I was born in a little German town called Greifswald. Back then Greifswald belonged to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) - also known as Eastern Germany. After receiving my High School Diploma and beginning with my University studies in English, Philosophy and History, I developed a deep desire to know my ancestors. So I started with my research in Summer 2012. Since then I have searched not only for my progenitors, but also for their families in my spare time. I was deeply touched by their lives, which I discovered piece by piece. Knowing where they lived, how many children they had, how many of them died, why they died, finding out about their occupation, researching the places where they lived and the conditions of their housings, and finding ancestors that served in WWI and WWII - all of that made me appreciate their sacrifices and hardships. Seeing their example puts everything in my live into the proper perspective. I see how blessed I am to life in this country and age of comfort. But I also felt more complete by knowing about them. They are no longer forgotten. They will be remembered. I feel whole. Somehow it feels like that by knowing them I know something about myself. Something of them continues to live on in me and my relatives. I feel rooted. Now I am glad to count 571 members of my familytree as my relatives. I believe, that I can understand Alex Haley a little bit, when he wrote in his novel "Roots. The Saga of an American Family":

"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning."