Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall, 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic Page Coordinator/Editor's Corner 1 Steering Committee Meeting Results 2 Family Finder News 4 Rzeszow Synagogue to be Restored 4 Holocaust Museum to Receive Red Cross Records 5 Correction: Contacting Lviv Researcher 5 Records from Ivano-Frankovsk (Stanislawow) 6 Corrections & Additions to Lviv Metrical Records Inventory 6 Documents in the Ukraine Central State Historical Archives: Lviv6 Computer Corner: 10 JewishGen; Polish Genealogical Society Web Site Books & Other Materials: Vital Records in Poland; 10 HaMagid on CD-ROM ; Postcards from Ukraine 1830 Account of Travelers in Galicia 11 Travel Notes: Recent Travel in Ukraine; Ivano-Frankovsk; 13 Podhaytse JewishGen Yizkor Book SIG 16 Volunteer for Data Entry of Tyczyn Records 17 Resources: Translator Available; Volunteer in Kansas City; 17 Index to Book about Famous Galician-born Jews Update on Request for Notary Records 18 Gologory Revisited 19 Gesher Galicia SIG Steering Committee 20 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996
COORDINATOR/EDITOR'S CORNER We apologize to those who were left out of the Fall 1996 Family Finder. The error was not discovered until after it was mailed. As a result, we have reissued the Family Finder. Please destroy the earlier edition to avoid confusion. Instead of sending a Spring supplement to the Family Finder, we will, instead, include information for new members in Vol. 4, Nos. 3 & 4 of The Galitzianer. This will save on mailing costs. Please read our new copyright notice carefully. Because we want to be sure that the fruits of our collective labor are protected, Gesher Galicia will hold the copyright on all material published in The Galitzianer. I hope that this doesn't discourage anyone from submitting material for publication. If you have some specific concerns about something that you are thinking of submitting, we can probably come up with an appropriate written agreement to accomodate your concerns and circumstances. On a personal note, I have decided that this will be my last year as Gesher Galicia's Coordinator. I will remain on the Steering Committee as an advisor during the 1997-98 year, but I believe that it is time for others to move into leadership roles. Also, I am actively searching for a new editor or editorial team for The Galitzianer. If you would like to try editing one issue with my guidance and assistance, please let me know. One advantage of the job is that the editor has a front row seat on research and resource developments. And, as a bonus, you have contact with a large number of our members. Although the editor needs to be a decent writer and must be fairly knowledgeable about Galicia, I and others in the group can serve as technical advisors. Suzan Wynne, Coordinator
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STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING RESULTS
The Gesher Galicia Steering Committee met Sunday, December 22 at the home of Suzan Wynne. A number of important decisions were reached by those in attendance: Milton Goldsamt, Larry Kahaner, Sheiala Moskow, Shelley Pollero and Peter Zavon. Due to being overwhelmed by other commitments, Bill Fern resigned from the Steering Committee in the Fall. Nat Abramowitz has agreed to join the Steering Committee. Unfortunately, a prior speaking engagement with the Philadelphia JGS kept Nat from making this meeting. Please note that all of the Steering Committee members are now on e-mail. Our Treasurer, Sheiala Moskow, announced that, as of the end of this quarter we have a balance on hand of $8,772.85. This is sufficient to cover our projected expenses. Shelley Pollero, our Membership Coordinator, said that, as of December 22, 1996, we had about 300 paid members. In late Fall, we mailed out letters to all former members whose memberships had lapsed over the years. Shelley reports that we are beginning to hear from those people. Welcome back! We have had contributions from Louis A. Fine, Randy Stehle and Dr. Edmund I. Parnes. Thank you very much. The Steering Committee considered the question of the membership year and our policy with respect to including Family Finder information for lapsed members. The new membership year will be September 30-October 1. This change will make it easier for everyone to get back from summer vacations before membership fees are dues. Also, instead of including a membership renewal form in the newsletter, as we have done in the past, all members will receive a first class mailing during August requesting payment for the new program year. The newsletter will be published in October, January, April and July. Deadlines for submissions will be September 15, December 15, March 15 and June 15. Instead of publishing the main Family Finder in the Fall, we will send it out with the Winter issue of The Galitzianer. This will allow people more time to pay their dues and to make changes and corrections. Please Note: All members for the 1996-97 program year will be included in the Family Finder in Winter 1998. However, if you do not renew your membership by December 1997, your information will be deleted from the following year's Family Finder to be published in Winter 1999. In August, along with the dues notice, Peter Zavon will send out a copy of what all members have in the Family Finder data base so that you can see what Gesher Galicia has for you. This will be a good opportunity to make changes in surnames and towns. If you need clarification about membership policies, contact Suzan Wynne by e-mail or "snail mail". Some people have written to say that they feel their information should be in the Family Finder forever, even if they have only been a member for a year. It is the consensus of
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the Steering Committee, that inclusion in the Family Finder is a privilege of members. We also considered how to begin a research and development fund so that we can commission carefully selected researchers to research what is at various Archives in Ukraine and Poland. What we propose is that, beginning in 1997-98, $2 of member dues will go toward a research fund. Of course, members should also feel free to send in donations over and above the $2 (grin). We anticipate a small surplus in this year's treasury and would like to begin our research and development efforts by commissioning Alexander Dunai to tell us what census and tax records are available in the main Archives in Lviv and to provide samples of those records from various time periods. We would like your comments about this proposal. Finally, we are planning several publishing projects: 1) A resource guide which covers what new members need to know about Galicia, record searching in Poland and Ukraine, written and human resources for conducting research. The guide would largely be comprised of material published in early editions of The Galitzianer. Currently new members have to buy back issues of the newsletter. A resource guide would collapse essential information in one place for less money than it now costs new members to buy back issues. Publication is projected for June, 1997. 2) The second project underway is an index to Jewish names listed for selected towns in the 1929 Polish directory (included towns in what had been Eastern and Western Galicia). Additionally, several members have brought material to our attention that are worthy of publication, but they do not fit the newsletter format. The Steering Committee approved the concept of packaging and distributing such material through Gesher Galicia.
FAMILY FINDER NEWS by Peter Zavon
Before sending me your towns, please verify that they were in the former AUSTRIAN- ruled province of Galicia. This would save a lot of work and confusion. Former Austrian provinces such as Moldavia, Bukovina, etc. are not part of the Gesher Galicia focus. Former Russian-held areas of present-day Poland (Lublin, Warsaw, etc.) and Lithuania were not in Galicia. Also not all parts of Ukraine were in Galicia. If you are not sure, send an SASE or e-mail message to Suzan Wynne and she will verify whether the town was in Galicia.
RZESZOW SYNAGOGUE TO BE RESTORED by Marian Rubin
The Rzeszow Landsmanschaft in Tel Aviv has announced plans to renew the synagogue
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at Kazimierza Street 18 in Rzeszow (prounced Zhe-shoof). According to the announcement, the synagogue building, which once also served as a home of the aged and a kitchen, will be renovated "in order to create a prayer site for anyone who might arrive [in] Rzeszow from Israel or the diaspora and who wants to say Kaddish and to remember his family from Reisha (the Yiddish name for Rzeszow). The plans include establishment of a memory room and museum. In addition, the Landsmanschaft will erect a monument at the site of the main Jewish cemetery in Rzeszow, at the spot from which the Jews were transported to the death camp at Belzec. The announcement from the Landsmanschaft stated, "We received the permits from the mayor of Rzeszow, who shows much interest and sympathy for any commemorative action." The Landsmanschaft is asking for contributions for these projects, which will cost $10,000. Those interested in making contributions, please make your check payable to "Rzeszow Landsmanschaft" and mail it to Mrs. Klara Ma'ayan, President, Epstein 8a, Tel Aviv 62962. Please note the names of your families from the Rzeszow area and include the names, addresses and phone numbers of your children, grandchildren and cousins since the Landsmanschaft is making a big effort to ensure continuing contact with the second and third generations of the Reisha community. In Israel, members of the second generation are now actively involved with Landsmanschaft projects. The Landsmanschaft's announcement indicates that after the project is completed, they will organize a dedication ceremony. On a personal note, I travelled with members of the Reisha Landsmanschaft, in June, 1995, to the dedication of a monument in the woods of Glogow, the site of the mass graves of Holocaust victims from Rzeszow and nearby communities (see The Galitzianer, Fall, 1995, "Memorial in Glogow"). One participant, Mr. Moshe Oster, who was making his first trip to Rzeszow since his internment in Auschwitz, recently made another trip to Rzeszow and spoke to student and adult groups about his life in Rzeszow and about the Holocaust. Mr. Oster is a member of the committee overseeing the renovation of the synagogue.
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM TO RECEIVE RED CROSS RECORDS By Suzan Wynne
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum recently announced an agreement with the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC) which will enable microfilms of over 25,000 pages of Holocaust-era documents to be transferred to the Museum's Archives. Microfilms of some documents will also be deposited, under this agreement, with Yad Vashem and the Center for Jewish Documentation in Paris. According to the Washington Jewish Week (December 26, 1996, page 6), the documents, themselves, "contain official reports on ICRC rescue missions, delegation visits to concentration camps and ghettos, deportation operations, and Jewish emigration, before and after the war. Many of the pages include photographs relating to World War II and the post-war years in Europe."
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The documents will be available for public and scholarly use in early 1997.
CORRECTION TO CONTACTING LVIV RESEARCHER by Suzan Wynne
I followed Nat Abramowitz's instructions for contacting and employing Mr. Alexander Dunai, a Lviv researcher. Mr. Dunai received my fax at his home: 011-380-322 334316 and began work on my request promptly. However, when I tried to send him payment through Western Union, I learned that there were some details that I hadn't quite understood. Western Union in Ukraine does not deliver messages or telephone people who have messages. For this reason, it is essential that you include his passport number on the Western Union form. That is: KA 124254. Then, you must fax or e-mail Mr. Dunai to tell him when you have wired money. Be sure to include the 10-digit Money Control Number of your wire transfer in your fax. Mr. Dunai then can go to Western Union, show his passport, and retrieve the money. Actually, once I got all the parts together, it was quite simple. If you have trouble finding a Western Union office or need clarification about their procedures, call 1-800-325-6000 in the U.S. Nat says that Mr. Dunai's new e-mail address is: [email protected]. This communication channel will help with reaching him more reliably.
RECORDS FROM IVANO-FRANKOVSK (STANISLAWOW) by Nat Abramowitz
I recently received some information from Mr. Alexander Dunai (see The Galitzianer, Vol. IV, No. 1, Fall 1996) with regard to the contents of the Ivano-Frankovsk (Stanislowow) Archives. There are apparently no metrical (birth, marriage and death) records, but Mr. Dunai found the following:
1. List of real estate owned by Jews 2. Census of the Jewish population 3. List of lawyers, doctors and merchants. This list includes all denominations but most listed were Jews. 4. Lists of Jews deported by the Nazis.
Most of these documents are from the 20th century. Mr. Dunai has access to another institution which has one book of Jewish births from 1919-1924. Contact Mr. Dunai using the method described elsewhere.
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CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO LVIV METRICAL RECORDS INVENTORY by Nat Abramowitz
There are a few correction and clarifications regarding the list of communities in my article, which appeared in the Fall, 1996 (Vol. 4, No. 1) Galitzianer.
In the Bolechow regional district, add Niniow before Dolny
In the Drohobycz regional district, add Gaje Delne and delete Dolhe.
In the Zbarow regional district, add Urlow and delete Urk.
DOCUMENTS IN THE UKRAINE CENTRAL STATE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES IN LVIV Submitted by Julian & Fay Bussgang
Our friend, Zygo Walloch of Scarsdale, NY obtained the following list of documents in the original Ukrainian. We had the list translated in time for the 1995 Jewish Genealogical Seminar in Boston.
Fond 701: 5,672 files 1785-1942: Jewish Religious Community of Lwow (2, 3, 4, 5 are being organized).
1. Metrical Books [Births (B), Marriages (M) and Deaths (D)] of Jewish communities in Galicia:
Documents are organized by towns in alphabetical order. Within a town, events are in chronological order. Sets are incomplete. Most common are B, M, and D in Lwow and vicinity (56 books), Tarnapol (29 books), Narajew (28 books, Podhajce (21) books, Mikulince (21 books). Seven books are alphabetical indexes.
One book lists Jews living in Tarnapol in the 1850-1900 period, with indication of birth date and profession.
One book includes drafts of abstracts from metrical records of Horodenka, second half of 19th century-beginning of 20th century.
Seven books are copies of metrical records 1789-1942 (oldest documents are from a marriage book from Kamionka-Strumilowa, 1781-1861 and marriages from Stanislawow,
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1789-1871)
2. Correspondence between Lwow vovoidships about different activities: permits for marriage, dowries, taxes; selling kosher meat on auction; assistance to poor; construction and repair of synagogues; establishment of Jewish morgue; Jewish population census; Jewish goods and money for charity; applications from Jewish immigrants from Russia, 1785-1907; Jewish activities with hospitals and synagogues; list of Jewish families with debts in 18 books, 1791- 1795, 1796-1850.
3. Financial documents, applications for aid, financial assistance, reports. List of committee reports. Case files.
4. Reports and a list of members of an organization relating to financial assistance.
5. List of deaths. Case files.
Fond 141: 26 files from 1667-1854: Collection of documents about Finance & Properties of the Jewish population in Galicia.
Town and District implementation of new taxes, benefits to different population groups from towns of Chelm, Belz, and Czechow (?); Rabbinical Court decrees; register of debts and payments of Jewish population of Belz.
Fond 300: 350 files, 1921-1939: Records of private warehouse of iron tubes & hardware belonging to Szymon Soltz of Lwow.
Fond 332: 128 files, 1924-1939. Lwow Branch of Zionist Organization for Immigration to Palestine (Headquarters in Warsaw). Letters, documents, statistical data, list of immigrants and members.
Fond 334: 161 files, 1920, 1922-1939. Lwow Branch of Central Immigration Society (EAC), covered 4 vovoidships around Lwow. Activities: give information to immigrants, prepare documents, help with employment, legal help and funds; schedule transport to Canada and South America. List of immigrants & members.
Fond 335: 225 files, 1920-1939. Keren Haesod Society to Build Palestine. Covers Eastern Galicia Branch of worldwide organization. Correspondence, minutes of meetings, lists of members & contributors.
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Fond 336: 243 files, 1922-1923, 1928-1939. Regional Commission for Eastern Malopolska in Lwow. Group raised & distributed funds, organized Jews to go to Palestine, public education. List of delegates to 1897 Zionist Congress in Basel.
Fond 337: 123 files, 1919-1939. Hanoar Hatzion (Young Zionists Organization) which had branches in Galician towns. Rules, correspondence, membership list.
Fond 338: 1,635 files, 1895, 1902-1940. Regional Zionist Organization of Lwow. Political party of Jewish bourgeoisie in Eastern Galicia. From 1920-1939, active in three voivoidships to buy and sell land in Palestine. List of leaders, members, voting places.
Fond 339: 32 files, 1926-1939. Society Keren Kaemet of Lwow (National Jewish Fund) established in Galicia, 1914. Headquarters in Warsaw. Purpose to raise funds for colonization of Palestine. Rules and regulations of society in Lwow and Krakow, correspondence, list of members, 1936-1939.
Fond 341: 17 files, 1931-1937. Publication and administration of Zionist Weekly, newspaper of worldwide Zionist movement. List of subscribers and ledger book of receipts.
Fond 342: 129 files, 1926-1939. Achba (Jewish Youth Organization) of Lwow, Eastern Malopolska. Closely tied to Zionist organizations in Poland, Western Europe, America and Palestine. Correspondence with Warsaw, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, London, Prague. List and application forms of members. List of delegates to conventions.
Fond 346: 288 files, 1929-1939. Lwow Branch of Association of Jewish Veterans who Fought for Polsh Independence. Covered three voivoidships, reported to headquarters in Warsaw and branches in Poland, Denmark and elsewhere. Employment and financial assistance, loans, care of veterans' graves, Youth Cadre, rules/regulations, projects, memoranda, protocols, news bulletins, conditions in Poland, membership dues and lists, correspondence.
Fond 432: 49 files, 1924-1939. Central Jewish Cooperative Bank of Lwow. Bank documents and activity reports.
Fond 441: 17 files, 1928-1932. Hanoar Haivri (Jewish Boy Scouts) in Lwow and voivoidship. After 1930, covered all of Malopolska and Silesia. 1932 closed by decision of committees of Zionist organizations in Krakow. Joined with Agudat Hanoar Haivri in Krakow. Files, correspondence and reports.
Fond 454: 41 files, 1933-1939. Tzion Baoley Miktzoa (Central Committee of Jewish Zionist
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Craftsmen) in Malopolska. Educate Jewish craftsmen, promote Jewish culture, lectures, etc. List and card files of members.
Fond 455: 82 files, 1930-1939. Hechalutz HaKlal Tzion (Jewish Society of Zionist Youth). In 1935, joined with another society, General Zionist Halutz, which was active in Eastern Galicia and all of Poland. Correspondence, application forms, membership lists, card file of members going to work on kibbutz.
Fond 456: 15 files, 1930-1933. Gmilat Chesed. Headquarters for Eastern Galicia. Financial aid for poor Jewish craftsmen and merchants. Financial documents.
Fond 457: 10 files, 1925-1939. Hechalutz Pioneer of Lwow (Society for the Education and Training of Jewish Youth for Immigration to Palestine). Card files of members.
Fond 458: 47 files, 1926-1939. Lwow Branch of Jewish Cooperative Association. Reported to Warsaw; activities throughout Galicia. Correspondence, reports and financial documents.
Fond 496: 5 files, 1926, 1937-1939. Society of Jewish Private Enterprise in Lwow. Payroll records of Geller, President of Society.
Fond 497: 243 files, 1873-1928. Synagogue Schools of the Jewish Community, chartered under Belgrade statute of 1866. Original founders were Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition. Goal was to support religion, charity and education of Jews. Drafts of laws regarding religious societies, work plans, memoranda from clergy in Serbia, Croatia & Slovenia; financial activities. List of electors and abstracts of some metrical data.
Fond 498: 5 files, 1929-1938. Ahavat Chesed (Society of Credit, Self Help) which was active in three voivoidships in Eastern Malopolska. Applications of members for loans.
Fond 499: 5 files, 1929-1938. Society for Assistance to Jewish Students in Poland, Lwow Branch. Applications for financial aid, financial reports.
Fond 500: 9 files, 1930-1933. Hanoteach: Lwow Society of Farmers to Work in Palestine. Help with care of citrus trees in Palestine for owners in Poland; maintain citrus plantation in Natanya.
Fond 501: 5 files, 1931-1939. Makkabi (cultural and physical growth of Jewish youth, summer camp). Documents, audit)
Fond 502: 9 files, 1925-1939. Society of Jewish Women, Eastern Malopolska. Office of job
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search & placement, shelters for working women, kindergartens, child care, help to runaways.
Fond 503: 222 files, 1921-1939. TOZ (Health Care Society for Jews, Society for Promoting Good Health Among Jews); Lwow branch of organization headquartered in Warsaw. List of members of committee, medical card files.
Fond 505: 296 files, 1898-1931. Committee for Assistance of Jewish Population in Lwow. Active in Lwow after pogroms in Lwow on November 22-3, 1918. In 1923, changed name to Central Jewish Rescue Committee. List of committee members.
Fond 639: handwritten and illegible.
COMPUTER CORNER
JewishGen The Jewish Genealogical Family Finder is now under the auspices of JewishGen, Inc., a nonprofit, online Jewish genealogical services that will be known as the JewisGen Family Finder (JGFF). You can contact JewishGen on the Internet at
Polish Genealogical Society Web Site Barbara Urbanska-Yeager has sent information about the Polish Genealogical Society web site. The address is: http://members.aol.com/pgsamerica. You can get information about the latest news, books, periodicals, reference material and so forth.
BOOKS AND OTHER MATERIALS
Vital Records in Poland Warren Blatt from Boston has written an overview to this 11 page document which lists of vital records available from Poland, including new areas microfilmed by the Mormons. Contact: 11 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 HaMagid on CD-ROM Dr. Neil Rosenstein, author of The Unbroken Chain, is offering, on a CD-ROM, over 1, 500 original pages of HaMagid, the first Hebrew newspaper, published from 1856-1903. HaMagid published obituaries, wills, death notices and other items of genealogical interest. The CD-ROM includes an English index to all towns and people mentioned. There is a pre-publication price for Jewish genealogical societies and their members (proof of membership required) for $59.95 until February 28, 1997. After that, the price will be $89.95. Prices include postage and handling within the U.S. Foreign orders, add $5US. Four to six week delivery. CD-ROM requires Microsoft Windows (3.1 and higher) and a CD-ROM drive. Send a check to The Computer Center for Jewish Genealogy, 654 Westfield Avenue, Elizabeth, NJ 07208. Fax: 908/353-6080; e-mail: [email protected]. Postcards from Ukraine A well-known author and historian of Jewish culture and religion in Poland, has a collection of old postcards from Eastern Galicia. The six Galician postcards are part of a set of 16 cards that make up the Jewish Rare Series, which includes the following: 1. Synagogue in Dubno, Volhynia, ca 1910 2. Old synagogue in Ostrog, Galicia, ca 1910 3. City synagogue in Drohobycz, Galicia, ca 1910 4. Synagogue-Kenessa in Halicz, Galicia, ca 1910 5. Old synagogue in Tarnopol, Galicia, ca 1908 6. Synagogue; Rebbai Palace in Czortkov, Galicia, ca 1910, ca 1930 7. Great old synagogue in Brody, Galicia, ca 1910 8. Great synagogue in Nowogrodek, Belarus, ca 1930 9. Great synagogue in Neiswierz (Nishvish), Belarus, ca 1930 10. Synagogue in Brzesc (Brest, Brisk), Belarus, ca 1930 11. Synagogue and Yeshiva in Lida, Belarus, ca 1910 12. Great synagogue in Pinsk, Belarus, ca 1930 13. Synagogue in Sveksna, Lithuania, ca 1920 14. Synagogue in Svencionys, Lithuania, ca 1916 15. Synagogue in Kielce, Poland, ca 1916 16. Great synagogue in Bialystok, Poland, ca 1920 The whole set of postcards is $8.00 (US). Each card is 70¢ (US). There is a 10% discount for more than 10 sets. To order the cards, contact: Tomek Wisniewski, Box 351, 1 Bialystok, 12 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 POLAND. His e-mail: [email protected]. 1830 ACCOUNT OF TRAVELERS IN GALICIA by Nat Abramowitz and Suzan Wynne Some years ago, Bill Gladstone reviewed Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in AVOTAYNU. This book, published in 1842, was an account of the travels of two Church of Scotland missionaries in 1830. The two men were authorized to visit Jewish communities in North Africa, Palestine, Turkey, the Balkans, territory now in Ukraine, Galicia, France, Germany, etc. Recently, Nat found the book in a library . Although the chapter on Galicia mentions only the names of Rabbi Landau of Lemberg (Lviv) and Moses Weitheit of Brody, it does portray a vivid description of the towns, synagogues, how local Jews lived, characteristics of Jewish inns, trades, customs, problems, literacy, education, Jewish tombstone art, burial customs, and so forth. One gets a real sense of how things were in those days. The 740 pages were interspersed with maps, woodcuts of synagogues, churches, religious items and local costumes. The chapter on Galicia consists of about 72 pages. Some of the towns and cities visited and described in some detail were Tarnapol, Lviv, Brody, and Cracow. Other towns visited and mentioned were: Zalesczczyky, Dzurow, Kopaczynece, Zalosce, Saretsky, Podkamien, Sassow, Zloczow, Wola Laska, Sandomierz, Mosciska, Jaroslaw, Lancut, Rzeszow, Ropczyce, Tarnow, Bochnia, and Wieliczka. The authors provided Jewish population data which appeared to be from official sources.It is unclear how Gesher Galicia can make good use of this book because of the length of the chapter on Galicia. However, we are working on providing the information about the towns, at a minimum. Perhaps a little taste will whet your appetite. The following is a description of an inn in Ropczyce. " ....we came to Ropsitza (Ropczyce), a decayed village. The market place had (as usual), a piazza all round and a covered well in the centre....There are sixty Jewish families here, all poor mechanics. Before noon, we rested at a Jewish khan (inn) to partake of mit-tag (lunch). And here we may relieve the narrative of our monotonous journey through this tame country, with its unheard of villages, by setting down the description of an ordinary Jewish khan taken upon the spot. First, you drive in at a large gate into a long dark covered stable, among horses and briscas (?). Alighting, you proceed through a large chamber at one end, which includes the guest-room, drinking and smoking room, kitchen, bed-room, all in one. The things which strike the eye as peculiarly Jewish, are the mezusa on the door- 13 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 post, the misrach hanging on the eastern wall, to shew the direction of Jerusalem, and the brazen lustre or Sabbath lamp suspended from the roof. In one corner is a fire without a grate, and the dinner boiling in earthen-ware cans, standing beside burning faggots. Brass and earthen kitchen utensils, bright and clean, adorn the wall; and the washing tub has its corner. Being a family room, there are two tolerable beds, serving for sofas by day, a cradle and a fine infant in its little carriage. The mother and daughter are preparing the food, and the married daughter, with fine Jewish features, cares for the children. The cow, unreproved, is drinking out of a tub, and hens are wandering about, finding supply at the feet of the different guests, while one more expert than the rest is catching flies at the window. Such was the khan where we rested. Being also a public room, four Jews with long beards were dining at the end of one long table, while we occupied the end of another. Two others were dining at a chest of drawers. One Jew was sitting idly on the cradle; several others, each with a German pipe in his mouth, wandered in and out. In spite of all appearances, the dinner was excellent, and the cost only 8d a head." About Ropczyce, itself, the authors said nothing more. However, about Brody, the authors said that, "The number of of Jewish families enrolled at the last census was 5000. An intelligent Austrian, who we afterwards met at Zloczow, the superintendent of the district, reckoned that there were 25,000 Jews and 10,000 Christians in Brody. His estimate of the Jewish population is probably very near the truth, though the proportion of the Christian or Gentile population is perhaps too high....The Jews of Brody carry on a considerable trade with Leipzig and Odessa. They have great influence in the town, and often act as spies to the Austrian police.....There are perhaps forty rich Jews in the city..., but the greater part are poor. There are many adherents of the new School, although they have only one synagogue. Most of the rising generation are giving up the study of the Talmud and several hve been baptized. There is some learning among them, for in one synagogue, we met with several lads who understood and spoke Hebrew. Many of the young men are beginning to attend the Government schools, in which they are taught Latin, and acquire general knowledge. The rabbi of the New School speaks Latin and French." The authors referred to the "New School" frequently when talking about differing religious practices among Jews. It appears that there may have been some movement toward a Reform or Liberal Judaism in Galicia, that is not well documented elsewhere. The clear implication is that these congregations were comprised of people who were open to learning non-Jewish subjects and topics and who were fairly involved with the professions. There will be more from this chapter. 14 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 TRAVEL NOTES Account of Recent Travel in Ukraine by Susan Gelber Cannon In August, 1996, I traveled with my husband and two sons (ages ten and seventeen) to the two small towns in Ukraine which I had discovered, through researching family histories and maps from early in the century, to have been the homes of my grandparents, George and Sarah Poliner. This is a brief synopsis of the memorable trip I took with my family, as well as practical suggestions to anyone planning a research trip to Ukraine. Articles and maps published in the back issues of The Galitzianer were instrumental to the success of our trip. Additionally, my request for information which was published in The Galitzianer resulted in advice from several knowledgeable people. We followed much of their advice--especially about bringing dried fruits and snacks. As vegetarians, we ate a lot of vareniky and blintzes and yogurt. (We actually brought a small plu-in pot with an electrical adaptor with which to make instant dried soups each evening in our hotel room--a real help to vegetarians!) We found bringing a travel kit of silver duct tape, wire, needle and thread, batteries for cameras, and over-the-counter and prescription medicines was a very practical idea. We got the Hepatitis A vaccine, which eased our minds about eating salads, if nothing else. We brought back-packs in which to carry with us everywhere, the 1 1/2 liter bottles of spring water we each purchased twice daily. We highly recommend bringing a compact video camera with a battery recharging system compatible with Ukraine's 220 electrical current. Samsung makes one which can adapt from 110 to 220. We used it and were satisfied with its performance. We have already presented several "video showings" of our travels to eager relatives who were fascinated by the footage, even more than by still photograhs. A guide book we found extremely useful is Hippocrene Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine by Linda Hodges and George Chumak (c. 1994, Hippocrene Books). We also used sections of Let's Go: Eastern Europe. The section on Lviv is very descriptive. We had been told to bring lots of one dollar bills. However, we found it much more useful to exhange about $30(US) each day for use in small bakeries, shops and taxis. Dollars were not accepted anywhere except the artists' market in Lviv. Then, it was useful to have new, crisp, unmarked bills. Every store or restaurant asked for "coupons" which is the local currency. Credit cards were not an option, except in the Grand Hotel in Lviv. We had also been advised to be as wary as one would in any big U.S. city. Frankly, we felt safer in Ukraine than in cities in the U.S. Of course, we were careful with our belongings and money and did not appear flashy..except, of 15 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 course, for our numerous cameras. (Bring lots of film and videotape.) We were searching for our roots in Ukraine and found them, quite literally, in the form of a 150 year old poplar tree that we believe was planted by my great-great grandfather Katz in the town of Shchurovichi, Ukraine (Szczurowice was the name when the territory was in Galicia; the Jews called it "Shtervitz" and it is 88 km. NE of Lviv). It was the only trace of my family's line that we had discovered with the help of prearranged and impromtu guides--but what an impact this living, enduring symbol had for me and my family! Our travel agent at Diaspora Enterprises (220 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103) had arranged for our transportation and guide. Although we had some trouble with one of our drivers, we had an energetic and intrepid translator, Lub Kos from the Sputnik agency). She freely questioned people on the streets in Lviv, as well as in the small towns we visited, often obtaining leads and information. We found the "babushkas" in the countryside the most eager and willing to talk about the Jews who were no longer part of the communities. One old woman bemoaned the loss of the Jewish community in 1942. "I liked it better when the Jews lived here. We helped each other; we all shared." Another old woman told us that the Nazis had burned the Jewish homes and stores in 1942, but pointed out the synagogue, still standing and now used as a music school in Berestchko (Editor's note: this town was near, but not in Galicia). Even the Jewish cemetery had been bulldozed and a house had been built atop it. In Schchurovichi, the streets were not paved and there was no evidence of a synagogue. Perhaps 200 Jews, about 30% of the population, lived there before the war. Two Ukrainian men in their sixties, Ivan and Mychael, helped us find the Jewish cemetery at our guide's request. It was overgrown with brambles, nettles and brush. the only stone we found was face down and too heavy to turn. Ivan remembered several Jewish families. "I went to school with the Jewish children," he said. "The town was beautiful before the war." Ivan pointed to the few standing homes of the Jews who had lived there: Reiss, Halpern, Freedman, Katz. When we told him that my great-grandmother was Esther Katz, Ivan confirmed that Mr. Katz was involved in growing hops and milling. He had planted a tree, known in the town as Katz's tree--it was a poplar--so old and tall. We adopted Katz's tree as the "Family Tree." Finally, Ivan pointed over the fields in the direction of the farm of Anton Lukasiewicz, a Christian farmer who had hidden my grandmother Sarah's cousin, Simon Sterling and his wife, Sophie, from the Nazis in 1943. "Everyone knew that Lukasiewicz had Jews at his place," Ivan confided. Of course, no Jews remain there today. Those few who survived, like Simon and Sophie, left the country for the United States and Israel. The others were killed at various death camps in the surrounding area, at towns named Lopatin, Loczow, and Brody. We had gathered this information from Simon Sterling's haunting account of his experiences in A Survivor's Story, transcribed by his daughter, Phyllis Sterling Jacobs. The town, today, bears little resemblance to that described by my grandmother, Sarah Bodek, to her daughters. Brody (Brot in Yiddish), a 16 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 large important city in the late 1800's, is still a large city. There was a sizeable Jewish population. In 1942, the synagogue was destroyed. The shell of the building remains standing and has been under "reconstruction" for about eight years. The task seems daunting. According to Simon's account, about 12,000 Jews were killed in Brody's ghetto, and many thousands more in the surrounding towns. Lviv (once Lemberg; also known as Lvov), is still a gem of a city. Untouched by bombs during the world wars, buildings remain standing from the 1500s, with an intact town center and market square. Sarah Bodek had told her daughters about trips to Lemberg to attend dances. There is a lovely opera house in the center of town and historical churches of various denominations. The Jewish ghetto of Lviv was liquidated in 1942. Since Ukrainian independence, a monument was erected near the site. There were three major synagogues in Lviv. One, the Golden Rose, was destroyed by the Nazis in 1942. A plaque, written in English, Ukrainian and Hebrew, marks the site. Another synagogue is used today as an active Jewish community center. The third, used as a stable during the war, is now a 300 family synagogue led by Rabbi Bald from Brooklyn! We visited this beautiful synagogue and spoke at length with the rabbi's wife. She can arrange for guides and translators and encourages congregations elsewhere to arrange food and clothing drives to benefit the community there.) There are beautiful paintings all around the high ceiling, depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Bullet holes are also visible. We had not gone to Ukraine with the intention of doing archival research and did not do any. We were interested in visiting the towns and cities important to my grandparents, who had come to the U.S. in 1904. In a way, the visit raised more questions than it answered, in that any evidence of the Jewish communities my grandparents had described, was so often missing. However, we absorbed with every bit of our beings, the days we spent in Ukraine, a fascinating country full of the feeling of history, age, and transition. The intangible impact on our family, especially our sons, was strong and totally worthwhile. Whether you go with an organized tour or on your own, travel to Ukraine for family research purposes may be rewarding for you as well. Ivano Frankovsk Muriel Friedman (#461) is interested in traveling to Ivano Frankovsk (Stanislawow) next summer in case anyone else is thinking along the same lines. Podhaytse New member, Clarice Weintraub, sent in a message for those who had roots in Podhaytse (Podhajce). "...Since I am fairly new at the genealogy game, I guess I put the cart before the horse and went on a trip to Podhaytse this past summer to see where my mother was born and played as a child before she came to America, leaving her family behind. She came to 17 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 some cousins at the time. However, my trip was really in vain, and I got no information at all since the town's historian was away, as was the Mayor. I did get many photos. I would be interested in hearing from others who are researching this town so that we can exchange information." 8 Fairway Drive, Great Neck, NY 11020 JEWISHGEN YIZKOR BOOK SIG Recently, we have had a number of inquiries from members about yizkor books. Some of you have had trouble finding the book you want to see or own; some want to find a translator willing to help out with translating part or all of a book; some want to communicate about specific information in a yizkor book. Some time ago, The Galitzianer carried a small article about a project being organized to collect information about yizkor books. The effort has since grown into a very active Special Interest Group that is now part of JewishGen. Martin Kessel is the Coordinator of the project. For those of you with access to e-mail or the Internet, you can contact the SIG in several ways. The most general address and the home page for the SIG is: http:www.jewishgen.org/yizkor.html. Martin can be contacted by writing to him at 43 Water Street, Natick MA 01760 or by sending him a message via e-mail: [email protected]. The SIG is trying to catalog all yizkor books known to exist and to determine who in the network of Jewish genealogists might have personal copies. They also have information about library collections of yizkor books, commercial book sellers who carry yizkor books, and translators who have expressed a willingness to assist with translations. Ideally, the SIG can help groups of people interested in the same towns find each other so that translation projects can be financially shared. If you own a yizkor book, have translated all or a portion of a book (including an index), need to find a book, want to know who else is interested in financing a translation efforts, contact the SIG. A postscript note: Gesher Galicia member, Muriel Friedman (#461), is on the board of the National Yiddish Book Center. She has offered to help members find what they need through this organization. VOLUNTEER NEEDED FOR DATA ENTRY OF TYCZYN RECORDS Nat Abramowitz obtained a number of vital records from the Western Galicia region of Tyczyn. Tyczyn, though a small town, was a major administrative district for the purpose of collecting vital records during the Austrian regime. Thus, the Jewish records from Tyczyn include records from a large number of surrounding towns and villages. Nat contacted the 18 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 people who were doing the REIPP project through JewishGen and asked for their assistance with extracting information from the records and creating a database, even though Tyczyn was never within Russian territory. The Tyczyn records are in Polish and the REIFF project was able to arrange for translation of the records. However, the all-volunteer staff needs our help with data entry. Michael Tobias is the person who has been coordinating the Tyczyn effort. He will provide volunteers with the data base program and instruction to anyone interested in helping with the data entry. Michael's e-mail address is: [email protected] RESOURCES Translator Available David E. Goldman has written to say that he can translate Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian documents such as letters, certificates, and passports into English. If you are interested in finding out how much he would charge, send a copy for his evaluation. His address is 1644 58th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11204. His phone/fax: 718/331-3790. Volunteer in Kansas City SIG member, Walter Naken, has kindly offered to assist members who might need some help with Kansas City research. Walter notes that the Government Services Administration Archives is not too far from where he lives. Index to Book about Famous Galician-born Jews By Suzan Wynne SIG member, Ben Weinstock found and copied a 1934 book at the Brooklyn College Library. He sent along a copy to see what the SIG might do with the book's contents. The 152 page book was written and published by Gershom Bader and the transliterated title roughly translates to Statesmen and Scholars. The book, is mostly in Hebrew, though Yiddish is used in parts. The book is comprised of biographical sketches of people, most or all who were born or lived in Galicia, and who became well-known for one reason or another. Many of the people described did not live out their lives in the town of their birthplaces. About half of the sketches, which range from a few lines to several pages, are accompanied by photos. Fortunately, the author put most of the names, with the towns where they lived, in English so that compiling the name index is fairly simple. The town of birth is in Hebrew. We need a volunteer to help with the compilation of an English-language index to this book. It would be helpful if the volunteer read a little Yiddish so that the town of birth could be extracted. 19 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 My hope is that we could have the index ready for distribution by June, 1997. The intent in indexing the names is to facilitate your research. Some of the individuals in the book are so well known that their lives are documented in many other sources, but many are not as well known and this may be the only place where their lives and work are discussed in any detail. UPDATE ON NOTARY RECORDS REQUESTS By Suzan Wynne The Galitzianer has periodically discussed the existence of notary records and their value. I finally got around to writing a letter to the Archives in Przemysl to ask for notary records from Radomysl Wielkie, Ustrzyki Dolne and Tyczyn. Radomysl Wielkie was of particular importance to me because my maternal grandfather was from there and the birth, marriage and death records were destroyed in a fire some time ago. I know nothing about his family. The reply I received was prompt and, of course, in Polish. I engaged Barbara Urbanska- Yeager to translate the letter for me and here is what the letter says in summary. First, "searches of notary public documents are considered estate searches" and I must first prove that I have a legal interest in the documents. In other words, I must prove that I am a legal heir to the deceased former owners (owners of what, it does not say). Second, the initial payment is $120 US! It needs to be paid to the account: Naczelna Dyreckcja Archiwow Panstwowych. (The bank is Powszechny Bank Kredytowy III O/Warszawa 370015-807885- 3000-3-07, but I generally send a personal check to the Archives at 00-950 Warszawa, ul. Dluga 6 and let them handle depositing the check). The fee for each hour of searching is $60 US; the fee for a duplicated copy of one page is $60 US or $40 US for a xerox copy of one page. If there is more than one page, the additional pages are only $20 US. This is a lot of money! It looks like they have seen us coming and believe that they have a good thing! I don't know that I'm going to get far with this, but I will at least try to prove that I'm descended from my grandfather, Jacob Geiger from Radomysl Wielkie and will see if he had the notary copy his birth certificate as he was preparing to leave Galicia for America in 1902-1903. At those prices, though, I can see that this will not be a good way to do extensive research, at least not by employing the Archives to do the research. GOLOGORY REVISITED by Gary Gelber One crisp day in March, 1995, I journeyed to Tom's River, NJ to meet a landsman from Gologory, now in Ukraine. Although I had been researching my Gelber history since 1977, I had 20 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 never before met anyone from Gologory where they came from. Jeanette Lipshitz (nee Werbler) was one of 13 survivors from Gologory. Before the war, there were 700 Jews in the town which is located near Zloczow. Now 85 years young, Jeanette introduced me to her siblings, Jack Werbler and Frieda Werbler Striks. Another brother, David Werbler, was in Florida. All of them were among the 13 survivors. Jeanette recalled that her next door neighbors were named Gelber. Her father's business partner had been Chaim Gelber. She remarked that my parents and I did not look like a Gelber. (What does a Gelber look like?) Gologory, before the war, was a quiet place. There was a synagogue which probably was built in the 1870s. There was also a "bais medrash" or study hall and a klayzel shteibel (little schul). The Jews in Gologory kept Shabbos and kashrut. The young people "dressed modern" but were nonetheless, observant. There were several political groups: the largest was the Revisionist-Jabotinsky, as well as Mizrachi and Zionist groups, such as Hanoar,Ichud and Shomar-Hatz. There were also a few Socialists. Motcha (Mordcha) Wassermil, the owner of a flour/grain mill, was the richest man in town. He and his son, Shmeel (Shmuel), also survived the war. Shmeel lives in Israel. During the war, the town was levelled. Both Chaim Gelber and Jeanette lived on Wolla Street, where, today, there is a combination library and pharmacy where their building once stood. The town records were kept by Nechamia Tenenbaum, the Zloczow Rabbi. The records, which survived the war, are now located in Warsaw (see The Galitzianer, Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter 1994, page 7). Rabbi Bloom or Blum was the last rabbi of Gologory. Jeanette recalled a Kahaner family. Herschel Kahaner came to New York around 1938. His sisters were Rose (from Glinna) and Minna. Herschel had brothers who had also immigrated to the U.S. but Jeanette could not remember their names. During 1940/1941, the Jews in Gologory were expelled. There were given a choice of going to Zloczow or Przemysl, where, Jeanette says, most were murdered by the Ukrainians. German soldiers participated but the Ukrainians did most of the killing. In addition to those mentioned in earlier in this article, Jeanette provided the following information about the other survivors: Manus and Faiga Kahaner (she is another Gologory survivor) live in Israel. Shmuel Gelber lives in Israel. Chana Rivka Gelber lives in Berlin, Germany. Leon Lifschutz had lived in New York before his murder in 1983. Liber and Baila Lifschutz, who are brother and sister, live in Israel. GESHER GALICIA SIG STEERING COMMITTEE Nat Abramowitz (Research) 609/854-4761 E-mail: [email protected] 21 THE GALITZIANER, Vol. 4, No. 2 Fall 1996 Goldsamt, Milton Phone & Fax: 301/649-2768; e-mail: [email protected] Kahaner, Larry 703/548-1532 (h) 703/548-0911 (w); Fax: 703/548-3182; e-mail:[email protected] Krupnak, Larry (Back issue sales and mailing) Tel/Fax: 301/585-0117; e-mail: [email protected] Lieberman, Paul Phone & FAX: 804/971-3529; e-mail: [email protected] Moskow, Sheiala (Treasurer) Tel/Fax: 410/544-2113; e-mail: [email protected] Pollero, Shelley (Membership/Secretary) 410/647-9492 FAX: 410/315-8188; e-mail: [email protected] Suzan Wynne (Coordinator, Editor) 301/942-6149; FAX: 301/942-4807; e-mail: [email protected] Zavon, Peter (Family Finder) 716/586-9023; e-mail: [email protected] Copyright 1997 by Gesher Galicia. The Galitzianer is intended to provide a free exchange of ideas, research tips and articles of interest to persons researching Jewish family history to Gesher Galicia members. The newsletters of other genealogy societies may reproduce individual items from The Galitzianer, provided that credit is given to Gesher Galicia and to the author(s) of the reproduced material. All other reproduction is prohibited without prior written permission of the editor. Back issues are available from L. Krupnak for $4 each. 22