Category Archives: family stories

Refugee, But Not Forever

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Suzanne Loebl

The other evening, after a satisfying dinner, I was lazily surfing the net when I came across a photo of a beach filled with Syrian refugees running across the sand, trying to climb aboard a rickety ship. Suddenly my heart … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories, history, politics | Tagged belgium, brussels, d-day, dunkirk evacuation, family, family stories, france, german jews, hidden children, holocaust, miracle of dunkirk, nazi germany, nazis, new york, new york city, refugees, world war ii, wwii | 11 Comments

Farewell to Frank Hatch

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Suzanne Loebl

On Sunday, January 10th, my computer screen flashed. Caring Bridges, a site that provides health news to family and friends, let me know that Frank had died. I had spoken to Frank a few weeks earlier on his birthday. He had … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories | Tagged aids, AIDS epidemic, david, family, family stories, family story, gay, gay children, gay community, HIV, hiv/aids, lgbt, lgbtq, parents of gay children, parents of lgbt children, straight allies | 6 Comments

Golden Gate Park and My Son’s Birthday

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Suzanne Loebl

This week a San Francisco friend sent me a picture of a visit he paid to the bench my husband and I donated to Golden Gate Park in memory of our child. The inscription reads: David Albert Loebl 2-19-56 to … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories | Tagged aids, birthdays, david, family, family stories, Golden Gate Park, grief, loss, san francisco | Leave a comment

Christmas 2014: Other People’s Holidays

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Suzanne Loebl

My mother was a Christmas junkie. I can still smell the pine aroma of the eight-foot tree that stood in our parlor in Hanover, Germany. Beeswax candles suffused the room with flickering light and a profusion of home-baked cookies weighed … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories | Tagged america's medicis, christmas, family, family stories, family story, german jews, hanukkah, holidays, nazi germany, new york city, NYC, rockefeller center, rockefellers, tiffany, winter in NYC | Leave a comment

Dr. Sigmund Freud, Uncle Alex and the Centenary of World War I

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Suzanne Loebl

A hundred years ago, when World War I was in its infancy, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria called up my great-uncle-in-law Alexander Loebl, Esq. and asked him to serve in his army. Uncle Alex had just graduated from law school, and though … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories | Tagged anxiety, austria, austrian jews, family, family stories, family story, freud, jewish history, nazi germany, sigmund freud, talk therapy, vienna, war, world war i, world war ii | 2 Comments

World War I: August 3, 1914: Germany Invades Belgium

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Suzanne Loebl

World War II defined my life, but it was actually a continuation of World War I, whose 100th birthday we “celebrate” this year. The hostilities took a while to get underway. They began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories, history | Tagged Archduke Franz Ferdinand, battle of yser, belgium, france, german jews, germany, hidden children, history, holocaust, jewish history, nazi germany, Suzanne Daley, world war i, world war i history, world war ii, world war ii history, Yser | 1 Comment

Degenerate Art: Exhibition at the Neue Galerie and my Family

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Suzanne Loebl

In addition to its Jews, gypsies, mentally ill, and gays, Nazi Germany decided to rid its homeland of the “alleged horrors” perpetrated by its own writers and artists. Specially chosen “experts” plundered Germany’s museums and private collections and confiscated, sold … Continue reading →

Posted in Art review, family stories | Tagged art, bauhaus, christian rohlfs, cornelius gurlitt, current exhibitions, dante alighieri, dante's inferno, degenerate art, degenerate art exhibition, divine comedy, ernst barlach, francesca da rimini, georg grosz, german expressionism, german expressionists, german jews, hermann lismann, hildebrand gurlitt, holocaust, modern art, nazi germany, neue galerie, nyc art exhibits, nyc exhibits, nyc museums, paolo malatesta | 1 Comment

Letter to My Son

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Suzanne Loebl

David, it is your birthday. If you had not died of HIV/AIDS I would have prepared to visit you in San Francisco or elsewhere, organized a party, and baked you a Linzer Torte or a Sacher Torte chocolate cake. You were … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories | Tagged aids, birthdays, david, family, family stories, grief, hiv/aids, losing a child | 5 Comments

Gun Ownership by the Innocent or Unskilled

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Suzanne Loebl

In the wake of Newtown, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s suggestion that we arm schoolteachers so as to prevent future massacres reminded me of the time my mother acquired a revolver. My mother was a bit paranoid. Our front door had … Continue reading →

Posted in family stories, politics | Tagged belgium, columbine, family stories, germany, gun control, gun control debate, gun control laws, gun laws, guns, hitler, mom, nazi germany, newtown, world war ii | 3 Comments