Soundsmith - Thank you to everyone.

You have a German-sounding last name and your first name, I don’t need to tell you, is not one common to us Jews

I have eight 'Peters' just amongst my close Jewish circle of friends.
And I think the 'Jewish' Apostle St Peter knew his name was more popular in the ancient lands of Canaan than that of St Paul (Saul) or even Joshua (Yeshua)...Jesus himself 🤪

A couple of years ago, I sent my beloved SONY XL-88 MC CARTRIDGE
to Peter to see if he could repair my cantilever, bent due to the idiotic design of the Sony stylus guard (no...I'm not accepting blame for this 🤪).
After many weeks and unanswered Emails....I requested that he return my cartridge so I could send it to someone else.
It turns out that Peter had suffered a death in his immediate family which required him to travel.
I then received this Email:-

Again, my apologies for the delay due to family emergency that has kept me out of the office and away from work.

 I am in late today (Sunday) and have located your cartridge on my bench – it had been opened by me for initial inspection, and was waiting my return to inform you of my findings and evaluation. These units are often not repairable, which is why I asked that it come directly to my attention, as I have had some success with them.  

 As a report, the stylus has some wear, but not unusable by any means. The suspension is still good, unusual for this model. That is a common failure, as is the coil integrity.  The coils are intact as of now.

 I am still willing to attempt a repair on the cantilever, and would be willing to attempt such at no charge tomorrow, if you are interested. There is no guarantee that I will succeed, or that the cartridge will survive. But I am very accomplished at this delicate work.

The cartridge was sent to me in Australia, fully returned to 'mint' condition.....and at NO CHARGE 🤯

My father and his sister fled in 39; their parents escaped in 42 - a miracle.

More than a miracle Peter......

The Jews in Germany were the 'lucky' Jews......

Strange isn't it 🥴 But from 1933 to 1939, all of Germany's 500,000 Jews were permitted to leave the country (leaving property, bank deposits, art and possessions behind) by paying the Government for the privilege.

All who could afford to do so and leave Europe entirely....escaped the War, the Concentration Camps, the 'Death' Camps and The Holocaust.

The 50,000 remaining German Jews (together with the 50,000 remaining Austrian Jews) were sent to Lithuania in Dec 1941 where they were immediately executed by the SS Einsatzgruppen (with the help of the Lithuanian Police).

To be a Jew, remaining in Germany in 1942 would have been extraordinary let alone appearing as an Advocate in a Court of Law as did your grandfather Adolphe Solomon.....😱

Thank you for sharing your story and for being a true mensche....

 

I knew three out of four grandparents.

I knew NONE of my grandparents.....

Keep well and safe Peter.

Kind Regards

Henry