knatzig

As I've already mentioned, the K in BK stands for Knatz, my original family name. In America, the K is silent, so it's now pronounced like Gnats. In Germany, it's still pronounced K'natz.

My father recently received this email from a previously unknown distant relative:

Ludwig Knatz(*1914-1995) married my Granny Ruth Erhardt in 1944, who lived in a small village (Willerstedt, near the city of Weimar) in the federal-state of Germany called Thuringia, where he came to in 2nd World War. [...] The two "boys" and their families are still named "Knatz".

I also don't know, where the name Knatz comes from. Indeed, to be"knatzig" is a German dialect-expression for someone, who is kind of "odd fish" or "crotchety", as far as I can translate this. And "knartzen" means this squeaking-door-expression. But, I also think, that it might be rooted in "Ignatz" or "Ignatius". Maybe by ledgend, this guy was a bit like a squeaking door?!

But, in fact, the word/name "Ignatz" often appears connteced with jewish people, too. But I don't have any information about that. And as far as I know none of my relatives was Jewish (but, as you will know, there was a time in Germany, when being Jewish was not so favorable, so I cannot be sure about that). I only know, that the Knatz family in Niedenstein used to be simple workers, craftsmen and farmers. I once saw, where the old family-house was standing, but as I remember it is not existing anymore. Some other Knatz people should still live there or nearby.