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Discovering that she actually had family living in her country of birth — now the Czech Republic — was a highly emotional experience for Peggy Strass Dias. "I was very shocked with disbelief and curious to find out about them," said the Burlingame resident.

As an infant, Dias left with her family in 1940 just before the Nazi invasion. Curious to see where her father had grown up, she eventually returned with her husband, Fred, to the small town of Nachod, a two-hour drive northeast of Prague.

There they were reunited with her second cousin, Vera Bayerle Tomanova, the only surviving member of her family left in the country. Dias was delighted to meet her.

Of her cousin's rustic cabin, where Dias stayed, she said: "The warmth of this simple home as seen in the large kitchen will always be memorable. Here was a firewood stove, and as you glance up near the ceiling you saw shelves of beautiful pottery displayed. I was impressed by the primitive rural gardens, full of fruit trees and vegetables everywhere." She also viewed the homemade greenhouse full of plants.

"It seems like time stood still for this quaint little village with its narrow streets and few stores," said Dias, who has authored a book, "Diamonds in the Rough," listing resources for young people with learning disabilities.

"Although inhabitants speak Czech and Russian, very few have learned English," she continued. "During the Russian occupation no English was allowed." That should change, however, as Tomanova will be teaching English there.

Details of how she survived the war are fuzzy. But when her parents and brother were taken to concentration camps, she was left home at age 7 with a housekeeper. She was reunited with her parents several years later. They also assisted their nephew, Otto Kraus, who had survived Auschwitz. Kraus later emigrated to Israel.

The family had scattered around the world, but Kraus maintained contact with everyone. He told Dias how to find Tomanova.

Growing up in New York, Dias was familiar with Eastern European food and culture. But when she and her husband were in Nachod, they enjoyed the delicious meals her cousin provided — with good reason since Tomanova had been a chef in Nachod. The meals included knedickey (bread dumplings), palacinky (crepes), sauerbraten (beef marinated and cooked with vinegar and sour cream), and sauerkraut.

Tomanova said that few Jews reside in Nachod now, although there had been a thriving community in the past. Her own family had intermarried and practiced few religious customs.

"I was sad to see no remnants of Jewish life there," said Dias. But she noted that though Tomanova has experienced much sadness in her lifetime, she maintains a very positive attitude toward her family life in Nachod.

Visiting Prague, Dias and her husband noted that only one of six synagogues –the "old-new" synagogue, built in early Gothic style during the mid 13th century — still serves its original purpose. The others have been turned into museums.

Upon entering one of the museums, the Pinkas Synagogue, built in 1535 next to the Old Jewish Cemetery, Dias said, "I was struck first by the high vaulted ceiling, and then my eyes looked toward the walls. They seemed to have a pattern, until I got closer and realized that the detail was thousands of names. These 80,000 names were the Moravian and Bohemian Jewish Holocaust victims, printed so clearly in order of the city where they had resided. I soon found some of my family, Strass, and I felt overwhelmed with sadness and shock, sending a chill through me."

In Prague, Dias' paternal grandfather, Hugo, and father, Otto, had a textile business, Hugo Strass and Son. Her mother, Dita, born in New York, was raised in Vienna and studied dancing in Paris. Later she become a dancer and teacher of modern dance and gymnastics. Seeing that the Nazis were coming, the family abruptly left.

Fred Dias' parents also fled to the United States. They emigrated from Holland. "We can only thank our parents," he said, "for having the foresight to depart in time to avoid all the persecution and oppression, both the Nazi and Russian invasions. People living through both regimes haven't known freedom for an entire lifetime. It makes us realize how precious freedom is, and how lucky we are to live in this wonderful country."