My great-great grandmother emigrated from Hungary and came to the U.S. from her hometown of Kralovsky Chlmec through Ellis Island around the turn of the 20th century. She eventually settled in Manhattan and met my great(x2) grandfather, whose hometown was just a 2-hour-drive away from hers. Both being Jewish, they taught their four sons and one daughter Jewish traditions and celebrations. The menorah shown here is one of the many the family used for Hanukkah.Judaism played a big role in their lifetime, since they were alive during WWI and WWII. When they were born in Hungary, the country was a part of Austria-Hungary, and WWI broke their  hometowns into separate identities. The Holocaust also tore a rip in their identity, and my family’s today. If they hadn’t emigrated at the time they had, who knows whether they would’ve emigrated at all, or if they would’ve survive the horrors to come. Their son (my great-grandfather) moved to Los Angeles in his 20s, and my mom moved to the San Francisco bay area, so our family is throughout the U.S. Their traditions were carried down throughout the family and survived through 5 generations, as my siblings and I celebrate the same traditions. Coming from a Jewish family very much impacts my life today. While this side of my family is Jewish, the other is Christian, and we still celebrate and perform traditions from both religions. This menorah reminds me of my early childhood, and it warms my heart to have learned of my great-great grandparents’ journey to America.
 

– AW

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