Printing Press
Wedding Invitation
Israel
Michael L's paternal Great Grandfather Baruch L was a zionist living in Poland. At 23 years old, he moved away from his family to live in Israel, or at the time Palestine. He lived there for 5 years then went back to Poland to marry a girl that he grew up with. The wedding invitation was in Hebrew because Baruch believed that the Jews should be speaking Hebrew. They got married in Baruch’s brother’s house. That is how the Jews got married in that time. Not in a dining hall, in his brother’s house. The wedding was on March 10th, 1939. The invitation was the object that Michael’s family has kept over the years, and is the object we will continue to cherish. After the wedding, Baruch and his wife moved back to Palestine. Five months later on September 1, World War II started and Baruch’s family in Europe all died. He did not die because he was in Palestine away from the Holocaust. Baruch’s family kept the invitation because it showed that he had a strong belief in Jews living in Israel, and that belief saved his life.
This is a very important artifact to Michael’s family.
Passport
London, England
Jake N’s father inherited an amazing artifact. It might just be a passport, but it plays an even greater role as a link to Jake’s past. The passport belonged to Jake’s paternal grandfather, Albin N. It was issued in London in 1959, but the passport itself was Austrian, as Albin was still an Austrian citizen. This passport is a remembrance that Albin fled from Austria in 1938 at age six, fleeing from the Nazis as World War II was brewing. The passport is also proof that Albin survived the Holocaust.
Not only that, but the passport also has all of Albin’s personal information - his birthday, his appearance, his travels - which is something that Jake holds close to his heart, for Jake has little memory of his grandfather, Albin.
Driver's License
France
Jed D received this driver’s license from his father. Jed D’s paternal great grandmother’s relative, Meyer L, received this driver’s license in Paris, France in the year 1914. This item is significant to the D family
because it was one of the earlier licenses given to people, and
it is still in mint condition. This drivers license is a reminder
of the active social role of the family.
It is also a proof of the
family's interest in new technology.
Telegram
United States
This Western Union telegram was sent by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, to his close friend Nahum Zackai, Eli R’s maternal great-grandfather. It was sent on April 12, 1940, to wish Nahum mazal tov on his upcoming marriage. Nahum Zackai was a professor of Zionism at Wright Junior College and spoke at lectures about Zionism. He knew Ze’ev Jabotinsky very well and Ze’ev Jabotinsky was a frequent visitor to the Zackai’s home in Chicago.
There is a family joke about a prank Eli’s great uncles did to Eli’s great-grandparents by pretending that Jabotinsky wrote a note to them on the back of another telegram.
Boat Ticket
Germany
Hannah G received this boat ticket from her maternal great grandmother Anne Gasner. Anne's family was very wealthy and were lucky to afford $430 boat ticket to America in 1938. One day Anne's brother was beat up on the the way home from school. After that, Anne's parents decided to leave Germany.
The name of the boat was Holland America line. The Gasner family feels fortunate that they were lucky enough to leave Germany before it was too late.
Driver's License
United States
This driver’s license belonged to Remi H’s paternal great grandfather Aaron S.
He was born in 1903 in Galicia, Austria and moved to Harlem, NY in 1905. At the age of 18, he started boxing. His weight division was Bantamweight, and he boxed in many places including the old Madison Square Garden. When he was 21, he got his driver’s license and on it said pugilist which means boxer.
This object means a lot to the H.and S.
family because it is one of the only physical memories left of Aaron.
Letter
Poland
Noam R received this letter from his paternal great-great-great grandfather. Noam's paternal great-great-great grandfather wrote this letter when he and his wife decided to move to Israel . He wrote this letter to tell Noam’s great-great grandfather how to take care of
his daughter. This letter was recently found in Noam’s grandmother’s house.
Noam’s family will cherish this letter for many generations.
Marriage License
Poland and Switzerland
Hannah D received these marriage licenses from her maternal grandmother. The first item belonged to Hannah’s maternal great grandfather. The second item belonged to Hannah’s maternal great grandparents. The first item is from Krakow, Poland, and the second is from Basel, Switzerland. The first
marriage license was taken to a concentration camp when the Nazi’s took
Hannah’s maternal great grandfather captive. Hannah’s maternal great
grandfather's first wife was killed in gas chambers. The second license was issued after the Holocaust between Hannah’s maternal great grandparents.
These documents are cherished by Hannah’s family.
Immigration Papers
Hungary
Jordana B’s great grandfather, Andrew W, saved his immigration papers from when he came to America. During the Holocaust his parents were murdered by a Hungarian because they were Jewish. After the Holocaust Andrew went back to the place where his parents were
murdered (Hungary) and found the man that killed his parents. He decided he needed to avenge his parents' murder. Afterwards, using these papers, he
started a new life in the United States. This is why these papers are so important to the B and W family. It’s the story behind the papers that is so special.
If it were not for these papers, the family might have never traveled to the United States.
Report Cards and Documents
Prague
These report cards and documents belonged to Sophia R.'s maternal
grandfather Joseph A. The first report card is when Joseph A. went to a
Jewish elementary and high school in Mukachevo. The second document was
after the war when Joseph A. received a letter that shows that he graduated school. When in power, the Nazis tried to destroy all documents. The third document is also after the war when Joseph A. and family did not have permission to immigrate to the United States. While he was waiting for a visa, he went to school in Prague and received report cards.
This will always be in Sophia R.’s family and extended family
because he didn’t have a lot from his past and he valued education.
Megilat Eivah
Vienna
Nili F received this Megillah from her maternal grandfather. It has been in her family for forty generations. Megillat Eivah is originally from Vienna in 1629. It was written by Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller and was passed down from generation to generation until today. Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller was a Rabbi when he was 18 years old and was accused of insulting Christianity and put in jail. He wrote stories throughout his experiences on trial, going to jail, and being
released from jail. It is significant to Nili’s family because she is a direct descendant of Rabbi
Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller who is a direct descendant of Rashi. Nili’s great grandfather and her great uncle translated the megillah into English.
Nili has kept this object because it is a tradition to read this megillah with her family every year in the beginning of Adar at a festival called the Seudat Tosafat Yom Tov.
Letters
United States
These Albert Einstein letters belong to Murray G, Keren G’s paternal grandfather. On April 19, 1974, Murray sent a letter to Albert Einstein on behalf of his grandfather Herman G. Amazingly, Einstein wrote back! The G family still keeps the letters today because of both the sentimental and historical value. It was very special for the family to receive letters from one of the best scientist in that time period. Also these letters are important to history because it is a way to know how a person really felt about a topic.
The G family will keep the letters for generations.
Marriage Certificate
United States
Sam H’s maternal great grandparents received this ketubah and marriage
license when they got married, in the United States of America. Their journey to getting there is a classic family tale. When Dora R, Sam’s maternal great
grandmother, fled from Germany, she promised her mother, Miriam, that she
would marry a religious man. When she got to America, she met Abe D, Sam’s maternal great grandfather. Before they got married, Dora wanted to make
sure that Abe was religious, so she told Abe’s maid to move his tefillin every day. If it was in a different place than where the maid put it, then Dora would know that Abe used his tefillin a sign that he was religious. That’s exactly what happened. The D’s have kept these documents as a way to remember the story of how their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents got married, and how their family started.
These documents will remain in the D and H families for many years to come.