Traveling To Germany

In 1996 I traveled to Germany with my brother, his wife, and my returned missionary daughter, who spent eighteen months in Bavaria. This was my first time returning to my birthplace. My brother guided us through Werdohl, Westfahlen where we visited the home where I was born.

Then we traveled through East Germany and into Poland. 

Poland had just transitioned into a democratic government and southern, west Poland was still trying to find an identity.

This area, once called Silesia, was always a province of Germany until it was divided up after World War II. We drove to Jelenia Gorá, the place my parents lived and the birthplace of my brother. When my family lived there it was called Hirschberg, mountain of the Stag. 

Click here to see more pictures of Hirschberg and our visit there.

I was very excited about visiting the village outside of Hirschberg called Ketchdorf. The microfilmed records with which I was very familiar were kept in that church. It was here that I had a marvelous flash of light as I longed to find evidence of my family's existence.

I knew from our visits to cemeteries in Hirschberg that the German headstones would all be removed. The Polish had no history in this area. The present day Polish population wanted very much to make this their home. I had very little hope that I would find remnants of my ancestors. I was led to look closely at the interior of the wall around the church.

 

Click here to see where the light prompted me to look.

Once you see in the present that your ancestors left their mark, it binds you to them even more tightly.

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