This is an amazing story of survival. Cavers Peter Lane Taylor and Christos Nicola heard tales of Jews who survived the Holocaust by hiding in Ukrainian caves. Nicola, determined to find out if these tales were true, began investigating the Popowa Yama story. In 2002, four years after beginning his investigation, Nicola received an e-mail from a man claiming to know a Priest’s Grotto Holocaust survivor. Nicola and Taylor visited the Stermer family in Montreal, Canada to learn more of this incredible story of survival. From 1943-1944, three Jewish families survived the Nazi occupation of the Ukraine by living underground in caves. Read The Secret of Priest’s Grotto to find out how they survived.

Check out this National Geographic article to learn even more.