Rosalie Roozendaal Krzesni — Pedagogy for Restoration

In Nordhorn, Germany (a small town near the border of Germany and Netherlands) an event was held to name streets in remembrance of each of the Jewish families who lived there before the war. One of the streets was named for my Oma (grandmother) and her family and I had the opportunity to write something to be read at the event and printed in the local paper. Because this piece of my history is so fundamental to my book, I thought I would share it here.

My name is David Krzesni and I am Rosalie Roozendaal Krzesni's grandson. I am a teacher in Washington state, USA. I am writing on behalf of myself and my family to thank you for this gesture of remembrance and healing. I hope that we never forget the atrocities of our past so that we remain vigilant and stand together to fight against human rights violations across the globe.

Just as the Righteous Gentiles aided my family and so many others, I commit my life to helping those who suffer injustice today. I commit my life to fulfilling the promise that never again will such an atrocity be committed. I make this commitment in honor of my grandmother, Rosalie Roozendaal Krzesni.

But I also hope that my grandmother is not remembered only for living through such a horrible time in history. I remember her as a strong and independent woman who always had a little extra love for me. I remember her accent and the smell of her perfume. I remember her getting out my dad's old toys for my brothers and I to play with when we visited her home. I remember when she and I stained our hands black trying to fix her typewriter. Most of all I remember her as my Oma.

I am eager to learn more about my grandmother's life in Nordhorn before the war, but I can tell you that after the war, she lived a long and good life and raised a family in San Francisco, California.

I would like to end my letter with a message from my grandmother. Although she has passed away, I recently watched an interview that she gave for a holocaust remembrance project. In the end of the interview she was asked if there was anything else that she would like to share. She said, "Have faith and that is all that I can tell you." I believe that would be the message that she would want to pass along to those in attendance of your event.

Thank you and I hope that someday I will have grandchildren who will visit Nordhorn and remember the very special woman I called Oma.

Sincerely,
David Krzesni