Family Story Finder
The sweep of family history across the generations
Abraham Blokh came from Minsk
Before he became Abe Ratner, he was Abraham Blokh from Minsk.
Arnaud Clerc
Joe Liebman’s son made his own name in the Parisian jewelry trade—and carried on the Rue de Saussaye tradition
Bilingual blogging—my French collaborator
Historical blogging makes strange bedfellows. A French jewelry critic and I were both interested in the history of the Clerc jewelry business during the Nazi era
Hilda's fabulous lifestyle with Joe Liebman
After the war, Joe Liebman came back to Paris with a glamorous new wife. Oh, what a life they led
If walls could talk—75 years in a Parisian villa
Insider dealings in the French jewelry trade. Swank cocktail parties for the Nazi elite. A rough-cut Jewish jeweler and his ebullient new wife. Where Henry Kissinger met Le Duc Tho.
Janis Brenner—a Ratner in motion
An innovator in modern dance and choreography since breaking in with the Murray Lewis Dance Company in the 1980s. The Ratners moved geographically. Janis moves artistically.
Mel Brenner
Mel accomplished many things in life, but his life’s greatest moments happened during the Battle of the Bulge
Our Brenner cousins
Janis, Leslie and Amy grew up—each a star in her own way.
Sandy Klein
A precocious Ratner girl takes on life in midcentury America.
The Clerc jewelry aryanization files
The Clerc jewelry assets were seized and resold to an Aryan buyer. The Nazis kept perfect records of the transactions.