Second Generation of Refugees Blog, by Rick Landman

This is the Summary of the lessons that I learned from the Holocaust. The reasoning behind these lessons can be derived by reading the Series of 7 Blogs. […]Continue Reading

Here is the SERIES of 7 Blogs relating to how my personal experiences as a son of 2 Refugees taught me these lessons.

I was so blessed to be born in New York City. It was my parents and grandparents who had to flee persecution as refugees. They were one of the few lucky ones who were able to leave Nazi Germany in 1939. Due to a quirk of old geographical lines, my grandfather was considered a Russian living in Germany and thus was able to come to America, while his siblings, parents, and relatives perished in the Holocaust. In all 17 members of the immediate family perished in the camps.

I've come to believe that "Nurture" (culture) is just as important in influencing our lives as our free will and "Nature"(DNA). When I started a group for children of Holocaust Survivors I noticed how many similar traits, quirks, and perceptions were shared by the members. It is not that hard to understand how what affected our parents influences us. So whether it was slavery, extermination, ethnic cleansing, or even things like alcoholism, which create what we now call Post Traumatic Stress can be "inherited" for the next generation will have to deal with it. […]Continue Reading

Understanding the lives of refugees and their descendants is something that deserves more attention. In today's world there are so many refugees leaving everything behind due to wars, genocides, religious discrimination, and thanks to our nuclear world, from places like Fukushima and Chernobyl. […]Continue Reading

While I cannot possibly remember how it was when my parents and grandparents came to America in 1939, I can write about what it was growing up in the 1950-60's as the child of two refugees. […]Continue Reading

3 out of 4 of my grandparents were born in Germany, where some of my family was living there since the 1500's. My grandpa fought in WWI for the Kaiser and told me wonderful stories of little villages where cows walked down from the mountainside at dusk to go into their owner's houses by themselves. Childhood stories (Struwwelpeter) and poems (Huppa Huppa Reiter) were song to me in German. My grandpa never really became fluent in English and my favorite pastry was a Lebkuchen. But with all of this, I never dreamed about living Germany. […]Continue Reading

Wiedergutmachung (reparations or restitution) is a word I remember from my childhood. I now know that not all Germans were Nazis. But all Germans (then and now) participated in the restitution to Jews. Historical Note: Hitler got 36.8% of the votes or 13,418,547 people, and lost out to Paul von Hindenburg with 53.0% of the vote or 19,359,983 people. Hitler then maneuvered himself into power with the help of violent thugs of the S.A.) […]Continue Reading

Parents have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge even before Abraham sent Hagar and her son out into the desert. The Bible is full of people having to flee for their lives or of one group displacing another. Sadly, little has changed. I was so fortunate that America took my family in, as compared to others who are still living in limbo.[…]Continue Reading

This is the whole SERIES of 7 Blogs relating to how my personal experiences as a son of 2 Refugees taught me these lessons.

1: Treating Refugees The Right Way

2: Each Generation Inherits the Troubles of the Past

3:Difference between Immigrants, Refugees, and Holocaust Survivors

4-German Jewish Culture in Washington Heights and the Catskills

5-Desire to Return to Live in the Homeplace of your Parents

6-German Restitution Policies

7-Experiences of Children of Refugees Worldwide




CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS ON 12 LESSONS.