My family spent many afternoons visiting family cemeteries and historical cemeteries both in the United States and Germany. We would stroll together, taking notes and pictures, gently touching the stones, whispering greetings, shedding a tear or two, and always careful of our steps. I felt like I knew everyone in those cemeteries even though thay had passed away decades, even centuries, before my birth.

My family spent many afternoons visiting family cemeteries and historical cemeteries both in the United States and Germany. We would stroll together, taking notes and pictures, gently touching the stones, whispering greetings, shedding a tear or two, and always careful of our steps. I felt like I knew everyone in those cemeteries even though thay had passed away decades, even centuries, before my birth.