In our home, a beautiful China Buffet has been passed down for generations. The China Buffet was purchased in 1933 when my great-grandparents married in Germany. My great-grandparents' names were Liese and Justin. My grandmother's family had a successful manufacturing business and lived in the Jewish community in Germany for generations. In 1935 my Great-Grandfather was sent to Dachau(concentration camp). My great-grandmother, however, wasn’t sent to a concentration camp because she was from Czechoslovakia and not from Germany.  At that time, the Nazis made a deal with the Czechoslovakian government and people not to take them into concentration camps. So my great-grandmother put all of their belongings into containers and sent them, including cars and personal items, to Amsterdam, hoping they could get out of Germany. In December 1939, they could leave Germany by bargaining with the Nazis and giving up all their personal properties and belongings that weren't previously shipped to Amsterdam. They landed in New York in 1939 with all of their belongings, including the china buffet. When my great-grandmother passed away, my parents decided to take the China Buffet and put it in our home. It now sits in our living room and holds vases, china, silver, serving pieces, and many things that were shipped in containers and brought to the United States.

– B

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more