----Original Message-----
From: Chris Friedrichs ]
Sent: Monday, September 07, 1998 9:43 PM
To: Friedrichs, Martin {CUST~Nutley}
Subject: Europe
EUROPEAN TRIP:
As you know Rhoda, Jeremy and I spent two weeks in Europe. Eventually I will make and send copies of some
photos and clippings and other stuff but in the meantime I want to report briefly on our trip.
FRANCE: We spent the first week in France, mostly in Paris where we visited our friends the Konvitzes and saw
all the classic sights. It was great to see that after two years of French immersion Jeremy could talk
confidently in French to waiters, museum guards, tour guides and the like. While Rhoda and Jeremy stayed in
Paris I took some side trips. First I spent a day and a half in Lyon. It is a beautiful city with some fine
Renaissance neighborhoods but of course I was especially interested in the family connection. In the archives I
was able to get a bit more information about the Bruell addresses, and I was able to establish that the death
record for our grandfather Emile Bruell was exactly similar in format to the entries (for non-Jews) which
preceded and followed his--a significant point in light of the uncertanties about his death. I also saw and
photographed the apartment house where Mom/Nellie was born, the apartment house where our grandfather Emile
lived from about 1915 until his death in 1944, and the building where he had his office. In addition to this I
spent a day in La Rochelle, a beautiful port city and, to my surprise, a major tourist destination. During the
guided tour of the very handsome city hall the guide mentioned the historic connection between La Rochelle and
New Rochelle and I was able to explain in my rather weak French that I grew up there, had two brothers who
still lived there, and so on.
GERMANY: In Germany we spent a few days in Frankfurt visiting Harald, Irene, Tilo and Felix and also seeing
Aunt Eva who is doing well and is, as ever, remarkably up to date about all the family news. Then we went to
Braunschweig for what was the highlight of our trip. In addition to the three of us, Liska, Dick, Traute,
Michael, Elisabeth and their son Martin were there to represent our family. The 3rd edition of Mom's
Erinnerungen, which includes some new material and two nice new photographs, was published in the nick of
time--the covers got printed only on the morning of September 2nd and the ink was still wet on some of them.
On September 3rd there was the commemorative ceremony for Mom in the fine old city hall of Braunschweig. The
mayor made the opening remarks, followed by my speech on "Nellie Friedrichs als Jüdin, Braunschweigerin,
Amerikanerin" (Nellie Friedrichs as a Jew, Braunschweiger and American). Following my speech there was a
reception. About 80-100 people attended, including Helga Gutzeit (in a wheelchair and not very well but quite
alert) with her son Arndt and his wife Maria, Ilse Dedekind, Sophie-Luise's daughter Irene, Margaret Opfermann
and a number of people whom Mom had gotten friendly with during her later visits to Braunschweig. Following
the reception members of the family and some of the friends were driven out to the Nellie-Friedrichs-Strasse,
which now has dozens of houses which are already occupied. A highlight of our visit to the
Nellie-Friedrichs-Strasse was the fact that one family, who had attended the reception earlier in the day, now
greeted us outside their house with coffee and cookies. Of course we took lots of pictures. In the evening we
had a festive dinner for members of the family as well as Arndt and Maria Gutzeit and Manfred Garzmann, the
archivist who was responsible for publishing the memoirs and who had also organized this day's event. The next
day, after picking up copies of the local newspaper which had a full report on the commemorative ceremony, we
returned via Hannover and London to Vancouver.
Christopher
From: Chris Friedrichs ]
Sent: Monday, September 07, 1998 9:43 PM
To: Friedrichs, Martin {CUST~Nutley}
Subject: Europe
EUROPEAN TRIP:
As you know Rhoda, Jeremy and I spent two weeks in Europe. Eventually I will make and send copies of some
photos and clippings and other stuff but in the meantime I want to report briefly on our trip.
FRANCE: We spent the first week in France, mostly in Paris where we visited our friends the Konvitzes and saw
all the classic sights. It was great to see that after two years of French immersion Jeremy could talk
confidently in French to waiters, museum guards, tour guides and the like. While Rhoda and Jeremy stayed in
Paris I took some side trips. First I spent a day and a half in Lyon. It is a beautiful city with some fine
Renaissance neighborhoods but of course I was especially interested in the family connection. In the archives I
was able to get a bit more information about the Bruell addresses, and I was able to establish that the death
record for our grandfather Emile Bruell was exactly similar in format to the entries (for non-Jews) which
preceded and followed his--a significant point in light of the uncertanties about his death. I also saw and
photographed the apartment house where Mom/Nellie was born, the apartment house where our grandfather Emile
lived from about 1915 until his death in 1944, and the building where he had his office. In addition to this I
spent a day in La Rochelle, a beautiful port city and, to my surprise, a major tourist destination. During the
guided tour of the very handsome city hall the guide mentioned the historic connection between La Rochelle and
New Rochelle and I was able to explain in my rather weak French that I grew up there, had two brothers who
still lived there, and so on.
GERMANY: In Germany we spent a few days in Frankfurt visiting Harald, Irene, Tilo and Felix and also seeing
Aunt Eva who is doing well and is, as ever, remarkably up to date about all the family news. Then we went to
Braunschweig for what was the highlight of our trip. In addition to the three of us, Liska, Dick, Traute,
Michael, Elisabeth and their son Martin were there to represent our family. The 3rd edition of Mom's
Erinnerungen, which includes some new material and two nice new photographs, was published in the nick of
time--the covers got printed only on the morning of September 2nd and the ink was still wet on some of them.
On September 3rd there was the commemorative ceremony for Mom in the fine old city hall of Braunschweig. The
mayor made the opening remarks, followed by my speech on "Nellie Friedrichs als Jüdin, Braunschweigerin,
Amerikanerin" (Nellie Friedrichs as a Jew, Braunschweiger and American). Following my speech there was a
reception. About 80-100 people attended, including Helga Gutzeit (in a wheelchair and not very well but quite
alert) with her son Arndt and his wife Maria, Ilse Dedekind, Sophie-Luise's daughter Irene, Margaret Opfermann
and a number of people whom Mom had gotten friendly with during her later visits to Braunschweig. Following
the reception members of the family and some of the friends were driven out to the Nellie-Friedrichs-Strasse,
which now has dozens of houses which are already occupied. A highlight of our visit to the
Nellie-Friedrichs-Strasse was the fact that one family, who had attended the reception earlier in the day, now
greeted us outside their house with coffee and cookies. Of course we took lots of pictures. In the evening we
had a festive dinner for members of the family as well as Arndt and Maria Gutzeit and Manfred Garzmann, the
archivist who was responsible for publishing the memoirs and who had also organized this day's event. The next
day, after picking up copies of the local newspaper which had a full report on the commemorative ceremony, we
returned via Hannover and London to Vancouver.
Christopher
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