Date/Time
Date(s) - Oct 8, 2026
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Updike Farmstead
354 Quaker Road
Princeton
Unexplored stories and perspectives behind familiar names revealed through a family’s history
A chance meeting during a History/Nature Hike brought together HSP Museum Educator Cindy Srnka and Princeton resident James (Jamie) Schnitzer, whose family preserved photographs, letters, documents, ephemera, films, and other items that form this presentation. Over the months that followed, their collaboration developed into a rare opportunity to offer a less‑familiar perspective on Helen Dukas (“Aunt Helen”), Elsa, Margot, and Albert Einstein, illuminated by what has been carried forward across generations.
Drawing on a private collection never shared publicly, the presentation traces intertwined journeys that began in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, where their histories first converged, and continued through escape from Nazi persecution and refuge in the United States. Through the family’s archival materials and generational memories, guests encounter a story of resilience, connection, and displacement that offers new insight into these familiar figures and the family that has enabled this history to be visible.
After the presentation, guests are invited to view a curated selection of the items discussed.
For the protection of the family’s collection and the stories being shared, guests are asked to refrain from taking photographs or making recordings during the presentation.
Tickets are $10. If you are not seeing the form below, click here to open it in a new window.
