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Australia welcomed my family’s Holocaust survivors — and Bondi Beach soon became a symbol of renewal for me

JL;DR SUMMARY The narrative by Andy Carvin explores his discovery of an Australian branch of his family, descendants of Holocaust survivors who fled Europe. 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

Jewish DiasporaHolocaust SurvivorsImmigrationAustraliaHeritageJewish ResilienceFamily ReunionDoikaytRefugee HistoryBondi Beach

Places mentioned

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
"Bondi is one of several beaches nestled in coves along the southeastern shore of Sydney."
Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
"Leo and one of his brothers arrived in Freemantle, Western Australia, in October 1938."
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"The mysterious Australian said he was visiting Boston and asked if he wanted to meet."
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
"two of them crashed my wedding in Baltimore."
Lithuania
"He remembered how his parents would receive letters from Lithuania in the late 1930s and early 1940s, until one day they stopped coming."

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Cairo Item ID 70516
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-12-16 05:30:52 UTC
Curated 2025-12-16 08:31:02 UTC