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In Germany, a Jewish family is reunited with a treasured family object — but also a sense of exile

JL;DR SUMMARY In recent years, efforts have been made to return looted Jewish silver objects, such as kiddush cups, to their rightful heirs. 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

IdentityJewish HistoryHolocaustJewish DiasporaGermanyLooted ArtProvenance ResearchFamily HeritageDachauHistorical Restitution

Places mentioned

Munich, Bavaria, Germany
"Sigmund Marx brought his silver kiddush cup to a pawn shop in Munich when he had to turn in his silver objects in 1939."
Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany
"The bottom is stamped with an N, indicating that it was made in Nrnberg, a leading city for silver fabrication."
Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
"Gaby was born in Bamberg, Germany, in 1938."
Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany
"Gaby remembers the stories Sigmund told about life in Nrdlingen, his native town, a medieval city with an intact wall, 90 miles northwest of Munich."
Mönchsroth, Bavaria, Germany
"We drove another 30 minutes to Mnchsroth, a smaller town surrounded by agricultural fields, where our family lived prior to Nrdlingen."
Schopfloch, Bavaria, Germany
"So we continued on to Shopfloch, a town where Jewish residents of Mnchsroth had buried their dead. We easily found the Jewish cemetery, which dates back to 1612, but again were unable to enter."
Italy
"Sigmund and his wife Emma managed to escape Germany in 1939, living in Italy for a year awaiting a visa for the U.S, and then lived with Gabys family in New York City for the rest of their lives."
New York City, New York, United States
"Sigmund and his wife Emma managed to escape Germany in 1939, living in Italy for a year awaiting a visa for the U.S, and then lived with Gabys family in New York City for the rest of their lives."

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Cairo Item ID 50213
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-04-26 05:30:48 UTC
Curated 2025-04-26 08:30:48 UTC