For just about my entire life there’s been a picture of the church in Liedolsheim somewhere in the background. At our house, my grandparent’s, and both my aunt’s and uncle’s houses, and now mine: the picture above is in our living room, along with another I’m saving for a future post. As children we were all told about the Bible in the church that contained a record of the births of all of our family members, from when the French burnt the church down right up to my father, the last one born before the family emigrated to the U.

My grandfather’s story starts in his home town, Liedolsheim, moves to France for World War I, and then returns to Liedolsheim until he is forced to leave before members of the NSDAP (Nazis) try to kill him. Again. So of course, writing about this involves a lot of research about Liedolsheim. Liedolsheim has always been present: pictures of the Village Church were always visible in my grandparent’s home, and I heard the name many times in my childhood.