Sarah was born to Esther and Gabriel in Lodz Poland on August 20,1928. Her parents were trades people selling warm underclothing to the local farmers. Out of the blue, they were asked by Rabbi Kook’s representatives if they wanted to make aliya. They agreed immediately, and as a result the whole family, including four children aged two to ten, unexpectedly received a rabbinical Certificate and made aliya in 1936. The parents had to make great efforts then to support the family.
Following her brother’s footsteps, Sarah joined ‘Brit- Hachashmonaim’. In 1943 she joined a Lehi youth cell. She was involved in the publication of information material and its distribution, likewise in pasting up info-bulletins and distributing leaflets at cinema doors while crowds came streaming out. She underwent training courses for light weapons and served as contact person between cell leader Haim Apelboym (Elimelech, later killed in the attack on Akko prison while escaping jail) and the other members of the cell.
Throughout this period she had to face her parents’ suspicion, due to their religious background, and their fear for her safety. She had to struggle to circumvent the limits her parents placed on her movements. In 1948 she and her fellow cell member, Arieh Baruch Hager (Ebba) got married. She accompanied him on surveillance missions of British police cars, or the ‘Gestapo’, as underground members used to call them.
The Hagers resided in Tel Aviv, and moved to Jerusalem after the Six Day War. They have three daughters and twelve grandchildren. Sarah worked in ‘WIZO’, where before retirement she ran a ‘WIZO’ day care center in ‘Mevaseret Yerushalayim’. Since then she has studied at the Hebrew University, received a BA in Bible studies and Yiddish literature, and an MA in Yiddish Literature. Her MA thesis was on the Early Humorous Writings of Yoseph Tunkel (Der Tunkeler) in the daily ‘Der Moment paper’, during 1911-1920. She continues studying at the Martin Buber Institute in the Hebrew University.