Most people are aware of the events surrounding the Holocaust as well as the horrific situation in which many Jews found themselves during and after. In this post, I’d like to share a few things that are lesser-known, as well as some documents from my family during that period. My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal was called […]
Read Morehttps://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany and recently incorporated territories. This event came to be called Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht 84 years […]
Read MoreI had hoped to post this on the occasion of Bob’s 101st birthday. I’m a few days late, I don’t think he would mind. When your ancestors “tell” you to look for something, you do it! Such was the case with my first cousin, twice removed, Kurt Mendl. I was on the search in the […]
Read MoreMost people are aware of the events surrounding the Holocaust as well as the horrific situation in which many Jews found themselves during and after. In this post, I’d like to share a few things that are lesser-known, as well as some documents from my family during that period. My grandfather, Paul Lichtenthal was called […]
Read MoreI 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 […]
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Who We Are and How We Got This Way 