The letters were hidden for decades, but when they were brought to light, their indecipherable handwriting unraveled, and the readable German words translated into English, they revealed unknown secrets about my family’s relation to this monument and a relative whose name appears right near the top.
PHOTO AT LEFT:
War Memorial—Grosspold, Romania—my grandmother, Lisi Ebner/Gartz’s hometown when it was still part of Austro-Hungary.
Part I
What this war memorial revealed to my siblings and me on our 2007 visit to Grosspold, my grandmother’s hometown in Romania.
Part II
The last words of one of Grosspold’s “Fallen Heroes.”
Part III:
Lisi and Josef’s role in creating this memorial—from 5,000 miles distant.
PHOTO AT RIGHT:
War Memorial, Grosspold Evangelische Lutheran Church, Romania (Another view of same memorial shown above)
Top section reads: To Our Fallen Heroes in the War 1914-1918
Bottom section reads: To Our Fallen in the Second World War and to Our Dead in Russian