During a seemingly ordinary trip to the library a Nigerian-German woman stumbled upon a piece of her familial history that would connect her to the Holocaust.
As a child Jennifer Teege watched Steven Spielberg's film "Schindler's List." She remembered the scene in which commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp Amon Goeth (played by Ralph Fiennes) stood on his porch and shot at Jewish inmates.
On March 1, she will visit a local synagogue to share her story in partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The "Discovering a Nazi Legacy: One Family's Story" event will include an onstage interview with Edna Friedberg, museum historian. It will take place at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
Teege was adopted as a child and only had a few encounters with her mother and maternal grandmother throughout the years.
Still, she recognized the photos of her mom and grandmother in a book titled “I Have To Love My Father, Don’t I.” The book was about Teege’s mother and her struggle to come to terms with her father's actions.
Similarly, Teege’s book “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past” details her attempt to come to terms with her family's history.
She struggles to understand how the grandmother that always seemed so kind could love her grandfather. She wonders how she’ll tell her friends that her grandfather was the man known as the “Butcher of Plaszow." And, she faces the realization that her grandfather would’ve seen her as inferior because of the color of her skin.
Admon Goeth was executed for his crimes against humanity in 1946. His last words, according to the book, were “Heil Hitler.”
The book was co-written by reporter Nikola Sellmair.
Teege now speaks on topics including holocaust education, self-identity and the “toxic power of family secrets.”
She says meeting with Holocaust survivors has been a “profound experience” for her.
"I think for [Holocaust survivors] it is very interesting because it is very different than what they expected,” Teege said.
Sheri Zvi, Southeast director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, said the museum is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust from many different angles and perspectives.
Zvi said many people have been supportive of Teege, but notes that it can still be hard for some Holocaust survivors to connect with the author.
“We have people who were brutalized by her grandfather,” she said.
Advanced registration for the Atlanta event is required.
If You Go: 7:30 p.m. March 1. Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave., Atlanta. Cost: $36. Ushmm.org. 561-995-6773.
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