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COFO 603" 2 %u"d~. CD 5 mcl3Q r. I= E-35 3s-r.~E Y e7ch g$g", eEGgCD CD rSr(o Coo CO CO3m-i-I V"YUN$ '=z CD Eureka was finding that her maiden name was MARK- at the age of 27 to GROSZ JULISKA, age 18. TOLEVOT: THE JOURNAL Of JEWISH GENEALOGY TOLEPOT is the Hebrew word for "genealogyw OVICS MARI. The last column of the register It is difficult to understand why two bro- or llgenerations. " showed that my great-uncle had petitioned to have thers should change their names and why one should 155 East 93 Street, Suite 3C TOLEDOT disclaims responsibility for errors his name changed to VAJDA SAMUEL, which my father choose VAJDA and the other SALGO. My cousin wrote New York, NY 10028 of fact or opinion made by contributors told me about in 1946 when I first became inter- that all she knew about our great-grandparents is but does strive for maximum accuracy. ested in my genealogy. that they were murdered in the town of Beretty6Gj- Arthur Kurzweil Steven W. Siege1 Interested persons are invited to submit arti- In the birth register for the year 1889, I falu. Perhapsthat event had something to do with Editoh Editon cles to be considered for publication. Man- found the name of SCHWED ANDOR. He was the sec- the change of names. Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Zachary M. Baker uscripts will not be returned unless a ond of twins and the first one was unnamed. The keexb323 StehnE. Hubbell St. Covlknibu;ting Editon Co&bu;ting Editon stamped self-addressed envelope is included. VAJDA notation was also in the last column of Contributors of published articles will receive this entry. ScoZtxdde, AZ 85257 SUBSCRIPTIONS: $8.00 for one year (four issues) ten free copies of the issue in which the Since I had found that my great-grandmother or $14.00 for two years (eight issues) in the article appears. was MARKOVICS MARI, who was SALGO MANO? From my MEMORIAL BOOKS u.S. $10.00 per year in Canada and by surface recently purchased Hungarian-English dictionary, I regret that, owing to lack of time and mail overseas. $15.00 per year for foreign TOLEVOT is indexed in Cutrhent Co~~temlSocid I found that the English name for Mano was Emman- facilities, we have had to discontinue our book- air mail delivery. 8 B&uviotrae Sciwca, SodScienca CLZU- uel. But I still did not know who he was, and as finding services. Please notify your subscribers ;tion Index, and Genealogicd PiAodical of today I have not had a reply from my cousin in accordingly. @Toledot Press 1981 ISSN 0146-'9568 Annuat Index. Israel as to how he was related. Vebohah Gnmhunn, kbhtanX Editoh On my next trip to the Mormon branch library, She& 2uan;teMy 1 She@ Phab I found the name of SCHWED EMANUEL and solved the 7 9 ff deni ffmdhu S&ee,t IIF YOU MOVE - Please send us your new address. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BACK ISSUES, question, "Who was SALGO MANO?" The name shown P.O.B. 7782, Jehundem, 1bhaeR t .I I for his father was SCHWED LEBI and the name shown IWe are not responsible for non-receipt of an issue PLEASE SEE INSIDE BACK COVER. COPIES . I for his mother was MARKOVICS MARI. The last col- Editoh's note: In voR. 3, no. 4, ,p. 24, we ne- I I umn showed that he had petitioned to have his potr;ted on She& ?'hc%hb ' boo b- dindcng b ehvica if we have an incorrect mailing address on file. OF ALL BACK ISSUES A~EAVAILABLE. name changed to SALGO. He married on 4 May 1893 wLih napect to ob;tainiMg Mmohiae Boohn. L t J

A GENEALOGICAL MIRACLE - Thanks to the Jewish Agency Arlene Blank Rich

TO THE EDITORS As I opened the letter from The Jewish Agency Alive! Imagine, the family we had mourned of Jerusalem, Israel, on Wednesday morning, Janu- for all our lives was alive! ary 28, 1981; I couldn't remember exactly-what in- The last my Dad had heard from them was in A MATCH formation I had requested of this particular Isra- 1948. They wrote that they were going to try to eli office in my search for "family tree" informa- make it out of Rumania enroute to Palestine. tion. I also wondered about what further disap- They had made it through the worst, we thought, time ago. This was followed, patience grew thin, pointment this letter would bring. (One gets used living in caves by day and getting food from farms a subscription to TOLEDOT. f months later the to letters of reject when involved in family gen- at night. We never heard from them again after I'd like to share with you ealogy!) At first glance, the name Sidoni Schach- that letter and we were never able to locate them consequence of my own genealogy zona branch of the ter jumped out at me. I thought to myself, when we had them traced in the years following era1 years ago, I contacted rela "what have we not been able to find out about my the war. west in order to obtain so Dad's sister?" In January, 1980, I developed an intense in- mation. After sharing the Reading the letter, I realized with a start terest in genealogy and starting tracing our fam- gave me the address of a N that The Jewish Agency was not telling me that ily's roots. I researched my husband's side in turn, referred me to st they couldn't find my father's sister. I realized first because his relatives were more of an un- He, interestingly en0 0. Who was SALGO that they were not telling me that there was no known entity to me. During the course of my re- alogy research of his own. before and my fa- search, I discovered around fifty of his relatives Since I didn't record of one Sidoni Schachter entering Israel. . They wehe telling me that Sidoni Schachter, the previously unknown to him! only sister my father ever knew in his hometown Since I knew so much about my side of the story short, we we family (so I thought), I plodded on gathering up else could he fit into of Czernowitz, Bukowina, Rumania, before he emi- We are now continu grated to the United States in 1921, was alive information for the Rich/Kahn/Shapiro/Ulman family -- together. tree during most of 1980. Around Chanukah time, f microfilm arrived. and living in Azor, Israel. They even had a telephone. -. number for her! I started asking my Dad some questions and after on Library was finding studying some of the information that my niece had I ley SCHWED SAMUEL, in Aneene BRanh Kch ha been ~divein Public ReRu- used on the Blank family for a school project, I e reel. He was mar- ;tiom Ceevdand don Rhe pat 25 yew. Most realized that I didnlt know as much as I thought e age of 24. Now I necw&ty, she nerrved a Public ReRaXiom Vaecton I knew in the first place. I shifted my efforts. The second column 06 Rhe JdhCommuntty Centerr 06 CRevhnd, he- If there has to be one determining factor in I first learned of the e of his father and &ng when habon, Adam, wan bonn neven yew the swing of my current family research emphasis, Geneon by Arthur K ag?. Addnchb: 996 Eat Lawn Vhive, Highland , I guess it would have to be learning that the for the book at a Scot Hugkts, OH 44143. letter from my father's sister arrived (in Cleve- TOLEVOT/VOL; 4, NOS. 1-2 2 , lapd) in 1948 and not during World War 11. Some- To my long-lost t&e, I said, "Yes, Arlena." THE JEWISH FAMILY FINDER how, finding out that the letter arrived after She asked, "Jacob, alive?" (That s her brother, the war and not during the war, made me feel that my Dad, Jacob Blank.) I shouted out over the ex- their lives were in less jeopardy traveling from panse of sixty years and thousands of miles, "Yes, Rumania to a haven of safety at that time. 4 Jacob alive! THE JEWISH FAMILY FINDER VOES WORK! spark of hope was rekindled. And now she knew. She knew that her oldest Rzeszow, Galicia; SCHIFFMAN, Mexico; second wife I then found Arthur Kurzweilts very special brother, Jacob, whom she had last seen in March, I just wanted you to know that the Jewish (Helena RINGELHEIM) of Yitzak Leib PERETZ, Yiddish writer. book, Fxum Gen&an to GenWon: How tu Tkace 1921, was still alive. I knew that I had really Family Finder colm does work. Since my first Yam JMhGenedugy and PmunaL Hintaq. It found my father's sister. ad that I placed three years ago, I have succeed- 80-55 Harriet BASKIN, Hammond House Rd., Valhalla, NY became my constant companion for weeks. I fol-- She said it was a mi;tzwa, and started kiss- ed in finding cousins Leo and Muriel Silverstein 10959 --- Seeks descendants of TSVILIKHOVSKY (possibly lowed many of Mr. Kurzweil's suggestions in con- ing into the telephone. We cried tears of happi- from Arizona and Susan Stone who is researching Gronov, Podolia): Shumer, Yisroel, Mordchai Baer. nection with tracing family here in the United ness and inbetween, I was able to learn that her family from the same town where my grandfather TSVILIKHOVSKY or BIBERMAN: Shloime, Laib, Shmuel, son was living in Frankfurt, Germany. I couldn't Chuna. TSVILIKHOVSKY, Buni, her children Faiga, Sarah. States and abroad. In the course of this activ- was born. We have mutually assisted each other SPECTOR, Shumer, Rafuel. STEELMAN, Melech, Shumer, ity, I wrote a letter to The Jewish Agency's make out much more after that because of the by sending copies of our records and translating Michel, Noah. TSVILIKHOVSKY, Mirel, her children Search Bureau for Missing Relatives in December, language barrier. The conversation came to a parts of the Ciechanowiec Memorial Book. Brona, Meyer, Baruch, Baila (ROSENBERG)... settled Phil- 1980, querying as to the whereabouts of my fa- close with a promise to write from both of us. We even succeeded in having a mini-reunion adelphia. TSVILIKHOVSKY-KATZ, Aaron, his children ther's sister, Sidoni Schachter, or her descend- As soon as I hung up, I called my Dad to of one set of cousins my parents had not seen Yussel, Anna FRANK, Chaika BIRNBAUM all of Brooklyn. ants. confirm the miraculous discovery and told him for thirty years. Another cousin I "discovered" 80-56 Harriet BASKIN, Hamnond House Rd., Valhalla, NY I don't think I really expected to hear that that I had actually talked to his sister. He was "lost" for forty years. Both reunions 10959 --- Seeks descendants of TONKONOGY (probably Sidoni was still alive (she would have been close then placed a call to Israel and talked to Sido- proved to be very fruitful as more information, Gronov, Podolia): Avraham Yitzchak, children Marim to 70), but I kind of harbored the hope that may- ni himself ... after a 60-year separation. When names, stories and trivia were exchanged. Each (Miriam), Yenta, Moishe, Netanya, Avraham Itzi (Mitzi), be her son, Isadore, named after my father's fa- he heard her voice saying uHello,f' from the deep- cousin knew the other half of each of my stories. Yussel, Aaron, Louis, settled Philadelphia. Dr. TON- ther (Isak Blanc), had made it to "The Promised est and most wanting part of his heart, came . And the family tree was becoming more complete, KONOGY, M.D., Brooklyn, early 1900s. Land. " forth the name "Sidica," the name he called her as the pieces of the puzzle started to fit to- 80-57 Ralph BERMAN, 5835 Kent PI., San Diego, CA 92120 But now, this letter from Jerusalem was as a child. She responded with "Yonkela," the gether. --- Seeking information Anne KAPLIN, Odessa or Kiev; telling me that Sidoni Schachter was alive. My name she had called her oldest brother Jacob in It may be difficult tracking down long lost Louis BERMAN, Odessa or Kiev; Hyman RUTINSTROF, sister and I decided it would be best to call Is- Czernowitz, Rumania, a lifetime ago! relatives but it's never impossible. You need Austria; Rose and Lisa LITCHMAN or LICHTMAN, Austria; rael to make sure we had, indeed, found the My father, being able to converse in Yid- determination, perseverance, patience, luck and Anna GROSSMAN, Odessa. right person. dish (and remembering some of his German), and sometimes a little miracle when researching your 80-58 Roberta BERMAN, 5835 Kent PI., San Diego, CA With the help of a Yiddish-Hebrew translator, my mother learned that when the family left Ru- family history. 92120 --- Seeking information LAZNICKY, WOPNINSKY fam- my sister placed a call, but, alas, it was the mania in the late 1940s, they didn't go directly Gany Gdba ilies, Lomza, Poland; WEISSBERG, OPPENHEIM famtlies, wrong phone number. I called and found the number to Israel, but settled in Frankfurt, Germany for 163-45 17;th Awe. Kiev; WAGNER, ERSCHKOWITZ families, Roman, Romania; listed to a Mrs. Greenblatt. It's now getting ten years. This was the reason we could not Wki;ten;tane, NY 11357 SCHOENHOLZ, CHAMIDES families, Zalescheki, Galicia, later ... 10:OO PM Israeli time. I felt an urgen- locate them in our earlier searches. We still Austria, possibly Berlin. We cy about getting the call through that night. don't know why they never attempted to make con- 80-59 Dennis S. BERNSTEIN, 111 Hillview Rd., Holyoke, just had to make contact. I called Israeli infor- tact again. That's one of the questions to be MA 01040 --- Interested in: KOLOVSON, KOLEVZO(H)N/ mation to check on the phone listing and found a answered in future communication. The editors of TOLEDOT invite its readers Dabeikai; BERNSTEIN, BUNES, PLOTNICK, CICHOK/Podbrze- substitution of numbers by The Jewish Agency gave A few weeks after the phone conversation, to make inquiries about their research to the zic (Paberze); SACKS, SHUR/Cekiske; SCHOBEL, SOBLEI us a 6 in place of a 9 and thus the wrong number. Sidoni Schachter and her husband left Israel for hundreds of Jewish genealogists who read our Janoshik; GLASSMAN, GLAZER, HIRSHON, H (I) (E) RS (H) (S) - an extended stay in Frankfurt, where their son j ournal O(H)N/Riga; BENEMOVITCH, RAKOVSKY/Novy-Dvor; HORWITZ, I knew that I wasn't going to wait to line . MONUSON, PERELMAN, SINSON/Leeds. up another Yiddish translator before placing the and his wife were rejoicing the birth of their For $5.00, we will print your 25-word an- call again. I called, person to person, and asked new daughter, Sidonits first grandchild. If we nouncement containing the surnames, towns or 80-60 Franz J. BIERMANN, 4609 Drummond Ave., Chevy the operator to please ask if Sidoni or anyone had written to Sidoni instead of phoning on other information that you might wish to include Chase, MD 20015 --- All data including literary refs: else in the household spoke English. January 28th, our letter would have arrived in in your inquiry. Your name and address are ULLMANN families in Augsburg, Pfersee, Kriegshaber The phone rang and a woman answered tlHello." Israel while they were visiting in Germany. listed free of charge. For announcements of from 1800 back, specifically: Ephraim fl 1770, Mayer I thought that was a good sign ... "Hello1' instead Through Sidoni, we learned that my father more than 25 words, an additional 20# per word Simon fl 1750, Salomon fl 1700. of ftShalomtt . .. maybe English would be under- has two other sisters (born after he left Ru- should be added. 80-61 Franz J. BIERMANN, 4609 Drummond Ave., Chevy stood. The operator asked for Sidoni Schachter mania) and that his brother, Paul, who was nine To avoid inaccuracies, please type or print Chase, MD 20015 --- All data including literary ref- and the woman said, "I'm Sidoni Schachter." years old when his big brother left the family your announcement. Indicate surnames in CAPITAL erences: Ancestors of brothers AUB: Lekisch born 1767, Was this really my father's sister? The home in Rumania (at age sixteen to live with letters, as we do in the listings, in order to Terz born 1765, Simon born 1759, sister Sara MACK operator then asked the all-important question aunts in Cleveland, Ohio), is still alive and distinguish them from place names. widowed LAUER, all Baiersdorf/Bavaria. and we heard, "No speak English." She offered to living in Russia. The sisters, Yetti and Klara, Send your check along with the wording of 80-62 Franz J. BIERMANN, 4609 Drummond Ave., Chevy speak in German, Yiddish, even Rumanian. I speak live in Israel not too far away from Sidoni. your query to: TOLEDOT, 155 East 93 Street, Chase, MD 20015 --- All data including literary ref- none of those languages. Each of the siblings has children and most of Suite 3C, New York, NY 10028. erences: Hirsch Elias PAPPENHEIMER 1786-post 1847, The operator stated that her party would the children have children. married Juedlein GRUEN ca 1810, all Schopfloch/Bavar- call back the next day. And then, this person in That one letter to The Jewish Agency ia, and ancestors both. Azor, Israel, said haltingly and hopefully, restored a whole family! If you would like to (The Jewish Agency had informed her look for a missing relative in Israel, here is 80-53 Alan R. BARASCH, P.O. Box 3403-A, Birmingham, 80-63 Louis BILOWITZ, 5000 Palm Dr., La Canada, CA llArlena?tl AL 35255 --- Searching for OLIM of Debake (? spelling), 91011 --- Seeking descendants of Lloyd KANTOR, died that I had sent them a letter of inquiry about the address to which to write: Lithuania. Also MORIC (later LEVY), KANTOROVICH - some New York, January 1949. Wife-Florence, son-Richard, her. ) THE JEWISH AGENCY changed to KENTRIDGE in South Africa. BARASCH from daughter-Audrey. I now knew that this was really my Dad's SEARCH BUREAU FOR MISSING RELATIVES Romania. sister. I told the operator to put the call P.O. BOX 92, JERUSALEM, ISRAEL through I would talk to the party in some 80-54 Arye BARKAI, 1777 Grand Concourse, #11N, Bronx, ...... NY 10453 --- Information requested for: DORNFEST, way ! TOLEPOTIVOL. 4, NOS, 1-2 TOLEPOTIVO'L. 4, NOS. 1-2 80-64 Warren BLATT, 32 East Blvd., Gloversville, NY 80-74 Elaine GORDON, 5625 Palmer Ave., Montreal, Que. 80-85 Lenore KRAMER, 90 Birch Lane, Woodsburgh, NY 80-94 Kerry MIELCAREK, 4208 Buckeye Rd., Madison, WI 12078 --- Seeking: Poland: BLATYTA (BLATT), KIPERSZTOK, H4W 2P2, Canada --- Seeking relatives of Yoshua and 11598 --- Seeking information on siblings and their 53716 --- Looking for descendants of Samuel, Milton, Losice; GARBOWITZ, MAMROTH, Kolno; CZAPNIK (CHAPNICK), Binyomin GRITZER, Sokola, later NYC. Names in America: descendants of Ignacz JACOBOWITZ and Rivka Chaya (Sali) Leo, Hugo, and Florence KREISMAN of N.Y.C. Alive in GDALKA (DALKIN), Chmielnik and Gnojno; MYDLO, SOBKOW- GOLDBERG, GREENBERG, GREEN. Lived in Chicago, Milwau- SAMLOWITZ, married 1858-1862, lived in Kiraly Helmecz 1933. Parents were Newman and Martha. Came from SKY, Checiny; SHEINBERG, Amdur (Indura); KLEINBORD kee. (Kral-Hlumec), Hungary. JACOBOWITZ changed to JACOBS, Peoria, Ill. (KLEINBERG), Kuznica and Grodno; and DISHMAN, BERMAN, JACOBSON, JACOBY, one branch in childrens wear, Phila- Simnas, Lithuania. 80-75 Elaine GORDON, 5625 Palmer Ave., Montreal, Que. delphia. SAMLOWITZ changed to SAMUELS, SAMLOWE. 80-95 Peter MILLHEISER, 6200 SW 144 St., Miami, FL H4W 2P2, Canada --- Seeking PILCH (PILISHOOK), Namar- 33158 --- Seeking information on MUHLHAUSER, MILL- 80-65 Alan DROZ, 27400 Franklin Rd., #519, Southfield; off. Also descendants of Carl SCHNEIDER, Oppa, AL; 80-86 Lenore KRAMER, 90 Birch Lane, Woodsburgh, NY HEISER, MILLHAUSER, MILLHISER family from Hagenbach, MI 48034 --- Seeking information on DROZ (or DRUZZ) Tony SNYDER, Chipley, FL; Tony SCHNEIDER, Andalusia, 11598 --- Seeking information on siblings and their Egglofstein, and Hachenbach, Germany. Family settled and ROSENFELD families of Kalinov, Ukraine and any in; AL - all circa 1915. descendants of Jacob GELLER and Rosa SAMONOWITZ, mar- eventually in New York and Richmond, Virginia. Also formation on the town. Also SILVERSTEIN (ZILBERSMEIN) ried 1860-1862, lived in Palocsa (Plavec), Hungary-Slo- descendants of people from Hagenbach. family of Ostrolenka, Poland. 80-76 Richard E. GRAYSON, 134 Seacord Rd., New vakia, parents of Nathan, Adolph, Hirsch, Leni (HOCH- Rochelle, NY 10804 --- Seeking information on OSTHEIM HAUSER), Sali (KUNDEL) , Regi (JACOBOWITZ) . Jacob's 80-96 Gary MOKOTOFF, 507 Crest Dr., Northvale, NJ 80-66 Barry DUSHMAN, 267 Davis St., Anchorage, AK and SCHIFF. Jacob SCHIFF (1822-1898, born Darmstadt- brother changed his name to GALOS, had a daughter Mar- 07647 --- Seeking information on any person named 99504 --- Seeking descendants of Gottschalk'BLUM, and Hessen, cousin of financier) married Jennie OSTHEIM garet. MOKOTOFF, MOKOTOW, MOKOTOV, MOKOTOWSKI, MOKOTOVSKI, SCHIFFER, in New York and Colorado in the 1880s; HORN, (1834-1909, born Westphalia) in Philadelphia in 1857. MOKOTOWICH. Family originated in Warka, Poland. All REITER, SUESS, MELTZER, KAUFMAN, TUNICK, JACOBOWITZ, 80-87 Lenore KRAMER, 90 Birch Lane, Woodsburgh, NY persons with any of the above names are related. DUSHMAN in New York after 1900. 80-77 Richard E. GRAYSON, 134 Seacord Rd., New 11598 --- Seeking information on siblings and their Rochelle, NY 10804 --- Seeking information on POLAT- descendants of Samuel, Adolph, Ezekiel GOLDBERGER, 80-97 Eleanor VOLMER PATTERSON, 4996 Harrington, Mem- 80-67 Gary GELBER, 163-45 17 Ave., Whitestone, NY SCHECK from Hungary (Iglau or Budapest). Ignatius born Tasnad-Salacea, Romania, 1846-1852. Adolph mar- phis, TN 38118 --- Seeking information on Louise VOLMER 11357 --- GELBER, MINTZER, SCHORR, KERBER, Rabbi REI- POLATSCHECK (POLLACHECK) came to U.S. about 1880 (son ried Esther BO(E)HM(?), their daughter Eugenia had SLOANE, daughter of Rabbi Leon VOLMER, of Little Rock, MER, REIMAN: Gologory, Gologo, Shpikolitz, Szpikolosy, of Joseph POLATSCHECK and Esther LEVKOWITZ). Married Olga, Gizi, Erizi, others. Amelia BO(E)HM GOLDBERGER Ark. and Tressa KAUFMAN VOLMER of West Va. Louise was Kolerone, Kolurul, Kolbuszowa, Tarnopol, Lvov; Henrietta SCHIFF in 1888 in NYC. had sisters who married PURGESS, had 4-5 daughters. married to Chester SLOANE and had a daughter, Leslie. SCHWARTZ, THALER, LAUFFER, WECHSLER: Dunajuw ("Dunive"), Also any descendants 6f Louis VOLMER and Henrietta BOTT Brzezany, T.arnopo1 province. 80-78 Richard E. GRAYSON, 134 Seacord Rd., New 80-88 Lenore KRAMER, 90 Birch Lane, Woodsburgh, NY VOLMER, Simon VOLMER and Betty NEWMAN VOLMER, Clara Rochelle, NY 10804 --- Seeking information on WEINSTEIN 11598 --- Seeking information on siblings and their VOLMER SIMONS and Louis SIMONS. VOLMERs all from Ober- 80-68 Gary GELBER, 163-45 17 Ave., Whitestone, NY from Minsk, Russia. Rebecca WEINSTEIN came to U.S. descendants of Samuel CHASKES, who married Julia hustadt, settled in Little Rock, Ark. 11357 --- PLISKY, ZUCKERMAN, KUHR, KAPLAN, KAUFKA, about 1891 (daughter of Louie WEINSTEIN and Sarah FINN). WEINMAN, sister of David, Bernath and Ephraim. Phila- RITZ: Ciechanowiec ("Check-a-nov-sat') , Siemiatycze, Married Hyman GOLDSTEIN in 1898 in NYC. delphia branch includes Fannie, Ernestine, Morris, 80-98 Anita TODRES PIKUS, 8808 Quiet Stream Ct., Poto- Lomza/Bialystock province; LUBA, LUBAR, LUBIN, SOTIN: last names unknown. mac, MD 20854 and Richard E. GRAYSON [see above] --- Milejczyce ("Mi-lay-tchitz") , Grodno/Bialystock pro- 80-79 Richard E. GRAYSON, 134 Seacord Rd., New Seeking information on TODRES, TODRUS, TODRIS, TODRAS, vince. Seeking information about: Yossel ZUCKERMAN, Rochelle, NY 10804 --- Seeking information on GOLDSTEIN 80-89 Linda LEVINE, 26 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, MA TODROS, TODORUS, TODERUS from Mielec (Meletz), Cherno- who lived at 390 Grand St., Brooklyn, 1908; YEHUDA from Russia. Hyman GOLDSTEIN came to U.S. about 1893 02138 --- Seeking information/descendants: BAER, WEIN- witz, Durbian (?) (Romania), England (Coventry), Israel, RITZ, survivor, died in Israel 1970s; brother, FISCHEL (son of Samuel GOLDSTEIN and Yettie BERMAN). Married SCHENK, Stebbach, Germany; Wheeling, W. Va.; Norfolk, Canada, Greece, Turkey, Spain, South Africa. RITZ, alive in 1964, possibly New York City area. Rebecca WEINSTEIN in 1898 in NYC. Va. HORK!-lEIMER/HIRSCH, Freudenthal, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. STRAUS(S) , Selters, Ger. ; Paris. LOEB/HEIL- 80-99 Esther E. PROFUS, 1291 Woodruff Ave., Los Angel- 80-69 Naomi LEVIN GERSHAN, 3305 Macomb St., Washing- 80-80 Estelle GUZIK, 108-24 71 Ave., Forest Hills, NY BERG, Mainz, Ger. LEVINE/SISKIND, Nizhni Novgorod. es, CA 90024 --- Seeking descendants of: Lajzer APPEL ton, DC 20008 --- Seeking information on a Dr. MEHR 11375 --- Seeking information families INGBER, KLAP- S (H) IEVITZ/KOPOLEFSKY, Kovno. and Rosa GLANTERNITZ; Saul APPEL and Jette Gnendle (MEYER, MYER etc.) of Poneveyz, son of Sender MEHR HOLTZ, KOHANE, HERZ from Tarnow, Nowy Sacz, Ropczyce. BRODMAN; Josef APPEL and Fromet BLOCH; Michal APPEL and of Pashvatine (Pasvitinys). Also LANDESMAN, STURM, SEYNER, LANGSAM, FESSEL, AMSEL 80-90 Logan M. LOCKABEY, 477 E. 19 St., Costa Mesa. Tauba RYCHWALSKA. All from Kalisz/Poznan. from Blazowa, Strzyzow, Szendyszow, Dukla, Kombornia. CA 92627 --- Researching Vitebsk Gyberna or Odessa 80-70 Naomi LEVIN GERSHAN, 3305 Macomb St., Washing- (Russia) 1850-1908 for information on Rosa BLOCKOFF, 80-100 Esther E. PROFUS, 1291 Woodruff Ave., Los An- ton, DC 20008 --- Seeking information on Reb Zalman 80-81 Thomas HIGH, 77 Beale St. #3000, San Francisco, Sophie (Sonj a) BLOCKOFF (SATKIN), Joseph SATKIN, A1 geles, CA 90024 --- Seeking descendants of: Jacob Zelig LEVIN, born ca. 1818, died ca. 1903, first wife Sara CA 94106 --- Families named BLUMANN (BLUMAN) of Prussia (Abraham) SATKIN, Aaron and Anna SATKIN, Louis (Leonid) HAZE and Pessa APPEL; Zyskind BLAUCWIRN and Machle AP- died 1821 [sic], second wife Basha died 1897, all of (Gonzawa?) and PRICE of Wislisa, Radom, Poland. Her- BLOCKOFF, Rachael BOZNER. In New York 1905-1910, PEL: Josef KAPUSTA and Malka APPEL. All from Kalisz/ Poneveyz . mann (Harris) BLUMANN came to New York in mid-19th Los Angeles 1910-1981. Poznan. Have info to share. century; son Alexander, daughter Ida, possibly son 80-71 Naomi LEVIN GERSHAN, 3305 Macomb St., Washing- George and others. Samuel PRICE (son of Hirsch and 80-91 Raymond MAG, 247 Reservoir Rd., Newington, CT 80-101 Esther E. PROFUS, 1291 Woodruff Ave., Los An- ton, DC 20008 --- Seeking family of Benjamin (Bearka Flora) came to New York and New Jersey in mid-19th 06111 --- Any information on my grandparents Elias geles, CA 90024 --- Seeking relatives of Malka GOLD- or Benny) WINIK or VINER/WINER of Bronx, NY. Children century; sons Maurice, Levi, Jacob, Adolph, Simon, An- (Eliayahu) Aaron MAG and Essia FINGER who came here to STREICH, Odessa ca. 1895 and Niese KRUPNIK, Odessa named Sarah, Abie, Hannoch and Vichne (Baker). selm, Joseph; possibly others. Meriden,'Conn. in 1889 from Oszmiana (Oshmany), Lithu- 1910/20. ania, with eight children. One daughter remained, mar- 80-72 Chaim S. GIBBER, 407 Yeshiva Lane, Pikesville, 80-82 Clarise ILLES, 6230 Caminito Telmo, San Diego, ried to Benjamin SHOAG in Vilna. Family began in Mogi- 80-102 Michael REYNOLDS, 4883 Del Mar Ave., San Diego, MD 21208 --- Seeking information about my forebears: CA 92111 --- Seeking information on family ZACHARIAS lev, Russia - came to Polenik for a long period - then CA 92107 --- Seeking descendants of: Emil KRAUS (Tren- Rabbi Eliezer and Golda (POMERANTZ) NITZBERG. He was (Prussia). Emigrated Charleston, S.C. 1855. Also de- Smorganie. cin), Shalom TYKOTZKY (Grajewo), Avram Dov LEDERMAN born circa 1850 in Pruzana, was rabbi in Olinka (Su- scendants family TUTEUR from Winnweiler and Otterberg, (Odessa), Moshe Mordechai BALAKLEYSKY (Smela and Odes- walki) and Kowel (Volhynia) from 1912?-1935, and au- Germany (Pfalz) , married STRAUS, Moses, 1832. 80-92 Arthur D. MAGILNER, 1251 Fairacres Rd., Jenkin- sa), Chaim Aaron FRANKEL (Suwalki), Lazarus ben Morde- thored "Damesek Eliezerl' and others. Also, his par- town, PA 19046 --- Seeking information and relatives chai FINKELSTEIN (Mariampole). ents Rabbi Dovid Yehuda (Leib) and Ralle (PERKEL?) 80-83 Elaine KAHN/Lawrence TROSTER, 795 Glencairn St., for Louis MOGILNER/MAGILNER family. Probably origina- NITZBERG of Pruzana, where he was a Rosh Yeshiva until Oshawa, Ont. L1J 5B1, Canada --- Want information about ted in Mogilev near Kiev, Russia. Could also have been 80-103 Arthur REIMER, Fawn Ridge Rd., P.O. Box 121, death circa 1890. Also Rabbi Yitzchok Hirsh and MAINZER/MENZ family. Research tracing it to Spain cir- from Mogilno, Poland. Fi~stknown address in U.S. is Warrensburg, NY 12885 --- Looking for ancestors and Tzivia Faiga POMERANTZ. He was born in Antipol circa ca 1500 lost during Holocaust. We have tree from 1739 Chicago in 1892. Maiden name of Louis' first wife was descendants of Herman (Hyman) WELT b. 1860 Romania, 1830 and was rabbi of Semiatycze. Also, seeking un- in various Hessian locations. CONOVER. married Rosa (Rosalia) SCUTCH b. 1856 Hungary. Immi- published information on relative Rabbi Mordechai grated to New York City 1887 & 1888. Had 5 children? ROSENBLATT, born in Antipol (1837) and rabbi of Osh- 80-84 Steve KIOUS, 751 NE Piedmont Ave., Grants Pass, 80-93 Kerry MIELCAREK, 4208 Buckeye Rd., Madison, WI Disappeared from N.Y.C. after death of youngest daugh- mena and Slonim. Also on relative Rabbi Boruch EYIN OR 97526 --- Seek relatives of Harris GOODMAN (1847- 53716 --- Looking for descendants of Isador and Mina ter Charlotte (Levie) VILLANI in 1911. Older daughter of Sislevitsh, author of "Dvar Mitzvah" (1884). 1928) and wife Ida FREZANSKY of Boston. Immigrated KREISMANN of Kurnik, Germany, near Posen, now Kornik, Ella married Adolf GOLDBERGER in 1896. 1867 from Poland. Rebecca BACKER (1879-1962) immi- Poland. Children included Siegfried, Ruza JAROCYZNSKI, 80-73 Nancy GILBERT, 438 W. Horseshoe Ave., Gilbert, grated 1901 from Ejszyszki (now Eisiskes) near Lida; Cilla BRY, Samuel, Erna LACHMANN, Grete GOLLAND, Karl, 80-104 George J. L. RIBA, 48 Park Plaza Dr., Daly AZ 85234 --- Seeking information/descendants on KOT- sister was Lise RADOWSKU, husband Henry GOODMAN of and Amalie NATHAN. City, CA 94015 --- Seeking descendants of Leibush RYBA LICKY, KOTLICKI (Kelice, Lopuszno, Poland); WELTMAN, Denver. (Leibele LINOVER) of Ozarow, Poland, or his siblings WLOSZCZAWSKA (or -0WSKI) (Warsaw, Poland). Also, Daniel, Nissan and Eliezer. Also descendants of Her- RUBANOWITZ and DE WOSKIN (Chlochow, Shenego, Gubana, shel RYBA of Przytyk, owner of soda-water factory. Kiev, Russia). Family..very anxious! TOLEVUT/VOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 80-105 Mark A. ROSEMAN, 21000 NE 28 Ave., #204, North Samuel FRANK (Nashville, Tennessee), Abraham FRANK RESPONSA LITERATURE: A Jewish Genealogical Source Miami, FL 33180 --- Seeking information on families (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Mabel FRANK MARX (Chicago, ROSENMAN, ROSEMAN, LILIENFELD, EXELROD, ASCHELRAD from Illinois). < Stryi, Lvov, all eastern Galicia. Will share own in- Michele Zoltan formation. 80-116 Stephen D. WEISS, 8120 W. Norton Ave., Los An- geles, CA 90046 --- Seeking any information on surnames PERKOFSKY, PASOFSKY or PERKOWSKY. Adolf PERKOFSKY born It has long been acknowledged that individu- some guidelines to make an investigation of re- 80-106 Deena SCHUMAN, 608 Avon St., Philadelphia, PA als who are descended from rabbinical families sponsa literature a rewarding project for the 19116 --- Seeking information on families NEWMAIZER , Berlin, Germany late 19th century, married Lena (or variation) and SRULOVICH, from Kupin and/or Satan- SCHWARTZ (SWARTZ?). Also, family SCHWARTZ (SWARTZ) have a distinct advantage when it comes to genea- Jewish genealogist. ov, Podolia Gubernia; SCHWARZ from Shushevitz and Tul- from Ungvar, Austria-Hungary (now Uzhgorod in Ukraine). logical research. They have a significant body We shall use as our model a volume of re- chin, Kiev Gubernia; and SCHOR from Rezina, Bessarabia. of secondary resource material at their disposal. sponsa entitled Sephen She'dot U'Tahuvot Mahcurl'i Will share own knowledge for useful information. 80-117 Stephen D. WEISS, 8120 W. Norton Ave., Los An- There are, after all, biographical works and en- HaCohen, written by Rabbi Israel Rappaport, rabbi geles, CA 90046 --- Seeking any information on family of Tarnow, who died in 1888. Not all books of 80-107 Gary SIEGEL, 6102 Breezewood Ct. #303, Green- WEISZ (WEISS) from Tarpa, Austria-Hungary, also geo- tire encyclopedias devoted exclusively to an ex- belt, MD 20770 --- Seeking information about: KATZ, graphical/historical information on Tarpa. Lajos (Lou- amination of the lives and contributions of gen- responsa necessarily conform to a single style RICHMAN, SHAPIRO (Ohio, Pittsburgh, Kentucky); ZYK, is) WEISZ arrived Ellis Island prior 1915. Sons Albert, erations of distinguished rabbinical authorities. and structure, but there are enough similarities CEGELSKA (Warsaw, Pittsburgh); RUBINSTEIN, KITAY Morris, George, Deszo (David) WEISZ or WEISS. Also Arthur Kurzweil's excellent study, Fnam Genena- to enable us to draw certain conclusions about (Pittsburgh); KOSS, KOSSOWSKY (Lomza, Pittsburgh). geographical/historical information on Ungvar, Austria- ;tion ;ta Gendon, lists several of these valu- the genre. The very first page of such a work Hungary (now Uzhgorod in Ukraine). able works and discusses their significance for can provide us with a great deal of information. 80-108 Betty PROVIZER STARKMAN, 1260 Stuyvesant Rd., The author usually makes some reference to his Birmingham, MI 48010 --- Seeking information: PROVISOR, 80-118 Stephen D. WEISS, 8120 W. Norton Ave., Los An- the genealogist. But there is one avenue of re- PROVIZER, PROWIZOR, PREVEZER, PROVIZOR, PROWIZUR -- geles, CA 90046 --- Seeking information on Lena SCHWARTZ search that has long been neglected by the mod- own lineage. In our case, for example, Rabbi Is- Mogielnica, Warszawa Guberna, Lodz, Poland. Branches (SWARTZ?) born Nov. 11, 1882, Ungvar, Austria-Hungary. ern reader intent upon tracing his family roots. rael indicates that he is the son of Rabbi Abra- in Israel, U.S., England. Also seeking family KAHN, Brothers Max SCHWARTZ, engineer on Panama Canal Project, It is that unique and intimidating body of ham Abele Rappaport, who was, in turn, the de- KOHN, KON -- Abraham KON married Pepa PROWIZOR in Mo- Peter SCHWARTZ, Captain in Spanish-American War, Sadie literature known as "responsa. scendant of Rabbi Moses Isserles and Rabbi Shab- SCHWARTZ. Also Julius, Paul and Leybel PASOFSKY (PER- gielnica in 1843, descendants arrived Minnesota turn Responsa (in Hebrew: She' dot U' TU huvot, tai HaCohen. There is also a respectful and af- KOFSKY?), settled in New York City late 19th century. ' of century. literally "questions and answers") is defined. by fectionate reference to Rabbi Israel's mother 80-109 Betty PROVIZER STARKMAN, 1260 Stuyvesant Rd., 80-119 Joe WILLIAMS, 3112 Lafayette St., Houston, TX the Encydopaedia Judaica as "an exchange of Leah and his wife Hannah. Thus we can virtually Birmingham, MI 48010 --- Seeking information: family 77005 --- Seeking descendants and information on commu- letters in which one party consults another in a reconstruct the author's immediate family from a DAVIDOVITCH from Bodzentyn, Poland. Ruche1 DAVIDOVITCH nities for Harris and Rose SNEFTEMWITZ or SHEFTELOWITZ halakhic matter." In every generation, there few brief lines, and know at the same time, by married Israel SAMET of Ilza (Drilge), Poland. Haskell, (parents of Barney WILLIAMS), Lui and Blume GERSHELO- the choice of words, that Abraham Abele ("of WITZ (parents of Jennie GOODMAN) from Wisian, Russia, were rabbis who achieved a certain reputation and Yidal, Simma DAVIDOVITCH, children of Mattis moved to blessed memory") was no longer alive at the time Canada early 1900s -- names changed to GOLD and DAVIS. and Venutes, Lithuania, circa 1850-1890. status which extended beyond the borders of their own communities and, on occasion, the borders of of this book's publication. 80-110 Betty PROVIZER STARKMAN, 1260 Stuyvesant Rd., 80-120 Bruce ZATZ, 949 E. 105 St., Brooklyn, NY 11236 their own countries. Colleagues would defer to We often find that a work of responsa was Birmingham, MI 48010 --- Seeking information: following --- Seeking information on PEREVOSKIN and variants - their expertise and erudition in matters of Jew- edited posthumously, in which case an introduc- families from Goszczyn and Mogielnica, Poland, married PROVOSKY, PROVUS, PIROWSKIN, PROVOST, PERRY, PEROVSKY, ish law, and submit difficult questions to them tory section was occasionally included, providing PEREWOZNIK, etc. Known origins - Vilna, Cracow, Belo- PROWIZORs between 1826-1869: HOFMAN, FRAJDENRAJCH, MOR- for arbitration and clarification. These ques- some helpful biographical information about the DEFELD (MORDENFELD), DANIEL, SZWARCBERD, SZTARKMAN. russia, but seeking anyone with similar name. Need information: Mogielnica, Bodzentyn, Ilza, Poland. tions and the answers they elicited were often author. edited for publication in a volume of Ifresponsa," The actual letters themselves, the responsa 80-111 Susan KAPLAN STONE, 2695 Belle Rd., Bellmore, and a great many are still extant and readily which form the body of the work, deal of course NY 11710 --- Seeking: KAPLAN, KAZAN, ZAREMSKY, KOWAL- available to the modern researcher. with religious matters and legal rulings. Yet SKY, OKRAINCZYK, SHAPIRO, STEIN, LEKOW(F)SKY from Cie- Historians have long been aware of the value they can provide significant information of a per- chanowiec, Poland. KRAFT, FLOON, MANAKER, HANKIN (EN- of "responsa literature." The questions which sonal nature as well. In examining an individual KIN) from Luck, Poland. SILBERMAN, KOSSOVSKY, TASHEN- SKY from Warsaw area. were submitted were generally not theoretical in response, there are a number of items to look for: SUCCESSFUL SUMMER SEMINAR nature, but rooted in the day-to-day reality of a 1. DATE. Not all letters have a proper 80-112 Susan KAPLAN STONE, 2695 Belle Rd., Bellmore, community's life. Consequently, they are a re- heading. Those that do, however, can be helpful NY 11710 --- Seeking: EAGLE (IGELSKY), LISHNOFF, TEI- The Summer Seminar on Jewish Genealogy, flection of the prevailing social and economic if we know little about the significant dates of TLEMAN, BOLET (BOLITZKY), DASHER (DOSHEFSKY) from sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society in conditions of the time, and an excellent primary the author's life. Korsun. STONE (SCHTEYNE), BERLIN, RAPAPORT from Wach- 2. SALUTATION. Again, not all letters pro- owka and Szandorowka, Ukraine. RAPPAPORT, HERMAN, New York on July 12-16, 1981, was a resounding source for historical study. On a more personal GREEN from Belaya Tserkov. success. The program included morning guided level, however, a volume of responsa can afford vide this information. But those that do name visits to research facilities, afternoon oppor- us an intriguing glimpse into the personal life the correspondent can be important. In a promin- 80-113 Herman TILLINGER, 7 Ferndale Ave., Morristown, tunities to do research, and evening lectures and of a prominent figure, and an invaluable fund of ent rabbinical family, a distinguished rabbi in NJ 07960 --- Seeking information and origins TILLINGER get-togethers. Nearly ninety Jewish genealogy genealogical information. one community could have any number of relatives families of Stanislaw, Kolomya, and Kuty areas. Also serving in a similar capacity in other places. MESSLERs of Stanislaw, and LILKERs of Mikulintza near buffs, some from as far away as California and For the modern reader, a volume of responsa Tarnopol. Will share information. Texas, registered for the Seminar, which was can be a formidable challenge. A working know- Younger members of the family were often students chaired by Steven W. Siegel, co-editor of TOLEDOT. ledge of Hebrew, while certainly indispensable, in y~kivot. The letters they exchanged dealt 80-114 Martin S. WEINBERG, 5011 Cliffwood Rd., Louis- "The excitement of the week has been over- does surprisingly little to minimize the diffi- largely with matters of halakhic interpretation, ville, KY 40222 --- Looking for relatives of great- whelming! What a thrill to be with so many culty. The Hebrew of responsa literature is a but the very fact that we can identify the rela- grandparents, Jacob (Yaakov) and Bessie (GREENKRAUT) others who share the same obsession," said one world unto itself, rooted in its intimate connec- tives who corresponded with our author is a sig- MORGUELAN, born near Kiev, Russia and were in the steel foundry business and built bridges. Left Kiev about participant afterwards. tion with the terminology and phraseology of the nificant step forward in our research. 1890. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Washing- Talmud. But this article will attempt to provide A letter addressed to another rabbi invari- ton, DC has announced that the Second Summer Sem- ably opens with a long and flowery greeting, elti- 80-115 Martin S. WEINBERG, 5011 Cliffwood Rd., Louis- inar on Jewish Genealogy will be held in that broidered with flattering references to the cor- ville, KY 40222 --- Looking for relatives of great- city Sunday, July 11 to Wednesday, July 14, 1982. Uichde ZoRtan h a PhV candidate in Jwhh kin- respondent s erudition and intelligence. But grandfather, Eliezer FREUND (FRANK) (FRAJND), who lived will Xaq at Columbia UnivmLty. Rabbi lbnad Rappa- there are certain key words and abbreviations the in Augustov, Poland and who had six children Sarah The program feature visits to the National - pont wacl hen gad-gnd-gnandmo;then'b unde. Kate, Betty, Velvel, Jacob, Morris (Moishe), and Keila. Archives, Library of Congress, and National genealogist would do well to examine. Some are, Also information on Isaac FRANK (Centralia, Illinois), Genealogical Society. Plan to be there. Addnab: 67 WyhagyR Tm., Nw RocheLte, NY loti04 of course, straightforward. Rabbi Israel, for TULEVOT/VOL. 4, NUS. 7-2 TULEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 example, corresponded frequently with "my beloved MY FAMILY REUNION: Its Message for the Jewish People son (= fJ7 f>li\lc). . .Dov Ze'ev," and several letters are addressed to "my beloved nephew (='n/c \A 1219lc) . . .Isaac." Other references are Rabbi Aaron M. Wise more obscure; witness the frequent use of the general term "retative" (= ' 7 ~CP, or 74/ ;\ 7 1cb , The second week of June 1980 I had a unique fardi, remembered his childhood days in Jerusa- abbreviated as ) , or "cousinf1 (= I 3 3 \? , experience - the worldwide reunion of my Rivlin lem, when his gang used to fight with an Ashke- abbreviated as q"> ). There are also le4 ters family in Jerusalem. It all came about as a re- nazi gang loaded with Rivlins. addressed to individuals who are related to the sult of my suggestion to some cousins during our On Wednesday morning 250 of us went on a author by marriage, in which case the slightly three-month stay in Jerusalem in the spring of tour of the twelve sections of New Jerusalem more specific term '_)AIn El is used. I 1979. My great-grandfather's great-grandfather, which were established by my great-grandfather, 3. OPENING PARAGRAPH. If the author was Reb Hillel Rivlin, had led an Uyah of Russian Reb Yoshe Rivlin. Then Wednesday night, that writing- to a stranger, as was often the case, the Jews to Erets-Israel in 1809, and Jerusalem has unique experience at the Binyaney Ha-Umah, when , letter was all business. But if the letter was 1 been the center of our family ever since. 1500 cousins, most of whom I had never met be- addressed to an intimate friend or relative, the f'Why not celebrate the 170th anniversary of fore, gathered to watch a three-hour program of opening sentences usually contained some personal that migration by holding a family reunion in music, drama, comedy, slides and speeches. remarks, which offer us a tantalizing glimpse in- Jerusalem?," I suggested to Moshe, David, Gideon Yosef Burg, chairman of Israel's delegation ne- to the private life of the writer. In Rabbi IS- ...... NEW YIDDISH SERVICE OFFERED and Asher. Lo and behold, they liked the idea, gotiating with the Egyptians, spoke - he is raelts case, for example, there is the hint of organized a committee, sent out invitations to married to a Rivlin. Another speaker was Yaakov pride in one response when he notes that he was family members all over the world and began plan- Tzur, Israel's former Ambassador to France and just twenty years old when his opinion was sought YIDDISH UNLIMITED, a multifaceted profes- ning the program for our Rivlin Kenen in Jerusa- world head of the Jewish National Fund, who is on this very question by the community of Rimanow. sional agency, has recently been established with lem. also one of the clan. Two comedians, Seffi Riv- There are complaints of ill health in other let- the goal of making the world of Yiddish more ac- That reunion was climaxed on Wednesday eve- lin and Rivke Michaeli, top stars of Israeli ters, apologies for delays in answering, and, in cessible to both the Yiddish and non-Yiddish ning, June 11, 1980, in the Convention Hall of television, also members of the kept a particularly poignant letter, he laments the language communities. It offers a variety of Israel's capital when 1500 relatives gathered the crowd laughing with their jokes. The Army's recent death of his young daughter Tzirel. services including the following: under one roof. We had a three-hour program, all chief cantor, a cousin, sang a beautiful selec- 4. CLOSING REMARKS AND SIGNATURE. While the -Translating from Yiddish to English or from in Hebrew except for my remarks. I had been asked tion from the High Holy Day liturgy composed by actual text of a response deals with the intrica- English to Yiddish family memoirs, letters, dia- to speak for the Diaspora Rivlins, coming to this Uncle Zalman, who had been the chief cantor of cies of the halakhic auestion at hand. the clos- ries, documents, poems, short stories, essays, conclave from many parts of the world. Jerusalem for more than fifty years. ing remarks can occasionally reveal a useful per- novels. The word ffuniquelfapplies to something so It was a great night, one I will always re- sonal detail. A letter addressed to someone -Typing, editing, proofreading and preparing rare that it has never happened before. A one member. But what meaning could it have for you? whose name means nothing to us can suddenly be for publication manuscripts in Yiddish or English and only. Our reunion was unique. Certainly What meaning did our reunion have for the Jewish transformed into a significant document when related to the world of Yiddish. nothing like it had ever happened before in Jeru- people? There's something about the Jews - we're signed "your cousin. . . ." -Providing assistance and information for salem or anywhere else in the world - for a Jew- never satisfied just to have a good time. What 5. MISCELLANY. If the author was a member researchers about the world of Yiddish. ish family to collect in such numbers to share in message does that experience convey? What does of a prominent rabbinical family, as was often -Educational consulting and developing of an experience like that. The Israeli press was it say to the world? the case, he may have had in his possession re- curricular materials for teaching Yiddish to filled with articles about the event, before and That's what we did in our Bible. So much of sponsa written by his father or other relatives, children and adults. after. The Jawdem Poht even had an article by the Bible is family history - the family of Abra- letters which had never been published. It was Fees vary from $10 to $15 per page/hour de- one of its editors, Haim Shapiro, about the black ham, Isaac and Jacob, their nhcha?l and sorrows, not uncommon, therefore, for an author to in- pending upon the complexity and legibility of the sheep in our family. Haim is also a Rivlin, and their quarrels and reconciliations, their frus- proj ect clude such responsa in his own published work. . he should know. trations and dheylkchn, their enslavement and YIDDISH UNLIMITED will also assist in locat- The value of these addenda is obvious. Having They even published a cartoon about a pious, emancipation. ing lecturers, singers and artists for programs the same structure, and providing the same infor- I old Jew who stated, "No, I'm not a Rivlin, nor is The Bible is all about one man's family, mation as the author's own letters, the addition- related to the world of Yiddish. 1 my wife a Rivlin, but there's still hope for us. that grew and grew and grew. The story of that al material has the potential to take us back one Its founder and director, Gella Schweid- Our grandchildren may marry Rivlins ." family became the basis of Judaism. From our more generation. There are some excellent exam- Fishman, has devoted many years to the teaching It was a week of festivity, beginning with a family's experience we derived a belief in God of Yiddish across the entire spectrum from kin- ples of this in our model, the responsa of Rabbi 7 Shabbat morning service in the President's Syna- and a philosophy of history. The whole world Israel Rappaport. His work includes several dergarten to university, from the secular day and gogue where the two cantors who sang, the two knows the story of our Jewish family. The Book letters written by his father, who preceded him afternoon school to the modern Orthodox school. rabbis who spoke and the 25 people who received telling that story is the best of all best- She has supervised the training of Yiddish teach- as rabbi of Tarnow. A.&jot to the Torah were all Rivlins, just as if sellers. ers and has written Yiddish curricular materials it were Simhat Torah. True to that tradition, I ask: What message Responsa literature is too valuable a source for a variety of educational levels and settings. Sunday night we had a reception at the Pres- did our reunion convey? Let me begin by quoting YIDDISH UNLIMITED has attracted a staff that of genealogical information to intimidate the ident's House. Two hundred heads of families from my remarks at the President's House: "Our performs at the highest level of professional modern researcher. The patience and diligence it gathered in that beautiful home, and there I met family is just a Vugma, an example of the entire requires are often well worth the effort, because skills and responsibility and is committed to relatives from England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Jewish people." strengthening Jewish continuity through Yiddish the intricacies of halakhic rulings can often the United States, even from Soviet Russia. I Every human being belongs to a huge family. use and appreciation. yield a treasure of names, dates, and places. We was given the honor of speaking for the Diaspora Every single one of us has had two parents, four YIDDISH UNLIMITED employs as its motto: would all do well to rediscover this long-neglect- Rivlins, especially because the reunion had been grandparents, eight great-grandparents, etc. If Serving The World of Yiddish for All Generations. ed resource. my idea. President Yitzhak Navon, himself a Se- you carry it back for ten generations, every one Individuals, schools and organizations- that -- of us has had two thousand forty-eight ancestors. wish to make use of the agency's services may Rabbi Amon M. Whe dhtphenented tkib manage Think of all the cousins you have on your family contact Mrs. Fishman at the following address: a6 a nmon :to kib congheg.gation. Adhenn: Add tree - in the tens of thousands, if not more. YIDDISH UNLIMITED, P. 0. Box 842, Cooper Station, M El, 5540 Laund? Canyon Blvd., Month HoUywocd, But most of us know nothing about our ances- New York, NY 10276. Telephone: (212) 654-1473. CA 91607. tors, and even less than nothing about all these TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 cousins. They have been swallowed up in a sea of why the blacks find it so difficult to climb out Do you know why we had so many Rivlins in The ~uRRoutiMg Ltem iA taken dnom the nouvevtih forgetfulness and oblivion. of the pit of poverty and degradation. Jerusalem? Because 170 years ago my ancestors bookee,t ;tMbu;ted at Lte RivRin FamLty Reunion: But we Jews kept track of our ancestors. Isn't it sad that so many Jews depdve them- chose to leave Russia and Lithuania and settle in SHLOMO ZALMAN AND SHNEUR ZALMAN We related to them, we identified with them, we ~dvehof their special advantage? They want to Erets Israel. Nobody could have predicted it, took pride in them: Patriarchs, kings, prophets, become ordinary, faceless. They look upon the but the choice they made saved their children and A common name in our family is Shlomo Zal- rabbis, judges, martyrs. Our whole tradition can antique-memories of their people as if they were grandchildren from the Shoah. The Jewish fami- man. Its popularity pays homage to our first an- be considered a Yizkon experience, a remembering, cheap costume-jewelry, not the precious, irre- lies who ignored the call of Erets Israel lived cestor to call himself Rivlin. a not-forgetting. placeable treasures they really are. to regret it. Another common name amongst us is Shneur That's what we've done in our Rivlin family. What is Jewish education if not that process I think now of Hassidic Rebbes who in the Zalman. This name signifies the offsprings of We have preserved records of our ancestors that by which we teach a Jewish child his place on the 1920s and 1930s told their followers not to mi- the Chassidim of Chabad being called after the go back to 1550, at least 15 generations. There family tree, by which we invite him to enjoy and grate to Erets Israel because Zionist leaders founder of Chabad - Shneur Zalman of Ladi. are Jews in Israel, Jews in Los Angeles who go appreciate the fruit that has grown on that tree, were not religious, who told their followers, Indeed, some two centuries ago an ideologi- back much further, who can trace their ancestry the moral values, the way of life, the great "Don't force God's hand - wait for the MaAkiah!" cal split occurred in the Rivlin family, when the all the way back to King David, three thousand ideas. And a million Hassidim perished in Hitler's death brothers Binyamin and Eliyahu turned to different years ago. The most distinguished family in the Yih~is not how you and I are related phys- camps. directions in the Jewish community. Binyamin was world are the Kohanim, the descendants of the ically to great forebears. It is how we relate If we believe in our future, then we can't a close favorite of his cousin the Gaon of Vilna, High Priest, Aaron, who lived 3300 years ago. ourselves to their great ideas, to their beauti- just wait for it. We've got to make it happen. thus to become the head of the P'rushim - Mitnag- Many Kohanim have kept records of their family ful life-experiences, to the good sense and the For so many centuries our ancestors were passive dim (opponents of the Chassidim) in our family; for a hundred generations. deep wisdom of their way of life. victims of forces which they could not control. while his brother Eliyahu followed the Chabad What does all that mean? That the past has There are many great and wonderful families Wherever they lived, they suffered the conse- Chassidim movement to become head and champion of remained a potent force in Jewish life. We were among our people. When I spoke at the KWU in quences of their passivity. What was remarkable the Chassidim in the family. not "born yesterday"; that has given some special Jerusalem, I challenged all these families to do about the story we celebrated on Wednesday eve- Their descendants came to Israel and contin- quality to Jewish existence. what we have done, to hold a worldwide reunion' ning, June 11, 1980, is that our ancestors 170 ued their fathers' ideological traditions. The We were given models to follow: Abraham, the in Jerusalem. Let them awaken in their children years ago, 140 years ago, 110 years ago were de- Mitnagdim settled in Jerusalem (and partly in first Jew; Moshe Rabeynu, the Liberator and Law- and grandchildren a curiosity about their roots. termined no longer to be passive victims. They Z1fat) and the Chassidim moved to Chevron, which giver; Isaiah, Jeremiah and the other great pro- Let them assemble, as we did, in the City of Je- became ac;tiviA&. They cried out, "Welre not go- became a Chassidic centre until its destruction phets who followed him; the three thousand rabbis rusalem, the holiest city in the world, to ing to wait for the MaAhLah. By our work and our during the disturbances of 1929. The Rivlins of the Talmud who came later; the wise men and pledge their commitment to our people. sacrifices we're going to make him come!" married some of the offsprings of the founder of women of every generation who have enriched the What a wonderful thing it would be if every By their courage and their will they changed Chabad (the Shneursons, the Slonims, etc.) retain- tapestry of Jewish history and religion with year a hundred Jewish families held such reunions the history of the Jewish people, and they ing the name Shneur or Shneur Zalman. their special contributions. in the Convention Hall in Jerusalem - rededicat- changed the history of their own family. We Fortunately, that ideological rift did not We all know people who buy antiques. They ing themselves to the heritage, the faith and the estimate that in Israel and in the Diaspora we separate the Rivlins from each other and many of may be a good investment. They add color and land of Israel. have possibly ten thousand members of our Mhh- the Chassidic sect married Mitnagdim in all the beauty to a home. But so often these are other I may be a dreamer, but that has such wonder- paha wha are living today because of that vision years to come and gave birth to a mixed "Chassi- people's antiques - somebody else's nhmatta - ful possibilities. It would strengthen Jewish and that will, because of the dreams and sacri- dic-Mitnagdic brand1' like this writer -- since that we buy to adorn our homes. And these an- families at a time when they need strengthening. fices of R. Binyamin, R. Hillel, R. Yoshe Rivlin. my father Shlomo Zalman, a Mitnagged, married my tiques are always things, things you can break As Alex Haley pointed out recently, we need to That is the story of my family's reunion, mother Hadassa, daughter of Shneur Zalman of or burn, things that can be damaged or destroyed. give our younger generation an awareness of their and that is its message to the Jewish people. Chevron. So ample and complex are the Rivlins' The best antiques are of the spirit. The roots at a time when so many of them are rootless "intermarriages1' that any two or three Rivlins, best antiques are memories of people and their and drifting. It would recharge our people's meeting for a reunion, even casually, would great ideas, the imprints of their personalities. will to live by linking Jew to his fellow-Jew, quickly indulge in a pleasurable effort to un- I remember as a child what it meant to me and binding them together to the people of Israel. fold and "decipheru family-connection puzzles. to discover that the Vilner Gaon was one of our What if every great family reunion would family. That was added inspiration to me when I undertake a special project in Israel - to build became a student in the Yeshiva and studied the an apartment house for young couples, to provide Talmud - to feel connected with that Talmud gen- high school scholarships for children of Oriental ius, to feel that I was carrying on in his tra- families, to sponsor an Israeli scientist in a dition. vital research project. Over and above our con- BOOKS IN REVIEW tributions to the United Jewish Welfare Fund, let As Jews, we are all related to the Gaon of Zachary M. Baker Enter Dr. Chester G. Cohen, a Los Angeles Vilna, to the Rambam, to Rabbi Akiba and Hillel, there be some family gift that would make a real difference to the future of young couples, of a school administrator, who spent eight years of to Isaiah and Jeremiah, to Moses and Aaron, to Skte;te Finda: Jwhh CommuvLitia in the 79th and summers and weekends researching these very ques- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When we are conscious high school student, of Israeli science. These are some of the possibilities that Eartey 20th Ceaain the Pate 06 S&ement ud tions. The result is this Skte.22 Finda, a ga- of that relationship, it does something to us. Ran& and Poland, and in LiXhania, Latvia, Gat- zetteer of Jewish Eastern Europe. It isn't a matter of empty pride. That's come to mind. But most important of all, I raise i&,and Bukovina, with Nama 06 Raidentn. By Before we discuss the .%Z& F&d&tls con- what I call being a Yakhnon with no Yih~. the question: How could so many of my family have attended the Kena at Jerusalem's Convention Chester G. Cohen. Los Angeles: Periday Co., 1980. tents, let us define our terminology. Yihu means being related - not just physically, iii, 145 p., maps. Paperback. $8.25. Publish- Gazmea can be defined, simply enough, but spiritually. Without these memories, without Hall? I think of all the Jewish families in Eu- er's address: Box 583, Woodland Hills, CA 91365. as "a geographical dictionary .I1 In other words, that spiritual dimension, then our past has rope who were wiped out by Hitler. I think of members of our own congregation who tell me, "I it is an alphabetical list of place names giving ceased to work for us. short descriptions of these places. am the only one of my family of seventy who sur- Where did our family come from? Exactly The standard What was the great crime the American slave where were those strange-sounding places? What general gazetteer is the CoLumbh LippincoLt vived the Holocaust! " owners did to the blacks they enslaved? They sort of people lived there, and what did they do Gazmea 06 the Wohed, published in many edi- robbed them of their memories, they robbed them Everyone I tell about the Kena in Jerusalem there? These are some of the most common ques- tions. Until now, no specifically Jewish gazet- They robbed them precisely of is amazed at the number of people who attended: of their history. tions that the genealogist will ask. teer has been published, though various Jewish what we Jews possess - YihW. That is one reason "Do you mean they were all your relatives? Unbe- lievable!" TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 encyclopedias and Berl Kaganls Hebnew Subbdp- clude at least some of the attributes that Cohen the 19th century emphasis of this book, placing ;tion Lin;tcl (New York: 1975) do bear some of the has delineated. In Eastern Europe, the towns Kamenets (then as now in Russia) in relation to I characteristics of a gazetteer. that we call "shtetlekh" had total populations Lvov (Lemberg, then in Austria-Hungary) is a geo- What sort of information might one expect a from 1,000 to 20,000; Jews comprised anywhere political anachronism akin to, say, placing Buf- Periyoslov Jwhh gazetteer to contain? First of all, like from 20% to 98% of these populations. falo "S of Toronto," or Paris "S of London." Nor Pereyarlav, also PerejaslavChmelnickij, SE of Kiev the Cohmbia Lipp&c~;tt GazeXeeh it should give What Cohen has actually produced is not a is this the only case where a town belonging to Located north of ~inev.1885-Meshulam Pialki was cor- respondent to Harnelirr. 1894-Yakov Berman war local official and variant forms of a place name, its "nh;t& finder, strictly speaking, but rather, Czarist Russia is located with respect to a city deputy for the Eretz Israel farmers and workers support pronunciation, definition (i.e., city, town, . a location tool for "most of the CLCLU and Zownh in Austrian Galicia. association. Birthplace of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem. village, estate), population, the countries and where Jews lived in the nineteenth century, with- who was Solomon Rabinovitz 1859-1916. EJ. article It would have made more sense to locate Pereyslav-Khrnelnitski. Kagan 6691. I provinces to which it belongs now and belonged in in the boundaries of the territory covered, and places within their pre-World War I provinces, the past, and distinctive historical, economic there is also a sampling of the thousands of giving more precise indications of their dis- Pervon~aisk,Olviopol, Ore1 and architectural features. Cross-references vdYaga where Jews lived." (p. ii, my emphasis) tances from major cities within those provinces. Pewomaisk. formerly Olwiopol, N of Odessa from variant forms of a place name to the entry All told, the Sh;t& Finden includes entries A simple map of the Pale and surrounding regions Located about 180 kilometers north of 0dessa.'l912-~af- form are an integral feature of any gazetteer. for over 2,000 Eastern European Jewish communi- which indicates provincial boundaries--such as tali Dov ben Tobi' Zav Kanterman, born 1851, was rabbi. Birthplace of Selig Brodetsky, born 1888, who moved to In addition, one would want a Jewish gazetteer ties, in two separate alphabetical lists (a main are contained in Martin Gilbert's J&h ffhZ~ky England at age 5 and became a professor of mathematics and to include the names of notable rabbis and other list and a supplemental list of addenda). With AZhA (New York: 1969) and Diane K. and David a Zionist leader. EJ. article Pervomaisk. prominent personalities who came from (or lived rare exceptions--such as Warsaw--the place names Roskies Sh;t& Book (New York: 1975) --would in) particular towns, plus citations for litera- are given in English transcription from their suffice for reference purposes. Pesheysh, Pshedetz ture on those places (e.g., memorial books, ency- vernacular, Yiddish pronunciations. Official The body of the entries demonstrates the Rzedecz, NW of Lodz clopedia articles, Hebnew Subndpfion lh;tcl item author's extensive consultation of encyclopedias, South of Vlotzlavek. Memorial book Sefer Zikron L 'kedoshi Polish, Russian and/or Lithuanian spellings (or Ir Psheitz (Pshedet:). 1974. Kagan 6763. numbers, Genealogical Society of Utah holdings). in some cases, 19th century German map spellings memorial books, genealogical sourcebooks, pub- Skt& cannot be defined in so straightfor- --e. g . , "Bj eschenkowitschifl for Beshenkovichi , lished family histories, directories of rabbis, Petchinizhin ward a manner. Still, at the very least we shall White Russia) are also provided within the en-. 19th century Hebrew newspapers (specifically Ha- Pechenezhin. also Peczenizyn, SE of Lvov attempt a characterization of this widely employed tries. However, cross-references are included m&~), and above all, subscription lists in old Located south of Stanislav. 1920's-Szymon Zajczyk photo- and misunderstood term. Cohen himself supplies only for widely variant forms of place names-- Hebrew books (for which Berl Kaganls work served graphed the old wooden synagogue here; see Wooden Svna- two illustrations of the I1shtetl" concept. On e. g., "Trochinbrod see Sofiovka," but not "Byten as the author's source of information). The en- gogues. 1959. Kagan 6455. page 37 he gives the following definition, citing see Biten." The use of Yiddish place names as tries are not uniform in their contents, however. Petrikov Moishe Glaser (a Yiddish poet) as his authority: the organizing principle of this gazetteer is An entry for a town may have only a one-line de- Petrikov, NW of Kiev eminently justifiable from the genealogical stand- scription or it may go on for two pages (as do (1) Matechko--legal permission to be a com- Located in Minsk province, west of Mozir. 181 1 -The cenlus point, since many people are not well acquainted the Warsaw and Vilna entries). The entry for reported 102 Jews in the population of Pehikov. 1912- munity; (2) three minyan5 of Jewish men to with the official names of the places that their Baruch Nachman Eidelman, born 1857, was rabbi here. support a rabbi and a prayer-house; (3) a Petrikov (Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland) is per- families came from. haps typical. Its 14 lines contain 12 lines of Birthplace of Chaim Gutman, born 1887, who moved to the cheden--Jewish elementary school; (4) a men- United States in 1905 and was a writer of Yiddish humor, The Sh;t& F&dm locates towns by placing names of subscribers to two 19th century rabbin- using the pen name Der Lebediger. chdtz--public bath. them in relation to 16 "reference cities" shown ical books, and only two lines of other informa- Then, on page 98 he supplies a facetious list of on a map of the Russian Pale of Settlement and tion, which in this case consists of citations Petrikov th6 elements of a shtetl, citing the Yiddish mem- adjacent areas. These cities are: Riga, Kovno, for a published memorial book, an Encydopaedia Piotrkow, also Piotrkow Trybunalski, S of Lodz Vilna, Minsk, Mohilev (White Russia, not Podolia), Judaica article, and Kaganls entry number for the 1879-Advance subscribers for the book Du'ur hloslre were oirs of Hershel Perlmutter, who came from the Po- Rabbi Baruch. Abraham Shidlovrki and his son Baruch. Abra- lish town of Stertzev (Szczercow). Perlmutterls Grodno, Bialystok, Warsaw, Pinsk, Lodz, Brest city. The latter citation is helpful to the ham Yitzchak Henaker, Asher Roizinshtein. Eliezer Kasitzki. town included: Litovsk, Lublin, Krakow, Lvov, Kiev and Odessa. genealogist seeking to track down books in which Eliezer bar Israel Baravski, Benyamin ZPVShub, Isrelki In many cases the entries provide additional lo- the names of subscribers from this city are in- Shmuelavitz, Yiechak Melnitzer, lsael Karilsbrin, Yakov Yo- (1) a post office with a telegraph, (2) a sef Roitinberg, Moshe Brandfein, Menachem Zilbershtein, cational clues. For example, Plate1 (Plateliai, cluded. But the reproduction of selected sub- river, (3) a cemetery, (4) a rabbi, (5) a Meir Yitzchak Rabin, Meir Horvitz, Moshe Eibishitz, Naftali Lithuania) is placed I1NW of Kovno" and "west of scription lists is numbing to the eye and devours Zvi Honitz, Pesach bar Moshe Shub, Fishel Simcha Givertz, prayer house, (6) two prayer rooms for chas- Shavel (Siauliai)." Shavel, in turn, is placed valuable space. Cohen could have avoided this Fihel Shitenberg, Zvi Berinovski. Zvi son of the rabbi of idim, (7) a Talmud Torah academy.. (8) a Bendin, Shlomo Zelmenovitz, and Shimeon Lipsker. 1880- . , "N of Kovno." The phrase "close to" (e.g., "Se- constantly recurring problem by providing a de- cloister with a priest, (9) a village moron, Advance subscribers for the book Arye Debi Eilai were Yakov rednik, Srednik (Seredzius) close to Kovno") tailed explanation and illustration of how Kaganls Yitzchak Veinfeld and Levi Horvitz. Memorial book Pionokov (10) several prosperous persor%and . . . (11) means that a town is within 25 miles of the latter book works, in his introduction. The responsibil- Tribunalski Vehasviva. 1965, part in English. EJ. article many paupers. F'iotrkow. Kagan 6661. place indicated. Through geographical detective ity for searching out subscription lists would On the governmental level, the most import- work Cohen has also managed to sort out many then be the reader's, and properly so. Petrikov Koyavsk ant factor contributing to the definition of a places bearing the same name--for example, he has In many cases, entries include the names of F'iotrkow Kujawski, MY of Lodz shtetl is its description as a township (in the isolated four different White Russian communities prominent town rabbis and other notable personal- Located west of Vlotzlavek. 1912-Eliahu Vartzka, born Czarist Empire: a makechko), as distinct from a named Pohost (no mean feat ! ) . ities, important events in the communitiest his- 1859, was rabbi in Pietrokov Hakatan (little Petrikov), village (or agricultural settlement) and a city. , As a tool for pinpointing places on the map tory, and citations for photographs of the towns1 Warsaw province. Kagan 6662. From the Jewish standpoint, a shtetl had to have --as opposed to providing general locational clues synagogues which were reproduced in Maria and Petropavlovka --the ShX& Fhd~leaves a good deal to be de- an organized Jewish community, which would in- Kazimierz Piechotkats book, Wooden Synagogua Petropavlovka, SE of Kiev sired. First of all, by using a select few cities (Warsaw: 1959). The entries sometimes include Located east of Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk). 1885- Zachany M. Bakm, om ConttLibu;ting EclLton, hecent- as the principal geographic frame of reference, citations for articles that appeared in ffam&z, David Ashklin sold Montefiore pictures to aid Eretz Isael. Ry moved to Monthed, whene he h the Yiddinh npe- this gazetteer as a matter of course gives impre- as well. Only rarely (e.g., Divin, White Russia) 1894-Naftali Hush Feinshtein was local deputy for the ciUt on the J&h Public Libnany'n pnodanion- cise locations. This problem is compounded by does Cohen include population figures for a Jew- Eretz Israel fanners and workers support association. Kagan 6656. d nZadd. He ~~heviowRywonked at the YZVO 1nh;ti- the virtual absence of reference cities (aside ish community, or an indication that the Mormons1

;Me don Jwhh Raeanch in Nw Yank, whme he wan from Kiev and Odessa) for the vast expanses of ' Genealogical Society has filmed records for that SampLe entnia dhom Shtetl Finder. the gwedogicd hedmence libhahian and an aC;tive the Ukraine and Bessarabia. The major Ukrainian community. (In the entry for Bendkov/Bedkow, memben od the JeLuinh Genedogicd Socie;ty. city of Kamenets Podolskiy (entered here as "Ko- Poland, he does cite the Spring 1978 Toledot list Addhan : Jew-ih h Public Libmy, 5 7 57 Cote Sainte menitzM)--which could serve as a reference city of Polish-Jewish records filmed by the Mormons, Cdthenine Road, Month&, Quebec H3W lM6, Canada. in its own right--is placed I1SE of Lvov." Given TULEVUT/VOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 TOLEVOT/VUf. 4, NUS. 7-2 but supplies references to these records in vir- ing for that town, while the lesser known Rabbi its flawed Yiddish-English transcription scheme. tually none of his other entries.) Another fea- Shmuel Birnboim does. The article on Uman The Sktd findeh is a pioneering work and, ture of the Shtd Findeh is the periodic inser- (Ukraine) does not mention the residence and all in all, a most welcome addition to Jewish tion of anecdotes and legends between entries. shrine there of the great 18th century Hasidic genealogical reference literature. Usually these stories refer to the preceding art- storyteller, Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav, but does icle, e.g. "The Ropshitzer persuades the Riman- mention the obscure fact that in 1887 "Yosef over" (concerning two Hasidic rabbis) appears Krupnik was correspondent to ffam&z. Finally, right after the article on Rimanov (Rymanow, . the entry for Zamoshtch (Zamosc, Poland) overlooks Donna Balopole Galicia) . one of the giants of Yiddish and world literature, Inevitably errors and omissions will crop I. L. Peretz, who was born there. Inland 06 Hope, Inland 06 Team. By David M. up in a work of this kind. The Shkd finden There are several appendices to the Skt& Brownstone, Irene M. Franck and Douglass L. contains only a few minor mistakes regarding the Findeh. The first is an interesting list of over 1 Brownstone. New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers, current names of places. For example, a cross- 25 towns in present-day Poland (primarily Gali- Inc., 1979. 307 p. Illustrated. $11.95. reference is erroneously assigned from Dzerzhinsk cia), that gives details on the condition of their v to Rubizhevitch/Rubiezewicze, near Minsk, White Jewish cemeteries as of the late 1960s. Ellis Island is geographically merely a Russia; actually it is the nearby town of Koidan- The second appendix is the "Supplemental tiny sandbar in the New York Harbor, but from ovo that now bears the name Dzerzhinsk (in honor List" of additional towns. The entries in this 1892 to the early 1930s it was the scene of much of the founder of the Soviet secret police, Fe- section rely far less heavily on reproducing sub- tears, joy, laughter, and hope, for it was with- liks Dzerzhinsky). The official forms supplied scription lists than do those in the main section, in these years that 17 to 20 million immigrants, by Cohen are also almost always correct. (Excep- and the resulting entries are much more compact, mostly from Central and Southern Europe, passed tion : "Bendery, also Taginat!-- the Romanian name encompassing more useful and readable information through Ellis Island into the United States. for this Bessarabian town is Tighina.) The fre- in fewer lines. The United States Immigration Station at quent inconsistencies in the spelling of place The third appendix comprises a list of Jew- Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, sup- names are a bit more annoying. For example, the ish communities outside of the areas included in planting the arrival center at Castle Garden in entry for Amshinov (Mszczonow, near Warsaw) places the main body of the gazetteer: Russia outside Manhattan's Battery; and except for a three-year that town near "Skiernovitz." But the entry for of the Pale, IfGerman territory" (primarily Posen/ period (1897-1900) of rebuilding due to a total- the latter place--known in Polish as "Skiernie- Poznan, now in Poland), Hungary, Romania. One ly devastating fire, Ellis Island was the main wice1I--reads "Skiernivitz. wonders why Cohen chose to exclude some areas entry station for European immigrants into the In choosing vernacular Yiddish place names from the scope of his work. For example, Ruthen- United States. In its peak years, 1900 to 1914 for the entry headings, Cohen has performed an ia, Transylvania (both part of pre-1918 Hungary) and 1919 to 1922, an average of 5,000 immigrants ies that could very well be the histories of our important service for the genealogical community. and Romania proper contained hundreds of thousands a day passed before the eyes of two doctors, who parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents. But this contribution is marred by the homemade of shtetl-dwelling, Yiddish-speaking Jews. checked for a wide assortment of disorders and Second, for all genealogists, the interviews pro- transcription scheme that he employs. "A" and Though important Hasidic centers like Munkacs diseases. vide a lesson in how an oral history interview -- "0" are used interchangeably, but since these (Mukachevo , Ruthenia) and Szatmar (Satu Mare/Sat- But who were these immigrants, from where at its best -- should sound and how it can be vowels rarely occur at the beginning of place mar, Transylvania) are named in the third appen- did they come, and why did they leave their home- interspersed with explanatory text to tell a names this poses a relatively minor problem. A dix, they and other places in these regions merit lands? In Idland 06 Hope, Inland 06 Team, David story. more serious mistake is his indiscriminate repre- full-length entries in the body of a gazetteer of M. Brownstone, Irene M. Franck (his wife), and The story opens in Europe, where poverty sentation of the two very different sounds of Jewish Eastern Europe. One town in Ruthenia-- Douglass M. Brownstone (his son) chronicle the and/or oppression are spurring on many Europeans lltchll (as in "Tchaikovsky") and "kh" (as in Rachov--somehow slipped into the main section of voyage of these people -- Jews, Czechs, Poles, to sell their possessions and travel to America, llKharkovll) with "chT1. Thus, Kherson, in the the Sktd Finden, where it is identified as be- Ukrainians, Italians, Greeks, and other Southern the land of many of their dreams. Usually, Ukraine (pronounced with the guttural "kh" sound) ing south of Lvov and north of Sighet, Romania. and Eastern Europeans -- their first decision to fathers, sometimes with the oldest children, tra- appears here as llCherson," right after "Chersk" The latter town (actually in Transylvania)-- leave their homeland, their journey usually by veled first, earned money in America, and sent train to the European ports, their steamship back enough so that eventually other family mem- (Czersk, south of Warsaw) --pronounced llTchersk." birthplace of the famous contemporary Jewish The absurdity of this approach is underscored by writer, Elie Wiesel--appears in the appended list trip across the Atlantic, their arrival in New bers could join them. Middle children traveled two other entries: "Chmiliv" (Chmielow, south- of "Other Communities" under its Hungarian name I York and experiences at Ellis Island, and final- next, oftentimes alone, and finally the mothers west of Lublin, Poland) and "Chmilov" (Cmielow, of llMarmaro Sziget" (properly, Marmarossziget). ly their much shorter trips to their new American and youngest children made the trip. The immi- &o southwest of Lublin!). Without knowing a Nowhere else in this gazetteer does the name !/ destinations. gration routes used were often those Jews fleeing little Polish, the uninformed reader cannot pos- Sighet appear. To tell this story, the authors spoke to and Russian pogroms since the 1880s had established. sibly be expected to distinguish between these The final appendix is a selection of obitu- gathered the oral histories of a wide group of Journeying to the European ports was not always two towns, given their nearly identical tran- aries appearing in the Hebrew journal HuXZe~dUL people who survived this journey, and lnland 06 an easy matter: from rural areas, trains did not scriptions and locations. But the Polish spell- from 1875 to 1896. This list is arranged chrono- Hope, Inland 06 Team is told largely through always exist; from Russia,. travel restrictions ings and the entries for the two towns in Hebnew logically, and the first element of each obituary these travelers' own words. Thus, for the gene- were strict and involved either waiting long SubncnipLLon~LhA make it clear that the first is the place where the subject died. Most of the alogist the book truly has twofold significance. periods for permits or bribing border guards; and from all countries, young men of oppressed minor- place name should be pronounced llKhmelevlland the obituaries are for rather obscure individuals. First, for those (Jewish and non-Jewish) genea- ities, who were escaping service in the armies of second one, llTchmelev. The poin?-is noX that The Sktd Findeh is the product of extensive logists researching this era of immigration, their oppressors, had severe problems fleeing one must feel obligated to adopt an established and painstaking research. The strength of the Inland 06 ffope, Inland 06 Tew relates histor- their countries. transcription scheme, but rather, that if one book lies in its use as a device for identifying chooses to create a system of one's own, it must place names and assigning them rough locations. Donna Batopole, whone ghandpaem% annived at Experiences at European ports varied and h were not always pleasant. Celia Rypinski (a be consistent and it must also distinguish be- In addition, by providing bibliographical refer- EmZnland 6/zom Run& and Polmd, newn- tween different sounds! ences Cohen indicates avenues for further research laen edi;toh 06 Xhe Jewhh Gendogicat Soc,ie,ty pseudonym), traveling at the age of 13 years from Poland, described with joy the "great big house In a few cases the names of prominent towns- on hundreds of Jewish communities. The Sktd in New Yonh. fh~m9 Xo 5 nhe h a copy edi;toh people are omitted from the entries. Thus, the finde,tls greatest weaknesses are its unsystematic at a majoh medicat book pubLbha in New Yank ...g rand food...beautiful bathrooms and toiletsv famous Hasidic rabbi, Elimeleh of Lizhensk amassing of superfluous and trivial detail, and Cdy. Addtrebi: 25-34 130 SZkee,t, College Point, she encountered in her two-week wait for the ship (Lezajsk, Galicia) does not appear under the head- NY 11356. in Rotterdam in 1908; Vera Gauditsa (a pseudonym), TOLEQOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 7-2 TOLEQOT/VOt. 4, NOS. 1-2 traveling in 1929, from Czechoslovakia, while (identification, marital status, skills, litera- Zachary M. Baker three volumes covering only the first nine letters eight-months pregnant, encountered an open sewer cy, etc.) were reviewed. of the Hebrew alphabet had appeared. The remain- and no toilets and floors with straw and not While most immigrants passed these tests MegZa,t ha-tevab; bornen Re-diva& ymd ha- denaot ing volumes were never published. In effect, mattresses in her eight-day stay at LeHavre. quickly, some were detained because of suspected ve-ha-tevah; ba- yeh~dbnbe-UMnah, be-Rwiah ha- then, only those towns whose names begin with the Shipping companies were required by American medical or mental problems, because they were gedatah u-ve-Runkh ha-Levanah [Scroll of slaugh- following letters are included in the extant vol- immigration law to carefully examine and clear awaiting a relative to receive them or awaiting ter; material relating to the history of the po- umes: A, B, D, G, I, Kh, 0, T, U, V, Z. Under emigrants before they sailed, but most companies money or train tickets, because it was already groms and the slaughter of the Jews in the each _letter, two separate alphabetical sequences quickly passed the emigrants on; this resulted in evening (there was no night time inspection and Ukraine, Great Russia and White Russia], By are maintained. The first sequence contains de- hardship at Ellis Island for many emigrants who clearance), or because of other specific immigra- Eliezer David Rosental. Jerusalem-Tel Aviv: Ha- tailed narrative descriptions of pogroms in each were forced to return penniless (although at the tion regulations. Out of the 20 immigrants per vurah, 1927-30. 3 vols. town listed; the second sequence gives lists of shipping company's expense) to their homelands. hundred that were detained, only two per hundred The alternative of carefully checking emigrants were eventually refused entrance and returned to Le-toLedot ha-hekieot be-Fafin [On the history of and letting ill emigrants cure their problems be- Europe. the Jewish communities of Poland]. By Zevi Hirsch fore their journey was, due to the urging of Fio- The major obstacles to entrance were speci- ben Hayyim Aryeh Leibush ha-Levi Horowitz. Jeru- rello LaGuardia, added in Italy in 1908; and by fic diseases, such as traucoma, favus, and tuber- salem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1978. 20, 560 p. 1924, United States government regulations re- culosis, and certain other physical problems; quired this procedure in all countries. mental illness; after 1917, illiteracy (in any Though the impulse to memorialize the dead naw 42 ma The trip to America for most emigrants from language); criminal records; the possibility of is part and parcel of the Jewish heritage, the n*i% 4 np Southern and Eastern Europe was in the steerage becoming a public charge or of being imported for Holocaust has lent a new urgency to this collec- 38 ~P~*D~PDYI~iwr tive obligation. As participants in Jewish his- compartment of the ship. These windowless below- or impressed into "white slavery"; and being im- . . " 35 inn$~mw. - *:no deck compartments were poorly ventilated and ported for a specific job (a contract laborer). tory, we are called upon to reconstruct as best D*aa 3 np larn~lnrnp 82 nhp ipa bhprr we can, the shattered remains of our past. We - lacked clean toilet facilities and "the food was Many of the memories of detainment at Ellis nwn i9n.Ima mnrw >py* ~*rrx$~ 50 ~*m$2393 Island are not pleasant ones: steel bunks with. no are obsessed by the need to establish links with - both monotonous and poorly prepared--if prepared ~*l$*4 Dp 380 X?E*D 18 I~WY mattresses, overcrowding, poor ventilation, tra- what is in danger of becoming irretrievable. - at all--and fresh water was usually available *~m*ar?ani~np~arh5pa n**n nwn *?D>l$DUD - wm*ah*atti58 iSpmavnn ipa .rrp*$n ton: only up on deck. .The foul odors and pounding gic separations of families when some members had The post-Holocaust generation is not the - . . ~*raa a9 ..=i*n anian *poan:n*tup of the engines and waves combined to knock most to be returned to Europe, the fear, the crying. first generation in modern times to be seized by iri *p~$yonn .Il*l$* 2 Dp of the passengers into a state of muddled semi- On the positive side, however, there was plenti- the compulsion to erect spiritual monuments to na0 YO n*arm iris la consciousness, with only short flashes of painful ful food (although the immigrants disagree as to the victims of systematic- annihilation. A dress wvn arpn*ripwm clarity." its quality) and to assist new immigrants, par- rehearsal for the destruction that the Nazis were nnian *p~ar~n*rr Emigrants who could afford to traveled ticularly offering aid to those having entrance to unleash occurred in the Ukraine from 1918 to nniw *p~mrar5a second ciass instead (very few traveled first problems, many social agencies--such as the He- 1921. During those years of revolution and civil ~mn*arpn*5uo class), thus avoiding steerage and also the Ellis brew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Italian war, tens of thousands of Jews were killed in po- wrrnn5lpranmwm*arwipa Island inspection, since second-class travelers Welfare League, the Travelers Aid Society, and groms, and entire communities were destroyed or 0i*n l**mw5rn the Immigrants' Protective League--functioned on uprooted. In the wake of these mass murders, the were inspected and cleared on board. qDl* 21.3*lIP 213iYu Ellis Island. first community memorial books appeared: Khuhbn However, while many adults suffered the of- 2-5 *poa111* Innpipa mnrvn The immigrant's journey does not of course Phonhuhov (New York: 1924) and F&ktin (New York: tentimes stormy voyage as a blur of seasickness nwo noniprp l?:n *?~a*anii (the most prevalent food in steerage), end with Ellis Island and 1nRand 06 Hope, 1nLand 1937)--true predecessors of the post-Holocaust and herring .raa np Ira most children found the voyage a fun-filled ad- oh TWconcludes with a look at the journey in- yizkor books. The dislocations caused by World 5w mwx - venture. Seasickness affected them less; and to America. For one-third of the immigrants this War I, the Russian Revolution, and the subsequent n~m~p thus with so many adults ill, children, when they meant a short ferry ride to lower Manhattan and rise of Nazism caused some pre-war observers to ZJ~DI~U *px*~na'~nran 5w mwn were not busy caring for their seasick relatives, reunion with family already present in the New wonder whether the worst was not yet to come. n~w69 ipaipf m*n often had freerun of the boat. As one Greek World. For two-thirds it meant rail trips to The two Hebrew books which we shall discuss here n*nna 2151plD - 24 q~r*tra woman remembers here childhood journey, "1 was other points in the United States on Irimmigrant are products of this atmosphere of foreboding. saw na CBSII$D as free as air going up and down stairs and trains": slow, old, and poorly lit and ventilated Both attempt to document critical aspects of Jew- h;nw - m5c swinging on the bottom of the boat, having a trains reserved especially for immigrants. And ish community history, and both have considerable n*n araorip na. 60 *?aiganp5 nniw heck of a time." for all immigrants, arriving in the United States genealogical value, as well. pana ~yin5ipa 21 21KD*lX 9D1* The sighting of the Statue of Liberty and meant adjustment--often under conditions of pover- :nruln o*va .YE72 - 53 *?nari~ar~ma0 ty--to a new land, new customs, and a new lang- Eliezer David Rosental, a Hebrew writer born nnxl, ,nik nwn the coast of America signaled the end of the im- nramn 111 - lii nanino nnlan uage. It meant finding a place to live and a job, in 1856 in Khotin, Bessarabia, was a Hebrew teach- migrants' rocky sea voyage, but for most passen- ,,lp,l,~ l,la ia*k np~ankxr M, ~pir*?no* getting an education, learning new skills, and er in Teplik, Podolia at the time of the 1919 po- ,,kn,n,ahn,a, ll n,,s - gers--the steerage passengers--arrival into New mnrw nwn arp*a5pnn - York Harbor did not mean immediate entrance into moving into American society. groms. The experience of witnessing the terrible DnPD Dw D,,x1a5 The recollections of the immigrants in 1nLand ~ogromthere was so searinn that he consecrated . (2'1) hrnw 1*mwika ;Ixmu the United States. While first and second class nwo app* wm*arO~*in passengers had their inspections and clearance 06 Hope, 1nLand 06 Team are at times tearful but Athe - rest of his life to do;umenting what happened kurm~a a*irn* nwnn ;,o~r, l,,,p, o$mnn on ship and then passed onto American soil, are also filled with the joy of the better life in every single town that suffered a pogrom.. - dur- n""'PnPD lJan I ~4~ DY I ,1920 C*~IDJ~019 aig steerage passengers were transferred to barges they experienced in their new country. Their ing the- ~ussianrevolutionary period. The result where they awaited, sometimes for hours, their thoughts also include the realization of the fate was MegZat ha-tevah,. inspections at Ellis Island. they would have faced had they not left Europe This work is an encyclopedia of pogroms oc- Eventually the immigrants passed through when they did. curring in Russian (primarily Ukrainian) Jewish Ellis Island, where they were given first a med- The authors have created a wonderful and communities during the post-World War I period. ical examination (which included the painful and well-researched document that effectively combines Rosental sent the manuscript out of the Soviet frightening test for traucoma, wherein a button- history with personal recollection. Inland 06 Union (he resided in Odessa after the Revolution) hook was used to turn the immigrant's eyelids Hope, 1nRand 06 Tuhh is recommended reading for to the famous poet, ljayyim Nahman Bialik, in Tel Lht 06 pughorn victim doh tow~~clbeginning with inside out) and then an administrative examina- all genealogists interested in this era of immi- Aviv. Bialik then undertook to have the work ;the Letten "G" dhom Megilat ha-tevab. F&y tion, wherein the ship manifest information gration. printed. By the time Rosental died in 1932, nama me in dphabe;ticd ohdeh undeh each town. TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 7-2 pogrom victims in many of these towns. Altoge- alp87 ULANOW and Jacob Emden, concerning amulets, he ther, the three volumes contain narrative descrip- sided with the former. He wrote the book 'r3Zn nnx W13n 95x5 n3r':ln nXB> ~3kW-4913~;lit'? ;n*V tionsof pogroms affectingover 200 communities, Ulanow is an old Polish town in the Lwow re- Bhkat Efiyahu. D311n3il.575Xl l1Y 7x13 n1nY 3151': .?":?I5.517 1YTIZnT nl?Yi?;i ZlX and lists of pogrom victims for roughly 115 con- gion. During the 1648 massacres, many of our 5. Rabbi Mordecai Rosental. munities. Perhaps as many as 5,000 individual DJ ;m33pnn lx .lC~n qb~5nvr331n man n3c.x13nNm3 i13 i3r33na brethren were killed by the oppressors, who pogrom victims are listed in this work. Because :125 n-~.;~cni:~ 03:=~n n5xi burned down the entire town. These are the This entry is perhaps typical. Most entries these lists of names are incomplete, estimates rabbis of Ulanow, known from its beginnings are from one to five pages long, though entries are also given for the total nwnbeh of pogrom until the last century: for such important rabbinical centers as Apta/ victims at the end of some sections. (Thus, for 1. Rabbi Joseph Yaski, chief rabbi of Ula- Opatow, Belz, Dukla, Greiditz, Brubieszow, Tys- the letter "G", the names of about 1,000 victims now, son of R. Jehiel Mikhl of Dukla, author mienica, and Zamosc are considerably longer. are listed, while some 2,100 people are estimated of the book Ohel Mo'ed and other commentaries There are no entries at all for Warsaw, Vilna, as having actually perished in the pogroms in zrpx~p5r:in7 a::> '~"n73 5 x r 2 o ip 3 i. x ,rli: rcnn 2"n'ln -3 on the [Mishnaic] order of Moved (Frankfurt Cracow, Lublin, Lodz, or Lwow--in short, the very those same towns .) lnll3ys: ~'I?K-: ?"=sl :'I ;PR .J=-st* '1 n--z '- r:l;i- '1 P'X r113 n~i: on the Oder: 1766). largest centers of Polish Jewry are omitted from How was Rosental able to compile such a l~rn (-:+I:) 7733 r~th-3 1isxi .::;xl? in;?.: --r=;*,:s?5 n;m: :tln~i 2. Rabbi Jacob Naphtali, son of R. Isaac this encyclopedic sourcebook. Articles on such book? What motivated him to have it printed? In l,5y ,,rn I,,,~;yt*=r,n l.s2n .731 ,;:p ly: +;?irx7 lnvpcn 3nny r,jr Harif of Sambor. In his youth he was chief important Polish centers of Hasidism as Ger/Gora his introduction, he stated that the documentary rabbi of Ulanow and after the death of his Kalwaria and Kotsk/Kock are also missing from In3l;r, py IlxIn 5: l~b35r2r: e-:ix:n n~i3n5q~uxa~, 3x1 NS: material for his book rested on reliable eyewit- father he became chief rabbi of Sambor. this work. Had the larger cities or the Hasidic zi?x~?: n*.Fn n::' ire: .nirU:;.;1 7n9:3 n;ijiian nzipnz 5ftst y-r~~x ness accounts, on official lists, on other offi- 3. Rabbi Abraham, son of R. Isaac Harif, centers been included, this would no doubt have 53x9~cl;75x 11-ICE nriri 172;: rn:il-5 :;*;* 11I:> 13 113: .J,~:T:~ cia1 documents, and on the author's own experien- brother of the above. In his youth he set- become a multi-volume work. $7-7~ 1"' ' ZKz*; ,$-eye ,+sr;: =:T\K '1 be. 7: 123 .spx-75 13'?Kl ces. The motivation to produce such a book, quite X""n5 tled in Lwow, and then became chief rabbi of One other omission is an index of the per- simply, was based on the author's consuming desire .5rrx; ~EKax -:x ,XFXYFU -~:~zr?r~in3pry n.t.n (1 Glogow. When his brother became chief rabbi sonal names that appear in this work. The only to create a memorial "for all generations ." The ~35ynz.5x1~: nvi= Iisxn 13 n ;11 1T r 5 K R"~? ~~'llznn1ix:n -2 of Sambor, he took his place in Ulanow and approach to individual rabbis that this book per- similarity between MegLtak ha-twah, and the post- ,rt3x rn 3fefix1 n:zn :-;xl n1;313 =:..,- ,:~;5y pt1y3s n-5~3 died there around the year of 1824. mits is through the towns in which they officiat- Holocaust memorial books is in these respects .anurnu ~~~13x5nrtm nir31 7x73 pt1?3x9 z;?nl xP1mn1c3 .3lnxua 4. Rabbi Elijah (Solomon) the Kabbalist, ed. This greatly detracts from its reference quite striking. son of R. Jacob, grandson of R. Shachna of value. In spite of these defects, Le-toledot ha- MeaZak ha-te~ahis one of the most exten- Lublin. His mother was the daughter of R. hekieot be-Fafin is a significant addition to sive sources ' available on the modern his- ,a nllnn 5~ "'2s n-KPfl" 120 l:?, P ' :E 7 5 ",' 17 ' 12 '1 2"?IYl .l Kalonymos, son-in-law of Rabbi [Nathan] Sha- rabbinical genealogical literature. tory of particular Ukrainian and White Russian Ilxln 5113~pT lmln if.7 ?KT3 .;-=:YE 3";:s $3-3 ?KT3 ? :";nil ?U pira, author of the book Tov ha-m&~. He But for the Holocaust, books like Mega Jewish communities--a source all the more import- .J unn~3xnmfl -;;. xna ,~rp-cr-op8*;~x -ax nn13x nl'ir was forced to leave the Kingdom of Poland ha-tevab and Le-toledot ha-hekieot be-FoRin might ant because of the relative lack of materials on and to move to Italy, where he became ac- have remained bibliographic curiosities. However those communities. The lists of names contained .tq PEP -C'J~XM -3n~*~Dc> nxi I quainted with the great Kabbalist, R. Moses today they serve as guideposts to a civilization in these volumes certainly constitute a prime 1--PI ,*v~aii3iw:>iin 1-rw-inxcz -5~1~7nmn? neirnft 1issa v*n 3x3 2 Hayyim Luzzatto. From Italy he moved to that has been completely destroyed, and as har- genealogical resource, one not to be found in .::zlsl:n SY 3i~~t3.il!'ynL/ Amsterdam, and at the time of the contro- bingers of a vast commemorative literature on other printed sources. .n~tfr;.' f~ *i?XD> f~!'F"D as1 3 versy between Rabbis Jonathan Eibeschutz that civilization. .3.;1! it "D OY a~i~2)n1t~DC Sv linn~caax1 5 .~'~-pnsnpSxa am 4 Rabbi Zevi Hirsch ben Hayyim Aryeh Leibush i 517 ] ha-Levi Horowitz was born in Cracow in 1872, the son of a rabbi. In 1920 he was appointed chief SamyJRe. page ~e-toledotha-kehilot be-Folin. rabbi of Dresden, Germany, serving there until E&y doh RU~OW. THE GENEALOGIST AS FAMILY SECRET-KEEPER 1939, when he fled to Belgiwn. He spent the en- suing war years in Nice, France, and died there in the spring of 1945. While in Dresden, he de- had been propagated by earlier scholars, pointing Mark W. Shulkin and Sallyann A. Sack voted much of his free time to researching his to his work as a corrective for past mistakes. family history. Moreover, he admonished the skeptics among his Though written in the 1930~~Le-XoLedot ha- readers, "It should not be said that the lineage As co-authors of our family genealogy, we whose name we were not even told, and family mem- kekieat be-FoRin did not appear in print until of illustrious families is a superfluous, trif- found ourselves in the midst of an unanticipated bers who served time in jail. Most of the se- 1978. Horowitz intended his book to be a concise ling matter. The custom of presenring one's dilemma. Although we recognized the inevitabil- crets could not have been found in public archival source for the history of the rabbinate of over family tree and of knowing its source is a custom ity of error, we were determined to be as accu- material. 100 Jewish communities in and around Poland as ancient as the Jewish people.. ..I1 The viciss- rate and thorough as possible. We realized that, For the most part, our inquiries to even (especially Galicia). The book was in the pro- itudes of modern Jewish history brought Horowitz once published, a piece of writing has an inde- previously unknown family members were greeted cess of being printed in Lodz, Poland, when World to produce a unique combination of local history pendent existence all its own. Not only did we warmly. Doing the research became a labor of War I1 broke out; consequently, that first edi- and family history. want today's readers to have trust in what we love and we envisioned our forthcoming book as a tion never appeared. In his introduction to the The work is preceded, appropriately enough, wrote, but we also envisioned future family his- "giftu to the family. Publishing data that some- unpublished edition (included in this edition), by Horowitzfs own 16-generational line of descent torians using our book as a reference. We did one had told us in confidence was distasteful to Horowitz commented on the destruction wrought by (extending back to Rabbi Moses ha-Levi Horowitz not knowingly publish false data. us, but what were we to do when we obtained the World War I. Given the dislocations of the re- of Prague). The entries for towns are in one al- The problem first arose when we began to same information from different sources, only one cent past and given the ominous portents for the phabetical sequence, with a small supplement at collect oral history from various family members. of which wished us not to publish? We wanted to future, he saw it as his "sacred duty ...to gather the end, covering five non-Polish communities. Often we were told "family secrets." These usu- be accurate but did not wish to cause any of the all that is known about the history of various Each entry contains a thumbnail sketch of the ally came from someone other than the person in- family emotional discomfort. Jewish communities." From his perspective, that community's history, together with a list of the volved and were accompanied by "this is not for Struggling to find a solution, we tried to meant collecting information on what he regarded town's rabbis and their respective lineages. For publication." Among the secrets were stories of analyze the nature of the family secrets. Para- as the most important feature of these communi- example: illegitimate children, brides pregnant before doxically, the "secrets" often were not really ties1 history--i.e., their rabbinate. He referred marriage, concealed marriages, and adoptions. secrets at all since many members of both immedi- to the many errors of rabbinical genealogy that Other tales concerned suicides, a black sheep ate and extended family were aware of them. The 2 0 TOLEUOT/VOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 awareness, however, was not the open, validated Whenever subjects close to the adoption are dis- Russia. This same cousin tipped us off that believe that the distancing of parent-child rela- awareness of certain other "tidbitsn of family cussed, the parent (and later the child) becomes another relative had falsified a wedding date, tionships that occurs when secrets are told by history, such as incidents of bootlegging, mental anxious, changes the subject or withdraws from this time to hide the fact that the bride had third parties is too great a price to pay for deficiency, or insanity. The "family secret11is the conversation. The more vague the actual se- been pregnant. that type of accuracy. unique in that someone in the family, for his own cret, the greater the number of related subjects Often mistakes are honestly or unwittingly In matters concerning illegitimate living purposes, has decided not to speak of the matter. which must be distorted or avoided completely. made. When one of us (S.A.S.) sent for her fa- children, we reason as follows: If both the par- There is a pretense that the secret has been kept Communication of relatively unrelated matters is ther's birth certificate, she was astounded to ents and the child are deceased, list them. No even when others know of it. Frequently, the hampered and seeds of distrust within the family see that he had been celebrating his birthday one harm is done. If the parents are living and do protected party has not been consulted about his have been sown. month too early for seventy years. When errors not want the child included, respect these wish- wishes in the matter. Trust is the major issue. Can parents trust are unconscious and not deliberate, it is chal- es. The only person who might want or need to Most secrets involve a loss, usually the their child to love them even though (s)he has lenging to unravel them. For example, the other establish the connection to the family would be loss of an abstract concept such as self-esteem another set of parents somewhere in the world? of us (M. W .S.) reported the wrong year of death the child. This (s)he presumably could do any or hope (e .g., someday I will have a son) . The Could the child believe that (s)he was loved al- for his father. As there did not seem to be any time (s)he wished merely by producing a birth secret-keeper protects him/herself from pain in though not the same blood? Can a parent be val- logical reason for deliberate falsification, we certificate. If the father's name does not ap- keeping the subject from discussion. The problem ued as a person, even though unable to reproduce? concluded that the emotions associated with the pear on the birth certificate, inclusion in the is that, just as in the normal mourning of a loss, Secret-keeping families divide themselves event resulted in his distortion of the time book would not establish paternity in the legal recovery from grief requires a quantitative amount into two camps: those trusted with the secret and setting. sense anyway. of "psychic work" to be done. Funerals and yahtt- those kept supposedly unaware. Since the matter In consideration of the above, we have form- We are not suggesting that our solution to z& are traditional mechanisms for ensuring is not to be spoken of, the unaware have a feel- ulated some guidelines, hoping to have found a these problems is the only one or even the best that the mourning is accomplished. In publishing ing of being left out, of not being trusted, al- reasonable compromise in resolving the dilemma. one. We are aware that many other professionals a family secret, an author is pressuring the though they don't know why. The normal trials of Where no purpose can be served by the inclusion struggle with this issue and develop very differ- secret-keeper to do this work. growing up supply a plethora of mistaken reasons. of a hurtful fact, we would omit it. Thus, we ent philosophies. Newspaper reporters may choose An example of a secret is adoption. If we When a family member represses the secret, but did not reveal the fact that a certain family imprisonment for contempt of court rather than to were aware of it, we clearly indicated adoption not the feelings about the secret, (s)he will be member had served time in prison because his cooperate in criminal trials by exposing their in our genealogy, whether the adopting parents handicapped in attempts at understanding his/her daughter, still living, had no knowledge of it. informants. Clergymen and lawyers have their own directly told us of it or not. The reaction from personality patterns. Exposing such "secretsff In some ways to have included it would have help- unique standards regarding confidentiality. We one mother was close to rage: "Who told you that is practicing preventive mental health. ed fill in the picture of the familyls life cir- raise the issue because we believe that it is my son is adopted? I think I know who it was. As psychotherapists, we strive to help our cumstances at the time we were depicting, but we necessary that genedugha develop ethical She had no right to give this out. She hardly patients see reality, to understand it, and to didn t feel the hurt and/or embarrassment was standards for the publication or suppression of knows my son. She never met him until his wed- integrate it into their interpersonal relation- worth the gain. family secrets. ding." Then, in a calmer mood: !'Yes, I know that ships and self-images. We know of no reality, Suicide is another "touchy" subject. We he knows. We told him when he was very little, except perhaps the imminence of one's death, that were told of six suicides, something which might REFERENCES just like they told us to. He knows that we know cannot be seen in perspective. We know further be of legitimate interest to a researcher study- 1. Mark A. Karpel, l'Family Secrets: I. Conceptual he knows, but we never speak of it. Now, how is that repression of personal information comes at ing genetic components of depression, but we chose and Ethical Issues in the Relational Context. he going to feel when he sees that word after his the expense of psychic flexibility; our patients to suppress this information, being aware of how 11. Ethical and Practical Considerations in Ther- name in the book?" pay a price for it, whether or not the repression painful it would be to some close relatives. In apeutic Management," Famay Pkuc~h,v. 19, no. 3 An interesting hallmark of the "family se- results in overt symptoms. one case we slipped and allowed a revealing quote (Sept. 1980), p. 295. cret" as opposed to the usual secret is the dou- But do we have the obligation to perform to remain in the text. Predictably, the daughter 2. Sallyann A. Sack and Mark W. Shulkin, Seanch ble "know." Whenever the word "know" occurs twice this service when it has not been requested? We of the suicide was quite upset, saying that the dun the FmZy (Marsal Press, April 1980). in the same sentence, one is probably dealing believe that people have a right to tell their grandchildren had never been told and that she with a family secret, i.e., "1 don't know if you secrets at a time of their own choosing. We couldn't see why it had been necessary to include this fact. know that ....I1 Children know that they are not agree with the above-mentioned mother that she supposed to know and pretend not to know. Child- should have been angry at our informant as well It was when the question of adoption came up ren, even very young ones, and contrary to many as at us. We plead guilty to upsetting her psy- that we faced our toughest decision. Here we de- parents1 opinions, are amazingly perceptive about chic balance, and to doing so by our choice ra- cided that "the right to know1' would take prece- what happens in their families. They are, how- ther than hers. We had deprived her of telling dence over family wishes, and because of the po- BERLOWITZ REVISITED ever, also perceptive and sensitive to parental her secret with the tact and timing she might tential importance to the adopted person (both feelings, and they soon learn not "to speak of have employed. Telling such secrets to a loved medically and psychologically), we would list all it." The secret lies buried inside of them like one can be a very intimate experience and an un- those we knew about. We reasoned that if we had William K. Berton a psychic cancer, growing painfully and spreading doing of prior distrust and estrangement. been told by someone other than the parents, it gradually to other areas of psychic functioning. Family secrets were more likely to be shared was not a perfectly kept secret, and that where Since the appearance of my earlier article with us after our book had been published. That's aunts and uncles knew, a child probably did also. in the first issue of TOLEDOT ("In Search of the the problem in depending upon oral history for In hindsight, we recommend the following: If Berlowitz Family," Summer 1977), I have continued Mank W. Shdkin, M.V., h a pbyckidt/tint in pni- data. The authors become part of the family's someone other than a parent volunteers the infor- with my efforts to find my llrootsn and I have had vdte pmdce in Pkieaddpkia and a rnembm ad ,the secret-keeping system and are sometimes trusted mation, check the birth certificate. If the some notable successes as well as my share of Pkieaddpkia S&h Genedagicd SacieAj. Ad- and sometimes not trusted. birth certificate shows it, go ahead and put it failures. From correspondence with several read- &ah: 105 Many Watm Fond Rd., B&, PA 79004. At a post-publication family reunion, a cou- in. We believe that some day the child will know, ers of TOLEDOT, I gained the impression that my SaUyann A. Sack, Ph.V., h a pbychuRught and sin, suffering an attack of guilt, confessed to regardless of your decision, but one should give original article was of help to at least some of ,the ~ounclingpkaident ad the Wankingtan Swhh having shaved a few years off her birthdate. It the parent the courtesy of telling them that you them. I am writing this short sequel in the hope Genealogical Saci&;ty. Ad&~b: 7604 Edemaad was this cousin, also, who earlier had volunteer- are going to list it. If the birth certificate that the information contained herein will be Ct., Bhada, MV 20034. ed the information that her father had lied to does not reflect the adoption, and if the adoptee equally helpful. Mahk and SaUyann atre becand cowinh and ca-au- her about his birthplace. He always told her he is still a child, also check with the parents. thann od ,th& @ruXy kintuky wkich they pninted was born in Chicago; not until we did our research If the child has not been told, then make an ex- wzdm the ;We ad Mwd Pkah. did she learn that he actually had been born in ception and do not include the information. We TOLEUOT/VOL. 4, NOS. 7-2 TOLEVOTIVOL; 4, NOS. 1-2 CHANGES ZN PREVIOUSLY-MENTIONED SOURCES Herbert Baum Strasse 45, East Germany. (Schutzbriefe, Privilegien, etc.), material of the old Kanigsberg archives, I would 1. Verein fiir Familienforschung in Ost- und The records are in alphabetical order and 2. Those who had permission of the local nobil- like to call the reader's attention to two sec- Westpreussen: Although I have not had any recent contain, besides the grave number and location, ity ("unter dem Adel"), and tions which deal entirely with Jews and Jewish direct contact with this organization, I am aware information from the German death records, namely 3. The numerically largest group without any matters. They are: that there were several changes in its mailing date and place of death and, if known, date and permiss ion (Eingeschlichene) . 1. OberprHsidium Repositur 2. I. Judensachen address in the interim period. The latest address place of birth or age. They do not contain the In general, those in the first category are the [Jewish affairs], 1774-1844, 6 volumes; OberprH- that has come to my attention is: c/o Dr. Wolf names of the parents of the deceased, and there- best documented, while those in the third are the sidium Repositur 2. 11. Juden [Jews], 1818-1920, Konietzko, D-2200 Elmshorn, Eich Strasse 6, West fore can only be used to verify a death or direct least documented, for obvious reasons. 21 volumes. It is impossible to list all the Germany. the researcher's attention to a likely place When researching for ancestors of that per- material contained in these volumes, but here are 2. Staatliches Archivlager-Giittingen: This where a birth certificate may be procured. iod, the best starting point is a compilation of some examples: records of the Jewish communities archives closed its doors at the end of 1978. Regarding general vital statistics records, the Jews living in East Prussia in 1720 which is of Heydekrug (1858-1922) and Russ (1862-1888), The records it contained have been moved to and the directions for the procurement of documents among the material of the old Kiinigsberg archives peddling by Polish Jews (1831-1931), Jewish or- integrated with the: Geheimes Staatsarchiv- given by Dan Rottenberg in finding Ouh FaZhm and can be found now at Berlin-Dahlem [address phanage of Kiinigsberg (1863-1914), baptism of Preussischer Kulturbesitz, D-1000 Berlin-Dahlem (p. 105), that one write to "Standesamt, name of above] under the heading Etats-Ministerium 38 Jews (1824-1853), conversions of Christians to 33, Archivstrasse 12-14, West Germany. Most of your city, Germany," are somewhat misleading for d 4 Nr. 7. This compilation contains the names Judaism (1827-1852), etc. the material involved in the transfer has by now Berlin. Ignoring for the moment the East-West of the heads of household, as well as information 2. Etats-Ministerium 38 d 4 Judensachen, men- been reordered and recatalogued and is again split of the city, there never was one single on the number of children, residence status, and tioned above in connection with the compilations available to the public. "Standesamtl' for the entire city, but each Bezirk occupation. It was recently published by Dr. of 1720 and 1748. This section consists of 246 (district) had its own. The city had 21 dis- Hans-Jiirgen Kriiger in Nr. 1/2-1978 of the magazine numbers and contains, besides the compilations, NEW SOURCES tricts of which 12 are now in West Berlin and 9 Pheubnentand. Dr. Kriiger also published a histo- such things as requests by individuals for resi- 1. The German Democratic Republic now also in East Berlin. To obtain a birth, marriage, or ry of the early Kiinigsberg Jewish community, Vie dence permits, protective letters, etc. Most of has a central clearing house for genealogical in- death certificate from West Berlin, the inquiry Jude~chaQtvon KBnignbmg in Pheubnen, 1700-1 81 2, the material is from the 18th century. Inciden- formation. It was established a few years ago must be directed to the Standesamt of the dis~ in which material of genealogical interest can be tally, I found in this section (Nr. 67) a request because, as its information leaflet informs us, trict in which the event occurred. If this is found . by my earliest known ancestor for permission to "...of the perception that genealogy as an inde- unknown, an inquiry should be made at the: A later compilation exists for the year settle in East Prussia, filed in the year 1707. pendent discipline within the framework of social Standesamt I, D-1000 Berlin 41, Rheinstrasse 54, 1748, somewhat less complete, and can be found His residence at the time was Georgenburg (Jur- sciences can fulfill an important task in a so- West Germany. They will advise you about the under Etats-Ministerium 38 d 4 Nr. 182. To the barkas), Lithuania. I would be grateful for cialist state." Whereas the West German Zentral- procedure and costs of circulating an inquiry best of my knowledge, this has not been published. suggestions as to what sources could be consulted stelle [Verein zur Fiirderung der Zentralstelle among the 12 district offices. The situation in Lastly there is a compilation for the year for the pre-1707 period. fiir Personen und Familiengeschichte e.V.1 is East Berlin is simpler. Records are centrally 1750 under the heading Geh. St. A. Gen. Dir. Ost- In closing and for what it is worth, the strictly a clearinghouse for information, the kept at: Standesamt I, DDR-1054 Berlin, Riicker pr. u. Lit. LXXIII Sect. 8 Nr. 1, and is current- area adjoining East Prussia, primarily the Biali- East German counterpart houses a collection of Strasse 9, East Germany. ly located at the Merseburg Archives [Zentrales stok district, belonged to Prussia for a brief 18,500 books on genealogy, heraldic and related 4. Restitution Records: After the end of Staatsarchiv Historische Abteilung, DDR-42 Merse- time (1793/95-1806) and was called Neuostpreussen subjects, as well as the genealogical collections World War 11, West Germany passed legislation burg 1, Kanig Heinrich Strasse 37, East Germany]. (New East Prussia). The records of the local of the former Rolandsverein and Deutsche Ahnenge- wherein it committed itself to pay compensation The information about individual families is more government (Kriegs- und DomHnenkammer Bialistok) meinschaft, both formerly of Dresden. The organ- to victims of Nazi crimes and persecution. A extensive and complete than in the 1720 compila- were handed over to the'polish government in 1947 ization has some East Prussian material either in substantial bureaucracy evolved to administer tion. The bulk of the 1750 information has been and are now in some Polish archives. The records the original or on microfilm, and will conduct the laws. In the files of the Wiedergutmachungs- reprinted in Selma Stern, Dm pheubnhche S;tctat of the central Prussian authority dealing with limited searches in its materials for a reasonable Bmter (Restitution offices) and Ausgleichkter und die Juden, vol. 111, tables 872, 875 and 876. that area (Generaldirektorium Neuostpreussen) can fee. A complete catalogue of its holdings is in (Equalization offices), in support of claims nade, Although it is possible to find references be found in the Merseburg archives. preparation. The address is: Zentralstelle fiir there frequently are copies of German documents, to individual Jews scattered through much of the Genealogie der DDR, DDR-7010 Leipzig, Georgi Dimi- copies of or references to ancillary probate pro- troff Platz 1, East Germany. ceedings, as well as affidavits and depositions 2. A small amount of East Prussian material of persons no longer alive. From such files I may also be found in the: Bundesarchiv, D-54 Ko- obtained information of genealogical signifi- blenz 1, Am Wiillershof, West Germany. cance. [Editor's note: The central file of 3. City of Berlin--Vital Statistics: claims from around the world is located at the Prior to the advent of Hitler, Berlin was the central office of United Restitution Organization BOOKSHELF seat of the largest Jewish community in Germany, (URO) in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany. Case but during World War I1 the records of the Jewish files are also at the various German Wiedergut- Community were almost totally destroyed. However machungsZnter and in the local branches of URO the records of the large (well over 100,000 in West Germany and worldwide. In some in- Madalyn Hoffman. "50 Years of a Family Circle," The Lowm EatSide: A Guide to I;tn Jewhh Pan2 graves) Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee, and stances, German WiedergutmachungsZmter have Jwhh Cunnem, vol. 35, no. 3, March 1981, pp. &h 99 NU Photogtraphn. Text by Ronald Sanders, of a small Orthodox cemetery nearby, survived in- deposited files at the State Archives of various 9-13. About the Nozick family from Osevetz and photographs by Edmund V. Gillon, Jr. New York: tact. These records are now located at the ceme- German states. ] the 50th anniversary celebration of their Loyal Dover Publications [I80 Varick St., NYC 100141. tery administration building, whose address is: Family Circle. Paperback, 1979. 85 pp. $4.50. The photos are Jiidischer Friedhof Weissensee, DDR-112 Berlin, EAST PRUSSIAN ARCfflVAL MATERlALS of some of the most famous sites in American Jew- Jews were expelled from East Prussia in the Benzion C. Kaganoff. A vickionuhy 06 s~hh ish history, with numerous views of the streets 16th century and, with a few notable exceptions, Nmeh and Thhffhtuhy. New York: Schocken and buildings of today's Lower East Side. W,iLLiurn K. BeMon wan bonn in Buna WLlLL modern settlement started about 1700. The Jews Books [200 Madison Ave., NYC 100161. Paperback, BehLawLtz. A membm oQ kin n&te.x1n kibbu;tz in who started to immigrate into East Prussia at 1980. 264 pp. $5.95. The original, hardcover John Francis Marion. Fmoa and CwLiuuA CemQAeh- Innad akanhRdted pahtn oQ kin onigind TOLEVOT that time, largely from Lithuania, fell into edition (1977, $10.95) was reviewed in TOLEDOT, ia: A Pic;toniae, ffintonicd, and Ane.cdo;td Vim ah;tide in:to ff ebhew. Addnehn : 207 1 Augn bung Vh. , three categories: vol. 1, no. 2. 06 Amdcan and Emopean Cemekden and the. fam- Saginaw, MI 48603. 1. Those who had official government permission OM and ln&.mouA PeopRe Who heBwLied Thme. TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 122 TOLEVOT/VOL;4, NOS. 1-2

REFLECTIONS ON FATHER'S DAY about him. It is like the closing of a circle. and Canadian Jewish Memoirs and Autobiographies A resolution, a healing of wounds. in Yiddish, Hebrew and En lish, compZed by E. Ci6dch&z, 7970, 78 pp. 83.50 @om YIVO Inhfi- Carole Malkin Edi;tohlh note: Readm i&maXed in Jmhh mem- .tcl;te don J~hhRcUeahch, 104 8 Fid;th Ave., NW ohmay &h XO examine Bibliography of American Yohk, Ny 1002 b. When I was fifteen years old I was sitting returned to her and was still in her possession. in my aunt's kitchen when an old man, a stranger She was willing to send it to me on the condition to me, came to visit. My aunt and he spoke Yid- that I promised to have it translated. She was dish and since I understood nothing I sat sirent- still concerned that it be appreciated. It turns HOLOCAUST RESEARCH: The International Tracing Service ly daydreaming. When my aunt left the room to out that I had abundant capacity to do so, had fetch something, I was startled when the visitor the notebooks translated and wrote a book based The doReo&ng an;ti&e h excmpXed bhom Xhe chap- of death that occurred in the Death Camps. It addressed me, as I did not realize he spoke Eng- on the translation, The Jouhneqn 06 David Toback, Xeh on Holocaunt Raemch in Ahthuh Kuhzwcik?ln is mainly this function of ITS that concerns us lish. published by Schocken Books. book, From Generation to Generation: How To Trace here. "What language do you study in s~hool?~' The memoir had a special personal meaning Your Jewish Genealogy and Personal History, copy- The historical background of the Interna- "French ." for me. My parents were divorced shortly after I night 1980. tional Tracing Service has been provided here to Iff& French! What's the importance of was born and I saw my father rarely. The memoir offer an understanding of why the major source French for a Jewish girl? Don't they give He- gave me an opportunity to come close to another THE SEARCH FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS of information on concentration camp victims is brew? Why didn't you take it?" father. In 1943, the Committee on Displaced Popula- located in Germany. ITS continues to receive Before I could think of a retort my aunt re- In a way my fatherless condition was reflect- tions of the Allied Post-War Requirement Bureau, hundreds of thousands of inquiries from all over turned with a cardboard box which the old man ed by the entire family. There were no men. One located in London, observed the obvious: As a the world and provide a research service which seized possessively. He took out several note- uncle had died; one abandoned his wife. There result of the war and particularly because of is free to all interested parties. books and as he leafed through the pages my aunt was my mother's divorce. I remember an afternoon persecution, there was extensive displacement of Basically, the International Tracing Ser- said to me, "That's my father's autobiography." in late September when I was seven years old, populations. They decided, therefore, to estab- vice has the most acceptable information of con- I was astonished. I only vaguely remembered walking on the boardwalk with my two aunts and my lish the National Tracing Bureau in different centration camp victims and displaced persons my grandfather, David Toback, who died when I was mother. They were small women, European in ap- countries with the aim of locating people who in the world. While it is true that Yad Vashem five years old. I had never heard he had written pearance in their dark coats, scarfs, black lace- were missing or who had been deported. In 1944, Archives in Jerusalem has a complete duplicate anything. Filled with curiosity, I begged the up shoes and their reticent manners. On one side the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expedi- collection provided by ITS, Yad Vashem is not old man, "Can you translate a little for me?" were the boarded-over stores and arcades. The tionary Forces, known as SHAEF, gave orders to set up to do the kind of research for people The pages were written in Yiddish. wind blew furiously. The sky was long and gray register all displaced persons on index cards, that ITS is financed to do. In fact, Yad Vashem The old man said testily, "No it's impossi- and- the ocean- -powerful and ominous--thundered to aid in the location process. By 1945, SHAEF directs many inquiries to ITS. To be clear, ble to translate. If you studied Hebrew ...or if against the shore. It was a desolate scene, as established a tracing bureau which was given the ITS will, under the right circumstances which you spoke Yiddish ...then maybe you could under- desolate as their lives could be. task of collecting name lists of displaced per- we will explain, provide information for you stand a little. But I see you don't have the We were there to wash away our sins by our sons as well as persons incarcerated in concen- free of charge. head for it. Or maybe you have the head but not proximity to the sea since it was near to the Day tration camps. This effort was aided by the The International Tracing Service has, as the heart." of Atonement. The sisters spoke in Yiddish and United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Admin- the most important feature in its ar- He slipped into his overcoat. My aunt all I heard, as I skipped about them, were the istration (UNRRA) and was located in Versailles. chives, a Master Index. This index is a file, walked him to the door and he left the house car- undercurrents of yearr~ing,loneliness and resent- Together, however, UNRRA and SHAEF relocated to by name of individual, of all names appearing on rying the box with the notebooks. Then my aunt ment. It was tense as it always was when the Frankfort on Main. all the documents in the archives. The reference returned to me and said, "Better to give it away three of them met. I remember a family together In July of 1945, SHAEF was dissolved and cards include the name, personal data available, and let someone have it who can appreciate.'' but not emotionally close. America had washed the Combined Displaced Persons Executive, known and the description of the document in which the For years I thought of the old man carrying away nearly all of the old traditions. How could as CDPX, established a collecting center for name is mentioned. At present, this Master Index away those notebooks written in an alphabet and one sister understand another eating unkosher documents as well as a tracing bureau. This contains 39,700,000 cards. It is interesting to words I could not understand. I began to feel food? How could a divorce be condoned? My Central Tracing Bureau had as its goals to trace note that the index is not filed alphabetically they were mine. I wanted them, but they seemed grandparents--living representations of those missing persons--military and civilian--of coun- but rather phonetic-alphabetical in order to ac- lost forever. Sixteen years had gone by since I traditions--were dead. They were the old world, tries which were members of the United Nations, count for different spellings of the same sur- first became aware they existed. My aunt had and the three sisters were not yet the new world, as well as to collect and preserve all documents names. Another rather remarkable resource used moved from New York to Miami and she was elderly but poised on its wet and perilous edge. concerning non-Germans and displaced persons in by ITS in this regard is a two-volume set of and could not be expected to take up the burden Frozen in my mind like a photograph is a Germany. It was also given the task of assisting books listing first names and their many varia- of the necessary phone calls and letters. Still memory of how we stopped and looked out over in the reuniting of families that had been sep- tions. This is obviously useful for location of I wrote to her about it. I received an answer those turbulent waters -which had been crossed for arated by the War. individuals. The list of first names contains telling me the old man had died while she was deliverance from the harshness of Russia.. ..We In 1946, the Central Tracing Bureau moved 48,096 forms of names. still living in New York, and the memoir had been needed to look back. My grandfather wrote his from Frankfort on Main to Arolsen. It was re- The Master Index is, however, just the axle memoir in the 1930s and cast it on the sea of named the International Tracing Service, as it about which the collections within the archives CmoRe M&kinln nm book, The Journeys of David time. It was like a message in a bottle. Only is still called today. revolve. A closer look at the contents of the Toback: From.Innocence to Experience, From Tsar- now does it surface to clarify for myself and At present, and since 1955, the International archives will show how useful ITS can be. ist Russia to America, Ah avaieable &om Schocken others why we, descendents of immigrants, are Tracing Service has been directed and administered In the International Tracing Service Ar- Boob, 200 Madinon Ave., Nm Yonk, NY 10076 don here. by the International Committee of the Red Cross. chives the following are contained: $10.95 (pRun 75# pon;tage and handeirzg). A n&ve My mother was the youngest of my grandfa- In its beginning, this organization was in- -Indexes and name lists of concentration camps. 06 Bnookeqn, Canole a gnaduate 06 AvLtioch CoR- ther's children; I am her youngest child. As the volved mainly with displaced persons. However, -Indexes and name lists of Gestapo and Sipo Rege and San Fnandco S;tdte Univmay, whme youngest of the youngest I was the furthest from when the International Tracing Service (ITS) came Offices . nhe neccved a ma?lXmln degnee in cnedve wnik- my grandfather. Yet I feel I became the closest into possession of concentration camp documents, -Name lists of persons. ing and Engmh Ri/tuuu%te. Addnan : 7 967 ER to him through his memoir and by writing a book the function of the organization changed. Sud- -Deportation lists of Jews. Donado Ave., Bmkdeq, CA 941707. denly, ITS became involved with furnishing proofs -Index cards and name lists of towns and com- TOLEDOTIVOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 TOLEDM/VOL. 4, NOS. 1-2 munities, district magistrate offices, labor Finally, the International Tracing Service offices, health insurance firms, etc., concern- has a staff of personnel who can answer inquir- BACK ISSUES OF T 0 L E D 0 T ing foreigners who were registered during the ies in the following languages: Czech, Dutch, i War in Germany, mainly in the area that is now Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, SEND YOUR ORDER TODAY TO: West Germany. Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Serbocroatian, Slo- -Index cards and name lists concerning children vakian, Spanish, English, French, and German. TOLEDOT who had been separated from their parents or Inquiries in Hebrew and Azerbaijan can also be 155 East 93 Street, Suite 3C close relatives during the War or immediately. answered with the aid of other organizations, New York, NY 10028 after the War. reports ITS. 3 VOLUME 1 , NUMBER 1 - $2.50 VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2 - $2.50 While the holdings of ITS archives are iast, As has been described, the International Immigration Records at the Philadelphia Jewish Hurdling Foreign Language Obstacles one should not think that the material is com- Tracing Service is the best source for locating Archives Center A Classic on Frankfurt's Jews: Alexander plete. For example, while the concentration camp information about Holocaust victims. While Yad In Search of the Berlowitz Family Di etz, S:tammbuch dm Fha~k~uhtehJuden material in the archives is the largest, it is Vashem has a duplicate collection of the Inter- Book Review: Dan Rottenberg, Finding OWL Who Was Brayny Beyli Wigdorow? not a collection of all concentration camp mater- national Tracing Service's holdings, it is ITS Fathm: A Guidebook to J~hhGenedogy Local Jewish History and Genealogy: Rhode Island ial that existed. ITS rates the completeness of which will be more helpful. This is because Gesellschaft fuer Juedische Familienforschung its concentration camp collection as follows: ITS has, as its function, the role of doing re- A Conversation with Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern VOLUME 2, -NUMBER 3 - $2.50 Buchenwald almost complete search for individuals for free, while Yad Vashem Holocaust Research: A Source at Yad Vashem Dachau almost complete does not do research for persons. If you write VOLUME 1, NUMBER 2 - $2.50 Eastern European "Jewish Geography" Flossenburg incomplete but quite numerous to Yad Vashem, they will suggest you contact ITS. Editorial: Why and How to Do Jewish Genealogy In Search of a Sephardic Tradition: Sheby Family Mauthausen trivial gaps If you know the name of a relative and you Naturalization Records: An Important Source Mittelbau trivial gaps want to find out his or her fate during the A Conversation with Rabbi Stern (Part Two) V9LUME 2, NUMBER 4 - $2.50 Natzweiler not complete but quite numerous Holocaust, write to ITS and give them as much, Forum: Dan Rottenberg's Finding OWL Fathm More Eastern European "Jewish Geography" Stutthof not complete but quite numerous information about the person as you can. They Book Review: Neil Rosenstein, The Unbhoken Ch- Genealogical Resources at the Jewish Niederhagen- require more than just a name since their files Our Younger Readers Theological Seminary Wewelsburg not complete but quite numerous contain so many duplicate names. ITS usually Books Reviewed: Benzion C. Kaganoff, A vickiunahy Unusual Posters Available from YlVO Ravensbruck incomplete asks for a person's name and birthdate, but if 06 J&h Names and Th& Hhtohy; Robert Sing- Jewish Genetic Diseases Auschwitz very incomplete you do not know that (even an approximate date erman, J&h and Hebhw Onomafia: A BLbfio- German-Jewish Genealogical Research: Selected Gross-Rosen very incomplete will help) then try to supply any other informa- ~MP~Y Resources at the Leo Baeck Institute Sachsenhausen very incomplete tion which will narrow the field for the re- Approbations: A Jewish Source Magnum Opus: F&t Amhcan J&h FamUia Neuengamme very incomplete searcher. The 125th Wedding Anniversary Celebration of An Ethical Will: Unusual Genealogical Source Lublin very incomplete What ITS Lctiee not do is send you information Moshe and Leah Singer Landsmanshaftn: Saving the Records Krakow-Plaszow very incomplete on everyone in their files with a certain sur- According to ITS, there are 3,735,000 individual name. Remember: it is a tracing service of indi- VOLUME 1, NUMBE,R 3 - $2.50 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1 - $2.50 documents in the collection just described. viduals. Editorial : Mormons and Jews A Dvar Torah about Toledot Another collection of ITS is the Post-War The ITS has all the available records kept Who Descends from King David? Book Review: David Kranzler, My J&h ROO&!, Documents which generally concern displaced per- by the Nazis at the concentration camps but, as Hi dden Resources : Three Examp 1 es Discovering Cemeteries in Eastern Europe sons who were registered from 1945 to 1951. In- noted, its collection is not complete. It also The Jewish Family Finder (and all issues since) A Visit to Galicia and Romania cluded in these documents are lists of the in- has a great number of other types of records. Jewish Names: Questions and Answers Teaching Genealogy habitants of the DP camps. This means that its files include not only Holo- Hungarian Jewish Records at the A Change of Name ... and Family History The Historical Section of ITS archives is caust victims who were killed, but also others Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) Book Review: Wi 11iam E. Mi tchel 1 , Mhhpokhe: also of great value. Here are contained docu- who survived. Memorial Books for Hungarian Locat ions A Study 06 New Yohk City J~hhFamiey club^ ments of a more general nature including concen- It usually takes a few months for ITS to tration camps, Jewish towns, Nuremberg trial re- fill your request, but it is their policy to send VOLUME 1 , NUMBER 4 - $2.50 VOLUME 3, NUMBERS 2-3 (DOUBLE ISSUE) - $5.00 cords, and information of the persecution oFJews you a note telling you that they have received Editorial: Uses and Abuses of Jewish Genealogy Memorial Books as Sources for Family History Bi bl iography of Eastern European Memori a1 in different countries. If you are interested your inquiry. However, even this note takes sev- Books Reviewed: Timothy Fie1 d Beard, How to Find in certain Jewish communities in Europe during eral weeks to arrive. Nevertheless, when you do YOUX Family ROO&!,;Yaffa Drazn i n, The FamiLy Books: Updated and Revised the Holocaust, you will find these archives at receive their final reply, it might include some HhtonianIn Handbook VOLUME 3, NUMBER $2.50 ITS to be excellent. extremely meaningful information. A Christian Student of Jewish Genealogy 4 - The International Tracing Service is cur- As we have mentioned, ITS also has infona- Seek and Ye Shall Find: Two Examples Summer 1981 Events rently in the process of establishing a subject tion concerning the fate of towns during the Ho- Holocaust Catendm 06 PoRinh Jwhy A Nineteenth-Century Family Finder Erets- Israel and Jewish Genealogy: An I ntro- index to its concentration camp material for use locaust. Along with your inquiry pertaining to Polish Jewish Records at the GSU Memorial ~ooksfor Polish Communities duction to the Sources for the Later by researchers. They are also publishing a vol- individuals, you might want to ask about certain Ottoman and Mandate Periods ume on concentration camps detailing the inner localities. ' In Search of Mishpokhe workings of each of the camps. When you write to ITS, simply state that you VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1 - $2.50 One might think that the "tracingu function are interested in knowing whatever they have in Jewish Genealogy Without "Jewish" Sources Update on Memorial Books World War I Selective Service Records Book Review: Arthur Kurzwei 1 , Fmm GenWon of the International Tracing Service has out- their files on your family members and then list to GenWon: How to Thace Yowr Jwhh lived its usefulness, but ITS reports that during those individuals along with additional informa- Landsmanshaftn and the Jewish Genealogist Genedogy and Pmond Hhtohy the last five years the average number of inquir- tion as explained earlier. Again, ITS, which is Post-1900 Census Records ies per year has been 8,000. After more than under the auspices of the International Red German Jewish Records at the GSU thirty years, people are still looking for lost Cross, does not charge for its research--nor k relatives--and are sometime? finding them. It should it. is sad to note, of course, that often ITS offers Write to: International Tracing Service verification regarding the concentration camp D-3548 Arolsen deaths of individuals. Federal Republic of Germany TOLEVOTIVOL. 4, NUS. 1-2 TULEVOT/VOL. 4, NOS. 1-2