Immigrating from Germany

Times were hard in Germany after World War I, and my Great Grandfather, John Handov was not happy with the political situations within the country. When he was in his late twenties, he decided that the right decision was to pack up is life and move to the US from Germany with his wife and child. My Great Grandfather thought moving to the US would allow him to have more opportunities and would help better himself, although it was going to be a rocky road because of the new country and its English language which he knew very little of. Once my Great Grandfather arrived in the US, he moved to New York City and opened a small store which allowed him to become a furrier by trade. His business was successful and allowed him to make a living in his new country, and also made him realize how complicated life would be with the language barrier while having to communicate with other people and companies trading and purchasing his fur materials. His business was going well, but his family was going in the opposite direction, since him and his wife separated and didn’t get to see his child much. After some time passed, my Great Grandfather met a woman named Hildegard Niek, who had been living in the US since she was 14. Hildegard immigrated from Berlin, Germany to New York City, to meet up with and live with her brothers, and was providing for herself by working as a nanny in the city. Hildegard and my Great Grandfather got married and moved to Syracuse, New York, and had my Grandmother Suzanne. My Great Grandfather Kept his job when he moved, and my Great Grandmother mostly stayed at home with her daughter. The three of them were extremely happy together, and helped one another through any tough times- including helping one another learn English. My Great Grandparents stayed in Syracuse until they passed away, and never wished to go back to Germany, as they were much happier with their life in New York. Overall, they both predicted that life was going to be tough as an immigrant, but they worked hard and were able to make their lives better for themselves and their future family that they had together.

There are no images of my Great Grandparents, so this is an image of New York City from the time Period that they were there.