One of my cousins is a pop culture icon. Or at least the source of one. Many members of the Kornmehl family have been successful. We've got doctors, lawyers, scientists, bankers, and writers in the clan, as well as a famous (on the East Coast) chocolatier. But, as far as public recognition is concerned, no one holds a candle to Curt Allina. You may not know his name but you
Genealogy
A Kornmehl Reunion (Of Sorts)
The genealogical adventures of the far-flung Kornmehl family continue! This week turned out to be a guest post double header. Today's contribution was written by a different Kornmehl family member, but it was also made possible by the organizational skills of Jill Leibman Kornmehl, who is as good at people gathering as she at document gathering. I'm not going to be overly
An Inspiring Woman: Frances Kornmehl
I often wondered why Jill Leibman Kornmehl, a key contributor to this blog, got so involved with researching her husband's family, the Kornmehls--rather than, say, her own family. Today I present the answer, in Jill's words. It's a story filled with miracles, large and small. An Inspiring Woman by Jill Leibman Kornmehl It was not the most opportune time to have a
Rewriting My Childhood: A Tale of Mystery Relatives
It boggles the mind, how little I knew about my family until I started writing this blog. My mother was an only child and, as far as I knew, everyone in her immediate family had died in Europe. I had one living uncle on my father's side, but he returned to Vienna after the war and I didn't meet him until I was 19. In effect, I grew up without relatives -- at least not the
Shavuot: Celebrating Dairy, Fruit & Mothers-in-Law
Today is the first day of Shavuot, a not-so-well-known Jewish holiday. I became aware of this fact because several of the sites that I follow on Facebook mentioned it (since I started this blog, I've joined the Social Media sect of Judaism). One site, What Jew Wanna Eat, started posting mouth-watering pictures of dishes like goat cheese and zucchini blintzes and mentioned
The Importance of Being Ernestine: A Mother’s Day Tribute
I never knew my grandmother, Ernestine Kornmehl Rosenbaum. She died long before I was born. And, try as I might, I can't recall a single interesting -- or uninteresting -- thing my mother might have told me about her. You can't force memory, I suppose -- and those Freudian free-association sessions are expensive. But you can work on genealogy. Although Judaism is a
Ezriel Kornmehl Seeks Out Sigmund Freud
Earlier this week, I returned to the story of Ezriel Kornmehl, introducing his parents and siblings -- and throwing in a little celebrity glitter. Today I take him from his birth in Tarnow, Poland, to the start and completion of his education in Vienna. From high school to med school Ezriel was born in 1891 and attended gymnasium (high school) in Tarnow. Upon the completion
Of Ancestors, Blogging & Taking My Own Advice
You know the cobbler whose children go unshod? I'm the blogger who dispenses advice but forgets to take it. My friend and colleague Vera Marie Badertscher created a Web magazine, which debuted yesterday, called Ancestors in Aprons: All About Food and Family. As you might guess from the title alone, it has strong links to two topics that are central to Freud's Butcher -- the
Is Julianna Margulies My Cousin?
I'm not going to lie. After being away for a while, it's been a little tough getting back into my family history. For one thing, all roads seem to lead to antisemitism, if not death. Then there's the learning curve. It feels like a lifetime ago that I took February's Family History Writing Challenge -- at least long enough that it's taken me a while to reacquaint myself
19 Berggasse: A Twice-Famed Address
I've mentioned many times that this blog is a cousin magnet. I don't even have to try to attract relatives; they just gravitate towards the Kornmehl name. This is a wonderful thing, especially when I've been too busy to blog and I can entice one of the cousins to write a guest post. A brief note. You'll be hearing more soon about Lary Ecker, my third cousin once removed
Freud’s Butcher: Reuniting Old Friends Since 2012
Some of the topics I cover on this blog are difficult; my last few posts have been about the Holocaust, Austrian antisemitism, and my mother's sad past. Today, however, I move on to a far happier subject: Renewed friendships. I've mentioned the many relatives who were located through this blog. But as wonderful as it is to unearth family ties and potential relationships,
Auf Wiedersehen, Pt. 2: Why “The Sound of Music” Doesn’t Play Well in Austria
The history of my mother's family -- of the Rosenbaums, in particular, and the Jews of Vienna, in general -- only came to me in fits and starts, if it came at all. As I explained in Part 1 of my discussion of the film, "Auf Wiedersehen: 'Til We Meet Again," my family, like that of filmmaker Linda Mills, kept lots of secrets. I suppose I could have gone off on my own to try
Auf Wiedersehen, Pt. 1: Breaking the Silence
When I first began researching my mother's family, even before Freud's Butcher the blog was born, I heard about a film called "Auf Wiedersehen: 'Til We Meet Again." I knew little about it, but was intrigued by the synopsis on the site that I found for ordering it: In this compelling and often funny tale of recovery and renewal, author and activist Linda G. Mills is propelled
Coming Attractions!
I'm back. Yes, I needed a break after the daily deadlines of February's Family History Writing Challenge, but I miss the structure and accountability that the challenge provided. I thought if I told you what's upcoming on my blog I would be committed to write about those topics or, as you'll see, shame others into providing promised guest posts. If I say so myself, there's
Genealogy Gehenna: The Hebraization of Jewish Surnames
Today I'm wrapping up the tale of the two Doktors Kornmehl, Ezriel and Viktor, the dual subjects of this family history writing challenge, with kudos -- and a mild kvetch. It's one thing to find out that your relatives' surnames were changed through transcription errors in records, illiteracy, etc. It's quite another to discover that they made the changes on purpose -- and en