The Green Vault in Dresden, Germany

BWeaves

BWeaves

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If you remember back in 2018, I joined my Dad on a trip back to the tiny farming village he was from in Germany. He had been deported to Nazi concentration camps when he was 10, and he was the only family member to survive. He was invited back many times and did not want to go, until 2018. He asked if his village wanted to build a Holocaust memorial and he would pay half. Within a year, it was built, and we were supposed to go back in 2020 to see it unveiled, but Covid hit. Dad turned 95 this year and said if he's going to see it, it better be now. We went, and it was wonderful. Dad also treated us to tour.

The tour started in Prague, Czech Republic, went up to Dresden, and ended in Berlin. I got sunburned and developed pearl tan lines.

Blue Tahitian pearls from PP, and Mikimoto earrings.


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Natural Pearls from the Green Vault in Dresden.

This is my favorite piece.


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Is this a camel? A ship? A flying carpet? A sea monster?


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Agate and emerald wall piece.


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Nautilus shell and Osmena pearls.


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Not pearls, but I was one foot away from the Dresden Green diamond! It's huge. And green. And sparkly. Needs more pearls.

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And this is the Mahnmal (Holocaust Memorial) in Fürstenau, Germany. (There are several places called Fürstenau. Dad's is the one 5 km from Höxter.) The Mahnmal is located infront of the church where they were deported from, and also right across the street from where his house used to stand. His house was built in the 16th century. There are Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the sidewalk in front of where his house used to stand.

The front of the Mahnmal.

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The back, with the names of all those deported and the date they were deported.

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The front again. The little boy in the front with the backpack is my Dad. Also, the man in the wheelchair is my Dad. The building on the left in the bronze is the little synagogue (which was turned into a one car garage after they were deported). The large rectangular door on the right is the entrance to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia, where they were deported to before being sent to Nazi concentration camps or killed.

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Only Carla Pins and my Dad survived. Pins created a small Holocaust museum in Höxter in a 15th century house.

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The Stolpersteine.

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A house similar to what his house looked like.

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Wow, BWeaves! What remarkable displays of natural pearls. And my goodness, the Mahnmal is such a meaningful and lasting tribute to the history of your family and others from the community. I’m so glad you were able to take this trip with your dad.☺️
 
I thought the first trip was the trip of a lifetime, but this second trip surpassed it. A big thank you to Dr. Michael Stoltz, who took a week off from his medical practice to chauffeur us around and act as local tour guide. I told him everywhere my Dad wanted to revisit, and he found those places and took us there. He's a wonderful friend. I don't know how we'll ever repay him.
 
BWeaves, your photos and posts are heartfelt and beautiful. I identify with this and it brought tears to my eyes.
Gail B.
 
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