My object is a large gold pocket watch. The outside of the watch is ornately decorated with swirling streaks of gold on top of the base material. There is a gold loop on the top, so the watch can be attached to a necklace. It opens to reveal a well-worn clock and an inscription in German. The watch was originally a gift from my great great great grandpa to my great grandpa in honor of his bar mitzvah in 1920. In Judaism, a bar mitzvah or a bat mitzvah for girls, is when the teenager reads from the Torah for the first time and is considered an adult in the religious community.  My family is Jewish. Grandpa Manfred was living in Germany at the time. His parents had a farm in a small village, and did not have a lot of money. This object is very special to me for several reasons. The first reason is that I am named after this great grandfather even though I have never met him. This great grandfather, grandpa Manfred died 43 years ago, at the same time, my grandmother was pregnant with my mom. My mother’s middle name is Michelle after him, as is mine. When Manfred died, the pocket watch became my grandmother’s. When she dies it will become my mother’s and eventually mine. The pocket watch is also special, because it connects me to grandpa Manfred, in 20 months I will have my bat mitzvah, 99 years, four generations and one ocean away from my great grandpa. While I may have never met my great grandfather, I still feel very connected with him through this pocket watch. 

– AMC

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