I'm related to someone REALLY BAD!!! He was a Nazi (SS)before fleeing to S. America. I want to research but I'm afraid no one will understand, and I'm not sure I want to mention who for fear of my family's past being judged. Do you have any solutions?
2007-04-21 18:03:07 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
I'm repulsed to think this person and I share the same blood.
2007-04-21 18:09:25 · update #1
Just think of it this way something really good (Kacey) came out of all that badness. You aren't responsible for whats gone before sweetheart. I would just concentrate on looking at the good things in your family history, don't worry about it sweetheart, just live your life and be happy.
2007-04-21 18:56:30 · answer #1 · answered by itsjustme 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Research it if people judge then they judge you. many families have terrible secrets about what they or someone did to survive and live on be it genecide,rape, or religious hate they did it. But it is for you and all future generations to know these things to understand them and learn from them,if we all chose to forget past mistakes then we are bound to repeat them. It could be that it was for you to discover and to put right a old wrong it may seem a hard task. But for all the bad this person did think of all the good you can do. and remember good always triumphs maybe not for 100 years but the truth will always come out,so accept it learn from it and do everything in your power to overturn it. God Bless
2007-04-25 16:06:47 · answer #2 · answered by Mitchell 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whether you believe in God or whether you believe we were slime then fish then monkeys then people, we all decended from common ancestors.
This means if we go back maybe hundreds or even thousands of generations, then I am related to you, Adolf Hitler, Tutankhamun, St Peter, Pol Pot, Chairman Mau, St Patrick, Saddam Hussein, and indeed everyone that has ever walked on the earth.
Some of these are/were great people, some were downright evil. But I am related, albeit distantly, to them all.
You have no more reason to be ashamed of him than I do.
You are you. You are nothing like him, you have shown that by feeling ashamed and disgusted about him being in your family.
Think hard about whether you want to know, or whether you could cope better if you kept it 'buried'. You might find things will have you crying hot, angry tears - but if you want to go for it...JUST DO IT!
ps Ted Pack - I think being a slave trader is worse. Some of the Nazis acted out of fear, or for a very warped idea of what was 'good' for their country. Slave traders killed, abused and tortured for personal financial gain.
2007-04-22 15:50:14 · answer #3 · answered by Sarah 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is too bad !! If this person is so bad and has done terrible war crimes, then you need not persue finding him/her. You would love to know the family stories, but find out and then keep it hidden. As a Genealogist, we all have family members that we are not proud of. Do your research and write your story for your Family and let it be at that. We can not help for what members have done, but you are accurate as Society will judge you and hold it against you. But you need to remember that this person has done terrible wrong. True when the saying is: The Children of the third and fourth Generations will suffer for the sins of their Fathers. If you let it be known, then your family will continue to suffer for the horrible sins of this bad family member. I hope and pray your not related to Hitlers commrads. Society , judges the children of this evil empire.
2007-04-22 17:53:04 · answer #4 · answered by Norskeyenta 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We all have people in our family tree that we are related to whom we aren't proud of being related to, but your family tree is what it is whether it be a direct relationship or an indirect relationship. I believe that for every bad person there is we have more that are good. I understand that you feel a need to know more about this person- that is natural. If you want to know more, please follow through and research this person. I feel like we live in a society today that understands that YOU are not responsible for the acts of another person, especially one that lived over 100 years ago. Good luck in your search and I hope you find what you are looking for.
2007-04-22 04:14:51 · answer #5 · answered by HSK's mama 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's a tough one. You can research over the Internet, but that's costly. Librarians can teach you how to do that kind of research through books, so no one could hack into that and find you out. That does take longer, of course.
Perhaps try talking to a relative you think might be sensitive to your quest, see if they will tell you anything you can use in your research.
My aunt researched our family all the way back to 75 BC and it only took her 2 or 3 years. Even if your family doesn't help, the information is out there, and with a little persistence you can find out what you want to know.
2007-04-22 01:12:22 · answer #6 · answered by Jeanne B 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You think that's bad? I found out my grandfather was in the Klan.
But, he lived in Northwest Indiana in the 1920s, and the Klan was very influential there at the time. He was a man of his time.
I don't think the Germany of the 1930s had a lot of patience for folks who didn't want to sign up for the german army. If you were in that age group and you were living in Germany, you probably found yourself in the military. And since Germany was suffering a terrible depression and the nazi party was the only ones hiring, it wasn't a tough decision.
Nobody blames you for who your grandfalther was.
2007-04-25 18:50:02 · answer #7 · answered by John K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kacey, My granfather on my mothers side was a guard in one of the concentration camps during Hitlers rule. Not by choice I might add. My mother told me that as a child her mother would bake fresh bread and cookies and my granfather would sneak this into the people being held in the camp. He felt that this helped him make some amends to what he was being made to do. Another guard noticed one night that he had brought food in again and reported him. Needless to say he was put to the wall and executed in front of his family. I am not proud of what he was made to do. But I am proud of him for what he tried to accomplish with his death. There is good and bad in all family tree's. My mother does not want anyone to know this for fear of how people will feel. I want everyone to know my grandfather died being a good christian. God Bless you in your results.
2007-04-24 18:41:10 · answer #8 · answered by Cheryl R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am too. Several actually. But that doesnt make us bad people. We really dont know what life was like back in the older days, things were rough and life was much harder. Life goes on and people change. Cant sit and dwell or be ashamed of what they did when they were alive. Just note it in the notes and go on with research.
2007-04-24 19:18:14 · answer #9 · answered by GitnPayd 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People are products of society, give or take a bit. Don't worry about being judged badly...
Think of all the kids who are nothing like their parents...and this person is how many generations away??
My family (on one side) has genealogy mapped back to the 1500's, along with a brief history for each person...
It is.......erm.... interesting to say the least.
Suffice to say you are you.
2007-04-22 04:08:33 · answer #10 · answered by GRRTheGymnast 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋