Tales from the past, part I
I was talking about Lithuania and things surrounding it with a second generation Lithuanian. I'm first generation, neither of my parents were born in the US. I have a LOT of stories to tell, and this is as good a place as any. So, some short things to keep you occupied.
My grandparents met in a German Deported Persons camp (they were forcefully deported from Lithuania). They married, my grandfather gave my grandmother a pair of combat boots as a wedding gift since she had no shoes. We still have the crate that they moved all their belongings with when they took a boat to the US. When I was in college I stripped it (they had painted over the US Army green it was colored), stained it, poly'd it, and now it's in our family room as a coffee table.
So, while my mother is "German" by birth, she's not at all German. My father was born in Lithuania and came over when he was about 13. He was born in 1940, so he lived through WWII in Lithuania. He saw most of his village get lined up and shot, and he has no desire to return, so he doesn't go to Lithuania with us.
Once during the war, before being moved to the DP camp, my grandfather was out of the city and in a village at that point. They had a cow, and the Germans (Nazis, whatever, my grandparents always called them the Germans) were going and raiding the villages for food. When the village got wind of that, they took the cow to the biggest house, which was a couple stories. Maybe even three. They got the cow up the stairs to the top level, and the officer was pissed because he saw that there was a cow by the stabling, but he couldn't find it. He eventually went away and didn't come back, so they still had milk for the kids.
More to come. Lots more.
My grandparents met in a German Deported Persons camp (they were forcefully deported from Lithuania). They married, my grandfather gave my grandmother a pair of combat boots as a wedding gift since she had no shoes. We still have the crate that they moved all their belongings with when they took a boat to the US. When I was in college I stripped it (they had painted over the US Army green it was colored), stained it, poly'd it, and now it's in our family room as a coffee table.
So, while my mother is "German" by birth, she's not at all German. My father was born in Lithuania and came over when he was about 13. He was born in 1940, so he lived through WWII in Lithuania. He saw most of his village get lined up and shot, and he has no desire to return, so he doesn't go to Lithuania with us.
Once during the war, before being moved to the DP camp, my grandfather was out of the city and in a village at that point. They had a cow, and the Germans (Nazis, whatever, my grandparents always called them the Germans) were going and raiding the villages for food. When the village got wind of that, they took the cow to the biggest house, which was a couple stories. Maybe even three. They got the cow up the stairs to the top level, and the officer was pissed because he saw that there was a cow by the stabling, but he couldn't find it. He eventually went away and didn't come back, so they still had milk for the kids.
More to come. Lots more.