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A survivor kept the key from a German synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht. 86 years later, the relic is returning home.

JL;DR SUMMARY In a powerful gesture of remembrance and historical continuity, the key to a synagogue in Bielefeld, Germany, destroyed during Kristallnacht in 1938, has been returned to its original community 86 years later. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustJewish CommunityGermanySynagogueSurvivalMemoryKristallnachtLegacyRevitalizationBielefeld

Places mentioned

Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
"On the evening of Nov. 9, 1938, her mother, then Marianne Katzenstein, who was 16 at the time, was in her familys synagogue in Bielefeld, Germany, practicing the organ."
Redlands, California, United States
"Bern-Vogel, who has been the cantor at Congregation Emanu El in Redlands, Calif., since 2009, said the story of the key was legendary in her family."
Denmark
"as well as a cousin from Denmark, also flew in for the occasion."
Iowa, United States
"The two were engaged within a week, and eventually settled in Iowa, where Bern-Vogel and her brother were raised."
Washington DC, United States
"In the later years of her mothers life, Bern-Vogel said there had been efforts to bring the key to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C."
Israel
"Years later, she was at a Shabbat dinner in Israel when she met Julian Bernstein (later shortened to Bern), Bern-Vogels father."

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Retrieved 2024-11-10 18:00:41 UTC
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