I recently submitted this chapter to my writing group, (Lynn Palermo’s Family History Masterclass) receiving great feedback including, “Add more emotion.”, “Add more dialog.”, “Too much fact, not enough story.” And finally, the bane of my writing existence: “Kind of choppy – work on your transitions.” I reworked the chapter and would love to hear […]
Read MoreToday, October 20, 2021, is the 146th anniversary of Sigmund Lichtenthals’ birthday. I’ve written about my great-grandfather before; most extensively, in this post from 2013 where I summarized his life. In 2020 I wrote about forming opinions of our ancestors we never knew simply using the photos and documents we collected. I have been diligently […]
Read MoreLast night, on the CBS show 60 Minutes, they ran a story about the “Ritchie Boys,” a secret US Intelligence group. This group of German-speaking Jews was responsible for uncovering more than half the combat intelligence on the Western Front during World War II. As reported in the story, their mission was to use their […]
Read MoreToday, Wednesday January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In the past, I have written about my grandfather’s concentration camp experience. I also told the story of his father, my great-grandfather Sigmund Lichtenthal, and shared how the events during the Holocaust destroyed his lifelong business. Many people are keenly aware of the outcome of the Holocaust […]
Read MoreIn my last post, I shared a chapter from my new book project about my family’s quest to obtain Holocaust reparations. Today, I’d like to share what I learned about the emigration of my maternal great-grandparents, Sigmund and Rosa Lichtenthal. I’ve learned quite a bit more since I orginally posted about their trip a couple […]
Read MoreI’m going to try something – “crowdsourcing” the first chapter of my book about my great-grandfather’s quest for Holocaust reparations. I am looking for feedback. Here’s the “elevator pitch” – “Closing the Circle: Finishing My Great-Grandfather’s Quest for Reparations” tells the story of a family whose livelihood was stolen from them when Hitler’s men seized […]
Read MoreOne of the top rules in genealogy is to avoid BSOs – “bright, shiny, objects.” I break that rule all the time and as a result I learn some pretty cool stuff. Ok, maybe I lose focus and don’t finish the actual task I was working on but honestly, life’s more fun this way! Today’s […]
Read MoreIt has been decided! In July, Scott and I will be taking a cruise with our “best buds,” John and Doreen. But, before the cruise the four of us will be spending a few days in my mother’s “hometown” of Vienna, Austria. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may remember the […]
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