Blog # 2: Schwartz: My Father Always Said

In Schwartz's essay "My father always said," she segments it into parts which all come together to tell the story of her and her father's relationship and each of them reacting differently to the same experience. The story begins by the author telling of her father's behavior and "favorite lines" about his native town of Rindheim. Her father is affected by World War II and got his entire family out before Hitler invaded, and moved them to Queens in NYC. Because of this, he clings to his recent past of Rindheim, and tells his daughter of then that "In Rindheim, you didnt do such things!" The family then travels to visit Rindheim and sees the old town where he grew up. The trip takes place only a few years after the war had ended, so it's really the first occurence for Schwartz were she truely sees an accurate account of what had happened to the Jews. Her father shows her around the town, shows her the buildings and tells her stories of the hardships of his people. In between telling the reader about this trip, she includes that she went back to visit Rindheim in 1993 when she was much older, insinuating that she researched her family history and the history of the Rindheim Jews more. The trip ends up doing two different things to her and her father. It makes a lasting impression on them both, but serves to make her father aware that the war is over, and it's time for him to move on and become part of the American way of life. For Schwartz, it serves to make her aware of her history and her past, and causes her to find out about her ancestors and their hardships.