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snapshots of our past

~ piecing together our past…one photo, letter, and document at a time

snapshots of our past

Author Archives: snapshotsofourpast

Gerd and Hans Jürgen. Hamburg, Germany. Late 1920s.

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Uncategorized

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Amazingly beautiful photograph. So innocent.

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Herta Heinrich and her Sisters. Germany. Approximately 1905.

09 Monday Apr 2012

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Love the props.

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Great Grandparents’ Wedding Photo. Breslau, Germany. 1930.

09 Monday Apr 2012

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

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Gerd and his Classmates and Teacher. Amsterdam, Approx 1932.

22 Thursday Mar 2012

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

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Gerd and Hans Jürgen at the Beach. Germany, 1925.

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Uncategorized

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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.

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Oscar and his Platoon in a Cafe. WWI, 1915. Hamburg, Germany.

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Oscar, World War I

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I love this photo for its candidness. Unbelievably clear and real. On the back is a postcard written from Oscar. The translation comes from my grandfather:

My dear Parents, my best thanks for today’s postcard. After I worked very hard all day drawing, I recuperated for a short while in the Cafe. When will you, dear father, come visit here. From Manfred (Oscar’s Brother) I received a card the other day. Best wishes from your devoted son, Oscar. 

I really wonder what oscar was “drawing”. Maps? Army plans? Clearly he felt safe enough to invite his father up to Hamburg.

 

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Drawing of Oscar. Germany, Early 1910s.

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

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

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Oscar, Henriette, and Friends. Germany

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Henriette, Oscar

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Because my thesis was so document heavy, it was easy to forgot the people I was writing about had a personality. It was very difficult to determine the type of person Oscar was through three letters he wrote while in a concentration camp. Seeing him through this new lens has really changed my perception of Oscar. I used to think of him as this stern, near emotionless figure, but looking at these photographs I am so wrong. He is smiling in nearly every photo, and that just brings a smile to my face.

Oscar is seated, interlocking arms with two friends.

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Oscar and his Brigade. WWI, Germany 1915

09 Friday Mar 2012

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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”

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In Honor of International Women’s Day: Marjorie Shuler Charles at the Signing of the 19th Amendment

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Uncategorized

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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.

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Four Generations in one photo. Germany, 1921.

08 Thursday Mar 2012

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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.

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Siegmund von Halle with his daughter. Rostock, late 1880s.

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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Oscar’s father, with either Alice or Gertrude.

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Loan Documentation. Amsterdam, 1942

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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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).

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Oscar’s New Birth Certificate. Germany, 1938

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Oscar, WWII/Holocaust

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Here is a Nazi era birth certificate issued to Oscar. It clearly states that both his parents are of the “Jewish Religion”.

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Oscar in Uniform. Germany, WWI

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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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.

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Henriette at Work. Germany, late 1910s

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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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.

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Oscar at work. Germany, 1911.

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

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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.

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Saying Goodbye to Manfred von Halle. Amsterdam 1937

05 Monday Mar 2012

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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.

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Henriette During the War. September 1942

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Uncategorized

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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.

 

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Oscar and Henriette on Vacation. Early 1930s

05 Monday Mar 2012

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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.

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Marjorie Shuler Charles on the way to Switzerland

05 Monday Mar 2012

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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.

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Henriette, 1930

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

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no words

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Gerd and Carry. Early 1940s?

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Gerd, WWII/Holocaust

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While I can’t be certain, I am assuming the lady in the photo with Gerd was his wartime girlfriend, Carry. My grandfather never found out what happened to Carry, only that she was deported to Germany/Austria around 1942. My grandfather even offered to marry Carry in hopes it would prevent her from being deported.

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A Selection of Postcard Fronts 1920s-30s

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

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This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Oscar’s WWI Military Identification Packets

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by snapshotsofourpast in Gerd, World War I

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I eventually want to upload the inside contents of all three booklets, however, I need to decipher the German inside. From what I gather, every German solider had these three items. The Militärpak suggests he first enlisted in 1906 and was called up for duty in 1915 (during WWI)

 

 

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