Amazingly beautiful photograph. So innocent.

Love the props.

This is my grandmother’s parents’ wedding photo (Gerd’s wife, Gerda). Gerda’s mother, Herta Heinrich married Herbert Freudenberg.

My Grandfather is second from the right. Teacher’s expression is captivating.

Love this photo. I really wish I could find the names of their friends. Would be interesting to know who was Jewish/who survived the war.

My grandfather is third from the right (the little boy in front). His brother is to his right.

We have numerous copies of this drawing. Love the bow-tie.

Wanted to include the full photo from the cover photo.

From a helpful redditor, brazijl:

“mein Unteroff[izier]” – “my corporal”

“Feldwebe[l]” – “sergeant”

“ich” – “me”

The photo comes from Marjorie Shuler Charles, my great-great Aunt. She is pictured to the left of the man’s shoulder in the right of the photo. Signing the amendment is Speaker of the House Frederick H Gillett.

I love this photo because it spans so many generations. Seated is Henriette’s grandmother with Hans Jürgen. I am in the process for filing for German citizenship. There is a constitutional law that allows the children and grandchildren of German Holocaust survivors become re-naturalized. When I look at this photo, it reminds me just how “German” my family is. The von Halle name goes back to the 17th century, and Henriette’s family also has a generations-long connection to Germany.

Oscar’s father, with either Alice or Gertrude.

The following is the documentation of a loan given to Oscar from his brother inlaw Annon Wittenboon. The document states the loan was for “emigration and means of sustenance”. By 1942, Oscar was forbidden from working as an architect, and money was extremely tight. Annon, who married Oscar’s sister Alice, was a Dutchman (and Christian? I think).

It is certainly clear that Oscar was proud to serve in the military. I need to do more research on Jews in the German military. I like the leather gloves.

There is no date attached to this photo. Henriette, all the way to the left (half cut off), worked as a nurse before she had kids. I imagine this was taken sometime in the late teens, possibly earlier. This photo seems exceptionally “real”. The expression of the center nurse is so clear.

I love the candidness of this photo. You can see everything in such detail: the prints, the desks, the lights. Oscar is furthest to the right.

A lot of these photos are solving mysteries I thought I would never find an answer to. I never knew exactly what happened to Manfred, Oscar’s brother. On the back of this photo, it explains that this is the family waiving goodbye to Manfred von Halle as he leaves to Columbia. Remarkable. My grandfather is above the elderly man’s (with the cane) left shoulder. Hans stands behind him with their cousin, Leisel.

I am still actively searching for distant family members. A few years back, David Halle found my grandfather after researching the von Halle family. David is an amateur genealogist and was one of the first relatives to reach out to our family (before the ease of a google search). David, whose family came to America before the civil war, dropped the von. David’s family is related to the founders of Halle Brothers, a popular department store in the midwest.

After I published my thesis, I was contacted by other von Halles from around the world. I have been able to place most of them on my family tree. They come from as far away as Switzerland, Australia, and South America (mostly displaced by one of the two World Wars). I am still searching for Manfred’s family in South America.

This would have been taken shortly after the death of her son, Hans Jürgen. Henriette looks to have aged quite a bit. Please compare this photo with the vacation post and the solo shot.

From what my grandfather told me, his parents were extremely keen on Switzerland. They often travelled to St. Moritz to ski. They are with another friend.

Henriette was also known to be quite fashionable. I like the scarf/glove combo.

Marjorie is seated to the right of the driver. This was a parade for the representatives to the International Geneva Alliance for Women’s suffrage.

no words

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