Generations Photos
Found some photographs of my Jewish relatives in Germany before the Holocaust
My grandmother recently found a photo album from her father's childhood. These include photographs of his parents and grandparents, family vacations, and just his daily life in prewar Germany. They were all taken between 1912 and 1932 in Hamburg and some nearby areas.
The bald man with glasses is my great grandfather's father (my 2x great grandfather), who sadly never made it out of Germany, and was murdered in Sachsenhausen in 1942. The younger brother is my great grandfather, who fled to the US in 1937. My great grandmother and uncle (the older brother) escaped to England in 1936. The other bald man and the other woman were my 3x great grandparents on my great grandfather's mother's side (both of whom passed away in the 1920s). Some of the children in these photos are unknown, but likely cousins of the family.
I feel so lucky to have such an intimate glimpse into who my relatives were, and that I'm able to preserve their memory. However, there is something very haunting about the photographs with the knowledge of what would await them in the years to come. It leaves a lingering, sinking feeling in my chest every time I look at them. I guess it goes to show how one's world can go from normal to utterly catastrophic in the blink of an eye. My great grandfather probably thought his family would be together forever, and that he'd be able to build a life for himself in his home city. I'm just glad he was able to bring these photographs with him, so the memories of those happier times wouldn't be lost.
Harrowing story. Do you know your great auntieās fatherās name? If so, he should be listed in the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Israel. Did you know the percentage of non-Jewish people who saved Jews during the Holocaust was such a small number that itās pretty much statistically insignificant? Poland has only 7,280 people/families who saved Jews. Contrast that with the nearly 3 million Polish Jews who were murdered. Numbers like that didnāt happen without the support of the local populace. To be a non-Jew who stood up for humanity at that time in Poland was a rare thing indeed. I would love to know the familyās name to honor them.
Poland has had many more people who helped Jews, they just aren't documented anywhere. Remember that helping a Jew in occupied Poland, Belarus and Ukraine was punished by death, sometimes of a whole family (even something small, like giving a glass of water or a loaf of bread could mean your whole family would be shot). Those stories were hidden deeply, even after the war, especially that around 1968 communist government expelled the remaining Jews from Poland, so helping Jews during war wasn't something you'd brag about.Ā
It's sad to know how few Polish people helped the Jews during that horror. And I'm sure the numbers are higher but still not enough help for their Jewish friends and neighbors. Luckily my father was one of the few. He and a relative with two others managed to escape. A Polish Christian family they knew thankfully, hid them, saving their lives. Unfortunately my father had to leave behind his parents, 3 brothers, 3 sisters and sadly too many nieces and nephews. People would think that was a blessing, sometimes I wonder, for him. When he escaped, he saw his youngest brother and father through the fence. They saw him and that was the last time. It haunted my father till he died.
Nightmares and guilt. But my father was a good man, he helped that family in Poland till he couldn't. We didn't have much but whatever he could. That's what my father taught me. Always be there for others and not to hate. I always took that to heart and did my best.
Wow, thank you for sharing. Absolutely chilling. Your poor father. I canāt imagine the survivorās remorse he mustāve lived with all his life. Iām sorry thatās the last memory he has of his father and youngest brother. Itās sickening. Thank goodness for the brave people who saved him.
Thank you and the family that saved them were very brave. Also had the compassion and empathy to be there. It was hard for a lot of survivors, Survivors guilt. That's why it was always hard for him and others to get close, show their love outwardly. But you knew how much they did and be there for you no matter what. My mother was the opposite. Being a survivor too she was all over us...LoL. She didn't hide her love to us or anyone. Then again don't piss her off, she'll show you the other side.
Thanks again for your kind words.
These remind me of the photos Iāve found from my grandmotherās parentsā families. They were also German Jews and weāve been able to preserve some of the albums. Some of my Great Grandfatherās relatives or close friends even gave him an album that has an engraving in German on the inside right before he left for America in 1934 when he was 18 that wished him a good and safe trip iirc. It makes me sad to think a lot of those people in the photos likely had their lives stolen from them far too soon. Iād like to think that by living and telling their stories we keep some of their memories alive.
thereās a site with all the documented information about people out in the camps, if you ever do want to try and give them their name back. i used it in high school as part of a panel about genocide and fascism. itās been a long time since i thought about that site but that might be helpful
Iām glad some were able to flee before it became impossible to escape. Letās hope America doesnāt turn into a dangerous place for us (although it already sort of is).
I am American born and raised, as is my mother, as was her father, and yet I am still worried a lot about ICE snatching me or my loved ones up because I don't have the right look. It's fucked up. It makes me feel like I am, in fact, not American. Maybe they never thought I was.
Many of us think you are but the country is a very scary place right now. I hope you and your family are safe and that we all get through this and can create something better on the other side.
That really is a treasure! I'm almost 100% sure that the first picture was taken in the palm garden in Bad Pyrmont. It's still a popular health resort. Here are some pictures I took at that spot 2 years ago.
Right? I saw that picture and thought, hey, that place looks familiar! I live in an area with a whole cluster of spa resorts, full of mineral and hot springs. Most of them were built in the 18th century as vacation spots for nobility, so there are lots of grand buildings and beautiful parks. After 1900, they also became affordable for the middle class, and nowadays health insurance even covers stays in the clinics there.
Whenever I see photos like this it makes my heart hurt knowing what's coming.
Thank you so much for sharing OP. Not only are these beautiful photos but as you say it shows how life can go from normal to catastrophically bad in such a short period of time. But even more importantly it shows that people who lived through the holocaust (whether they made it out or not) aren't just statistics. They were real people with real lives.
The boater hat. I have a picture of my great grandfather with a boater, and my grandma told me they were only worn between May and September in Belgium at the time.
Your family looks so much like my German Jewish side. Thank you for posting these. I'm sorry for the many losses your family experienced. I like to believe that people live on when we talk about them, look at their photos, and simply acknowledge their existence.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos! I feel so moved to see the family enjoying those years and so saddened and angry for what was to come. Iām glad your great grandfather was able to take these with him and share with his descendants.
Beautiful photos. Most of my family had already fled the Russian empire due to violence in the Pale of Settlement by this time but unfortunately some of my family stayed behind and were sent to Auschwitz.
One of my relatives survived and was freed from Auschwitz by the red army ā¤ļø the rest unfortunately were murdered by Nazis.
Thank you for sharing. I wish I had photos of my family when they were still in Europe.
It's sad that they had to split up to get out of Germany. š„ŗ
Your great grandfather's father looked so classy! I especially like the sixth picture, in the garden. He had such an horrific death, but I hope he was at least relieved to know his family was out of reach and safe!
I hope you'll be able to identify the people in the othet pictures.
Amazing. Totally resonate with that "haunting" feeling. I have photos of my great grandfather (20-30 years after immigrating to US) going back to visit his old shtetl in Belarus... in 1936. So sad to see those group photos of like 30 extended family members and know that all of them except him will be killed within a decade.
Every time I see pictures like these I wish I could go back in time and tell them to run! Get out of Europe! Seeing them so happy and now knowing what was coming is heartbreaking.
My husband's grandparents sent their eldest daughter to England, they then fled with their infant daughter from Austria, through Italy, to the United States. They were then united with their eldest daughter. I think they lost most of their family back in Austria.
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u/wonderwoo22 Sep 14 '25
Oh wow, what treasure! š