Retracing History

Today was our last day in Chemnitz and we got the full tour of the city and everywhere that meant something to Grandpapa. His friend Peter picked us up and we started our history lesson. We first went to the cemetery and found many of Grandpapa's (and my) relatives' gravestones. We had a tour guide, but he only spoke German, so I had no idea what he was saying. After, we found Grandpapa's old address. It wasn't the exact building because the entire street was bombed during the war, but it was still cool to see where he grew up. We also saw the building his dad worked at, but the most interesting things to see were the buildings that weren't there anymore.

We went to the site of Grandpapa's elementary school, which didn't exist anymore. He got kicked out of the school in 1st grade just for being Jewish. It's now a grass lot with a bunch of storage units.

We saw the spot where Grandpapa's synagogue stood. It's now an office building, but there is a statue in front that commemorates the spot where the synagogue once was. On the hill across from the synagogue was where Grandpapa yelled to the world, "People! People! I'm leaving and I'll never come back!" He did this when he found out he was leaving with his mom to meet his dad again in Bolivia two years after his dad left.

We went to the Jew House, which was where Grandpapa and all the other Jews were kept after they were kicked out of their homes. The Nazis didn’t want the Jews “contaminating” the Aryan race. The building next to it was where the German families that helped watch over the house stayed. It's also where Peter's mother lived. Peter’s mom was the daughter of the Nazi superintendent of the Jew House. She and Grandpapa played together when they were kids and her mom helped Grandpapa’s mom pack when they were getting ready to leave Germany. In the 90s Grandpapa and Grandmama came back to Chemnitz for an apology by the Germans and Peter's mother came up to Grandpapa to say that they knew each other when they were young. When we planned this trip, Peter offered to show us around Chemnitz. The whole story goes full circle between our two families and it's really interesting to learn.

The Jew House is now a lot with a giant tree in the center, while the other building is still fully intact. It tells me two things: the first is that a lot of the Jewish-related places were destroyed during the war. The second is that the tree growing in the building's place is ironic and fitting because trees symbolize life and the tree growing where the Jew House stood shows that the Jews are still there. We won't leave. As Grandpapa puts it, "We're here and they're (the Nazis) not."

Going to his hometown and learning the family history from there was so surreal and I could not ask for a better opportunity and history lesson. Definitely something I can't get in school, and I'm so thankful for everyone who supported me in going on this adventure. Thank you for telling me your story Grandpapa. Everyone has a story, and this is his.