Thursday, November 20, 2014

STITCHING HISTORY FROM THE HOLOCAUST




Thank you for your patience, this video may take a few moments to upload

This is a wonderful story that took the imagination, the care and the persistence of people who believed that this should happen...

You can read the whole story here...




 Just a little of the background... from the transcript..

MARTIN FLETCHER: When the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, tens of thousands of Jews applied for visas to anywhere.
And among them, Paul Strnad and his wife Hedwig, nicknamed Hedy. Their best hope to save their lives was help from their cousin Alvin, thousands of miles away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

So on December 11, 1939, Paul wrote him this letter.
NARRATOR: “You may imagine that we have a great interest of leaving Europe as soon as possible.”
MARTIN FLETCHER: And Paul hoped he had an ace up his sleeve. These drawings. Eight beautiful dresses. And all accessories, down to hat pins and shoes, purses and gloves. Modern. Elegant. His wife Hedy was a seamstress — a dress designer.
Could Alvin find a firm in Milwaukee who’d hire Hedy and sign an affidavit to grant the couple visas to the US?
In his letter, Paul wrote:
NARRATOR: “I hope the dress manufacturers you mentioned in your letter will like them.”
MARTIN FLETCHER: Karen Strnad is Alvin’s granddaughter.
KAREN STRNAD: “It was a letter that was pleading for, you know, a savior, for you know survival. And using the dresses as a tool to be able to get out of there.”
MARTIN FLETCHER: Alvin Strnad tried to find Hedy a job and visas for them both. But too late.
Paul was declared dead January 31, 1943. Murdered in either the Treblinka concentration camp or the Warsaw Ghetto. Hedy’s fate is unclear, but her dresses live on.
Almost sixty years later, Karen’s parents found the letter in the basement, complete with a Nazi censor’s swastika stamp, and the colorful drawings.....  

and so it continues...





SAVE WAVERLEY CEMETERY !






SAVE WAVERLEY CEMETERY!


The iconic Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, NSW
 The first interment took place here in 1877..
there are over 83,000 interments.. over 50,000 monuments..
the site covers approximately 40 acres...
it is one of the most beautiful sites in Sydney..
It is known for many things, 
including the beautiful entrance gates...




http://sydney-city.blogspot.com.au/2012_03_01_archive.html




and the amazing statues, 
the like of which are rarely created today.



http://sydney-city.blogspot.com.au/2012_03_01_archive.html






"Many of you might recognise the top photo as Waverley Cemetery.. you can see that parts of the cemetery are at risk as the dumped fill is slowly sinking into the sea.  There is a solution offered though, which should not only stop the problem, but enhance the cemetery... have a look here...


and look for the video. It is wonderful. 
If inclined, please sign the petition to Waverley Council which offers suggestions and solutions re funding. Please share, we can't see this incredible historic and beautiful cemetery fall into disrepair."



I first came across this via video by David Kelly.. you can see it here...

 


I'll let David explain the need for immediate action... the website is


and there is also a Facebook Group




This is a suggestion offered to prevent any further subsidence







Please act now, by going to the website above or the Facebook page or leaving a comment below the video on You Tube and/or signing the PETITION to show the Waverley Council that this historic and beautiful cemetery must be preserved so that future generations can appreciate the history and pay respect to their ancestors.