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 weekend … Continue reading Stumbling on the Stumbling Stones
I would like to apologize to my readers for the break from the blog this past month. I needed to do some revisions on my manuscript of Scraps of Hope. Last week, for the first time, I sent it off to be reviewed by a potential publisher. Hopefully, it will be accepted – but I’ll … Continue reading On to Osnabrück
I have written before about Lloyd Miller. He is the US Army sergeant that helped my family when they were Displaced Persons in Pilsen/Plzen Czechoslovakia in June 1945. I have two pictures of him. I asked my mother how she got them, and she remembers that he gave them to her. She also told me … Continue reading Stories Behind the Old Photos
Monday night I attended the University of Hartford Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies Awards Evening. It was an evening of acknowledgment for hard work, academic rigor, teaching and learning, and appreciation for the donors who made it all possible. Avi Patt and Matthew Rubin presented the Joseph Zola Memorial Holocaust Educator Award to me … Continue reading University of Hartford Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies Awards Evening
I belong to a few Facebook groups for 2Gs. A 2G is a child of a Holocaust survivor. Since my mother and her parents survived, I am both a 2G and a 3G. Yesterday someone from one of these Facebook groups posted a very simple question: Did any of your grandparents survive the Holocaust? He … Continue reading Missing a Generation
Two days ago I heard from the granddaughter of the man who helped to save my family. Here is what she sent.: Hello, the man who arranged the (false) passports was my grandfather. As I met Margret and Heinz several times ... I remember several related stories. Here and there the facts are a bit … Continue reading 48 Amazing Hours
The other night I was getting ready to make dinner. I was in that lost state of looking in the fridge hoping that something was in there that would magically transform into a meal for my family when the phone rang. Hello? Dead air. I thought it was one of those obnoxious call-room scammers telling … Continue reading A Curious Call
I decided it was time to name my book. It isn’t finished yet, but the title has been a thorn in my side for a while now. I started with a working title of “Tutti & Popje." It was cute and it worked in my mind. I thought the book would be told from the … Continue reading In Search of a Title
I found the daughter of the man who obtained the passports. She was very happy to hear from me as she had lost touch with our family after about 1950. She had a 1000 questions about my grandparents and mother and uncle. Now it is time to send her my 1000 questions about her father … Continue reading Perseverence in Research: Update
One of the leads that I have not found an answer to in my research has been how my grandfather was able to get a falsified passport that helped to save his family. What my mother has told me is that someone who my grandfather did business with in Switzerland somehow obtained two dozen copies … Continue reading Perseverance in Research or the Importance of Good Spelling
