Things Taken Quote by Edmund de Waal
““The house wasn't theirs anymore. It was full of people, some in uniforms and some in suits. People counting rooms, making lists of objects and pictures, taking things away. Anna is in there somewhere. She has been ordered to help with this packing-up into boxes and crates, told that she should be ashamed of working for the Jews. And it is not just their art, not just the bibelots, all the gilded stuff from tables and mantelpieces, but their clothes, Emmy's winter coats, a crate of domestic china, a lamp, a bundle of umbrellas and walking-sticks. Everything that has taken decades to come into this house, settling in drawers and chests and vitrines and trunks, wedding-presents and birthday-presents and souvenirs, is now being carried out again. This is the strange undoing of a collection, of a house and of a family. It is the moment of fissure when grand things are taken and when family objects, known and handled and loved, become stuff.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal, 2010
The passage describes the forced removal of personal and cultural belongings, turning cherished items into mere objects, symbolizing loss of identity and memory during persecution.
In simple terms: People's belongings are stripped away, turning memories into objects.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how loss of objects can erode personal history.
Themes
loss
memory
identity
persecution
material culture
Mood
somber
reflective
Type
historical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- family displacement
- museum curation
- historical preservation
- refugee resettlement
Key Concepts
cultural heritage
collective trauma
materiality
Questions to Reflect On
- How do objects shape our sense of self?
- What responsibilities do we have to preserve cultural memory?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may romanticize the past, overlooking the agency of those who survive.
