How do you contribute to the legacy of your ancestors?

Rachel feels responsible for carrying on the legacy of the many Jews who lost their lives, including her mother. What actions does she take to fulfill this responsibility?

How do you contribute to the legacy of your ancestors?

My ancestors are varied. In the past I would have been described as a WASP. I do not contribute to the legacy of my ancestors in any specie way. As free thinking I try to keep an open mind in my endeavors. Hopefully I am passing on the love that came from a terrific and loving childhood.

Rachel carried on her ancestral legacy by speaking the language, caring for her uncle, and participating in customs characteristic of her people. Daily, she kept her mother's memory fresh (albeit there were separate mental health issues associated with this), and it served to propagate her family's legacy.

My family is predominantly Norwegian, and we carry on traditions of speaking various Norwegian phrases and prayers, as well as we prepare traditional Norwegian dishes from time to time. Our background is, unfortunately, similar to other traditionally Scandinavian heritage in that we tend to be stoic and many topics of conversation are considered taboo (sex, illness, etc.). However, we are proud of other ancestral characteristics such as honesty, loyalty, and hard work.

Rachel speaks Yiddish, married a Jewish man, takes care of her Uncle when he needs her. I don't think she is actually thinking about carrying on a legacy. She certainly doesn't want the world to forget what happened, her paintings of "ghosts" are the way she will keep that alive.

I'm quite a mixture and our extended family has certainly diversified during the last 20 years ( have have an Asian daughter in law, Black nephews, Muslim nieces and nephew) so I guess I just try to share family stories and a bit of history of great grandparents, but beyond that I am open to new things.

I think the farther away your generation is from where your family emigrated from, the more diluted your family's legacy becomes. In my case, all four of my grandparents emigrated from Hungary. Three out of the four of them barely spoke English. The next generation (my parents) knew Hungarian but didn't speak or read it well. They did, however, encouraged us to (OK, MADE us) participate in cultural activities, like the annual harvest dance in the autumn. I haven't had children, but my sister has, yet none of them really knows much about their Hungarian roots. So I believe my family's original "legacy" is lost.

Regarding Rachel, I'm not sure she ever did much to contribute to the legacy of her family. I think with its tragic history, she was stuck between wanting to remember where she came from while at the same time trying to forget the horrors she'd experienced. I suspect she & Aaron will pass some of their heritage down to their child/children, but given Rachel's painful history I'm not sure how much they'll actually tell the kids. Even Aaron wasn't all that observant a Jew, so I'm not sure how much will be passed on to future generations.

I love hearing stories about my family. I wish I had asked more questions when I was young. My Mother came from Norway as a child, she did not have a happy childhood, and did not want to talk about it. I have found out more about her from family. I belong to ancestry and enjoy finding out more to pass to my children,

My grandparents emigrated to the USA from
Czechoslovakia. As a child we spoke both Czech and English at home. When my grandparents passed I stopped speaking Czech. I still use a few phrases when talking to my cousins and to my husband ( who was born in Greece)! We do not have children, so the legacy of language, traditions, and Czech food stops with me. I visited the Czech Republic 4 times as an adult. I always feel at home when I am there. I took the genetics test on Ancestry and it reported I am
97% Czech and 3% Eastern European (exact country orgin unknown) That was no surprise to me.

I am known as a Heinz 57... no specific heritage, so the only legacy I try to uphold is to be a good person, a hard worker, and love my family. My husband comes from Italian descent and his family is much more washed in tradition...the food they eat, the stories they tell, it all contributes to the legacy of their family. My children feel a distinct connection to their Italian heritage and are proud to be a descendant of first generation immigrants... I love how important this is to all of them and makes me feel I am missing out by not having that direct ancestral heritage.