The first person who came to mind when this assignment was presented was my eldest Aunt on my mother’s side, “Betty.” Out of her 5 siblings she was the only one who was not born in America and wasn’t a citizen until her adult life. To protect anonymity, all names have been changed. She and I have never had ... Read More »
David Weber immigrated from the Pale of Settlement, Russia (now an area in Ukraine) in the late 1800s, at around 20 years old. The Pale of Settlement was an area in the Eastern section of Russia where Jews were required to live by the Russian Czars at that time. Living in the area limited opportunities and freedoms for Jews that ... Read More »
In 1938, a small humble family of Jews in Vienna, Austria, enjoyed their supper, but in a matter of seconds, their lives changed forever. A neighbor called them and told them to turn on their radio. They all listened closely to the static sound of the radio. Austrian President Wilhelm Miklas, announced that Hitler of Germany had given him an ... Read More »
My father was born, in 1895, in what is now Ukraine. When he was 13, in 1908, he was apprenticed as a tailor. In about 1914 he immigrated. He traveled by horse and carriage, other surface transportation, boat and train to Chicago. On the boat, for the first time in his life, he was without adult supervision. He had the ... Read More »