The Stumbling Stones (Stolpersteine)

Howard Shattner knew little about his father’s life in Berlin before October 28, 1938.  His father, Max, and Max’s two brothers, along with thousands of other Jews of Polish nationality, were expelled from Germany during the so-called “Polish Action."  He knew nothing about the fate of his relatives who were left behind.

In 1990, thirteen years after his father’s death, Howard discovered that his grandfather, Chaim, and aunt Jente, had been arrested in Berlin on September 22, 1942, along with hundreds of other Jews, and were transported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Chaim died there, and Jente survived until May 1944 when she was transported to Auschwitz and was murdered.  

In March, 2011, during the process of arranging for Stolpersteine for Chaim and Jente, Howard discovered, this time by chance, the names of four cousins who had lived in Berlin, and had met the same fate as his grandfather and aunt.   

His documentary film “Stumbling Stones for My Family” is a poignant record of an unforgettable day, the day Stolpersteine were installed in Berlin to honor the memory of these six members of the Schattner family.

Howard Shattner, the son of Holocaust survivor Max Shattner, grew up in the Bronx and Brooklyn, New York.  After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, and a Master’s degree in Psychology, he worked in a variety of social service settings, as prison psychologist, social worker, and school counselor, in Virginia, Arkansas, Texas, and California.  He and his wife, Anastasia, both now retired, have lived in Santa Rosa for the past nineteen years.

On the second Friday of each month, join your Shomrei Torah family at the Rabbi’s Tisch (table) in lieu of regular Friday night Shabbat service. Start with Kiddush, enjoy a catered communal dinner, then gather around a tisch for Shabbat blessings (including Kaddish) and the special evening program.

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