Another remarkable find from the archeological dig in my mother’s basement — her German family’s book of Hebrew prayers that was published in 1872. My great-grandfather wrote his name on the first page, Maier Westerfeld; the year, 1906; and the name of the town, Stockstadt. My mother remembers her parents stuffing the little book in …

Found in my mother’s basementRead More »

After Hours with Rick Kogan: Musicians and more from the new Allstate Skyline Studios  

At the age of 12, Gerda Katz fled Nazi Germany and came to America all by herself. Decades before the label gained recognition, she became what’s now know as an “unaccompanied minor.” Gerda’s story of family separation reflects the dislocating trauma, culture shock, and excruciating loneliness many unaccompanied minor immigrants experience. As Gerda becomes an …

New and Topical: THREE STARS IN THE NIGHT SKYRead More »

Here’s what you don’t see when you listen to the radio — the view from the new WGN-radio studios on Wacker Drive in Chicago. I was on Rick Kogan’s “After Hours” show last night. I’ll post the link to the podcast soon.

We, the children of Holocaust survivors and refugees, know all too well the lifelong, psychological devastation of a child’s early separation from his or her parents.   https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/18/it-is-immoral-former-first-lady-laura-bush-criticizes-the-separation-of-migrant-children-from-their-parents/23461456/

On one of our visits to Germany, a woman my mother hardly remembered asked that we visit her in a nursing home. My mother wasn’t interested, but the woman insisted, saying she had something for us. Finally, we stopped by her home, and she presented Mom with this box. “Before your mother was forced to …

Message in a BoxRead More »