Before the Tears

In the chaos that was Kristallnacht, my mother, her sister, and parents fled Berlin, Germany. It was 1938, and my mother was only 13 years old. Leaving everything behind, her family traveled to the Dominican Republic. Although my immediate family escaped, many other family members did not. Entire branches of our family tree have disappeared. My mother rarely spoke of her time in Berlin unless I pressed her on the subject. It is important that we do not forget. This quilt depicts my mother when she was still happy, before the tears. Before wearing the Jude Star, before having to quit school, before my grandfather’s company was “given” to a German, and finally, before the glass was broken.