Family in History

[The Poster Formerly Known As Crass]

So that chemist...heading from Germany on his way to Argentina...why exactly was he leaving Germany for Argentina? I've heard a lot of stories about professional types with government jobs moving from Germany to Argentina en masse in the '40's....

No, this was way back in the 1800's. Not sure Argentina was a country back then, but he was headed in that general region.

My grandpa was one of the top realtors in California, either back in the 80's or early 90's

I forget which side, but a aunt or great grandma from way back was an opera singer.

[cringe.]

i wonder if any of us will be remembered in 200 years time... "my great great great grandfather was the gipper on slap"

[Matze]

Does most of my family being killed in the holocaust count?
My grandfather invented the Cobb salad.

my grandma and anne frank were both in bergen-belsen, both had typhus/thypoid, anne died while my grandma survided the cc. she must have been without consciousness when the brits liberated all the prisonars. the next thing she remembered was a camp in sweden that took care of survivors fromm cc's. sometimes (like right now) I imagine how it would be if the liberation came 5 days later and my grandma could not survive - I would have never been born and alive.

My great grandfather and grandfather were both in the Warsaw Ghetto at the same time (obviously father-son). My father's side was the holocaust side and My great grandfather died in Buchenwald and my grandfather survived and then hauled ass to America as soon as he could, which is why a majority of my family is Zionist Orthodox Jews, all the way up to my generation exlcuding me and maybe 2 cousins. Seeing the number brands when I was little on his arm scared the shit out of me. He always wore long sleeves so he didn't have to see them all day.

these kind of stories make me pretty sad. I don't think any of us can imagine how hard it was to "live" in such circumstances.

both of my grandma's were in concentration camps without being jewish - one was forced to work for a nazi (she was polish) and got only send to a cc because she gave a cc prisoner something to eat. my german grandpa was in the hitler-jugend and a heavy anti-semite (who lived most of his life as a german in communist poland with his wife beeing a german cc prisoner). the ironic part of the story is that my dad thinks that this part of the family was originally jewish and just pretended to be christian at some point - that's some nazi-jew thing,

[BriefCase]

im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.

[Gnarwhal]

my grandparent's great great great great grandparents(i think) were good friends with William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.  My grandparents sold some of his stuff a few years back and made like 100k

[David]

 My ancestors were anthropophagi.

[robasheep]

Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent was my great-great uncle.

Gretzky is my cousin.


My friend's great grandfather invented basketball. 

[Beer Keg Peg Leg]

im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.

you are a faggot

[busey]

my great grandpa invented the street sweeper. also my cousin married the lead singer of the goo goo dolls. he's got crazy game.

Street sweeper the gun, or the actually vehicle that cleans streets?

Before you answer, just remember we could turn your great grandpa into a vigilante of Paul Kersey proportions.  Either is dope though.

Is she still married to that dude?

the vehicle! still got the original blue prints at my uncles. i don't think it's worth anything though. wish frisco would see this thread he's got some really rad relatives that have everything to do with the invention of the delorean to steven segal movies.

and as far as i know, they're still married. i don't really talk to them. his band sucks so bad that it's awesome.

[sleepypancakes]

im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my lady in the early stages of our relationship.

you are a faggot

You're a Poe, not a Hemingway god damnit.

[BriefCase]

im a descendant of E. A. Poe. kinda makes me worry about my depression and preference to opiates over other drugs. on the bright side, I'm pretty sure thats what won over my dude in the early stages of our relationship.

you are a faggot

now i am

[Bronson]

My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Its odd how many descendents of Nazis there are here. Its a shame really. I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.

[Tale Crab]

I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.

Sounds familiar.

[Money Black]

haha

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.

Sounds familiar.

Fuck you, you piece of shit Nazi sympathizer.
Yeah, a genocidal army and an ethnic group are pretty much the same thing, except one is united by the killing of millions of people without reason and the other is united by a common bloodline.
Let's not pretend like Nazis were "born like that."  They made the decision to take part in a genocide. Like any serial killer, the idea that many just lived their lives out after doing such horrible things, doing things like raising kids and seeing them grow up fucking disgusts me. His grandfather should have at a minimum lived his life out in a jail cell, not raising a family. He lost that right when he took part in tearing apart families and then murdering them. That's not some minor historical event, its genocide, and its the reason "I was just following orders" is NOT a valid defense.
They made the conscious decision to take part in a genocide that killed most of my family, and I have no problem saying every single one of them deserved a fate worse than the fate of my family. Most of my family didn't have the chance to have children, or if they did, they were murdered by his grandfather, but his family line goes on, and brags about their murderous scum family. Fuck that, I have no problem saying I would have hoped stupid ignorant fucks who bought into government bullshit and were willing to be so obedient that they murdered 11 million people deserve nothing but misery and the end of their family line.

Call me reactionary if you want to, but I have a TON of family I would have met if it weren't for his grandpa, and that's not a fucking joke to me.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.

Oh, and your great grandfather was a failure fuck up idiot. They froze to death out there and got their asses kicked.

[brycickle]

How do you know that his great grand father didn't make those clothes in a Nazi work camp? Just because someone works and makes a product that someone else uses, it doesn't make them a member of that someone else's evil little club. Not every German was a nazi.

[Tale Crab]

I hoped they would have been killed off and prevented from reproducing.

Sounds familiar.

Fuck you, you piece of shit Nazi sympathizer.
Yeah, a genocidal army and an ethnic group are pretty much the same thing, except one is united by the killing of millions of people without reason and the other is united by a common bloodline.
Let's not pretend like Nazis were "born like that."  They made the decision to take part in a genocide. Like any serial killer, the idea that many just lived their lives out after doing such horrible things, doing things like raising kids and seeing them grow up fucking disgusts me. His grandfather should have at a minimum lived his life out in a jail cell, not raising a family. He lost that right when he took part in tearing apart families and then murdering them. That's not some minor historical event, its genocide, and its the reason "I was just following orders" is NOT a valid defense.
They made the conscious decision to take part in a genocide that killed most of my family, and I have no problem saying every single one of them deserved a fate worse than the fate of my family. Most of my family didn't have the chance to have children, or if they did, they were murdered by his grandfather, but his family line goes on, and brags about their murderous scum family. Fuck that, I have no problem saying I would have hoped stupid ignorant fucks who bought into government bullshit and were willing to be so obedient that they murdered 11 million people deserve nothing but misery and the end of their family line.

Call me reactionary if you want to, but I have a TON of family I would have met if it weren't for his grandpa, and that's not a fucking joke to me.

That's right. All they had to do was say "I don't really feel like killing jews today"...

And because of the sins of their fathers these children shouldn't exist, or at least must be held responsible for the actions they had nothing to do with, right?

[happenstance]

In all fairness, I don't think every single person who was a Nazi wanted to be. In any totalitarian state, all members of society will be integrated into the state in some form, especially in a time of war. You couldn't just not join the military. Most conscientious objectors were sent to concentration camps. Deserters were obviously executed. Would the righteous path be to choose your own death? I suppose, but our innate instinct as humans is self-preservation.

Not every German was a nazi.

Technically speaking, they all were. In Hitler's Germany - as it also was in Mussolini's Italy - all members of society were integrated into the state through different organizations. Either in the military, by trade, as students, etc. I guess the question is what is it to 'be a Nazi'? Does this mean you were in the military? Worked within a state-run (and therefore party-run, as the party was synonymous, if not paramount to the state) organization? Is everyone equally as guilty for their collaboration? These are valid questions that deserve exploration and have had their share of exploration. Sure, the ones who single-handedly carried out the most horrible atrocities should have probably taken the risk of execution through desertion if they took issue with their assignment. Again, they were also human and had families. A question they might have asked themselves would be the fate of their family if they deserted. I think it is a little short sighted to paint every single German man of fighting age as evil. To start labeling the ones who made their clothes as inherently evil is even more over the top.

[brycickle]

No, technically speaking to be a "nazi" you had to join the nazi party. Not everyone in Germany did. Not even every German soldier was a nazi. Technically speaking.

[happenstance]

Damn, do I sound that much like an asshole?

You are right that not all were in the party in the strictest sense. One party states generally reserve actual membership for the more elite. You still were integrated into state and had to pledge your allegiance to the party. Again, what is it to 'be a Nazi'? Surely some within the party were less guilty than some who were not.

Anyway, this is why I stopped talking politics and history on slap a while ago. I say something and then someone points out how my use of language makes me sound like a dick (e.g. your double use of 'technically speaking'). I was the biggest politics and history nerd in school and still am. Being a nerd makes you write like an asshole I suppose. I am going to go back to just silently judging people's opinions now.

[LOU.502]

My grandmother on my dad's side is/was friends with some pretty cool people. Like Francis Bay, the old lady in the Karate Kid and Blue Velvet, and Happy's grandmother in Happy Gilmore. When my dad was growing up, she was dating Pat Frank for a long time until he died. My dad still has a bunch of letters that he wrote my grandmother and signed first editions of his books, which is kinda cool.
My mom was one of the heads of research in developing the HPV vaccine several years ago, and got to be in commercials and a bunch of talk shows and stuff for it, it was kinda weird.
Her dad was one of the original financial backers of HBO and ESPN respectively, way back when.
Fuck, these are kinda lame compared to a lotta you guys. Off topic a bit, but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?

[happenstance]

but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?

Yes, and Tony Hawk is related to Hudson Hawk and Donny Barley was related to the guy who wrote Monster Mash.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

but isn't jon fitzgerald distantly related to wyatt earp or something?

Yes, and Tony Hawk is related to Hudson Hawk and Donny Barley was related to the guy who wrote Monster Mash.

Wasn't Riley's name orginally Hudson, but the show came out at the same time so he started going by Riley instead or something like that?


And its true that the sins of the father shouldn't be put on the son. Still not a fan of Nazis.

In terms of rebelling, its true that it took a lot of courage and had huge consequences, but the fact is, desertion was the morally right thing to do. Sometimes I think back on that in comparison to the idea of dissenting in current times- first it reminds me that government and social forces may overwhelmingly push immoral ideas on people in the name of nationalism, and second, I don't want to be one of the people who supported evil, and know that when our government does something immoral (like invade Iraq or dehumanize undocumented immigrants) that it is the duty of the people to resist, and that in our situation the consequences are so much lighter, making it more inexcusable not to stand up for the right thing. Its actually a pretty common perspective, its why there were so many jews who took part in the freedom summer of '64

[Bronson]

My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.

Oh, and your great grandfather was a failure fuck up idiot. They froze to death out there and got their asses kicked.

Yeah, I thought that was pretty funny...not the people dying but the total fucking up of winter clothing.

I never met my great grandfather. He was finnish though, so I dont know how Nazi he could have been. But from what I understand, he did support the Nazis.

I understand your feelings, but I dont really know what I could say to you to make you feel better.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

You realized how many civil rights activists were murdered, eh? Because activism in both times could result in you disappearing.

[happenstance]

^Gip, totally deleted the comment you were responding to because I didn't realize you mentioned that in your other response. For everyone's FYI I said desertion in Nazi Germany and activism in the 60s had different consequences. But to respond to your new comment, yes they did have different consequences! Sure, some fishy things happened to some activists in the 60s but this was reserved for the most powerful voices. In Nazi Germany they were quite diligent in purging dissenters - it was a guarantee.

It is easy say it was the morally right thing to do when you are not in the position to worry about your own life or the lives of your family.

A side note that is a little unrelated, but I think it touches on the coercion that your average foot soldier faces to fight. In WWI the Christmas Truce was an example of soldiers putting aside their differences precisely because the threat of coercion to fight was absent. I only read the synopsis of the Wiki article, and it didn't touch on the fact that the truce happened because the officers left the battlefield. Because of these events, new rules were instated in the British military that officers always had to remain present in battle (not sure if similar changes were made in the German military).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

[Eschaton]

The Russians were just as bad.

[weedpop]

My great grandfather worked to prepare proper (winter) clothing for the Nazis when they began their offence on Soviet Union in ww2.

Oh, and your great grandfather was a failure fuck up idiot. They froze to death out there and got their asses kicked.

I never met my great grandfather. He was finnish though, so I dont know how Nazi he could have been. But from what I understand, he did support the Nazis.

The Finns hated the Russians at the time due to the fact that the soviet union had illegally invaded their country at the beginning of the war. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter_War

People in Hungary, former Yugoslavia, Rumania etc. joined the Wehrmacht for similar kinds of reasons ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend"), despite many of them not being ideological Nazis. Just another example of how history isn't always black and white (ahem, talking to you gipper).