Oct 16, 2016
We are so happy to host Chris and his daughter Maura.
Here was my introduction speech for Chris an hour after this photo was taken.
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Good glorious October Sunday afternoon everyone. I am Peter T..., a proud
past member of the Litchfield Historical Society Board of Trustees,
serving from 2007 to 2013.
Today I am honored to introduce to you my good friend Dr. Hans Christian
J...... He is the director of the House of the Wannsee Conference and
Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Germany. Chris and his daughter Maura are
visiting Litchfield before he speaks at the International Workshop on
Historical Dialogues and Mass Atrocity Prevention, presented by the
Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. This will be held at my
alma mater Columbia University later this week.
Just as we have a wonderful Historical Society museum from the former town
library, the Wannsee Conference House and Education Center is located in
the beautiful Villa built during the first World War overlooking Lake
Wannsee in suburban Berlin. In 1940, the private residence was purchased
by the Nazi Security and Intelligence Force. Six weeks after Pearl
Harbor, on January 20, 1942 fifteen officials met there for 90 minutes to
authorize Adolf Hitler to implement the Holocaust against millions of
innocent Jewish people.
Fifty years later, to the date of this atrocious meeting in 1992, the
German citizens repurposed the building and grounds into an Education and
Exhibition Center to remember the Holocaust victims, defend human rights,
and promote goals opposite of the original Conference proceedings.
Almost three years ago, the Memorial’s
distinguished General Assembly Board of the Association appointed Chris
Y.... to be its director. Chris had extensive experience working for the
German Federal
Ministry of the Interior and
the European Commission fighting
extreme right wing terrorism.
When Chris received his law and legal history PhD degrees at Humboldt
University, he met his wife Magdalena pursuing the same studies. My wife
Mary and I had met Magda in 1989 when she was the 13 year old daughter of
the couple in Koszalin Poland who hosted us in their home for five weeks.
We had flown there with a U Conn professor who had colleagues in Poland.
With all of their help, Mary and I adopted 7 year old Raf and his 6 year
old brother Greg. Two weeks ago, we took their daughters, our
grand-daughters to the Providence Rhode Island theater, thanking God every
day for such blessing.
We consider Magda’s family as our own. Young Maura reminds us of her mom
those years past.
I am so pleased to see many of our close friends here today to learn about
Chris’ important work and engage him in beneficial conversation about how
the Wannsee Conference Memorial is making the world a better place. Thank
you Chris….
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Hi Pete,
Noel and I were fascinated by the lecture by Dr.. J….. What a monumental and profound topic and cause! We regret we could not stay for the reception.... we had to get back to our house to keep an eye on Noel's mom. We tried to arrive early at the lecture but an accident on route 63 delayed us Thanks for inviting us. It was moving! Hope to see you and Mary soon.
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Peter and Mary, wow.
I congratulated Cathy F... on the terrific off-mission program and she
explained why OWL was given co-credit.
But of course, you and Mary actually deserve the great thanks of the
attendees for taking advantage of your connection to Chris, and not
surprisingly, maintaining a long distance friendship across many years and
thousands of miles.
So an immensely important subject, still relevant today as Chris pointed
out, powerful and the precedent for today's attempts to bring justice to
the victims of war crimes.
And his daughter was a lovely little girl - polite and mature.
Also a tribute to your relationships and to Litchfielders that despite the
challenging topic, on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, it was a sellout.
Please pass our great thanks to Chris for us.
Tom A quick and possibly sloppy email sent from my iPhone
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Dear Mary and Peter, Cara
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Mary & Peter-
Before Monday comes and the week gets out from under me – I just want to
stop and thank you.
Thank you for bringing an extraordinary speaker & family friend to our jewel box town/museum.
Thank you for sharing an aspect of your lives that is extraordinary.
The talk was so profound, I had difficulty of course balancing the topic with the peace that I have today in Litchfield.
And yet – my own grandmother/great aunt, were one of millions impacted.
They were separated from their parents, shipped to the States, where my
grandmother remembers going from a privileged childhood to picking up pins
in some factory in NYC.
Years later, NYC became the immigrant success story, because she became a
storied milliner to the “women in Bergdorf's”, and her sister became her
model. She left each grand child money for college because she was
deprived of that option.
She would have been very proud to know I have friends like those on this email trail, and she would have reminded me to never forget history, as it might prevent a future atrocity. I’d like to believe that. I’m not so sure.
I wish David had been here; it’s a chapter of history in which I actually
am steeped and he/family know so little.
We speak of going down the Danube and I’ve often said – the fairy tale
version or the Jewish version? Apparently they are very different. We
haven’t decided.
As we face a very depressing election (my terms), I pray for the peace
that I’ve had for 25+years in Litchfield. Surrounded by love and friends,
and gems like OWL and the Historic Society.
THANK YOU.
Hugs,
Nancy
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The detail in this Halloween railroad scene that Maura enjoyed was incredible.
Monday dinner with Jill, Peter Martin and Joseph
These roses are for Rosie Alma. She is Maura's baby sister born to Chris and Magda today!
Pete