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Press Release – Genealogical Research Guidebook Released to Commemorate World War I Centennial

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Publication includes finding aids for US and Canadian service people as well as non-combatants

Chicago, IL— May 1, 2018 — What do you really know about your World War I era ancestors?  As American military men and women streamed into Europe 100 years ago, it was with the hope their efforts would help win a war to end all other wars.  Today, the story of those millions of military veterans as well as their loved ones contributing stateside are largely overlooked by genealogists and family historians.  This year, that concept is about to change.

World War I Genealogy Research Guide: Tracing American Military and Non-Combatant Ancestors has just been released by librarian and genealogist Debra M. Dudek.  The book was released for sale this spring to coincide with numerous World War I centennial commemorative events taking place throughout the country.

“Genealogists are often deterred by the absence of official Army military personnel service files due to a fire at the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis,” states Dudek.  “It wasn’t just World War I records which were lost in the fire.  Military service records which were dated well into the 1960s were hit hard as well.  Official federal military service files are only one part of a much larger assortment of records which are easily acquired by researchers.”

Dudek’s World War I Genealogy Research Guide provides a detailed plan to conduct and collect Great War military service information using a variety of online, archival, and printed resources.  An entire chapter is dedicated to links and descriptions of digital and non-digitized resources for each US state, a rarity among other military research guides.  Additionally, the book documents extensive information for locating naturalization documents and investigative reports pertaining to non-citizens serving in the US military or residing in the country during the conflict.

“The Great War period generated an amazing amount of records for both men and women who had immigrated to the United States before 1914,” Dudek said.  “While there are extensive federal military records on non-citizens serving in the US armed forces during the war, there are also civilian records which were collected on a local level.  These types of documents aren’t particularly well-known or widely utilized by genealogists.”

The book also outlines solid strategies for tracing female ancestors who contributed to the war effort as enlisted military nurses and yeomenettes, as well as in non-combatant roles within social and charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, YWCA, Daughters of the American Revolution, labor unions, and more.  The final chapter provides a quick guide to Canadian World War I military research, which would be useful for those who think their ancestors may have enlisted in units just across the border.

World War I Genealogy Research Guide draws on the wide network of records from the Great War era and beyond to introduce beginning and experienced genealogists to a vast collection of information available at their fingertips.  “It was my goal to help move researchers past the myth that ‘all the WWI records burned’ and empower them to explore the amazing array of county, state, and federal records accessible to anyone.   I’ve been helping people discover the hidden lives of their Great War ancestors for over five years, and I hope this book will help present and future genealogists uncover the experiences of both men and women during that important time in American history.  It’s not an overly complicated process, or something only attainable by experts.  World War I research is accessible to everyone, and I wanted to do everything I could to help with that journey.”

World War I Genealogy Research Guide: Tracing American Military and Non-Combatant Ancestors is available in both a print and digital format through Amazon.com.  The ebook edition retails for $4.99 USD while the print edition retails for $15 USD.  Additional forms and resources are available on the author’s website at http://www.debradudek.com.

Military Memories Writing Prompt Day 1

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Have you taken time to record the stories of your World War II ancestors and families? One way to get started is to use the Military Memories Writing Prompts to jump start your research and writing. Through these prompts, we explore life on the U.S. home front, women in service, and the lives of all veterans.

Prompt 1: The Home Front

On the home front, describe your family’s experience during the war. Who did they send to war and when? What impact did your family have on the entire war effort?

Please share your prompts and responses on your blog and tag them with #militarymemories.

Additional Resources

Are you looking for more writing prompts to help you tell the stories of war from a U.S. or European perspective? See my Stories from the World War II Battlefield Volume 3: Writing the Stories of War, for over 500 writing prompts for U.S. and European writing.

Explore our online research and writing courses at WWII Education.

Do you need help learning how to do World War II research or need to hire a researcher to help you? Please feel free to contact us for more details.

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

Pre-Order Available for WWII Travel in Europe

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New Quick Guides will be released 28 February for the Kindle and in Paperback. You can now pre-order our Quick Guide on travel.

Disclosure: The link is an affiliate link and I make a small percentage off the sale.

Pre-Order on the Kindle: Finding the Answers: World War II Travel in Europe

Congratulations with taking a first step on a journey to learn more about your World War II soldier’s, sailor’s, airman’s, or Marine’s military service and walk in their footsteps in Europe. World War II travel is done for many reasons. There are people who enjoy seeing the major battle sites and hearing history of the more famous units who helped win the war. Veterans still travel to Europe to walk where they fought, meet old friends and make new ones, and attend commemorative events. There are some who unexpectedly end up at a cemetery or battlefield and take an interest in the war. Finally, there are many who travel to heal their souls and find answers or closure to questions they have had about their father or mother’s service. Whatever your reason for World War II travel, I invite you to be open to anything that shows up on your journey.

This quick guide introduces you to:

  • Doing your homework. Helping you learn about your service member’s history prior to travel.
  • Trip planning tips.
  • Considerations for hiring a travel agent, traveling with a tour group, or traveling on your own.
  • Learning about living history in Europe.
  • Ways to preserve the details and memories of your trip.
  • Ways to contribute to preserving World War II history in Europe.

Are you ready to travel in your soldier’s footsteps in Europe?

© 2018 World War II Research and Writing Center

Visiting the Land of my Ancestors – Part 2 (Prague)

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This is day 2 of Visiting the Land of my Ancestors. Part 1 can be read here.

Our first full day on honeymoon in Prague. Yesterday we traveled and had an amazing time walking through part of the city. Today we were tired so chose to sleep as late as possible, without missing breakfast at the hotel, and do as little as possible and more thoroughly enjoy what we chose to see and do.

After breakfast the first target of the day was to find me some kolacky. My grandma used to bake them. While I could drive 30 minutes to a Czech bakery in Chicago to get some, I never do. They take a while to make so I don’t bake them either. Kolacky isn’t something you find in most restaurants in Prague. We asked at the hotel front desk where I could get some and the market down the street was suggested. Kolacky, we were told, was more of a rural tradition on special days. Not something you find on most menus. Apple Streudel – not that is on practically every menu. Sadly on Saturday there was no market. We did however go into a large shopping mall in search of something for Johan and in the lowest level, found a cart selling traditional Czech pastries!! Yes!!!

After purchasing my Czech sweets we headed out to wander the Old Town Square in full daylight. We took more photos of the astrological clock – one of my favorite things in Prague. We went into the Old Town Hall to look at their information brochures and found a WWII in Prague tour. I contemplated touring the Old Town Hall but the wait was 45 minutes until the next tour which would go into the Gothic and Roman Cellars. We were tired so I opted to wait until Sunday to see if I still wanted to do it. It was a good thing I waited. While we were there, the Old Town Hall was having some outside restoration done so most of the building was covered. I guess next time we’ll see it in all it’s glory.

After a coffee, we explored some more and found some gorgeous doors and art in the city. When I stroll around Chicago, I always look up to see what is on the buildings. In Prague my head almost got stuck in the “looking up” position. There was so much to see from art above doorways, Mother Mary watching over us in many locations, hanging door signs, statues, paintings, mosaics, and so much more. There were also so many old doors to look at. I have a thing for doors. I do. I LOVE old doors. I always wonder what their story is. Who used to go through them. Into what new world did the enter? How did that change their life? If I went through one, what would happen? Could I time travel? What adventures could I have? So many doors.

We took a walk and ended up at one bridge at the river. Not the Charles Bridge. That was yet to be crossed. After taking some photos of Prague Castle and looking down the river toward the Charles Bridge, and thenadmiring more art on buildings, we wandered near Wenceslas Square and found some lunch in an outdoor cafe. The cafe was called Švejk after the book The Good Soldier Svejk. I had heard of this book, but have not read it. Johan was much more well educated on Švejk though.

When we finished eating I wanted to powder my nose so headed inside the restaurant. The walls were lined with Švejk Stained Glass or paintings. Merchandise lined some shelves. As I proceeded down three levels to the Roman Cellars, I finally found the powder room and several other rooms with more stained glass on the walls and also over the bridge that was on the level above me connecting rooms. It was incredible. I took a few photos before I left. I wonder how many people go down there to just stand in awe of the beautiful art…. The last photo is the bridge. Beneath this row of photos is one stained glass which is a bridge panel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do admit I had to see the stained glass more than once so ventured down to the cellars again. The cellars themselves are amazing and gorgeous. Most of the restaurants have small rooms off the main cellar – as you can almost imagine from the bridge photo above – rooms off to each side of the tunnel. The spaces are magical and inspiring. You do, in a way, time travel to the Gothic and Roman times when you go into the depths of these buildings. I wonder how many of my ancestors would have done that in these buildings – of course in a time they were more street level.

From there we wandered up and down Wenceslas Square, which contained more art on the buildings. This is another area of Prague you could explore for hours – just looking up at the buildings. Art, statues, architecture. Just gorgeous.

Without intent to take it easy today, we ended up back at the hotel for a coffee, snack and rest before venturing out for  the concert in Our Lady of Tyn Church. Dinner we decided, would have to come after the concert.

The concert was incredible and featured some of the same members as the group the night before. On Saturday night they added the organ, an opera singer who sang Ave Maria, and a trumpet player who played a few songs. I enjoyed most of the concert, but not so much the organ. One organ song is ok. After that……. The soloist who sang Ave Maria was wonderful. I was grateful we took advantage of this experience. It was a great end to another magical day.

Of course, after the concert we were starving. Not quite finding something that we wanted in the Square, we ended up back at the hotel and had a lovely dinner, with of course, a Pilsner!

My second day in the land of my ancestors brought more magic and possibility to my life. And more awareness that yes, Jennifer can relax on a trip and just enjoy slowing down. Thank you husband for helping me do that.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Dark Tourism in Europe

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A few months ago I read an article in a Holocaust Educator’s group about dark tourism. I had never heard of this until I read the article and then realized, I do dark tourism when I travel in Europe.

Dark tourism is defined as: Tourism that involves traveling to places associated with death and suffering.

There is a great website Dark-Tourism (that seems to be offline in 2019), that explains what dark tourism is, the ethical considerations, health and safety issues, and places for dark tourism, among many other things. I highly recommend you review their main about page. (As of 25 Nov 2019 their website seems to not work but you can Google Dark Tourism to learn more from other sites.)

Also read the more scholarly description of dark tourism.

I must admit being drawn to dark tourism and the sites associated with it. Having a degree in history and background in genealogy/family history and WWI and WWII, I visit these sites primarily for historical educational purposes. A secondary reason I visit, is often I am called or drawn to a particular site to perform healing of some kind. I always seem to end up in places I never plan to be. That healing may come in the form of releasing lost souls or being witness to someone’s story (living or dead.) Sometimes just being present in a location is enough to heal whatever happened there. I do not always know exactly why I’m in certain places, but I feel the energy of it and it isn’t always good or peaceful.

I experience many things at dark tourist sites which I am often able to write or speak about later. The stories I tell often heal something in other people. Then there are places where I’m just not sure how to properly convey what happened. Perhaps those places and energies are reserved for me to heal something inside myself rather than always the souls or place I am in.

For example, I visited Dachau in 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. This was unplanned and we arrived after lunch when busloads of people were leaving the commemoration ceremonies. I walked to the gas chamber and oven building and I could smell the smoke, hear the screams, feel the fear of those who were once there. What does one do with that? In this life I am not Jewish. Was I experiencing those energies and voices so I could bear witness so it would not be forgotten? Was I there to heal someone or the place in some way?

When my husband and I visited Prague on our honeymoon we took a WWII in Prague tour. That was not in our plans as we did not originally plan to work while we were there. I was ok through most of the tour until we visited the Gothic and Roman cellars under the Old Town Hall. This is where the resistance members and Prague citizens took refuge during the occupation. In one room in particular I could feel a tightening and nauseous feeling in my solar plexus, a tightening and almost being strangled feeling in my throat. I heard the voices of mothers soothing crying children and the dying. My soul almost wanted to jump out of my body and thankfully we moved on before it did. I did a lot of clearing in that space for both myself and the past.

Also in Prague I walked past the Jewish Cemetery but could not go in. Just walking past I picked up so much negative, sad, depressed, angry energy, I thought my soul would fly away. It took several minutes after I moved beyond the area to clear that and feel ok.

There are also places I’ve been which are likely classified as dark tourist sites due to the number of dead that sleep there, like Normandy Cemetery. The dark tourism site lists some (but not all French WWII sites and adds war cemeteries in their list). So many dead on and after D-day that were temporarily and then permanently buried there. This was the first ABMC cemetery I visited after several years of research into the cemeteries and war dead. It is one thing to research and another thing to walk where you have researched.

I could only cry from the moment I stepped foot on the property, through the museum in the visitor’s center and out into the area just before the steps to the cemetery itself. Once I reached the top of the steps the tears and sadness left. I heard only cheers and ‘welcome home’ and ‘we are so glad you finally came home.’ I felt happy and at peace. No more tears. Only peace.

Home. What did that mean exactly? The soldiers were definitely happy I visited. They recognize me as someone who will listen to them and tell their stories. To help their family members learn what really happened which will also bring them peace. Was I a soldier in WWII? No. The man I loved in that lifetime did die in the war though. In this lifetime, several family members fought and died. Perhaps home meant I was in a place I belonged, to bear witness, be understood in the pain I felt researching and telling the stories of the dead, and heal.

There are so many stories and experiences I’ve had in dark tourist sites and even those not considered dark. While I do avoid places that make me feel like my soul will flee and I’ll die on the spot, I don’t rule out visiting them in the future when I’ve healed other parts of my soul. The more we heal, the more the world heals.

Tour Resource

World War II in Prague – I took this tour in October 2017 and it was amazing. Highly recommend this company.

What are your thoughts on, and experiences with, Dark Tourism?

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

History Majors! Think Outside the Box

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Yesterday I was interviewed and filmed for the business, in Chicago at the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. People strolled in and out of the building while we were filming and one young woman listened to the stories I told as Scott asked questions while he filmed. She and I had several short conversations about the work I do, the History degree I have (Bachelor only) and the adventurous, inspirational, traveling, healing, love-filled life I have created with my business. She too has a history degree. It reminded me that several years ago I gave a talk at my alma mater, The University of Missouri-Rolla – now Missouri S&T, to the history club about thinking outside the box. I’d like to share a few thoughts with history majors around the world and let you know, there are many other choices available besides going for your Masters or Ph.D. and teaching or being a scholar.  ANYTHING is possible if you choose it.

What did my life look like after I finished my degree?

When I finished my history degree I moved back to Chicago and worked for several years at Shedd Aquarium, first in the education department and later built databases for their animal management system. Building databases, writing reports, and teaching staff how to use the system, encompassed analytical thinking, which is important for historians. I was using some of my history skills and also taught myself everything I knew about databases. Those things would benefit me when I was in business for myself. No experience is ever wasted. As time passed, I had three boys and stopped working for five years. In 2010 it was time to return to work and I ended up not working for “the man” but started my own genealogy business.

When my business started I was only taking genealogy research clients. I also wrote one book about my cousin Flying Tiger Robert Brouk. You can find his story in my book “Stories of the Lost.” Writing that book was a bucket list thing. I never intended to write 13 others after that in five years. As time passed I expanded the business into teaching some genealogy topics and researching WWI and WWII. I published several genealogy teaching course books for kids to adults and one for societies and libraries. By late 2012 I was moving more into WWI and WWII research, writing, and teaching, and moving away from genealogy clients.

Jennifer writing by the sea in Hastings, UK in June 2017.

What does my life look like right now?

Seven years later, my business looks completely different than it did when I started it. I’m currently only working with one genealogy client I’ve had for six years. The rest of my business consists of WWI and WWII clients with an occasional Korean War client thrown in the mix. I wrote 14 books, countless articles and programs. I also teach seven WWI and WWII research and writing programs in the U.S. and Europe.

Why did I move from genealogy to WWI and WWII? In part because no one else was specializing in this. Also because I was chosen to do this job so the stories of war would be saved. I also followed the energy, the soldiers I  channeled, and my intuition. I did what was easy and fun for me, and things and people showed up to support that. I invested a lot of time and money into research and writing so I could write the only books on the market that teach you how to research any branch of the military for WWI and WWII. This also allowed me to create the programs I now teach.

After that I began traveling to Europe to meet people in a network I was building of WWII researchers and tour guides, to which I refer clients who wish to walk in their soldier’s footsteps. Through people I met on one of those trips, I was introduced to my now fiancé, Johan, a Dutch man living near Amsterdam.  Johan and I now live part of the year in Europe and part in the U.S. My fiancé is also a historian and 101st Airborne Reenactor. Together we are creating new programs and workshops and travel together. I’m also raising three very active boys.

Along the way I had a couple people who mentored me briefly in starting the business. When it was time to move into military research, there was no one to mentor me. I made it up and worked through the questions as I went along. I also collaborated with researchers in Europe. When people tell you that you should always have a mentor, I say no you don’t. You are capable of creating something no one else has if you trust yourself, what you know, and are willing to put in the time to follow your heart.

Throughout the last seven years, more in the last five, I started a spiritual journey which took me through a dark night of the soul in which I left my marriage, started a new life with my boys, and spent a lot of time alone (with my soldiers.) I rediscovered myself, resolved within myself a lot of family issues, and found parts of me that had been hidden for lifetimes. That journey took me through Europe with my cousin James Privoznik who died 11 January 1945 in Bras, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. I wrote his story in “Stories of the Lost” and feature him in many of my programs. James helped shaped the business and my life from the beyond. He, among many others living and dead, helped me heal a lot of deep, dark parts of me.

That healing journey allowed me to be more open and vulnerable, and offer this to clients and those who attend my programs. Research isn’t always about the questions we have about our soldier. Often it takes us deeper, to places we never expect, if we choose and allow it. To expand my healing and what I BE in this world to make a contribution, I became a Certified Access Consciousness Bars Practitioner this summer. The tools I’ve learned in Access and ThetaHealing, along with meditation and other healing modalities allows me to contribute to my work and healing in ways I never expected.

What comes next?

My research business is expanding and I’m now working with one colleague to keep the client load moving smoothly.  Soon I will be looking for an intern. Johan and I are creating workshops which currently do not exist anywhere in the world. I’m writing two short books and will increase my speaking and teaching in 2018. I also decided to pursue the Access Consciousness Certified Facilitator training and Reiki Training.

What else will show up? Who knows. ANYTHING is possible.

If you are pursuing a degree in history and think the only option available to you is to go into teaching or become a scholar, consider the little I’ve told you about my journey. Think outside the box, beyond what everyone else tells you is possible and create your own reality and life. You just may discover that what you love to do and is easy for you, can create a business and life you never expected.

Have you pursued a history degree and done something other than teaching with it? We’d love to hear about your journey.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Finding Peace in Chichester, UK

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Many research clients have wandered into my life the last seven years. Some create more of a connection than others due to the type of project we work on together. There are clients who want the facts and only the facts. Then there are others who seek to heal things within themselves and their family, often without realizing that is one reason they hired me. When those clients show up, often, a vulnerable exchange takes place between us both. When that happens, we are both affected and both healed, whether we are conscious of it or not.

Those exchanges can take us on powerful journeys we might not otherwise have taken. If we choose the journey.

I had one client this year who truly touched my heart. He had a family member who fought in the 30th Infantry Division during World War II. Together we discovered his story and throughout the process, I found piece of myself that I was waiting to be healed. I also found I was more capable of some things than I thought. We all have those moments when we doubt our capacities and capabilities right? Isn’t it great when someone helps us see we are able to do more than we think we can? Those people show up when we least expect them.

Johan and Jennifer

On 2 June, Johan and I were in England. We had driven from Amsterdam to Calais and took the ferry to the White Cliffs of Dover. We arrived the day before in Dover and had a marvelous day exploring. This was my first trip to England and there was a lot to take in. On the 2nd, the plan was for me to drop Johan at a golf course about 30 minutes north of Brighton and then I would drive to Chichester and then to Brighton by the evening.

Let me be honest – at first, the thought of driving on the wrong side of the road in a place I’d never been, was a bit scary. It has been a couple years since I traveled solo in Europe and there was a moment I wondered – can I really do this……by myself!? Well of course I could! I was not about to spend the entire day sitting in a golf clubhouse and told my client I would visit Chichester since the 30th Division had been there.

After breakfast Johan drove us to the golf course and I left him there and was off on my way. We heard there was a RAF museum at Tangmere, which turned out to be on the road to Chichester. I chose to stop there and see what that museum was all about and if it contained anything on the Americans in the area. That will be another article as there was a lot to take in there.  I arrived in Chichester after 1:30. It took me quite a while to get there as roads in England are not the same as the Netherlands or the U.S. there are many small country roads and it takes a while to get most places. The drive was incredibly beautiful and relaxing and I had no problems driving on the wrong side of the road. I asked my guides and angels to help me drive and keep me focused. They did a great job.

After Tangmere, I drove to Chichester. My first stop there was the cathedral. The client and I had no idea if his family member had visited the cathedral, but he had been in the area. I also never turn down an opportunity to visit a cathedral.

Chichester Cathedral is large. Not as large as Canterbury Cathedral, but still large. It is a place where you can find serenity and a bit of yourself around each corner or hidden within a sunlit prayer room. Like any cathedral, everywhere you look there is something intricate and beautiful to see. There are paintings, tombs, stained glass, arches, floors, signs, candles, flags and banners for military regiments, and people wandering through it all. Of course there were places to light candles, which I always do. Often to Mother Mary as she guides me, but also to Archangel Michael when possible, or military shrines. I was able to light candles for the 30th Division soldiers, who were definitely there with me in the cathedral. I guess I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was.

I’ve always found these sacred places excellent places to write, pray, and release all those things that no longer serve me. The prayer room pictured to the right was one area of the cathedral I could have sat for hours writing, looking at the light play with the colors in the stained glass, and just BE. How often do we stop and just BE? Not often enough.

Arundel Tomb

One part of the cathedral that felt connected to me was the Arundel Tomb. There is a poem by Philip Larkin, An Arundel Tomb, written about the Earl and his Countess with joined hands in death (uncommon for this to be on a tomb at that time.) Made me think of my knight and our past life together. That could have been us.

The last line of that poem is, “What will survive of us is love.” Beautiful.

As is the case with most places I visit, time was limited and I had not eaten lunch yet. FYI – in England at most museums, cathedrals, or places like these, if you do not get into their cafes for lunch prior to 2:00 p.m. you will probably be out of luck and get the bottom of the pan of what’s left or coffee. I was able to get a little lunch just before they put the pots away. Then I took a walk through the town center before discovering there are gardens on the cathedral grounds!

Jennifer in the Bishop’s Garden at Chichester Cathedral.

After lunch I visited the Bishop’s Garden. Words cannot accurately describe how beautiful and peaceful it was. One cannot walk into the garden without smiling, feeling joyful, smelling numerous flower scents, and finding some peace in the sunshine. The garden seemed to go on forever, though I did not have the time to explore every inch. Perhaps another trip. The photo I took with the flowers and cathedral behind me almost looks as if I was imposed into a painting. The whole area has a magical fairy tale feel to it.

So what did I learn this day? How did I heal?

I remembered I was fully capable of traveling on my own and driving in a foreign land on the wrong side of the road. Patience, the willingness to ask the universe for help, a good GPS system, and plenty of time to get where I needed to go was important.

I was able to just BE in the cathedral and gardens. There was no one asking me to move on to the next place or see the next thing. There was just time. We all need that time alone no matter how much we love our [fill in the blank….husband, kids, wife, parents….] That time helps us grow, heal, resolve things within our hearts and souls, and discover pieces of ourselves we thought were missing or never discovered.

I learned I love nature more than I thought! I’m not a woman who likes to go play in the dirt and get her hands all dirty. That’s never been me. A few months ago I learned I had the capacity to communicate with trees, plants, and the earth. Sitting in the Bishop’s Garden felt so joyful. I even wrote about it in my journal.

I’m sitting in the Bishop’s Garden at Chichester Cathedral. Bids are singing, and the sun shining with wispy clouds. Behind me is the cathedral and so many beautiful flowers. Heaven. I wish I didn’t have to leave soon. Probably take an hour to get to Brighton and need to check in before Johan arrives.

When I walked into the garden, my heart sang! It felt so good to be here. One can’t help but smile here. There are roses everywhere you look and peonies and other flowers I can’t name.

The gardens go on forever but I don’t have time to walk them all. I’m content now sitting here. I walked part of the garden earlier and then walked up to part of the old city wall. Left the gardens to photograph more of the exterior of the cathedral and walk to the gate. Then I came back.

Finally, visiting the cathedral and gardens showed me again how much I love my job and that I would like to do more of this. Visiting places client’s family members have been when they cannot. Walking where my client’s family member was, I took photos and videos for him, which allowed him to almost be there. Though he was there in spirit.

Thank you to the client who inspired this trip to Chichester. You touched my heart and helped me grow.

Would you like to know how we can help you research your family’s soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine and walk in their footsteps? Contact us to learn more.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

What Are We Creating?

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It’s a beautiful day in the Netherlands. Our staff at the WWII Research and Writing Center have been busy creating new things. We can’t wait to share!

What are we working on now?

Here’s a quick video to tell you.

Jennifer Holik from Amsterdamse Bos, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Spiral of Healing

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The longer I continue on my spiritual journey, the more I heal, and the more aware I become. Being an empath, I tend to pick up everything from everyone and everywhere. I’ve been told and read many times, that healing is like a spiral. We start at one spot, one event, one moment in time, and work through and release some pain. This could be from a past life or this life.

Then we spiral around the staircase, choose another path – right or left – and something else appears in our lives that trigger something else. I often wonder in these moments, ‘Didn’t I already heal that?’ Then usually I realize it is a deeper issue than what I previously healed. Often I’ve healed something related to the issue that keeps appearing as a distraction to keep me from dealing with the actual deeper, more painful issue that arrives.

Then there are times when I wonder, what happened to me that I could handle something in the past and now it triggers terrible things in my body and soul. I had an experience like this in London last week.

Imperial War Museum – Holocaust Exhibit – 8 June 2017

Johan and I went to the Imperial War Museum in London on 8 June 2017. We had a short visit in London and since I had never been there, Johan showed me a lot of things as we walked and walked. I have a better idea of what I want to see when we return in the fall. The only place we actually entered to spend time was the IWM London before we left the city to go to Canterbury. The museum is incredible with a lot of great artifacts from World War I and World War II. Even some things coming more to the present day, though we chose not to tour those areas. Our focus is World War I and World War II and we had limited time.

Near the end of our visit there was one area I still wanted to see. The Holocaust floor. Johan chose not to walk through since he had seen it, so I went alone. That was fine because sometimes I prefer to be alone when viewing certain things related to war. Having been to Dachau in 2015 and not having a massive triggered panic/anxiety attack there, I thought I would be fine in this exhibit. I know a lot about the Holocaust. I’ve channeled some of the victims in my writing. I’ve seen other exhibits and even been in a camp. Why should this exhibit cause any issues for me? Yet, it did.

It is important to note, no photographs were allowed in the exhibit. I’m not sure why this is the policy as I would think people should know more about the Holocaust, but that is the policy at IWM.

Moving through the initial floor of the two in which the exhibit was held, I saw the history of Europe and Hitler that led up to World War II and the formation of the camps. I was fine through this part and knew a lot of this history. I continued on past a group of noisy school children and walked downstairs to the second part of the exhibit.

At the beginning of this floor was a cattle car used to transport people to the camps. Something said to touch it, so I did. I’m able to pick up things from photographs, objects, nature, etc. At that point I became aware of a flood of things, including so many emotions from people connected to this car and the Holocaust. I had already shielded myself so I wouldn’t pick up everything I encountered in the museum, but it wasn’t enough. I began to feel panicked, anxious, nauseous, and generally ill. Moving on and using all the Access Consciousness tools I could, I still could not Return To Sender, all the things being thrown on me. I still felt uncomfortable and on the verge of what some may call a panic attack.

Seeing the striped uniforms and piles and piles of shoes did not help the rising panic, nausea, and anxiety flooding my system. I had to get out of there as quickly as possible.

It took several minutes after I left the exhibit before I felt relatively normal again and had convinced my soul not to flee. I hate these moments when I pick up so much my soul wishes it could leave my body and I want to jump around to keep it in there and release the energy. I hate those moments that panic sets in and it isn’t even mine, but I absorb it and no amount of Return To Sender gets rid of it.

This makes me wonder, why was I able two years ago to move through Dachau on the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of the camp without these intense feelings and not move through this exhibit the same way?

They say healing comes in spirals. What was unleashed since my visit to Dachau in my soul? In the world? Am I THAT much more aware and conscious now than then? Yes. Have I claimed more of my empathic and healing abilities. Yes. Do the dead seek me out because they know I will help? Yes.

So the question I must now answer for myself is, how do I best protect myself from all of this and not get lost, while still healing myself and the world? How do I best travel through these places and moments in time so I can educate the world and not lose my soul? Spiral…..spiral……spiral……..

Have you experienced these things in your travels? As a healer, how do you handle all the things you become aware of?

©  2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Jennifer’s European Adventures 26 May 2017

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There is so much happening on this trip to Europe that I’m struggling a bit to keep up and document it all. As I write this, we just returned from 10 days in England. It was my first time there and so much happened. More on that in a future post. For now, let’s return to Friday, 26 May 2017, when we drove from Amsterdam to Thirimont, Belgium to be in the town where a client’s brother was Killed In Action (KIA) on 13 January 1945.

We had a lovely drive down, passing through the Dutch countryside to the Belgian border. Once we reached Maastricht, Netherlands, the landscape changed from all flat to slightly rolling hills. From there we made our way southeast to Thirimont, where the 30th Division had a massive battle for this and two other towns nearby between 13-15 January 1945.

The town is located on a hill, with a good view all around. This is probably why the Germans took the town. Strategic location and there are crossroads here. Today, the town is all new. Nothing, it seems, remains from WWII, though by all accounts, the battle wiped out whatever was there before. G Company of the 30th Division was almost completely wiped out here on 13 January 1945. This was the day William E. Jones, Jr. was KIA.

William’s IDPF stated he was killed in Waimes. If you think about how the U.S. sets up cities, counties, states, Waimes is more like the county, though there is a town named Waimes just 8 km up the road. By the unit records, it appears Thirimont was William’s death site. I took a video for my client as we drove the main road through town. Thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Almost no traffic meant a relatively quiet video. After our drive through town, we made our way to Waimes to see what that was like. Again, it is all new. We saw almost no trace of the past. In both places, I felt nothing. Just dead energy which I thought was unusual since so many died in these areas.

Forest near Malmedy, Belgium

From Waimes we headed back to the Netherlands to Margraten, where we planned to spend a couple of days and attend the Memorial Day service at the cemetery. Interestingly, we chose to make our way to Malmedy to see the site of the massacre. I had not yet been there.

The soldiers in the area had other plans for us and sent us back the way we came into Thirimont and Waimes, through Ligneuville. The road to Malmedy was blocked so we detoured to see if Waze would take us where we wanted to go. It did not, but instead took us through forests near Malmedy where the soldiers were out and waiting to be heard. I couldn’t believe all the auras in the photos I took as we drove through there.

Had there been a place to stop and walk around that area, I would have loved that. I think many stories would have emerged onto my journal pages from soldiers lining up to talk. Sadly, there was nowhere to stop.

We kept driving and later stopped in Aubel, Belgium to photograph the 30th Division Monument there. It is a tall monument with flags on either side. This is not far from Henri-Chapelle cemetery.

Our day ended with our return to Hotel Groot Welsden in Margraten. We had a relaxing drink in the garden before dinner. We discussed our plans for Saturday and Sunday and it was off to bed.

Have you been to these places with your research? What did you experience? Were you in other places nearby? For what Divisions? What did you experience there? I’d love to hear your stories.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center