1

THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Volume 4, Number 1 February 1993; Shevat/Adar 5753

OUR SEPHARDIC HERITAGE

It is all too common to hear talk about the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. Research into our family's history has indicated that we can be called Ashkenazi because of our sojourn in eastern Europe for at least 400 years. We can also be called Sephardic because our ancestors lived in Spain and Portugal for almost 500 years prior to arriving in, what is today, Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. How did our forebears make this transition and what brought them to northeastern Europe? Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497. Most left for Mediterranean lands: Italy, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, Greece, Palestine, Egypt. Salonika and Constantinople became major Sephardic centers. Jewish presence stimulated trade and the Ottoman Empire experienced a surge in growth. Turkish power extended through Greece, much of the Balkans, the Crimea, and was pushing north towards Poland. During the same period, Poland was securing its claim as a great power. Poland had gained dominion over Prussia, Bohemia, and parts of Hungary and Romania in the latter part of the 15th century. By the end of the 16th century, the Baltic region of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia had come under Polish control, as had much of Ukrainia. Yet, the Polish kings were under constant pressure from surrounding forces. On the east and south, Turks and Russians were constantly testing their hold on border regions and the Hapsburg Empire was doing the same towards the west. To ease the pressure, the Polish throne entered into an alliance with the Turks. A result of this detente was Turkish access to Polish commerce in northern Europe. It was inevitable that many Jews from Ottoman lands would find their way into Poland. One of these was Eliezer ben David Ibn Yachya, who assumed the honorary title of Charlap (Chochom Rosh Legoleil Polonia) . While most Jews from Iberia spread out in the Mediterranean basin, others found safe haven in Holland and Belgium. Amsterdam and Antwerp had thriving Jewish populations, a good percentage of whom were involved in trade and commerce. It was natural that these worked their way north and east to the ports of the Hanseatic League. In the 17th century, Hamburg had a large Sephardic community, many of whom were engaged in commerce with Hanseatic cities under Polish influence. "Sephardim arrived in Poland along both the northern and southern routes." (Susan Sherman, "Sephardic Migrations Into Poland", Avotaynu, Summer 1990, pp.14-18.) Sherman documents a Shmuel Ibn Yachya (Jachia) who was a successful Hamburg merchant involved in the salt trade. He established offices in Danzig and his descendants moved into Suwalk Gebernya as early as the 17th century. Suwalk was a center of the Ser-Charlap family [we are now editing the Suwalk Yizkor Book] and many Charlaps, Pakcziars, Sers, Tamas, Lapins, and (continued next page) £:! SEPHARDIC RCX:n'S (cont.) Polish word for bay. It is noted that Shmuel Ibn Yachya's mercantile success came others on our family tree have been from a monopoly on the valued salts trom identified as living rn Mariampole, the Bay of Biscay, which is the probable Bakelerowe, Augustow, Nowograd, Lozdzieje, source for the name. and other towns in the area. Shmuel Ibn In the same area of northeastern Yachya was also known as Alvaro Diniz and Europe were other families derived from the Albertus de Nyes. Diniz is believed derived Ibn Yachyas. By eliminating the Arab flavor from the feminine Dinah. The name Dinah of the name, this group had become known as appears repeatedly in the family of Shmuel Don Yachya. In Slavic lands it was further Ibn Yachya. Sherman quotes a Hermann shortened to Donchin. The progenitor of Kellenbenz who had done considerable this branch was Yeshayahu Shapiro. It is research on trade between Spain, Portugal, claimed that Yeshayahu had a clearly and Hamburg. He came to the conclusion that defined pedigree going back to the Ibn "the combination of Italian and Dutch Yachyas of Spain and Portugal. He lived in elements in his correspondence permit us to German controlled lands, most likely in the assume that he (Alvaro Diniz) was in the city of Shpair. To avert Christian Netherlands and in Italy before coming to persecution his family had taken a variant Hamburg. 11 That would seem to connect the of the town name as a surname. In 1750, Ibn Yachyas who took the northern route Yeshayahu settled in Ushatz (Vitebsk into Poland with the Ibn Yachyas who took region). In 1804, when Jews were forced to the southern route. Indeed, there is assume family names, his son Baruch evidence to indicate that Eliezer Charlap, restored the venerable Don Yachya name; a the first known family member to take the name of Torah scholars, rabbis, poets, and southern route, may have been descended statesmen. [Benny Don Yachya and Ruth from the same branch as Shmuel Ibn Yachya. Charif, "The Don Yechiya Family", Ramat Going back from Eliezer we see that his Gan, , Sept. 1988]. Baruch married father was David son of Yehuda son of the daughter of Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Hozenfot Gedaliah son of Yosef son of David. This of Kurland and had four children. His two earlier David (1465-1543) was a noted sons, Menachem Mendel and David were philosopher who was forced to flee eminent scholars and tzaddikim (righteous Portugal. In 1496 he arrived with his men). A daughter, Chana, married a cousin family in Italy and became Rabbi of Naples Rabbi Yitzhak Donchin who was a grandson of in 1518. He held that position until 1540 Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon. David ben when Jews were expelled from the Kingdom of Baruch had a son Chaim who, in turn, had Naples. [Jewish Encyclopedia] David's wife five sons, all of whom were revered rabbis. was Dinah. This may well be the same Dinah [Dov Baer Owtchinski, L'Toledot Yishivat Ha who was an ancestor of Shmuel Ibn Yachya. Yehudim V'Kurland, 1908]. This group of Don Some of his descendants in Suwalk, known by Yachyas has been(iescribed as being closely the family name Bejm, had a tradition of related to Ephraim Eliezer Tzvi Hirsch being descended from a Mumma Dinah who had Charlap (3169,Pl.A-2), however we have not fled the Iberian peninsula during the been able to confirm that connection. They Inquisition. Bejm is derived from the also are intermarried with the accomplished ****************************************** Zioni family of Israel. All of these THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER is relationships are the subject of intense published quarterly. We encourage submittal study. Among those pursuing this work are of news items, essays, poems, and the distinguished surgeon, Dr. Neil historical articles. Correspondence should Rosenstein, and Trudy Donchin Chityat, a be directed to: teacher and a member of our family Arthur F. Menton, Editor association. Dr. Rosenstein is a founder of P.O. Box 108 the New York Jewish Genealogy Society and Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11724 author of several works including the two­ Tel. and Fax: (516) 754-1742 volume The Unbroken Chain, a genealogical Copyright ~ 1993 study of illustrious Jewish families from All rights ~erved the 15th to the 20th century. 3

ENCYCI..DPEDIC ENTRIES OF SCX'fE NCJI'ED IBN YACHYAS

YACHYA IBN YAISH ordeals. An illuminated copy of Maimonides' Mishna Torah was made for him by Solomon Prominent in Lisbon during the 11th Ibn Alzuk. This volume resides in the century, he died circa 1150. He was held in British Library in London. (see Ser-Charlap high esteem by the Jewish community and was Family Newsletter, Vol. 2,No. 2, p. 5.) honored by the Portuguese King Alfonso I for courage in battle. After the conquest GEDALIAH IBN YACHYA of Santarem the king deeded him two country estates which had previously Gedaliah was a talmudic scholar born in belonged to Moors, whereupon he assumed the Imola, Italy in 1515. He studied at the name "Negro." yeshiva in Ferrara and lived in Rovigo until 1562. In that infamous year, the JUDAH IBN YACHYA NEGRO burning of the Talmud was "celebrated" throughout Italy. Gedaliah fled to Ottoman Born in Toledo in the middle of the 14th controlled lands. He lived in Salonika century, he and his brother Solomon fled to until 1567 when he returned to Italy. For Portugal after the 1391 massacres. Judah the next eight years he went from city to was employed by Queen Philippa, the consort city, but he found them all hostile to Jews of Joao I. He was a confidant of the king and in 1575 he left Italy, finally settling and wielded considerable influence. Judah in Alexandria, where he died in 1587. His was one of the most prominent poets of his major work was Seier Shalshelet ha­ time and wrote several elegies deploring Kabbalah, a monumental tome on which he the sorry fate of his brethren. His poems labored for 40 years. It contains the are included in Carmoly' s Dibre ha-Yamim genealogy of Jews from Moses until 1587; Ii-Bene Yahya. He was also the author of their history and the history of the several responsa and piyyutim, published peoples among whom they dwelled; a in, among others, Shekel ha-Kodesh. Judah's description of anti-semitic actions taken descendants were rabbis and communal against his people; and an account of the workers in Italy, where many spelled the heavenly bodies, the Creation, the soul, name Iacchia. and the like. The Shalshelet was published in Venice (1587), Cracow (1596), Amsterdam JOSEPH IBN YACHYA HEN DAVID (1697), Zolkiev (1802, 1804), Polonnoye (1814), and Lemberg (1862). It is an Born in 1425 in Portugal, he was called the invaluable source for the early history of "Wise Jew" by his friend, King Alfonso V. A our family. later King tried to convert Jews to Christianity and selected the prominent YEHUDA I ETH DClN" YAHIA Joseph as his first candidate. Joseph fled (IXJN"CHIN) with his sons David, Meir, and Solomon and after some travels in the Mediterranean he One of the earliest religious Zionists, landed in Castille where he was sentenced Yehuda Leib was born in Drissa, Belorussia to be burned at the stake. Intervention by in 1869. He began his Zionist activity Duke Alvarez de Braganca allowed him to while still in yeshiva and in 1902 was one leave Spain and he finally arrived in Pisa, of four rabbis who founded the Mizrachi Italy. There, Charles VIII imprisoned the movement. He wrote several volumes in which entire family. By sacrificing much of his he tried to prove that political wealth he obtained freedom under the and settlement in Eretz Yisroael were protection of the Duke of Ferrara. After an religious duties. He moved to in interlude of re la ti ve well-being, he was 1936 and lived there until his death in accused of inducing Maranos to return to 1941. His collected responsa, sermons, and Judaism and was imprisoned and tortured. He articles were published in Bikkurei again used his wealth to obtain freedom, Yehudah. but he died in 1498 as a result of his Sources: Enc. Judaica, Jewish Enc. 4

'IO BE A JEW A small people with a big past, whose first by education was in the Sinai desert; Amiram Charlott (7871,Pl.A-9bc} And from there to settle in the Land of Israel - Canaan - the Promised Land, Amiram is an attorney living in Haifa. He So to live in peace on its earth and sand. and his wife Shifra (7974) have five children and seven grandchildren. His But once in Zion, we were not alone; father Yehezkiel Eliezer Charlap (7864,Pl. Others were living there too A-9b) was an ardent Zionist. He attended And it was necessary to fight to come the Suwalk Yeshiva and during World War I, through his family sought safety in Georgia. There, And ever since, that we still must do. Yehezkiel rose to head the Zionist Youth Party. He made aliyah in 1921. He was To be a Jew is a big liability; active in the Labor Party and was often a Other peoples do things wrong delegate to Histradut conferences. But ask Israel never be too strong; According to the Suwalk Yizkor Book, p. 95, We should be an example to all he was a direct descendant of the Vilna For we bring along the heritage of the Gaon. Yehezkiel's mother, Chana Belouze Prophets for all the world. (7860), came from the family of Rabbi Israel Salanter. Indeed it's difficult to be a Jew Hated by many, with population so few, To be a Jew is a matter of luck, because Persecuted everywhere, young and old, nobody asked me; By anti-semites all over the world. I could have been born Greek, Italian, French, or Nordic Yet, that is why I am so proud to be a Jew As it all depends on the mother, no matter and an Israeli who the father. To be the great grandson of Maccabians Who bravely fought the overwhelming odds And with G_d's grace I was born to a mother Taking up arms against the Syrian-Greeks. of the Jewish race; And after eight days I remember, To be the grandson of Torah scholars Judaism accepted me as a member. Who were martyred in the Galut It was a reception very beautiful, although To be the son of Yehezkiel Charlap to me it was quite painful; Who, in 1921, was with the chalutzim in And ever since the circumcision day, Eretz Yisroael, I belong to the people Israel. And came to Kibbutz Degania, to live without rewards, nothing to receive. A restless people, always reliable, who gave to mankind the Book - the Bible. To be a soldier in our War of Independence, A people who said to almighty G_d, To secure the peace and build the nation "We shall obey and listen despite the To try to avert future wars. odds." A people chosen by the Lord to spread the And so I am a Jew, a son of a people so Torah across the world; old, A people tor whom the Holy Land was always With a valiant history and moral spirit the Promised Land. And to me that means more than a medal of gold. A people who knew many disasters but did not deviate from the Ten - Written in Hebrew, Haifa, Nov. 18, 1884 Commandments. Translated by the author while in And through 2000 years of diaspora life Pittsburgh, Pa., April 20, 1990. While the Always found a way or place to survive. poetic beauty may be somewhat sacrificed in A people, never guilty, but many of us died translation, the noble thoughts and as martyrs. feelings remain. 5

AVRAHAM YAIR STERN

As we have reported previously, one of our projects is the translation, editing, and publication of the Suwalk Yizkor Book. Suwalk is both a city and gebernya (province) in the far northeastern corner of Poland. At one time, the gebernya controlled a large section of southern Lithuania. Many members of our family have roots in Suwalk Gebernya and our ancestors intermarried with many other families in the area. We have been told that The family of Avraham Stern was somehow related to the Charlaps. We are trying to confirm that relationship. This article is an extract from the English version draft of the Suwalk Yizkor Book.

Avraham Stern, born in Suwalk in 1907, achieved fame and notoriety in Eretz Yisroael as leader of Lohame Herut Yisroael (), pejoratively called the Stern Gang by the British. The assumed middle name of Yair means "Illuminator". Together with the Irgun Tzvai Leumi, LEHI used terrorist tactics in a bitter campaign to drive the British mandatory power from Palestine. It was Stern's belief that by making the occupation untenable for the British, the Jews would be able to establish a government of their own. Others who shared that opinion were Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, both to become Prime Minister of the State of Israel. History has vindicated their views which, at the time, were considered extremist, even by many Jews. Stern's father, Mordecai, was a dentist in Suwalk. His mother, Leah, was the daughter of the famous maskil from Vilkomir, Rafael Grushkin. During World War I, his father was imprisoned by the Germans and fell ill. Leah escaped with the children deep inside Russian lines. After the War, she returned to Suwalk. Avraham did not return until 1921, but the difficult years he had spent without his parents affected him profoundly. In the early 1920s he studied in the Suwalk Hebrew Gymnasium. He was a founder and leader of the Jewish Scout Organization of Suwalk. In 1925, his parents sent Avraham to Eretz Yisroael to study in the Gymnasium. He continued his education at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and after completing his studies went on to Florence, Italy for post-graduate work. In 1933 he interrupted his studies and became involved in the underground struggle against the British in Eretz Yisroael. From that time on, he was known as Yair. "Stern was an archetypal revolutionary intellectual, handsome and intense, a man not for the easy life, uncomfortable with moderation and delay." 1 He was a man of sophistication and cosmopolitan elegance. He collaborated with David Raziel of the Irgun on an underground training manual in Hebrew, Haedaach (Pistol). Stern was distrustful of politics and impatient with the hesitant and cautious military policy of the main-stream Jewish leaders. In 1938 and 1939, the eve of World War II, Stern was an Irgun emissary to Poland, building up a network of dedicated militants like Menachem Begin, Commander of Betar, Nathaniel Friedman-Yellin and Samuel Merlin, Editors of Die Tat, and Dr. Yisroael Scheib, a visionary rabbi, Editor of Der Moment. He maintained contact with Polish sympathizers of the Zionist cause and collected arms for shipment back to Eretz Yisroael. Stern was traveling back and forth between Poland and Palestine. A school was organized in Poland offering a wide array of courses to young recruits. Subjects covered were codes and secret communication, sabotage, partisan warfare, and the like. At the conclusion of the courses, Stern arrived in May to deliver a stirring graduation address.

"Stern never had time for prudence. Orthodoxies and conventions offended him. Brilliant, at ease in Greek and Hebrew, politically erratic, handsome and charismatic ... Stern would not wait on events, could not compose his soul, and sought a means to act. He attracted about him impatient, driven, desperate men who also mistrusted politics and believed in deeds. After September 1939 . Stern's need for action became overpowering ... what made him different was his vision, so luminous that his followers were blinded to the obstacles that the 6

rest could so clearly see. The Sternists went their own way, on a path leading for most to prison or an early grave. Yet they walked into harm's way with a driving sense of purpose, a mission that would become messianic as the dark nights of despair began to close in about them. . . Recourse to revolutionary terror was neither alien nor unpalatable; it caused Stern and LEHI no moral qualms; the only concern was how effective it would be ... Someone must make the Yishuv realize that Britain had sold out Zionism in the name of expediency." z

The British government put a price of 1,000 pounds on Stern's head. On the morning of the 25th of Shevat, February 12, 1942, British police tracked him to an apartment in Tel Aviv. They entered and arrested him. Then they summoned the Chief Inspector Geoffrey J. Morton. When Morton arrived he said not a word to Stern, but jerked him to his feet and shot him in the back of his head. Then he bent over the body and shot him in the chest. Morton then turned to the only other British officer present and said "You saw that he tried to escape." 3 Avraham Yair Stern was a driving force towards establishing a Jewish state in Eretz Yisroael. He was more than an underground military leader. He was a scholar and poet and the Stern legend continued to inspire others after his death. In 1951 a book of his poetry was published in Tel Aviv under the name Sefer HaShirim (Book of Songs). His most famous poetic passage, which was on the lips of many in those turbulent days follows:

We are the men without names, without kin, Who forever face terror and death . . . In the days that are red with carnage and blood, In the nights that are dark with despair.

1. J. Bowyer Bell, Terror Out of Zion (New York:St. Martin's Press, 1977), p. 36. 2. Ibid., pp. 62-63. 3. Ibid., p. 72. Also in Yair, Illegal brochure of LEHI, 1944. Also in Yaacov Vinshel, The Blood Upon the Threshold (Tel Aviv: 1955). ****************************************************************************************** NEW ADDITIONS MARRIAGES

Melanie Eliana Sahr Stern (7900,Pl.3a) was Gary Stuart Katz (6693,Pl.20ba) was wed to born on Nov. 11, 1992 in Washington, D. C. Vicki Singer (7902) on Nov. 1, 1992 under She is the first child for Martin (1485) the chupah of Beth Shalom Synagogue in and Evelyn (25) . One of the given names, Kansas City, Missouri. The traditional Sahr, is a variation of the family name components of the Jewish wedding ceremony Ser. Eliana is the first grandchild for were described by Gary and Vicki in a Morrey (21) and Sarah Diane (22) Sahr and pamphlet handed out to all attendees. is descended from Yankel Lazer Sahr (Ser) Everything from the autruf, the signing of (3), who left Ciechanowiec for America in the ketubah, the badeken di kalah, the 1891. This branch of the family eventually circling of the groom, the birkat erusin, settled in Schenectady, New York. the sheva berachot, to the breaking of the glass was explained in the pamphlet. Gary's Benjamin Anthony (7899,Pl.7f) was born on father is Arthur Katz (6676), the son of Dec. 5, 1992, the second child for Don Minnie Pearl Capito (2897) and the late Sol (1145) and Tina (1139), who are both Katz (2900). Minnie's grandparents were graduates of Carnegie Institute of Itche Chaim Kopyto (2623,Pl.20b) and Etka Technology. Tina's parents are Manuel Irwin Smolarczyk (2617). They were cousins, (Irv) (1130) and Lois (1134) Kuhr. The belonging to different branches of our baby's great grandfather was Itzhak David family. Kuhr (678), who stemmed from both the Kur and Parczewski branches of the family. HAZEL TOV TO ALL ON THEIR SIMCHAS ****************************************** ****************************************** 7 HOLOCAUST RESEARCH

We have been repeatedly asked by members of the family and others, "How do we go about finding out who in our family were victims, what were their names, how old were they, where and how did they die." It is a painful subject that each and every one of us must feel personally. Yet, to preserve the memory of our relatives who were martyred we must pursue the task. Listed below are sources of information for Holocaust research. For a more detailed discussion, see Arthur Kurzweil, From Generation To Generation (New York:Schocken Books, 1982).

Holocaust Research Center, Queensborough Community College, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, New York 11364. In addition to their own archives, they will provide you with a list of Holocaust education centers throughout the world.

International Tracing Service, D-3548 Arolsen, Germany. Administered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, this could be the best source for locating information about victims. However, replies could take almost a year and then only to very close relatives.

National Archives, Washington,D.C. - Is repository for captured German records from World War II, many dealing with concentration camps, prisoners, and activities of Axis occupation forces. These are held in the Military Archives Division, the Still Pictures Research Room, and the Cartographic and Architectural Branch.

Yad Vashem, Jerusalem - The Pages of Testimony Department contains information of great interest for those seeking lost relatives. A blank form is shown on p. 8. If you find your relative is not listed, use this form to register the name of that person. Yad Vashem also maintains a duplicate file of the ITS Arolsen records listed above.

Yizkor Books - Almost 800 memorial books of towns in eastern Europe have been published. Most contain lists of names of the martyrs. Major Yizkor book collections are at libraries in Israel and the USA including: Yad Vashem, Tel Aviv Public Library, New York Public Library's Jewish Division, Jewish Theological Seminary, YIVO Institute, Yeshiva University, etc.

Search Bureau for Missing Relatives, P.O. Box 92, Jerusalem, Israel. Run by the brilliant and warm Batja Unterschatz, this group provides help in locating survivors living in Israel.

American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, 122 West 30th St., New York, N.Y. 10001, maintains a list of almost 70, 000 survivors, with information about their families and additional biographical data.

Hebrew Immigration Aid Society (HIAS), 200 Park Ave. South, New York, N.Y. 10003. HIAS aided many survivors in the decade after the war. They maintain files on all these cases.

Additional published materials which could be helpful are listed below:

Bibliography On Holocaust Li terat11re (Boulder, Co.: West view Press, 1986) - Two volume work listing over 14,500 Holocaust sources.

Register of Jewish Survivors (Jerusalem: Jewish Agency for Palestine, 1945} - List of 58,000 surviving Polish Jews. Other such lists were published for Warsaw, Lublin, Riga, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, and elsewhere. Most of these can be examined at YIVO Institute.

Martin Gilbert, Atlas of the Holocaust (New York: Dorset Press, 1969}.

(continued on page 9) 8

YAO VASHEM -r.u·'l-r Martyrs• and Heroes' Remembrance llN'l:1.·n1,u iJJU'Tlrt DI~ IJllJ'IJDl'M Authority i1,l::t.J llft Dlj.llllM Iii:! P.O. B. 3477 Jerusalem, Israel A Page of Testimony

nm MARTYRS' AND HEROES' REMEMBRANCE 1953 l"'Wn ,ct0i·1' - il11:::1l l1N C1i'r.!1N 11!) j;>JlrTJN cil fl1Tl1l ONi LAW, S713-19S3 : 2 '1:l1l 'lNilMiND l'M oo~·!l · 0?11ow determlliea in article No. 2 that - OM11 ,T1" Y?N J1!l vlll"TlN Cll"T 1JN?1:l"ll J'M JY?~Mll"N l'M C T/11 - 1 '. l1D l1JMlD'1M '1 The task of Y AD V ASHEM ia to gather into the homeland TTZ1'¥Ml c:n o?YoWYlllYvl'lN l'l J1K O!ll:lYvYl .w11Yl 'IV!ll ioir.i l'l 1:iMn ,J?MDl1l TYlllT material regarding all those ,oY'iiio•oo•JK 11N OY'¥Kl'litliN ,, ,m';•nv ,, ,Jllr.ill';N "l J1N ,il1!l?11;io•1i1C l1l"T T1M Ml11U members of the Jewish people who laid down their lives, wbo •?N1:lPlll"T I( t?llOT/1 - v?N!l l'.17'1" 01¥ 0"v'1l11'1lllJM 1l7"1 :i•?1¥ tiN11l1l :iiin lllllll Y:l'Jl111 fought and rebelled against the (28.8.1953 ,J"'~:i ;1;M 111• ,132 ·f!~' i1:·r1mm Nazi enemy and his collabora- tors, and to perpetuate their memory and that of the Family name • * ))ll:lNJ")l'~mN!l .1 communities, organisations, and institutions which were dest· royed because they were Jewish.

First Name (maiden name) (;1l1l'1" '1l11 '\l(JJ 11'7.lMl"l7'':>'7.lM!l) l)ll:lNJ1N!l .2

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relationship to deceased \?!lN'tl':ll1i' hereby declare that this testimony ts correct to the best of my knowledge. ,):l)lll,ll1)1:l'N N-r ::J.Mil 1'N ONn 1111)1 'l tN ·"'l:l"'l)l1 ·w,pil,11

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1 1 tt rJ lil'Ul!'l' ~n1J1H'71\!/N ... Dl!/1 i1 1n1D1nJ.1 n J.J. Di1'7 1nn11 .:: ::.even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name... that shall not be cut off." 11a1ato,Lv1,s

.1:11("3 111lllTIO N 'l'lN DD1DDlj7DJnlN 119 UlDNl 11D' lJ."1C!JlN Dl:l'J. * Please irucribe the name of each victim of the HolocauJt on a 1eparate form. t , I l

HOI..DCAUST (cont.) Local 3, New York City, where he was liked and respected by his co-workers and all Guide To Unpublished Material Of the those he supervised. He was also active in Holocaust Period (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem) - the Masons. In his retirement, he was An invaluable source for information on president of his condominium complex in various shtetls and people. Florida. Mike is survived by his daughters, Regina Robinson (2319) and Dorothy Meyer Simon Weisenthal, Every Day Remembrance Day (2320), six grandchildren, one great­ (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1986) granddaughter, his sister Celia Snyder Description of pogroms and deportations in (2306) and his brother Philip (2304). He many eastern European towns. Includes exact will be sorely missed by everyone, friends dates of events. and loved ones, whose lives were fortunate enough to be touched by his. Isaac Kowalski, Anthology of Armed Jewish Resistance, 1939-1945 (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Shirley Dubroff Ser (1645,Pl.13) died in Jewish Combatants Publishers House) - A Nov. 1992 after a long illness. She was the massive collection of memoirs of Jewish widow of Murray (Moshe) Ser (1641) whom she freedom fighters, including members of the married on March 20, 1947 when she was 22 Ser-Charlap family. years old. The couple had retired to Florida. Murray was born in Nur and came to Roman Mogilanski, Ghetto Anthology (Los the USA in 1935 at age 9. He was a career Angeles: American Congress of Jews From officer in the U.S. Army. Shirley is Poland and Survivors of Concentration survived by a son Elliot (1648) of Coral Camps, 1985) - Examines life and death Springs, Florida and a daughter, Bonnie under Nazi occupation. Mayne (1649) of Richmond,, Virginia. She .NEVE:R AGAIN! also leaves five grandchildren . ****************************************** OBrIUARIES Dorothy Kandel Shapiro (2282,Pl.17cba) of Del Ray Beach, Florida died in September of Charline Cooper (5613,Pl.27a) died on Nov. 1992. Dorothy's husband was David Shapiro 21, 1992 at the age of 77. Charline, the (4308). She is a member of the family widow of David Cooper (5607), was born iri through her grandmother, Chaya Pakciar Denver and moved to the Kansas City area in Kandel (2173,Pl.17cb), daughter of David 1938. She was a member of Beth Shalom Pakciar (2072,Pl.17c). It is believed that Synagogue, B'nai B'rith Women, and the Dorothy is survived by two children, her Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. David, who brother Sidney Kandel (2284) and sister owned the Advance Music Co., was the son of Mildred Auerbach (2283) . Max (Meir) Cooper (Kopyto (5597) and the ****************************************** grandson of Baruch Kopyto (6610,Pl.27). The following obituary appeared in the Charline is survived by a son, Roger Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical (4268), who is married to cousin Eunice Kur Society of Rochester: Annette (widow of (4278,Pl.llbc); three daughters, Myrna Norman) Weinstein passed away on Nov .1. Wacknov (5619) of Foster City, California; Annette was born on Sept. 15, 1920 to Rev. Harriet Goitein of Herzliya, Israel; and Harris Baker and Esther Leah Serr in Leeds, Maxine Brand of Westlake village, England. She was related to Lord Israel California.She also leaves 10 grandchildren Sieff (one of the founders of Marks and and a great-grandson. Burial was in Spencer who claimed to descend from a Mt.Carmel Cemetery. brother of the Vilna Gaon and further back to Babylonia in the year 900), and her Michae1Mayerson(2305,Pl.17cda) passed away grandmother's uncle was Rabbi Yitzhak on Dec. 22, 1992 and was buried in New Elchanan Spektor. Annette is survived by a Montefiore Cemetery, Farmingdale, Long daughter Jennifer Weinstein of Santa Island. He was born March 12, 1912 to Monica, Ca, brother David Baker of Leeds, Goldie Pakciar (2295), daughter of Mordecai and sister Sylvia Michaels of Toronto. Is (2289,Pl.17cd). Mike was an electrician in there a link with these Serrs of Leeds? 10

ANNUAL REPORI' 'IO MEMBERS

The past 12 months saw our family association continue to grow and our family tree to grow even faster. We have passed the 8,000 mark in relatives dating back to the 18th century. If we counted the generations before that, our family tree might exceed the capacity of our computers. Three family reunions were held in 1993: Overland Park, Kansas; Loch Sheldrake, New York; and Tel Aviv, Israel. Much information was exchanged, new family friendships forged, and love and warmth pervaded all. New family branches have been discovered in Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Mexico, and the USA. We are investigating our links to the Kafka, Sukkienik, Ptashek, Kwiatek, Blattman, Yarmos families among others. We have initiated a working relationship with Yad Vashem and The Museum of the Diaspora, both in Israel. Information is being exchanged with these venerable institutions. Our relationship with five other major archives is continuing. The Ser-Char lap archives continues to grow. We have collected an impressive array of documents and photographs of past generations. These are being sorted for publication in the book on our family's history which is in preparation. Once again, we appeal to you - please send in any such treasures you'd like to be included. They will be handled with extreme care and be returned to you after reproduction. Work continues on the English translations of several yizkor books. The Suwalk Yizkor Book is completely translated and is being edited and prepared for publication. This is a joint endeavor with the noted researcher, Dr. Alex Friedlander and also with Lana Rosenfeld. The Ciechanowiec Yizkor Book is still being translated. The Yiddish portions are almost completed. We are working on the Hebrew sections. Portions of the Tykocin, Semiaticzi, and Czyzewo Yizkor Books have been translated, but much work remains. We need volunteers who can translate Yiddish and/or Hebrew into English. Lastly, we must tell you that all of this work costs a lot and that your family dues helps to defray some of the cost. It is time to join or renew membership for 1993. Please send in your check for $36.00 along with the renewal slip enclosed. To those who have already done so, we thank you for supporting this worthy endeavor. The Ser-Charlap Family Association maintains an account in the Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Bethpage, New York. The records of income and expenses are available for inspection by any member. Thank you for your continued support. JO.IN" 'IYLE SER----cHARIA.P FAMILY AS&r:X:'ZATIOJV *************************************************************************** The privilege of belonging to a people to whom the honorable title "Veteran of History" has been conceded puts serious responsibilities on your shoulders. You must demonstrate that you are worthy of your heroic past. - S.M. Dubnow, 1893 (100 years ago) **************************************************************************** THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 108 COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. 11724