A few years ago I was looking through my grandmother’s photo album. One of the most striking pictures shows thirty-one people in a group portrait. They are nicely dressed and posed in a purposeful composition with the family patriarch and his wife, my great-great-grandparents, sitting in the center. My grandmother stands slightly to one sideContinue reading “Spiersfelde”
Category Archives: Memory
Stumbling on the Stumbling Stones
Gunter Demning is a German artist who has made a name for himself installing stolpersteine (translation – stumbling stones) in front of the final residences of Holocaust victims. I was lucky enough to be invited to help set the stolpersteine for my great uncle and his wife in Tilburg in January 2014. This past weekendContinue reading “Stumbling on the Stumbling Stones”
The Value of a Life
After finding out at the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen that there were Gestapo files on several of my relatives I was very excited that our next stop was Duisburg. This is where the State of North Rhine Westfalia (NRW) Archives are located. The building is on the waterfront of the inner harbor ofContinue reading “The Value of a Life”
Yom HaShoah
For Holocaust Remembrance Day I am sharing some pictures of my mother’s family members who did not survive Hitler’s hatred and evil. Pictured above are Flora and Louis Spier (my mother’s maternal grandparents). Below are Franz Robert Spier and Justine Spier-Bendien (my mother’s aunt and uncle). This card tells us that Franz Robert Spier wasContinue reading “Yom HaShoah”
Feeling the Bern*
One of the mysteries of my family’s Holocaust survival is their passport from Paraguay. According to my mother, that passport saved her father from a transport to Auschwitz. We have a copy of the document along with a letter of notarization stating that it is real. The mystery here isn’t that the passport exists, butContinue reading “Feeling the Bern*”
Terezín
I had a visceral reaction to Terezín. I’ve started this post several times over the last two weeks, and I can’t wrap my head around putting my reaction into words. I found the town of Terezín (it is a town now) to be completely and utterly depressing. You might say to yourself – of courseContinue reading “Terezín”
Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague
I just returned home after spending two weeks in Europe digging through the last bits of unearthed archives for “Scraps of Hope” research. Over the next several weeks I will share some of what I did and didn’t find. Our first stop was Prague. My husband and I spent the first day as tourists exploringContinue reading “Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague”
Lost But Not Forgotten
I recently lost two of my sources. Henny’s husband sent me an email notifying me of her passing in November, and then Edith’s son sent an email of her death in January. I did not know either of these women personally, but they both have been instrumental in my research. Through the wonder of theContinue reading “Lost But Not Forgotten”
Reading of the 102,000 Names
Right now, in a small forgotten corner of The Netherlands, people are gathering and reading the names of the 102,000 people who were deported from Holland and murdered at the hands of the Nazis. Please spend a few minutes on the live stream and listen. You don’t have to understand Dutch to appreciate the enormityContinue reading “Reading of the 102,000 Names”
Well Here’s Another Fine Mess I’ve Gotten Into*
I have been trying to edit my manuscript and get it in the best shape possible. There are typos and redundancies and places that need a bit more pep. And then there are the more important issues – like historical accuracy and avoiding plagiarism. I have one chapter that begins with my grandfather listening toContinue reading “Well Here’s Another Fine Mess I’ve Gotten Into*”
K Heidi Fishman (Popje and Me) 