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Why I Keep the Nazi Armbands From My Jewish Grandfather’s Mementos

JL;DR SUMMARY Author Carly Ornstein reflects on inheriting Nazi armbands from her Jewish grandfather, which he obtained during his service in the U.S Army in WWII. 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 HistoryKanye WestWwiiImmigrationCourageU.S. ArmyResistanceNaziArmbands

Places mentioned

Burgsinn, Bavaria, Germany
"The story starts in a small town in Germany called Burgsinn, my grandfathers hometown."
Lohr, Bavaria, Germany
"the Nazis destroyed the synagogue in Burgsinn and took everything from my great-grandfather, who was then arrested with his brother and sent to a prison in Lohr for two days."
New Jersey, United States
"A savvy uncle who had emigrated from Germany to New Jersey several years earlier arranged for my grandfather, who was 11 at the time, and two cousins to escape, traveling by boat alone from Hamburg to Ellis Island."
Ellis Island, New York, United States
"A savvy uncle who had emigrated from Germany to New Jersey several years earlier arranged for my grandfather, who was 11 at the time, and two cousins to escape, traveling by boat alone from Hamburg to Ellis Island."
Italy
"On May 31, 1944 he landed in Italy with the boys (as he called them) of Section 3, Battalion 361st Infantry, 91st Powder River division, ready to defend his new country."

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Cairo Item ID 45501
Cairo Source ID 33
Retrieved 2025-03-01 05:31:01 UTC
Curated 2025-03-01 08:30:58 UTC