Worth remembering

This Remembrance Day was the first in my 60 years that meant so much to me. I have always worn the poppy, always been thankful for the sacrifices made by those who fought in the wars to make my life better. But none of that was personal, until this last year.

I grew up in a Jewish neighbourhood in Montreal, and although nothing was ever said, there were times I could see the numbers tattooed on the arms of my neighbours. In school, I learned about the Nazis and read the Diary of Anne Frank, and I was ashamed of having any German heritage at all.

I was teased, asked if I had a picture of Hitler in my living room. I hated my heritage and couldn't wait for the day when I would be an adult and I could change my name.

At age 19, I moved to British Columbia where, for the first time, I met aunts, uncles, cousins and a grandfather. I saw the amazing people who shared the same last name and I was OK with it.

However, being OK with your name and having pride in your heritage are two very different things. I began researching my family history a number of years ago. I wanted to be able to fill in the names of grandparents and great-parents on an ancestry tree. What I didn't realize is the impact those names would have on me. The more I learned, the more in awe I was of the strength, determination, resilience, faith and sacrifice that my ancestors went through.

These were hard-working farmers, taking care of their families and neighbours, who suffered and sacrificed and endured so much. For me, this Remembrance Day was very different.

I wore my poppy for:

• Stephen Lesmeister, my first cousin, twice removed, who was on the Arizona that fateful day at Pearl Harbor. He was 21 years old.
• Wendelin Stolz, who was conscripted into the Russian army and killed in action in 1914.
• Michael Stolz, who died a martyr at age 22 in Russia.
• Pius Stolz, arrested under false charges, tried, convicted and executed. He was 46 years old.
• Pius' wife Aloysia, who was evacuated with her three children to Germany and never saw her husband again.
• Peter Stolz, arrested and sentenced to seven years in corrective labor camps, which most people never came out of.
• All those ancestors who left Germany for a better life in France; generations later had to leave France for a promise of a better life in Russia; and generations later had to escape Russia or join the army – or, as many of my ancestors, disappear, never to be heard from again.
• All my German ancestors – Stolz, Zahn, Hittel, Engel – who had the courage to get on ships, sail for weeks in horrible conditions, only to go to a land that they heard was better but had no idea what to expect.
• All the women, my mother Agatha, grandmothers, and generations of great-grandmothers, who kept the families going through everything. They hold my awe and respect forever.
• I wore my poppy for all the German people who fought for others, paid with their lives and opened the doors for me to live in a country like Canada.

I honour you with love, respect and gratitude. Thank you for your courage and strength. 

Paulette Stoltz