The sweep of family history across the generations
Before he became Abe Ratner, he was Abraham Blokh from Minsk.
Joe Liebman’s son made his own name in the Parisian jewelry trade—and carried on the Rue de Saussaye tradition
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
After the war, Joe Liebman came back to Paris with a glamorous new wife. Oh, what a life they led
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.
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 accomplished many things in life, but his life’s greatest moments happened during the Battle of the Bulge
Janis, Leslie and Amy grew up—each a star in her own way.
A precocious Ratner girl takes on life in midcentury America.
The Clerc jewelry assets were seized and resold to an Aryan buyer. The Nazis kept perfect records of the transactions.