This photo from around 1900 is a family portrait of my great-great-grandparents Georg Leonhard (1861-1943) and Eva Barbara (1863-1937) with four of their children. One of them is my great-grandfather Johann Georg (1889-1975). My great-great grandmother Eva was a descendant of Austrian protestants who were forced to leave their home for religious reasons.

They came to Southern Germany as refugees. When Eva married my great-great grandfather Georg in 1885, the name of her Austrian refugee family vanished. However, their descendants still live on the very property where they arrived around 350 years ago.

This refugee story from my own family makes me more aware of the thousands of people in the Middle East who have to flee their homes because of their religious beliefs. Sharing a story of religious persecution reaffirms my conviction that people only leave their homes when they are forced to.

Many of us have ancestors who were refugees. It’s something that can happen to all of us. ~shared by @breakoutle