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Once buried in Europe, a Hitler puppet stashed in Frank Oz’s Oakland attic tells his family’s Holocaust story

JL;DR SUMMARY Frank Oz, famously known for his work with the Muppets, discovered an unexpected legacy of resistance and creativity in his family attic – a set of marionettes crafted by his father, Mike Oznowicz, a Holocaust refugee. 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 HumorJtaFamily HistoryResistancePuppetryContemporary Jewish MuseumFrank OzHitler CaricatureOznowicz

Places mentioned

Oakland, California, United States
"he was Frank Oznowicz, an Oakland kid who attended Tech High, ate burgers at Kwik Way and watched movies at the Grand Lake Theater."
Antwerp, Belgium
"Holocaust refugee from Antwerp, Belgium."
San Francisco, California, United States
"A Hitler marionette and assorted marionette heads created by Mike and Frances Oznowicz seen on display at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco."
New York, United States
"When I was an adult, I moved to New York and I realized, My God, look what we have here."
Casablanca, Morocco
"While hiding in Casablanca, it was Frances who supported the family with tailoring work."
Portugal
"wandered from Portugal to North Africa."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 74527
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-02-04 05:31:42 UTC
Curated 2026-02-04 08:31:34 UTC