Rabbi John Franken stolpersteine

My third cousin Rabbi John Franken placed some stolpersteine recently in Berlin for family members.  He has the artist Gunter Demnig there doing it.  He posted it on Facebook.  He's related to me through my great great grandfather Maier Zunder.

You are welcome to watch my film I produced of my event https://vimeo.com/1083713066

 

The Stolpersteine now!

 This is a picture of the Stolpersteine of the David Baumann family now.  My friend, Gin, went to Amsterdam before going on a cruise.  They were determined to go find the stolpersteine that we laid last October.  They figured they could walk to it from their downtown hotel.  And they did!  The stolperstiene for the grandparents have already been moved.  She got to meet Ted, the neighbor who befriended us.

I told her about the custom of laying a stone on a monument in a cemetery to show you have visited?  Should you do it with a stolperstein?  We didn't know but Gin said she would do it anyway.  So there's the little stone to show that she had been there.

Very meaningful to me!

The grandparent stolpersteine have been moved

 News from Amsterdam!  The stolpersteine for the grandparents Adolf and Isabel Weiss have been moved to their permanent spot on Lekstraat.  Last autumn when we were there, the street Lekstraat was all torn up.  All of the existing stolpersteine had been removed and the plan was to place the new and existing stolpersteine after the construction was finished.  We walked over there (not a short walk) and it was all a mess in front of the houses.

Turns out the current resident was very interested in the stolpersteine and wanted to know more about them.  I sent what I had to her through An.  She had even requested one but found that I already had.  So there's another person interested.

When I was there I waved through the window but got no response.  Now I wish I had been a bit more persistent; I might have talked to her.  We could have invited them.

Suzie, Megan Scoutie are supposed to be here to plant flowers and eat pancakes.  Things are currently messed up.  Scoutie (aged 10 months) went down for a late nap and Suzie is stuck at work.  It will get straightened out eventually.

Two related projects

But first JJ's garden.  In front of her house.  Used to be scraggly lawn but look at it now.  I asked her how she got things to grow so well.  I fertilize them, she told me.  What a concept.  I generally put things in the ground and wonder why they barely make it.  Duly noted.

So I've finished the two projects.  The Amsterdam Stolperstein project and the Priscilla Parkin Memorial Award project.  On reflection, they are very similar.  The first was to place a Stolperstein (stumbling stone) marker in front of my grandfather's first cousin's last address in Amsterdam.  With appropriate ceremony.  This was a big deal for my highly assimilated family as most believed my mother's story that 'Nobody in our family died at the hands of the Nazis'  She probably told me that in high school.  At first I believed her and then I didn't.  C'mon, we have a family that's 100% descended from the Jewish Peoples of Europe.  Though a large part of the ancestors have been here many generations.  Of course, family members died, they HAD to.  We just didn't know about them.  So when I found the family member who, with his own family, died at Sobibor and Auschwitz, it started an earthquake in my family.  At the same time, I learned about the decentralized memorial Stolpersteine.  Since we knew the last address, I told my cousin (who usually is my partner-in-crime,) we have to do this, we must lay this memorial.  There's nobody else.  We must do it in Amsterdam.  It took 9 years in the making but we did it.

The Priscilla Parkin project was a little closer.  She died in 1971 and her parents set up a scholarship fund.  But I hadn't paid much attention and it was time to correct that.  I wondered what to do exactly and, as the plan went on, I got kicked upstairs so we were the program for the main Crown College luncheon.  I was determined to do it.  Got another of Priscilla's friends, Jean, to help.  I wanted to talk about Priscilla first (she has her own story!) and also feature some of the award winners.  It worked really well, they had a beautiful luncheon; about 50 people in attendance and the award-winners for this year were announced and acknowledged.  I hope it brought Priscilla alive because she was a very alive person.

These projects are related.  Through me.

Before we started

This picture was by my nephew in law Mark before we started.  I hope to have a video of the ceremony soon.  Hair loss and all.  We are looking towards the canal here.  That red building in the background is actually on the other side of a major canal.  I'm talking to the rabbi.  An is making sure all is in order.  Meredith takes a picture.  We're all here at the stolperstein ceremony.  We intended to make it happen and we did.  For 9 years, I had been telling my cousin and the rest of my family.  "We are going to Amsterdam and we're going to place the stolpersteine.  We are going to do it"  I haven't traveled that much and I'm not getting any better at it.  But we did do it.  We are in Amsterdam. 

At the stolpersteine workshop

 The next day, we had the opportunity to visit the auxiliary stolpersteine shop in Amsterdam.  Previously they had all been built in Germany.  But the Netherlands group were able to build a little workshop in the garden of the Goethe Insitut at one of the tony addresses in Amsterdam (we learned that from our canal cruise the next day).  The 16th century building all face directly onto the canal in the concentric canals in central Amsterdams.  Who knew that they had gardens in back?  Because the Goethe Institut supports the idea, they were able to build a little workshop and build the stolpersteine right there.  I'm sure that's where ours were made.  Alexander showed us around and demonstrated how they built them.  To our delight!  It was a great treat!

The stolpersteine

 Here are the stolpersteine that we placed last week in Amsterdam.  At Sloestrat 6 in Amsterdam.  Placed 10/25/22The top group of 30 by the extended Barnes/Baumann family. The top 3, David Baumann, Marta Baumann and Lothar Baumann lived at this apartment in an area of upper middle class apartments south of the downtown area.  We met some of the neighbors.  More weak Frank family connections.

The bottom two are for Marta's parents Adolf and Isabella.  Their home (smiliar apt) on Lekstraat some ways away is surrounded by major construction.  The Stolperstein people picked up the existing Stolpersteine before construction and will replace them when the construction is over as well as placing these in their proper place.

These likely made right there in Amsterdam!

After the Solpersteine placing

 We took a group picture after the placing of the stones and our program.  It truly was a meaningful experience.  I say that because I was the one who dreamed this whole thing up, wrote and gave the presentation.  In Amsterdam, because that's where it HAD to be.  We were placing a stolpersteine (stumbling stone) at the last address of the David Baumann, including his wife Marta, son Lothar and also his in-laws.  In the picture, Rabbi ten Brink (who we engaged to participate in the ceremony) is right front.  Back left is neighbor Ted.  The rest at all of us, family members and some friends.  We came early, the Amsterdam city workers came and made quick work of the installation.  I talked about the members of the family, my sister sang, we read the statements of some who couldn't attend.  I talked about how this related to my relatives in the US.  Rabbi made some comments, saying as I had mentioned that this was now the final resting place of this family.  He also led a kaddush.

These attractive apartment blocks were built in 1937, considered an upper middle class neighborhood.  Half a block from a canal.  They must have been new when the Baumann family moved in.  I worry about Marta, her only child deported and then her husband and parents, leaving her until she also was deported to Auschwitz.

But we were here for them on this day.  When I found out, I told my cousin Maryann (center front) "we must place a stolperstein for this family.  We must.  If we don't do it, nobody will, it's our Obligation."

She agreed and, nine years later, here we are.  Bearing witness.

The workers in Amsterdam

 

We haven't gone to Amsterdam yet, not for another two weeks.  But I'm thinking a lot about it.  The Stolperstein people send me this picture.  I think this is one of the workmen that she works with who installs the markers.  With everybody looking on.  People standing around on a street.  I think it might be raining when we do it.

The cement blocks with the metal message on the top are mounted in front of the last place they lived.

Apparently the actual installation is at the beginning, then we'll do our program.  And the rabbi will speak.

I asked if I should bring a small gift for the workers.  My contact wrote: 

I think they (most of the time there are two) especially like it when they are treated as equals, being greeted. F.i. when the stones are placed, they say 'Alsjeblieft' (Here you are) and they are pleased when you thank them. I work with them since more than a year now and I see they are very sensible to being treated on an equal level.

No problem about that.  We are thrilled that they will do this important work for us.

Stolpersteine acoming

Remember that Stolpersteine project?  Where a specific sort of plaque is planted in front of the last known address of a person who perished in the Holocaust.  From a long time ago.  My discovery of relatives who perished; German Jews who fled to Amsterdam, then taken away individually to perish in Auschwitz or Sobibor.  My grandfather's first cousin David Baumann, his wife Marta Baumann and teenage son Lothar Baumann.  And  Martha's parents.  And we would go to Amsterdam and witness it.

If we didn't do it, who would?

So several years ago, with the approval of family members, I signed up these 5 people.  But it took a couple years and the COVID hit, it was all in the murky far future.

No more.  I received a not that the Stolpersteines were ready and when were we coming to Amsterdam?  Apparently we have to craft our own ceremony.  What???  Along the way I picked up some of Marta's relatives and they want to come too.

Zero to 60, comments my sister.  Much correspondence and phone calls.

Stay tuned.

 

Prep and heard from Amsterdam

Here are the cutup veggies to be cooked in butter and added to the stuffing.  Quite a few.  I'm remembering that I haven't had to do these last few years.  Why?  Because my brother and sister were here to cut them up for me.  I will stuff the turkey tomorrow morning and cook it.  But my sister Pam is really good at stuffing the turkey.  But my brother and sister did not come this year because of COVID.  But, the stuffing is all made.  A whole big soup pot full of stuffing.

I can really see the xmas holiday is going to be a real problem.  More and more I see, you cannot get your family together.  And even though I minimize the xmas holidays, I still get my adult kids together a lot.  Ilana and Matt will be around.  Susanna and Naomi have late December birthdays.  We usually have xmas eve take out, xmas breakfast.  It goes on and on.  But I've got to say no over and over again.  People can't get past Thanksgiving, what about Christmas.  The way that the hospitals are filling up, there may not be care for the sick.

That said, Suzie and Megan's hot water isn't working.  Megan was just here, Suzie will be soon.

I called Thai takeout for tonight,

Heard from my contact in Amsterdam regarding the laying of the Stolperstein memorial.  There may be a date of April 21.  But that's maybe too soon.  If Christmas looks bad, Netherlands isn't going to let Americans come into their country.  We'll see, we'll see.  Also heard back from my German genealogy for hire.  And we all might be busy in April....