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Name of the exhibit: Grumach family tallits
Submitted by: Les Grumach
Date of origin: 1938
Origin of the object: My father would probably have received his tallit around March 1938 for his barmitzvah, in Berlin, Germany. I am not sure when my paternal grandfather got his tallit as the family had lived many generations in Koenigsberg prior to moving to Berlin in 1936.
The photos were taken in 2016 at the KBI Kristallnacht event.
Description: My family had owned a timber mill in Koenigsberg. With the rise of Hitler, they were forced to sell their business and they moved to Berlin in 1936 where there was a larger Jewish community. My grandfather realized that nowhere in Germany was safe for Jews so they applied to move to Australia. During the time in Berlin, my father was barmitzvahed and received his tallit. On Kristallnacht their synagogue had been burned. A few days later he went into the shul to rescue the tallits. A few years later they received a visa and left Germany. My father always wore his burned tallit with pride.
Voyage to Ottawa: From Germany, my father and family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1939. I moved with my wife to Canada in 1996 and then to San Diego, California in 1997. We returned to Ottawa in 2015 with the tallit accompanying me on all my travels.