After an afternoon in Česky Krumlov, we arrived in Prague. It’s been ten years since I first studied with CWB here and 20 years since I first visited as a graduate student. As a few teachers and I walked along the river and meandered through the Old Town and Josefov, the Jewish Quarter, we looked for stolpersteine- stumbling stones- memorials to those who made Prague their home but were murdered by the Nazis.
In Josefov, we stumbled on the stones of the Bergmann family, who were deported to Terezin, which we will visit later this week. Terezin was a ghetto and transit camp, where the Nazis deported Jews from Bohemia and Moravia, Austria, and Germany. The Bergmanns were then deported to the ghetto in Baranovich. BARANOVICH. This name stopped me in my tracks and is what drew me to the Bergmanns. Tsipy Gur’s mom was born in Baranovich and left testimony of her experiences in the Holocaust, which includes some of the incoming deportations from elsewhere. BARANOVICH. It’s a city that I have been researching in the archive the last five years to better understand Rachel Litwak’s, Tsipy’s mother, story and experience. Instead of heading back to the hotel last night, our group stumbled into a family story that directly connects to CWB and Tsipy. The Bergmann’s won’t be forgotten and their story will be told.