ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tracing your roots is a reminder that we all share the same sky, no matter the time or place.

At least, that is the message for the newest exhibit at The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg.

Part of Rachael Cerrotti’s life was shaped after hearing what her grandmother heard during World War II and finding out about how she lived during her early years during the holocaust.

It is also what led to her retracing her grandmother’s steps, launching a podcast and now a new exhibit titled, ‘We Share the Same Sky.’

“We have some writings, her birth certificate,” Cerrotti said. “We have a timeline of a little bit of her early life.”

Before the exhibit’s opening, Cerrotti sifted through photographs of her grandmother as a child. One of the photos had three generations of women in her family, with her grandmother being the only one who was not killed in concentration camps.

“She left behind this incredible wealth of photographs that are all these young groups of teenagers who left during the war with her and these were really her family,” Cerrotti said.

Cerrotti was inspired by her family to go on a quest to learn more about her history using the treasure map her grandmother left behind.

“We have the train ride, which is the same ride my grandmother took out of Czechoslovakia in 1939. So I followed her route to the best of my ability. I got off at the same train stops to the best of my ability,” she said.

Cerrotti said the journey turned into self-discovery for her when she started researching her family history almost ten years ago.

“Grief is a big part of this story,” she said. “I was widowed while working on this project and my late husband’s family was from Poland, so they came to play a big part in explaining European identity and so we tell a little of their story and their importance in my life.”

Her family’s history displayed in the exhibit is one she said everyone can relate to.

“This is about family history, which all of us have,” Cerrotti said. “We all come from previous generations — Whatever your relationship is with them, good, bad, complicated, easy — it doesn’t matter. We are all formed by the people who came before us.”

The exhibit opened at The Florida Holocaust Museum Sept. 30 and will run until May 2024.