Just before the turn of the twentieth century, across the former German state of Prussia and other areas of Eastern Europe, the dreaded pogroms (mob attacks directed at Jews) started up again. In the area of Warsaw, poverty, unrest, and rising anti-Semitic violence sent people on the move. The pogroms were a scourge, with rampant attacks carried out steadily from the early 1800s. These attacks were not simply a product of that time, as they were documented as early as the 1200s.
It has always been easy to blame societal problems on minority groups, especially if they have no power, wealth, or influence. Jewish people encountered and endured these attacks, as did the Romani people, and indeed early Christians felt them as well. African Americans have experienced violence against them for hundreds of years right here in the United States, as well as other minorities coming to America: the Irish, Chinese, Japanese (in fact, other Asians as well) and Spanish speakers. Indeed, it seems as if anyone with a different language, religion, skin tone, or belief system has been a target for abuse and violence at some point in history. It can clearly be seen by the abhorrent treatment given to Indigenous peoples from the first contact with Europeans down to the present time.
It’s within this context that we follow the travels of Pauline and her family, and Gustav with his brother, to America. They begin life anew, followed by Gustav and Pauline meeting, marrying, and making a family.
Anyone who is interested in their family roots will want to join Emma as she traces her family’s trek to America. The Travelers from the Old Country: Making it in America paints the picture of her mother and father in the early twentieth century as new arrivals establishing a homestead and settling into a new life. The story takes us back to the times before electricity and modern conveniences, providing the reader with insights into the life and times of Emma and her family. Joyful vignettes of these throwback, simpler days are intertwined with moments of inevitable human suffering, the trials and tribulations that were an ever-present part of their lives. The story relates the never-ending optimism and faith brought by these immigrants at the turn of the century and that which they passed on to their children and grandchildren. It is a shared story of endurance and persistence that is common with so many brave souls who willingly cut ties with their extended families and relationships to adventure to America and begin a new life. It is indeed a story common to many people even in the present. The need to escape war and abuse provides the reader with a close-up and genuine understanding of why every immigrant will take a risky path to an unknown future to get to a place that may offer a bit of peace and hope.