The museum of local history in Erfelden, Germany boasts a strange exhibit — the cabinetry and wall hangings from the dry goods store that once served the town.
“The store belonged to the Jewish family named Stein,” explained Katarina Kluck, a lifelong resident of the town who organized the display.
“When the whole family fled in the late 1930s, the Steins sold everything. The new owners didn’t pay much for the store and they ran it until 1982. But in all those years, they didn’t change anything. The store is old and typical of the village. It has the drawers for flour and the old scale to weigh the sugar.”
Even the poster ads from the 1930s for milk and marmalade hang in the exhibit.
“Some people in the town wanted to throw away the old store,” said Kluck. “But I felt if we throw it away, we forget.
“Others don’t want to remember,” adds Kluck. “They don’t want to see the history of our town.”
“But I won’t close my eyes.”