NOTE: I intended to post this on the 15th, but… um… life. According to Thomas MacEntee’s Facebook post, today is National Hat Day. Thank goodness he made us aware of this very important observance! There have been some exciting happenings recently related to my great-grandparents’ hat business, LITAL (Vienna, Austria – 1899-1938). Many years ago, […]
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 MoreThis week’s topic for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is “So Far Away!” It couldn’t have come at a better time! In just a few weeks, Scott and I will be joining my sister Jeanne and her partner, Suzi on a very special trip, a river cruise beginning in Amsterdam and ending in […]
Read MoreToday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The lives of my mother and her family were changed forever one day in March 1938. On that day, the Nazis appropriated my great-grandfather’s business. As he (Sigmund Lichtenthal) explained in a letter written years later, “The firm, Lital, came to a natural end when Austria was occupied by […]
Read MoreIn this post I continue to share my experience at the 34th Conference on International Jewish Genealogy in Salt Lake City, Utah. TuesdayAt 7:30 a.m., I attended the “Breakfast with the Experts – Discovering the Jewish Resources at the Family History Library” presented by Heidi Sudgen of the Family History Library. Heidi gave a great overview […]
Read MoreIn May of 1938, my family changed forever. I realize that we were blessed that no one in my mother’s immediate family was murdered. We fared so much better than millions of others. I get that. While ours is not a story of horrifying proportions, it still is worthy of being told. It should never […]
Read MoreNormally, I would have a long, wordy post all prepared to go. Truth be told I do have a long, wordy post prepared…..too wordy! I really need to trim it down and determine a focus. Trust me, you’ll appreciate that! So – in honor of my grandfather’s 113th birthday, I am posting this series of […]
Read MoreSigmund Lichtenthal was my maternal great-grandfather. While I don’t remember him at all, I have definitely formed an impression of his personality. My mom used to tell me that Sigmund’s business card identified him as an “expert” – no mention of what he was an “expert in, however. I figured she was exaggerating. After all, who would have […]
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Who We Are and How We Got This Way 