Three of Five

Haunstetten, Germany, 1951. Three younger siblings of my "New" Cousin contemplate the future.

Thanks to my "New" Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Tucked in a Letter

Haunstetten, Germany, 1951. This is Zigmas—the younger brother of my maternal Grandfather, Jake—with his wife, Heddy, and their five children. Zigmas sent this photo to Jake after Jake had emigrated to Brooklyn. Zigmas and his family still were Displaced Persons at the time they posed for this snapshot. The family arrived in the States a short time later.

Keepsake

When my Mom and her Father, Jake, decided to leave Kaunas, they traveled to the city of Tauragė. They hoped the Soviet army would retreat. The pair had only brought a few items with them to Tauragė because no one believed the Soviets would prevail. When it became clear that the Soviets weren't going to retreat, Jake briefly went back to the family home in Kaunas. He thought he might collect a few more personal belongings that he and Mom could take when they fled to the west.

When Jake got to the house, little remained. Most valuables had been buried in the countryside. Soldiers had looted most everything that hadn't been hidden. Jake, however, found one thing he thought Mom would like to keep. The item was a small landscape that Heddy—the wife of Jake's younger brother, Zigmas—had needlepointed in the 1930s for Mom. Mom carried the piece with her to Germany, and she's had it ever since. 

For many years, the needlepoint hung in the Door County cottage, and now, it's back with us again:

Heddy

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1937. This is Heddy, the wife of my Grandfather Jake's brother, Zigmas.

Thanks to my "New" Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Reconnected

One of my recent joys has been our ability to get in touch with the family of Zigmas, the younger brother of my maternal Grandfather, Jake. We had lost contact with Zigmas's family some time around 1954, not long before Jake died.

Haunstetten, Germany, 1951. Zigmas sits in the garden with his wife, Heddy.

Thanks to my "New" Cousin for making this photo available to us.