Family, Holocaust, and more . . .
For The Life of Me – The Backstory
All the trials and tribulations that led up to the actual creation of “For the Life of Me”.
Paragraph 175 and the Pink Triangle
What Did They Have In Common? In Poland, no one writes about the tragic fate of homosexuals during the Nazi era. Nothing has been published about the thousands of Polish homosexuals who became death camp victims. Ordinary embarrassment is the … Read More
Wittstock, Kristallnacht and the Rehfisch Family
Last fall I received a flyer from Amilie, my friend in Berlin, as a reminder that the 9th of November is the day to commemorate Kristallnacht. One could also consider it the beginning of the Holocaust. It is Amelie who … Read More
Ilonka’s Story – The Sequel
Ilonka Venier Alexander’s first story appeared very soon after I began my blog. She found one of my early posts; the one about discovering my own Jewish family, which prompted her to contact me as a kindred soul. Ilonka and … Read More
The Most Bizarre POW Camp During WWII – Curragh
A World War II Canadian bomber crew crash lands into friendly territory — but quickly becomes some of the most unlikely Prisoners of War ever.
Diary of a Department Store: The Nachmann-Joseph-David Connection
For those of you who are new to my Blog, most of my stories are based on the research I originally did for my film, “For the Life of Me”, or new information that resulted from it. But now much … Read More
Serendipity – What does it mean?
serendipity: noun: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: a fortunate stroke of serendipity Albert Rehfisch and family, Wittstock, 1918 The Internet is a strange animal. Like I’ve often said, “It’s like putting a message in a bottle and throwing … Read More
Rendezvous in Hannover
This is dedicated to my dear friend, the late Ralph Hirsch1, who was so instrumental in helping me research my family. Ralph and I met on the Internet through the JewishGen web site. He quickly became my “go to guy” in … Read More
You May Have a Story to Tell
Is yours hidden behind family secrets? For instance: 1. You were never raised a Jew, but only learned later in life. 2. Your heritage was hidden behind a wall of family secrets. 3. Maybe it was hidden behind your own denial, or both. 4. Or, … Read More
Why Was Hans Grohmann an Enigma?
Ever since I began this blog, back in 2013, one of the many mysteries plaguing me has been the real story behind Hans Grohmann. As a victim of history, during his short life, he seems to have played a pivotal … Read More
Welcome!
I am Pete Vanlaw. Originally I created this blog to document my quest to uncover my family’s past, which had been hidden from me for over 50 years. This culminated in the making of a documentary film, For The Life of Me, that I am particularly proud of. I continue to write about my family’s history and the Holocaust in general, but this blog has expanded to include other aspects of my life growing up in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry for 40+ years.
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Stories about unrelated subjects such as Music, Automobile Racing, Travel, Social Networking, and more.
Show Biz
Here are some posts about the 40 wonderful years I worked in entertainment and advertising.
Guest Authors
Stories from others that parallel or compliment my own.