I spent a good portion of the day with my mother today, mostly going through old photos, and trying to "name" more of the older generation (her grandparents' siblings, mostly). It was nice to be able to spend time with her, and show her some of what I've discovered online--including the census form from 1900 that lists the Park family in Philadelphia, PA.
I also got to visit with dad, which was nice, because I found myself drawn into that side of the family tree yesterday--or rather, his dad's side. It's always been the side I've known the least about.
My grandfather was never a talkative man, specifically when it came to his childhood. And with the history his family has, I can't say I blame him. He and all his siblings were born in Frankfurt, Germany the 20's (except one), and they were Jewish. We're lucky. His dad got out and took the family with him in the early thirties, but it left a mark.
I've always known it was there, but the more I uncover in my research, the more I realize just how deep that mark goes.
* Sam, my grandfather, was only about ten or eleven when they left for France, but he remembers better than his (younger) sisters. Even his twin, Minna, says that he recalled more than she did. Likely a good thing, given the fact that the atmosphere against Jews at the time was already quite dark.
* Alex, their father, was born in what I now know was the state of Galicia. I've always known the family was from "Prussia" or thereabouts, but not much beyond that. Dora was born there, too. I'm still in the process of tracking down the names of the actual towns they were presumably from. In researching Galicia yesterday, I learned just how bad it must have been for them. The Polish nickname for the area was "Naked- and Hunger-land." Though I did learn that the Jewish towns were known for their increasing learning.
* Alex was in England during WWI, and was caught up in the anti-German movement of the time, and sent to a camp known as Camp Douglas, which was a place Germans and Prussians and other enemy aliens were kept. I had heard his family went together, but I'm not sure if that is true or not, as I have since found a picture of him alone at that camp, but addressed to his brother Jack.
I used to watch Fiddler on the Roof and think to myself, "Oh, but my Jewish family lived differently than that." After my research this week, I have to admit to being wrong all those times. The Galician Jews had a great deal of connection to their Ukraine neighbors. To the point where the Jews of both countries were probably closer to each other than their gentile neighbors. While my great-grandparents might not have been born in "Anatevka," it sounds as though their towns were probably not too far different.
It does make me sad that what they did to my family destroyed that religious conviction in my grandfather. Because of it, I lost things I know I can't even begin to understand. In going through my blogs this week, I learned something I never knew before. That yarmulke are actually labeled to record the gathering they were made for. It just makes me wonder how much else I don't know.
Just one more link for Follow Friday on somewhat the same note. The Accidental Anarchist wrote about Prejudice in his blog this week. How little we've changed...even if the names and locations have. Makes me wonder if we ever will.
Just one event in my Genealogical Calendar this week. This September 14th would have been my Hansen great-grandparents' 92nd wedding anniversary.
No comments:
Post a Comment