.

I was born in that refugee camp in Germany, and later became a naturalized American citizen, an experience that…