Ties That Bind

* Please read all the way through as this blog is also a tribute to my family ties that bind...

Crystal Night, Night of the Broken Glass, Kristellnacht, Kristalnacht November 9, 1938

On November 7, 1938, Hirshil Grynzspan, a seventeen-year-old Polish Jew, walked into the German Embassy in Paris and shot the first diplomat he saw. The death of Ernst von Rath, the legation secretary (who was in fact anti-Nazi) was used by the Germans as an excuse to mount a pogrom against the Jews of Germany.

Kristallnacht

A massive, coordinated attack on Jews throughout the German Reich on the night of November 9, 1938, into the next day, has come to be known as Kristallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass.

The attack came after Herschel Grynszpan, a 17 year old Jew living in Paris, shot and killed a member of the German Embassy staff there in retaliation for the poor treatment his father and his family suffered at the hands of the Nazis in Germany.

On October 27, Grynszpan's family and over 15,000 other Jews, originally from Poland, had been expelled from Germany without any warning. They were forcibly transported by train in boxcars then dumped at the Polish border.

For Adolf Hitler and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, the shooting in Paris provided an opportunity to incite Germans to "rise in bloody vengeance against the Jews."

To read the actual orders to the Gestapo click HERE

Now that you see the history of what had happened on November 9, 1938, I will get to the Title of this blog, Ties That Bind. And further on in this blog you will read about my own connection to November ninth, and Ties That Bind.

An estimated several thousand Jews fled to a predominately Muslim Albania from surrounding countries in Eastern Europe.

All of them were saved. Albania is the only country occupied by the Nazis that had more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning of the war, which is a reflection of Jews having sought refuge in Albania and survived.

A Muslim Albanian man, Mefail Bicaku and his son Njazi protected six Jewish families for a total of 26 people during the war.

For months, the Bicaku's shared their home and food with the families, the league said.

Later Bicaku was executed by the Communists.

1 Corinthians 2:9

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?"

Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?"

The man answered, "`You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!"

Romans 12:17-21

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, 'I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,' says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: 'If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you'. Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good."

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The above Biblical verses were instilled in me by my mother who lived her life in example of each of them. Our family began on November 9, 1940 when Ruth Marie Eck wearing a blue velvet two piece skirt and jacket suit married Walter William Dunwell in Elkton, Maryland.

It wasn't until Dad needed his birth certificate to enter the U.S. Navy a few years later that they discovered Dad's real name was William Walter Dunwell.

Our family had never been well off, and usually struggled to make ends meet, but that never stopped my mother from taking in a homeless acquaintance or a family member in need of loving care. Our door was always open to a neighbor, and whenever anyone did wrong to my mother or our family she immediately forgave them, and continued to welcome them into our home. She never, ever held a grudge against a single soul. Mom often said, "Never allow the sun to set on an argument."She was the glue that held our family together. Our dad was always a provider and innovator, but Mom managed the income, and businesses.

My siblings and I are close knit for the most part. We have had our differences as people usually do, but our mother's ability to show forgiveness to all, and instill it in her children has always come to the rescue of any of our hurt feelings.

Although Mom had taught us right from wrong, and Christian principles and morals, we may have strayed from time to time, but sooner or later realized our folly and made things right.

Our parents have since passed on, Dad in August of 1985, and Mom in March of 1992.

Throughout any and all of our family struggles, we have very strong family ties that bind.

Just as that Muslim family in Albania took in twenty-six Jews and protected them during a very dangerous time in history, the ties that bind the human family are strong, and as long as there are people like them, and my dear mother there certainly is a future for UNITY in the world.