1939 - 1945: WWII and the Holocaust
Some of our families escaped the Holocaust with small items such as a candy pot, while others survived and found love at the end of the war. Our relatives served in the war and were decorated and for some the end of the war meant migration to California from the east.
army dog tags
U.S.
Grandfather
Dog Tags belonged to my fathers dad.
No significance. My grandfather was not Jewish
Candy Pot
Hungary
Sonia A.
This pot is significant in our family because it shows that my great Grandma cared for her community and she wanted everyone to be safe. When the girl who gave it to her was taken away during the Holocaust, and never came back, she passed it through our family. She told us who had owned it and how she always took care of it.
This artifact shows that Jews all around the world can come together and help each other like family.
Store Lock & Key
US
Grandmother
This brass store lock and key was used by my great-grandfather at the first clothing store he opened after coming to the United States from Poland in 1937. My grandmother was 5 years old when her family left Poland. They traveled by train and ship and could only bring with them what they could carry. My great-grandfather, after working in shops and stores, was able to save enough money to open a clothing store of his own.
My great-grandfather and his family were subjected to many hardships and much prejudice in Poland in the 1930s because they were Jewish. The brass lock and key are a symbol of the hard work and dedication of my great-grandfather, who with a family of three young children, was forced to start his life over after leaving Poland. My great-grandfather and his family realized both religious freedom and economic opportunity in the United States.
The Old Breed Of Marine
Pacific
My grandmother
This diary was given to me when I was 9 years old by my grandmother. This diary of a marine in WWII explains to me what it is like to be a Marine.It inspires me to do my best and to fight my hardest and work my hardest.
This is a story of a Jewish war hero in the Pacific during WWII.
Shadow Box of WWII War Decorations
Pacific Theater
Gale D. (My Grandmother)
My Great-Grandpa, Emmy, was drafted into the Army during WWII. He served in Alaska, the Philippines, and New Guinea (all of them in the Pacific Theater). He was promoted to First Lieutenant. Emmy was in the Philippines when General MacArthur's army liberated the Philippines from Japan. My grandpa, Jim, made this shadow box to display his awards, because our family is proud of what Emmy did.
The awards/decorations are:
Top row (right to left) #4 Army patch; 1st Lt. Bar; Army Alaska Defense Command patch.
Middle Row (right to left) Army Artillery patch, Engineer Corps. pin.
Bottom Row (right to left) Asiatic Pacific Campaign ribbon, WWII Victory Medal ribbon, Philippine Liberation Medal ribbon.
It shows how American Jews proudly sacrificed to help the Jewish people in Europe and other people around the world being oppressed.
Welfare Picture
Brooklyn, New York
Robbie T.
When my Grandpa Fred was little, his Dad, my Great Grandpa Jack, decided to move his family from Brooklyn to California. For their goodbye party, a cake was ordered that was supposed to say Farewell. But there was a mistake and the caked ended up saying Welfare. The picture was taken at the party as my great grandparents are cutting the cake.
By moving to California, my Great Grandpa Jack was leaving behind his family and friends. He could have stayed in Brooklyn and would have been very wealthy if he had. But he wanted to start a new life with his family. If my Great Grandpa Jack hadn't done that, I wouldn't be there today.
Wedding Photo of Great-Grandparents
Riga
Grandpa
The significance of this photo is that it's of my great grandparents the day they got officially married. It is one of the only pictures they ever took and that we have of them.
In 1942 the ghetto took in 15,000 jews who were killed but Etya and Harsh were lucky and got picked to go work on a concentration camp, from 1942-1944. In the middle of 1944 both were able to escape and hide. On October 13th, 1944 the Soviet army took the city of Riga out of the Nazi's rule. The photo is of the day the two got officially married. Etya died in 2002 and Harsh died in 2000.