Hope you don’t mind me adding to the story: our father’s family. While our dad and his siblings were born in the states, both paternal grandparents had extended families still in the Russia/Poland area. Our father rarely talked about the family history, but when uncle John came to town, he told many stories.
Evidently many of the family members still in Europe, the brothers and sisters of my grandmother and grandfather and their families , were taken to camps and/ or killed out right.
One story that stuck in my mind was of an entire family , one of my grandfather’s brothers, killed by the Nazis, their house and fields burnt to the ground. The story was that one daughter, a child, escaped to the woods, and lived with others also in hiding, until the end of the war. I believe she eventually was sponsored and made it to the states post World War II.
I remember taking a trip to the east coast with mom when I was 11 or 12. I met an overwhelming number of relatives that I had never met before (and have never seen since,) but a few had those forearm numbers tattoos. That was a reality check I will never forget.
Love this. Thanks so much for sharing. That's so great that you had the time, and that you made the time, to be involved in such a unique and heartwarming project.
I'm really glad you were able to preserve this story. It's powerful and personal. This is really good stuff, fellow Andrew.
I'm starting something similar (just now venturing into the water a little bit) with my folks. They've done a lot of the heavy lifting with genealogy, but I want to tie the history with the stories if I can. I'll be reading your stories like this with particular (and personal) interest. Thanks for sharing this.
I’ve made a goal to go deeper on both my mom and dad’s stories this year on their respective birthdays in June and July. They both died last year and birthday seems better then death-a-versary. Anyhow, my dad’s already passed in March. So far, I’ve got these working titles for my mom in June: A Wandering Jew (it’s a plant) and for my dad in July: Hookers and Flapjacks
I love it. I'm gonna have some pretty quirky memories of my folks as well, and want to honor their awesomeness in my own way. I am observing your thoughtful approach with some admiration!
The few times I had seen the number tattoos, i was always reminded what those poor people had to go through. It's heart breaking. Yet, it's infuriating there are still people out there that say the holocaust didn't happen.
They say as we age, people tend to gravitate towards one's culture and family.
BTW, your dad's look reminds me of Danny Kaye. I can see the resemblance in sonny-boy
We're so glad to have you part of the Yom Hashoah commemoration committee and the Jew crew. You've been such an asset, and always willing to help out. We truly appreciate you.
I started crying in the first paragraph and by the time I finished I was a blubbering mess. Thank you for sharing these stories of your family in such a heartfelt way.
Hope you don’t mind me adding to the story: our father’s family. While our dad and his siblings were born in the states, both paternal grandparents had extended families still in the Russia/Poland area. Our father rarely talked about the family history, but when uncle John came to town, he told many stories.
Evidently many of the family members still in Europe, the brothers and sisters of my grandmother and grandfather and their families , were taken to camps and/ or killed out right.
One story that stuck in my mind was of an entire family , one of my grandfather’s brothers, killed by the Nazis, their house and fields burnt to the ground. The story was that one daughter, a child, escaped to the woods, and lived with others also in hiding, until the end of the war. I believe she eventually was sponsored and made it to the states post World War II.
I remember taking a trip to the east coast with mom when I was 11 or 12. I met an overwhelming number of relatives that I had never met before (and have never seen since,) but a few had those forearm numbers tattoos. That was a reality check I will never forget.
Love this. Thanks so much for sharing. That's so great that you had the time, and that you made the time, to be involved in such a unique and heartwarming project.
I'm really glad you were able to preserve this story. It's powerful and personal. This is really good stuff, fellow Andrew.
I'm starting something similar (just now venturing into the water a little bit) with my folks. They've done a lot of the heavy lifting with genealogy, but I want to tie the history with the stories if I can. I'll be reading your stories like this with particular (and personal) interest. Thanks for sharing this.
I’ve made a goal to go deeper on both my mom and dad’s stories this year on their respective birthdays in June and July. They both died last year and birthday seems better then death-a-versary. Anyhow, my dad’s already passed in March. So far, I’ve got these working titles for my mom in June: A Wandering Jew (it’s a plant) and for my dad in July: Hookers and Flapjacks
I love it. I'm gonna have some pretty quirky memories of my folks as well, and want to honor their awesomeness in my own way. I am observing your thoughtful approach with some admiration!
The few times I had seen the number tattoos, i was always reminded what those poor people had to go through. It's heart breaking. Yet, it's infuriating there are still people out there that say the holocaust didn't happen.
They say as we age, people tend to gravitate towards one's culture and family.
BTW, your dad's look reminds me of Danny Kaye. I can see the resemblance in sonny-boy
Yep you are so right; spent yesterday with a couple hundred of those peeps. Had a pretty good spread across the generations though.
Picked that wedding pic because it had my gma and gpa. Gonna send you the couplea shot where they look even more old school cool
We're so glad to have you part of the Yom Hashoah commemoration committee and the Jew crew. You've been such an asset, and always willing to help out. We truly appreciate you.
I started crying in the first paragraph and by the time I finished I was a blubbering mess. Thank you for sharing these stories of your family in such a heartfelt way.