I know that often the mind plays tricks, and you see things that aren’t there but that you hope are there. When a baby is born, some people will say, “Oh, he looks just like his mother, ” and others will say, “Oh, he looks just like his father.” Since we all have certain common physical traits–two eyes, a nose and a mouth, it’s not that hard to find a similarity with anyone if you look hard enough for it and want to see it badly enough.
So I need some help from objective eyes. Here are two photographs, one of my great-grandmother Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager, and the other of Gustave Rosenzweig, who I believe to be her brother. The more I look at these two faces, the more I am struck by the similarity—in particular, the shape and deep-seatedness of the eyes and the nose. What do you think?
Ghitla Rosenzweig Goldschlager
Gustave Rosenzweig
I also find the same eyes in my grandfather, Ghitla’s son, and in Murray Leonard, her great-nephew, and in David Adler, her nephew, Tillie’s son:
Isadore Goldschlager
David Adler and his wife Bertha
Murray Leonard
So it is just me? Or do the Rosenzweig descendants share this common trait of deep-set, down-turned eyes? Do you see that trait in your family if you also are a descendant of Tillie, Ghitla, Zusi or Gustav?
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I don’t think it’s just you–
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Thanks, John! Good to know someone out there agrees with me.
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Funny–I saw the 1958 ‘Madchen in Uniform’ last night and later was looking at pictures of Romy Schneider, her mother Magda, and her daughter Sarah–those characteristic genes certainly did not lose their oomph over three generations.
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OK, well, I have to admit my ignorance. I don’t know that film or any of those people!
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I agree about the eyes. They do look similar. I was thinking about this subject the other day, though, as so often people assumes adoptees (who know one knows are adopted) look like their families.
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Yes, I’ve experienced that also. I do think that children pick up facial expressions from their parents so that even a non-biological child can take on a similar look to their parents.
Thanks for commenting!
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