Introduction
It is an intensely personal tale, simultaneously intertwined with the different stories of so many others within our family, the Jewish and broader Human Community. The stories written by either Sheryl or Raymond Schkolne, are not yet complete. Yair & Maya may yet also contribute some stories! They cover personal family history through the generations, travels, various life experiences and anecdotes.
Researching and writing them was a rewarding, inspirational experience, also a special gift to ourselves! We found ourselves imagining daily lives of our forebears, re-experiencing travels, learning again that the past is always with us. Much more than only an emotional and nostalgic experience, there is deep meaning and learning involved. Some stories here inform the future, many remind us how enormously special, distinctive, privileged our lives are.
Attention span is limited! No time for lengthy stories. So we wrote this one differently! We envisage ultimately a 366 double page book with 350 words maximum and one or more pictures or photographs per story. The page can be turned each day of the year, to read a new story!
Nothing here is confidential. Some of the stories may be of interest to others, now, or in future!
Much that is lost is never found! Oom Thijs (Matitia) z”l, brother of my late maternal grandfather Jaap (Jacob) z”l spent huge time and energy in Amsterdam archives researching and documenting our family history. Tragically he and his entire family perished in Nazi Death Camps, his work on the Family Tree lost forever.
I was named after Ray (Rachel) z”l, my father’s late sister, cut down age 15, in the prime of her life on 27/09/1948. The beautiful silver Havdallah spice box, dedicated by my beloved grandparents to their deceased daughter, was coincidentally found: A moving story covered elsewhere in this book!
This Book is dedicated to Memory and the Future. To Personal History and Imagination. To recovering and encapsulating stories which might otherwise be lost.
