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Aug. 2nd, 2002 02:24 pmFriday Five, right before I head out the door to the airport...
1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
Very twisted. I'm half Polish, my mom's side is 100%, that's the easy part.
My Dad's side depends on war boundaries and stuff. He was born in Posen, Poland, but it was part of Germany at the time (1945). His parents were born, raised, and lived in Latvia and Russia, but were German by nationality. They moved back to Germany in 1944/1945 when Stalin was killing German civilians and the war looked like it was going to wind down. (My grandfather promptly got drafted, which is another story...). My Grandmother's family was actually from Capetown, South Africa, though they were German nationals as well.
So, I'm 50% Polish and 50% German, but the German side is German, Polish, Russian, Latvian, and South African, depending on borders and birth soil.
2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
South Africa or Russia.
3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
Germany. I've been there briefly, it's not really my scene.
4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
Nope. Other than an occasional overwhelming urge for kielbasa or hopsy beer.
5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
On my Mom's side, it was her grandparents, in the 1880s. I have no ancestors in the US before that time. On my Dad's side, he came to America in the 1950s when he was 11 or 12 years old. Incidentally, though they were German nationals, US immigration was closed to Germans due to the post-war flood of german immigrants. So they noted their births by soil and immigrated as a Pole, a Russian, and a Latvian.
1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
Very twisted. I'm half Polish, my mom's side is 100%, that's the easy part.
My Dad's side depends on war boundaries and stuff. He was born in Posen, Poland, but it was part of Germany at the time (1945). His parents were born, raised, and lived in Latvia and Russia, but were German by nationality. They moved back to Germany in 1944/1945 when Stalin was killing German civilians and the war looked like it was going to wind down. (My grandfather promptly got drafted, which is another story...). My Grandmother's family was actually from Capetown, South Africa, though they were German nationals as well.
So, I'm 50% Polish and 50% German, but the German side is German, Polish, Russian, Latvian, and South African, depending on borders and birth soil.
2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
South Africa or Russia.
3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
Germany. I've been there briefly, it's not really my scene.
4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
Nope. Other than an occasional overwhelming urge for kielbasa or hopsy beer.
5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
On my Mom's side, it was her grandparents, in the 1880s. I have no ancestors in the US before that time. On my Dad's side, he came to America in the 1950s when he was 11 or 12 years old. Incidentally, though they were German nationals, US immigration was closed to Germans due to the post-war flood of german immigrants. So they noted their births by soil and immigrated as a Pole, a Russian, and a Latvian.
