Dorothy & Theodore Plaut
The Plaut family were store owners and suppliers of coffee, Oils, Chocolate, Aromatics, Vinegars, Alcohol and other items.
At the start of the 20th century they also supplied firearms.
The Plaut family had twin children, Dorothy and Theodore. Both made their way to the USA, where Dorothy still lives today.
Anecdotes as told by David Plaut, son of Theodore Plaut
A couple of times I asked my grandmother and grandfather about the Nazis and coming to the U.S. I was maybe 8 or 10 years old when I asked. They did not volunteer this info and I think (in retrospect as an adult) they just did not want to talk about it. My grandfather, Julius Plaut, told me this story. The had a german shephard. I think they said the dog was a guard dog in the store and loading area to discourage intruders. When they were moving to the U.S. they took the dog on a train some miles away from town and left the dog there so that the dog would not try to follow them when they moved out of town. The dog, as dogs do, returned anyway.
Years later I mentioned this story to my Aunt Doris and she said that she did not know about this event. I thought about this from an adult's perspective. Either the story was true and they did not tell the children how they attempted to get rid of the dog before the move (they could not take the dog with them), or it was an allegory, as in, you (me, David) has a dog. We had a dog. You love your dog, we loved our dog. We had to abandon our dog in a humane way but the dog came back. The dog, of course, represents EVERYTHING! And I am in tears as I type this.
Grandmother had many friends with serial numbers tattooed to their arms. As a young boy I found this somewhat fascinating. As an adult.... it was horrible but at least they survived.
Years later I mentioned this story to my Aunt Doris and she said that she did not know about this event. I thought about this from an adult's perspective. Either the story was true and they did not tell the children how they attempted to get rid of the dog before the move (they could not take the dog with them), or it was an allegory, as in, you (me, David) has a dog. We had a dog. You love your dog, we loved our dog. We had to abandon our dog in a humane way but the dog came back. The dog, of course, represents EVERYTHING! And I am in tears as I type this.
Grandmother had many friends with serial numbers tattooed to their arms. As a young boy I found this somewhat fascinating. As an adult.... it was horrible but at least they survived.