Hearing Holocaust Survivors Speak...Before You Can't

Last night, as part of a local Holocaust Remembrance event, my family and I had the privilege of hearing the horrific, painful story of Mrs. Miriam Ingber.

Her story, like that of every other survivor, was heart-wrenching and painful.

After all this time, the pain she feels is still with her. It was obvious.  The story, like all other stories, still defies comprehension. No matter how many testimonials you hear, videos/movies you watch, museums you attend, or concentration/extermination camps you visit, it never makes sense.

I think the sadness I felt last night was even greater because of the eerie sensation that everyone in the room felt and the anticipated arrival of a moment that all of us knew would come one day, but is clearly getting closer.

That is, of course, the day when there are no more living survivors. 

It's been 73 years since WWII ended. That would make even the youngest survivors in their mid-late 70s.

I remember, while living in Germany as a 22 year old, that one of the questions I would ask my contemporaries and of myself is "what will happen when there are no more living survivors?"

And I worried that my kids would never have the chance to hear a survivor's story personally.  At least, on that front, the NFO and I have ensured that they have, but it's clear that time is running out.

And because the Holocaust is so difficult to comprehend, it becomes easy for people to dismiss or diminish or question.  Obviously that has happened and, more worrisome, will continue to happen as the survivor population ages out.

There is no easy answer and it's clear that many of the lessons of the Holocaust have, sadly, not been learned. Anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry/hatred still exist and, in some cases, seem to have been strengthened.

There are many things to do to honor and preserve the memory of the 6 million Jews and millions of others who were murdered by the Nazis. The fight is clearly not over, as if their sacrifice weren't enough.

However, I think that one of the things we all can do is to make sure that as many people as possible get to hear a survivor personally tell his/her story before they can't.

It's a regret that I think anyone who cares about justice and humanity should avoid having.

An Impressive Founding Father (Book Recommendation)

Of course I had heard of Alexander Hamilton, but I certainly didn’t really know, understand, or sincerely appreciate the man until I finished the 731 page biography (amazon link) of him by Ron Chernow.

It reads like a novel and you can’t help but walk away impressed at his dedication to the cause of the American Revolution, his intellect, his work ethic and the fact that he (and all the rest of the founding fathers) were, when all was said and done, people with many shortcomings.

The book (amazon link) certainly ripped the veneer off of men like Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Adams. I certainly appreciate that politics was as dirty then (if not dirtier) than it is now.

The book was epic and well worth it.  It took me about 2 months to make it happen, but well worth it.

Recommended: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Cherwnow

The Story of God Bless America

Thanks to my mom for sending this great story over.

Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time, and said that when he and a million other guys first heard her sing "God Bless America" on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.

Here are the facts... 

The link at the bottom will take you to a video showing the very first public singing of "GOD BLESS AMERICA".  But before you watch it, you should also know the story behind the first public showing of the song. 

The time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic depression. Hitler was taking over Europe and Americans were afraid we'd have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and worry for most Americans.

This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.

Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say, and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings". Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time. 

Kate was also patriotic.    It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope for America, and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up, so she went to the famous American song-writer, Irving Berlin (who also wrote "White Christmas") and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country.  When she described what she was looking for, he said he had just the song for her.

He went to his files and found a song that he had written, but never published, 22 years before - way back in 1917. He gave it to her and she worked on it with her studio orchestra.  She and Irving Berlin were not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed they would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties from this song.

This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, "You're In The Army Now."  At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it's Ronald Reagan.

To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country.  Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt whether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry..... and for many generations of Americans to follow.  Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you'll enjoy it and treasure it even more.

Many people don't know there's a lead in to the song since it usually starts with "God Bless America....." So here's the entire song as originally sung.

Recollections of JFK’s Assassination…

My dad sent this around the other day and I asked him if I could share it with you. He said ok.

Below are a few of my recollections on this occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Death of a President, JFK.

I watched part of a documentary on the JFK assassination last night, November 13, 2013, one that focussed on how the story was handled by the press, especially Walter Cronkite.

The Narrator suggested that this was the biggest story of the 20th Century or made some other hyperbolic comment.

It was big and remains big, but what about WWI and WWII, etc.

Fifty years.

I had lunch on November 22, 1963 with two friends at a restaurant named Lincoln's Inn.

One was Dan Rezneck, who, like me was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. 

Dan had actually promoted my application for the position, one that I enjoyed immensely. 

It was heady to get up and announce that I represented "The United States of America."

The other person at the lunch was our contemporary, Jack Rosenthal who was the Press Spokesman for the Department of Justice, Robert Kennedy, Attorney-General.

We discussed politics, Bobby Kennedy, etc.  Typical Washington talk.  We had no idea.

After lunch I returned to the U.S. Attorney's office and one of my colleagues, Tony Lapham, who was in the hallway told me that the President was dead.

A thought too large to wrap with my mind.  I had seen JFK once in a large room at Harvard Law School, when he was campaigning for the Presidency.

When he was inaugurated I was at the U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, Yorktown, VA. 

I had limited free time so  during lunch break I went  to the television room and listened to his stirring inaugural speech.

Washington was covered with snow and was bitter cold, as I saw on TV.   I was 150 miles away and it was cold. 

I was the only person in the room watching the Inauguration. 

I thought that was odd, as my military colleagues certainly had bright and interested individuals.

I think that my subsequent Commission as an officer may make reference to JFK or perhaps bore his signature. 

Later, I was moved by his call to come and serve in the government.   I doubt that was the only reason that I came to D.C. 

After I completed my military commitment, I did not return to San Antonio  because I thought that the prospects for finding a Jewish young woman

to suit my eccentricities were greater in the East, but that did not occur until eight years later.

In any event, during that night of November 22, 1963, I was staring into the White House grounds when the helicopter brought LBJ as the new President.

Two days later or so, when the casket was moved from the White House to the Capitol Rotunda, I was on the sidewalk outside the U.S. Courthouse  near Pennsylvania Avenue watching the procession, the riderless horse, the gun carriage bearing the body.

I went to the Capitol Rotunda at 2 a.m. to view the casket and persons were lined up for blocks waiting to do the same. 

I think that an acquaintance with a press pass got us in ahead of the line, not an egalitarian gesture.

Views of JFK as President, his accomplishments, his character and behavior, have changed over the years. 

During those three days, I was bereft.

The killing of Oswald, surrounded by law enforcement officials, by Jack Ruby viewed on live televicsion was astounding.

Taking the Low Road

One of the things we want our kids to have is an appreciation of the sacrifices that others have made for freedom.

We stopped at Fredericksburg and the Civil War battlefield there to walk along the “sunken road” where 5,000 people died in a few days’ span. It’s not Gettysburg or Antietam or anything like that, but as they climbed the hill, you could see that they appreciated the military significance and advantage of having the high ground.

History, as it were, came alive for them.

Remembering Pearl Harbor….

I don’t know how many people are alive who still remember the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor…but I do know that it’s fewer than last year.

70 years is A LOT of time for people and I think that now, at a time when the identity of America is being challenged in other ways, it’s important to reflect back on that time and what it meant for the country.

It was a stark wake-up call.

Today, the wake-up call may not be as stark or violent, but I believe it is as stark for Americans to come together and pursue a goal of reinventing and reinvigorating the country.

How Southwest Airlines connected me to my grandfather…

Had a pretty special moment at BWI the other night, courtesy of Southwest Airlines.

As I was going through security, I saw about 45 people in wheelchairs going through as well.

On their hats, I saw words such as “WWII vet” and, after going through screening, I inquired.

Turns out it was a Southwest Airlines “Honor Flight” and these guys had gotten up at 4am, flown from Cleveland, taken a bus from BWI down to DC and visited the WWII, Korean, Vietnam Memorials as well as going to Arlington Cemetery (trust me, that’s a lot in 1 day) and were returning home at 7pm.

All thanks to SWA.

As I chatted with these guys about their experiences in WWII (they had been in the south Pacific), I thought of my grandfather, Poppy, who died a few years ago, but had served in China.

I literally got chills thinking of him and these men’s sacrifices on our behalf.

Seriously…it made me appreciate and “LUV” Southwest even more.

The Flag and Story of Ep(p)stein

Someone asked me about this the other day…so may as well share why I fly the flag of a small German town in front of my house.

My family had a cousin whose hobby was genealogy. He somehow managed to trace our family tree back to the Beneveniste family of Girona, Spain. During the year I spent in Germany, I traveled to Girona, which is north of Barcelona, and visited the Jewish museum there. The curator confirmed the existence of the Beneveniste family, indicated that they had been a very prominent family and had indeed been expelled from Spain during the Inquisition in 1492.

At some point after the Expulsion from Spain, the wandering tribe which had been known in Girona, Spain as the Benevensites ended up in Germany. They were in the money-lending business and lent money to one Count von Eppstein. As collateral, he offered up a piece of land.

When the time for the loan came due, the Count didn’t have the money and refused to turn over the land, saying that it belonged to his brother, a priest, and Church land couldn’t be given to Jews. Instead, he offered them the use of the distinguished last name of Eppstein. Apparently, the family took him up on his offer and eventually moved on to Lithuania, from whence my paternal grandfather emigrated.

I had never heard of the town of Eppstein until the summer of 1994 when a classmate of mine at the University of Regensburg where I was taking summer courses told me that it existed on the outskirts of Frankfurt.

For the exact location, see here.

During my travels through Europe thereafter, I made a point to take a trip out to Eppstein, a town nestled in wooded hills by a small river with a tiny fort on a hill, with a population of (I’m guessing) 2-3000 people.  At some point during my teenage years, my father had given me a family crest which had the name “Epstein” underneath it and which has three chevrons upon it. Interestingly enough, this same symbol was on all of the official Eppstein municipal items (trash trucks, the city hall, etc.).  I climbed the small hill to the little fort, the museum for the history of the town, and knocked. 

A woman answered. I told her my last name and showed her my passport. She was very excited and let me in for free (I thought the town still owed a lot more than that 1 Deutsche Mark that I saved, you know with interest and everything).  I told her the story and she confirmed the possibility of its veracity saying something to the effect of “the Counts von Eppstein were very dishonest and made a living of robbing travelers and traders on the river next to the fort”. 

During the year I spent in Germany, I went back twice more, once with my father and once with Dina, Asher, and Julie.  At my father’s request, I also made an inquiry to the City Hall to determine the name of the factory where the town flag was made and subsequently ordered one, which to this day flies outside my parents house and another one was recently ordered and is flying outside of our house.  It was also used at the wedding ceremony for Asher/Julie as well as for Tamar and me.

I’ve subsequently relayed this entire story to a German colleague at Microsoft who grew up in Eppstein. He too had heard that the Counts von Eppstein were not such great people. Furthermore, he asked if he could send the story I had sent to him to his friend who works in the City Hall and also to the town of Eppstein’s historian.  He has since done this. He told me that the name Eppstein comes, supposedly, from a knight named Eppo, who built a fort upon a large stone (Stein in German). Hence, Eppo’s Stein or Eppstein.

Life Asterisk at the Bank…

Into the category of people who get a small asterisk in our family’s life history, we now add Johnny of Capital One bank.

I took Tonka and Paco in the other day and helped them each set up their own bank accounts.

That wasn’t the real purpose of the trip, however. It was the next step in their financial acumen educational process and Johnny played his role beautifully.

We talked about the dangers of overdrafting your checking account, buying on credit, and how to responsibly save (as well as check your balance).

We talked about interest, loans, and even currency swaps (ok, maybe not the last part).

His patience was first rate and I thanked him for his help.

Many years down the road when, hopefully, the guys are of sound financial mind, we’ll look back at the positive influences on their lives and remember that Johnny had a small, but important, role to play.

Next up: teach them how to check their balances via the iPad

Related articles

• Overdraft fees: Next challenge for consumer panel (money.cnn.com)
• Some banks starting to charge customers to use debit cards (pennlive.com)

Ship of Gold…and more

Image via Wikipedia

If you’re looking for an exciting page turner of a book, one that is nearly impossible to put down, check out Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea: The History and Discovery of the World's Richest Shipwreck

It’s all about what happened to the SS Central America in 1857, which went down with $2 million worth of gold (leading to the Panic of 1857) and the amazing technological achievement associated with its recovery in over 8000 feet of deep ocean.

The story (on both sides) is phenomenal, opening up a part of American history that is doubly significant and enriching your understanding of the world in which we live…plus, it has the added bonus of connecting the dots from different centuries, so you see the cause and effect over long periods of time.

Throw in some great technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, a validation of free markets/incentives, and some just first-rate storytelling and you’ve got a glorious book.

You just don’t find too many like these and the empathy you feel for the heroes/characters puts you on all of the ships.

Celebrating the 4th with Jefferson

Image via Wikipedia

In what may have been the most meaningful July 4th ever, we took the 3 kids on an 11 hour excursion to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson, as you know, drafted the Declaration of Independence, so that would have been significant enough. However, he also died on July 4th, 1826, so we were visiting his home on the 185th anniversary of his death.

Our kids are fascinated by many things Presidential and have, fortunately, developed an appreciated for history.

The highlight of the day, however, came as we were departing the Visitors Center, about to embark upon our 3.5 hour return journey and after close to 4 hours at the site.

Tonka turned to me and said:

“This was great. I’m really glad we came here.”

All of them were super travellers (thank God for the iPad on the road!) and a number of people on our tour of the mansion came up to me (they were the only kids in our group) to remark about not only how well behaved they were (including Nadia), but how interested they were in the guide’s presentation.

Admittedly, the guide did a great job, but it was just quite special to watch as they absorbed the information, took interest in Jefferson’s passions for reading, technology (this worked for me!), science, and, well, everything, and they LOVED the bit of trivia that it was Jefferson who brought both macaroni and cheese as well as vanilla ice cream to the US after his ministerial post in France.

They understood the potential of using this information to persuade the NFO to serve ice cream in the future!

The movie at the Visitors Center talked about slavery, Sally Hemings, etc. and the two older ones latched onto this topic, asking some great questions.

I just loved how they explored the grounds, seeking to understand why the wine/beer cellar would be underground, asking about bathrooms, the vegetable garden and having a chance to write with a quill pen.

A long, HOT and HUMID day, but a great one.

As we were departing, we saw seats being set up behind the main building and I assumed it would be for a mini fireworks show or something to that effect.

Turns out I was mistaken (not the first time) and it was to be the swearing in ceremony for 77 new Americans, which got me a bit choked up.

As we finished, the guide read a great quote written by Jefferson only a few days before his death, about July 4th:

“For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

I know it did for me, reconnecting me (and hopefully connecting my kids) to the eternal and beautiful ideals of what it means to be American and what America means to so many people.

Related articles

• Timeless counsel: Jefferson's final words to America on her Jubilee ()
• Remarks on Thomas Jefferson's Most Famous Blog Post Ever: The Declaration of Independence (scsblog.org)

20th Reunion and the Value of Childhood Friends

People who have known you for 60-85% of your life play a special role.

They give you the perspective, in part, on how you have become the person you are.

I can’t remember which book it was that said it, but your friends have a HUGE influence on your personal development.

This past week, I had a chance to reconnect with some of the people who have done that for me for my 20th high school reunion.

My graduating class was small..only 41 seniors and there were those who had started kindergarten with me.

We had a chance to reminisce, of course, but also to reflect.

I got the sense from some (I know I felt this way) that this was one of the first moments in our lives where we’d had the opportunity to say, “whoa…a lot of time has passed.”

It’s easy to do that when you remember playing basketball in first grade with that person.

But, I also think these types of friends and people are some of the ones who can help “keep it real” for us.

So to speak, “they remember us when…” and as a result, are less likely to be impressed by fluff or BS and, in many cases, will “tell it like it is.”

I think we all know that, as we age, the true friends are the ones who have the ability to serve that role for us.

Seeing childhood friends who are willing (and often happy!) to help in that respect, even if it isn’t often enough, is how they continue to influence your development for the rest of your life.

Related articles

• Nostalgia's vortex: Why you should just go to your high school reunion (arts.nationalpost.com)

150 Years Since Fort Sumter: Civil War Outing…

Image via Wikipedia

We are going to try to focus on the theme of the Civil War for our DC area outings this year, as it is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the war at Fort Sumter, SC.

We thought it appropriate (or I did, at least) that we take our inaugural visit to the Lincoln Memorial as a kick off event.

With an annual visitor count of over 5 million, we’re not alone in that.

The kids glanced quickly over the Gettysburg Address, were shown a picture of the land before construction began in 1914 (it was a part of the Potomac River) and admired the massive sculpture of Lincoln that has been the background for so many important events in US history.

I found out later via Foursquare (you see my check-in here) that the words of MLK’s “I have a dream” speech are now engraved on the steps where he stood, but alas, we didn’t see that.

There’s also a museum and a movie (which they liked) in the basement of the memorial.

All in all, we were there for about 45 minutes, but that was enough to achieve our primary objectives.

• an appreciation of history
• an appreciation of Washington DC’s unique offerings
• fostering curiosity about events outside themselves

Historical Injustices in a new light?

Last month, Tjada and Simon vigorously challenged the idea that a historical injustice could be viewed in an alternate light after the passage of time had revealed new facts.

I thought about that as we glided through the still relatively new airport in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s ascendancy as an economic and technological power happened, in my mind, in large part because of the fact that the Arab states rejected the 1947 Partition Plan and have continued a declared state of war ever since.

It’s a historical injustice that Jews have been killed for simply being Jews and living in the Jewish homeland.

But, the success of the country today is connected to the root cause of those deaths.

• Would I rather that all of those people not have died?
• Would I rather that not all those Africans had been enslaved?
• Would I rather that Indians had not been subjected to the excesses of British rule?

Of course.

Still, it’s interesting to see how these things play out over time.

A “more perfect union?”

The other day, Nadia was listenting to her customized Pandora radio station and a song I had never heard came on.

It took me a minute, but then I realized that they were actually singing the Preamble to the Constitution.

Through the magic of YouTube, I found the song (here it is)

First off, I found myself getting emotional about it in a way that I never had before.

Second, I started to think about it, particularly the phrase “establish a more perfect union.”

What I don’t get is: how can something be “more perfect?”

Either it’s perfect or not.

Anyway, something to think about this New Year.

British Retrospective…

The period of British rule in India has traditionally not been viewed positively by Indians.

On the other hand, India has more English speakers now than the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand combined.

And, because of the British Empire, they have been positioned to create much of the economic growth over the past 20 years.

It seems that Indians recognize this.

Proof (again) that sometimes judgments change over time.

Harley-Davidson’s Business History Lesson

I’m very excited about the evolution and growth of Never Stop Marketing and I hope it continues.

But, as a history major, I know that the reason we study history is so that we don’t repeat it.

Watching the Harley-Davidson biography from CNBC the other night, I was humbled and reminded by how things can go very well…and then, not so well.

A company that is over 100 years old and is, without a doubt, an American icon has seen its share of turmoil.

I think the lesson here is like the eternal lesson, be it the “7 years of feast, followed by 7 years of famine,” the “grasshopper and ant parable” or any other sage advice about preparing for lean times.

The good times don’t always last.

But I think there’s another lesson.

What HD did to survive and prosper was to not give up, keep innovating (dare I say ‘Never Stop Marketing’?) and to take smart risks when others were afraid.

Polish Anti-Semitism, Helen Thomas, and Soccer

Through the wonders of Facebook, I saw ar article about Anti-Semitism in Poland and how it may/may not play out in the Euro 2012 Football (that’s soccer) Championships.

Bottom line is that anti-Semitism seems to be alive and well in Poland at least during soccer matches with historically “Jewish” teams.

Given the fact that there are next to no Jews in Poland, it makes you wonder.

(It also makes you wonder if Helen Thomas knew that part of the equation when she said that Jews should go back to where they came from, “Poland and Germany,” but that’s a separate issue)

Intrigued by this article, I forwarded it to two friends, both of whom live in Poland.

Elysa wrote back:

Thank you for forwarding this article.

IT explains the graffiti that I became aware of last year.

As you know, I'm neither Polish nor Jewish but have lived in Krakow for 3 years.

My understanding is that the Jewish population is very small and mostly made up of elderly who remained after the war and had nowhere else to go.

I make a lot of photos at www.elysasicard.com. The website needs work but there are some photos in Borek Falencki which is where I live.  There is a woman selling blueberries and on the wall behind her is this anti jewish slogan.

As an American who speaks limited Polish the graffiti is not obvious.  But once you start to recognize it there is quite a lot which I could never understand as there is such a small Jewish population here.  Now that I've read your article I realize that the graffiti is usually soccer-related.

I really don’t have any analysis on this one. Just putting it out there, looking for opinions and perspective.

68 Years of Racial Perspective

On a plane to Atlanta this past Monday, I sat in between two sisters, both African-American.

One was 68 years old. The other was sleeping.

Anyway, the 68 year old and I started chatting (surprising, I know) and she told me about her childhood in rural Georgia.

She spent her entire childhood in segregated schools. Eventually, she wound up at SunTrust where she rose to the rank of Vice President.

Now, she's retired and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity.

I asked her about her perspective on the amount of racism in America.

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being how it was when she grew up and 10 being perfect harmony "ebony and ivory," I asked where it stood in three regions of the country.

• Georgia


• Maryland (where she has a sister living)


• New York City

She gave Georgia a 5. She gave Maryland a 6.

Then, a shocker. She gave New York City a 4.

I was intrigued.

Then a bit taken aback.

Her explanation as to the reason?

"Africans," she said.

She answered that the large number of African immigrants to New York City and their intolerance and condescending attitude toward American-born blacks/African-Americans (what have you) was at the root of the overall racial intolerance of New York City.

That certainly caught me off guard.

Cancer Free Blood Donor…

I gave blood every 3 months for about 13 years.

Then, when I was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer, I was told I was ineligible for 5 years.

Last month, the American Red Cross contacted me, saying that the rules had been changed. It was now only 1 year, so I went back and donated my O negative blood and got my sticker and lapel pin. It’s something that always makes me feel good.