COMMITTEES AND
WORKS IN PROGRESS

Book of Memoirs Project

Submitted by Rick Landman

Many of my parents generation requested that we find some way to remember those who perished, and to remember the experiences that were shared by the Jewish community in pre-1945 Augsburg. In addition, many expressed a desire to discuss their feelings and the impact of being children of Holocaust Survivors. To try and accommodate both needs, I am proposing that we compile a collection of prose from BOTH generations and make it available to all of us, and possibly here on the internet. This is what I am calling the BOOK OF MEMOIRS PROJECT in the newsletter, and I am still looking for a few volunteers to help get it going. I have prepared the following topics which may be helpful in choosing something to write about. I would rather keep it unstructured to allow people to vary the themes and formats in order to meet their specific needs. Each submission would be from 1 to 5 pages, it is not meant to be a published novel with hundreds of pages. I don't know what will finally come of our collection in the future. But at least we will have documented a part of history and history in the making.

Remember, the Red Sea parted only after someone walked into the waves up to his nostrils and sometimes you have to start moving even if you are not sure where you'll end up.

Of course, it will make things easier for us if you could type your responses, or preferably use a computer and send us the disk or e-mail a copy along with your printouts. I know that this is a large endeavor, but if everyone helps out, it may be achievable. I am listing some possible topics, but please feel free to include what you think is important. Send your pages in by September, and I'll try to figure out a way to get it printed by 1998 if enough people participate. Also, please include a cover letter in which you tell me who should be able to see your submission. Can it be linked to our website? Can it be sent to people outside our group? In twenty years, someone will want to ask questions about that time in history, and this may be the only way to get answers.

SOME POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR MY PARENTS GENERATION ...
or choose some of your own


Write about the lives of relatives or close friends who didn't survive.
Write about your migrations to and from Augsburg until the present.
Describe some of your most vivid memories of life in Augsburg.
If you were there during the war, describe what life was like for Jews or half-Jews until deportation or upon returning to Augsburg after the war.
How do you think the entire experience influenced your life?

SOME POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR MY GENERATION ...
or choose some of your own


How has being a child of Holocaust Survivors affected your life, if at all?
If you are not Jewish, how does having Survivors for parents or grandparents make you feel? (More than half our generation have non-Jewish spouses or a parent of a different religion.)
Was the topic of the Holocaust even discussed when you were growing up?
Did you ever feel like you missed out on something or had something extra special because of the experiences of our parents?

Please if you are interested so that I can start thinking about how to get this done. Even if 10 people participate, I think it will be worth doing. From what I've seen so far, I predict that we will have 200 pages sent in by the end of the year. So start making your drafts, and I'll give you more information about where to send it (hopefully another volunteer) by September.

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