Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Table of Contents // June 2012
2-3 |Dr.LeahTeicher/FromtheEditor’sDesk.
4 |Dr.LeahHaber-Gedalia/Chairperson’sNote.
5-15 |Dr.LeahHaber-Gedalia/JewishGaliciaGeography,Demography,HistoryandCulture.
16-27 |Pamela A.Weisberger / Galician Genealogy: Researching Your Roots with "GesherGalicia".
28-36 |Dr.EliBrauner/MyJourneyintheFootstepsofAnders’Army.
37-50 |Immanuel(Ami)Elyasaf/DecodingCivilRegistryandMappingtheBrodyCommunityCemetery.
51-57 |AmnonAtzmon/TheTownofYahil'nytsya-MemorialWebsite.
58 |SomeGalicianWebPages.
59-60 |Instructionsforwritingarticlestobepublishedin"SharsheretHadorot".
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |1
From the Editor’s Desk // Dr. Leah Teicher
DearReaders,
“ErizaGalitsianer”,myfatherusedtosayaboutaGalicianJew,andthatsaideverythingaboutaperson:hehadasenseofhumor;hewascunning,asurvivor,areader,afanofmusic,musiciansandculture;areligiousperson,andmostly,aYiddishspeakerandaHolocaustsurvivor.
For years, Galicia had been a part of Poland. Its scenery, woods and rivers had been our parents’memories.
AJewishculturehaddevelopedinGalicia,theYiddishlanguagewascreatedthere,customsestablished,uniqueJewishfoodscooked,thefigureofthe“YiddisheMame”developed,inspiringagooddealofgenealogicalresearch;“Halakhot”andRabbinicLawsmade;anauthoritativeleadershipestablishedinthetowns,organizingcommunitiesontheirsocialinstitutions–Galiciagavebirthtothe“Shttetl”–theJewishtown,onallitssocial-historicalandemotionalimplications.Allthiswasdeeplyengravedintheheartsofourgrandparentsandparents.They,theirparents,grandparents,great-grandparentsandgreat-greatgrandparents,some40generationsback,hadlivedinPoland.Galiciaplayedasignificantroleinthelivesofalargepartofourpeople,whohadlivedandcreatedthereforsomethousandyears.ThatGaliciahadperishedandnolongerexists.
Galicia’sinfluenceonourheritagehasbeengreat.Manytownsconstitutededucational,commercial,cultural and religious centers: Leviv, Nowy Sącz, Kraków, Krosno, Brzesko, Bucac, Kołomyja,Drohobycz, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sanok, Belz and Brody as well as many others. The JewishenlightenmentMovementdevelopedthere,precededby“Hasidut”,whichhadsweptsomanyJews.Galicia produced S.Y. Agnon, Shmaryahu Imber, U.Z. Grinberg, Goldfaden, Gershom Shofman andGebirtig;journalists,politicians,teachers,musiciansandartistsinalldomains.Ithadartisans,whoengagedincraftswhichhadperishedfromthefaceoftheearth,andaroundwhosecrafts,auniquecultureevolved.
ThecenteroftheZionistMovementdevelopedinGalicia.Thatiswhereourpeople’snew,nationalistway was mapped. The “Hovevei Zion” movement built branches in Galicia where it operated formanyyears.Later,thepioneeryouthmovementsspreadallthewaytocountriesbeyondthesea.
Iamhappythat thesocietycanpublish thefruitofgenealogicalresearchengaginginGaliciaontheoccasionoftheconference,wheretheassociationwillhostJewsfromLvivanditssurroundingcommunities,aswellastheLvivJewryAssociation.Thearticlespresentcommemorationmethodsaswellasresearchtoolsdevelopedbygenealogicalresearchers.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society2
Thistimein“SharsheretHadorot”:
Dr.LeahHaber-GedaliadescribesthelivesofPolishGaliciaJewryfromthehistorical-geographical-demographic-cultural perspectives, on all the political and social revolutions the area and itsJewsexperiencedovertheyears.Sheemphasizesthemanychangesingovernmentintheregion.Awarenessofthisdetailmayhelpresearchersrealizewheretheycanfinddocumentspertainingtotheirfamilies.
Pamela Weisberger heads the “Gesher Galicia” association, and describes the association’s abilityto assist in Galicia research: new lists cross-referencing information from a variety of sources,regardingtheJews’economiccapabilities,theirplacesofresidencebasedonperiodicalmapsandlists of residual areas and families living in them. The article provides a detailed description ofmaterialsavailableto“GesherGalicia”researchersandmaterialsabouttobeuploaded.
Inhisparents’familyphotoalbum,Dr.EliBraunerfoundaphotographofhisuncle;anordinaryevent.ThephotographledtoAnders’Army,whichconsistedofPolesandJews,andfoughttheGermansinWorldWarII.ThephotographandAnders’ArmyledEli tonewinformationabouthisuncleandavarietyofresearchtools.
AmiElyassafisadescendantofaBrodyRabbinicalfamily.Amiinitiatedtwoprojectsdirectedatuncovering this important city’s genealogical levels. He worked with a crew of researchers fromdifferentpartsoftheworld,andtogethertheydecodedthousandsofJewishnamesfromtheBrodycemetery.Thisteamofresearchersdevelopedresearchtoolsthatcanservesocialscienceaswellasartandgenealogyresearchers.
AmnonAtzmonwantedtogatherpeoplefromhisfather’stown,Yahil'nytsya(todayintheUkraine)onHolocaustMemorialDay.Fromasmalllistofsurvivors,hedevelopedafiledocumentingalllivingsurvivors. Amnon recorded survivors’ testimonies, researched, read relevant research literatureandcollaboratedwiththeeducationsystemtobuildawebsitewithagooddealofinformationandmaterialsaboutthetown.Thearticlepresentstheinsightsgeneratingfromsuchresearch.
Wehaveaddedalistselectedwebsitesforreading,researchingoranyotherusebyGaliciaresearchers.Naturally,wecouldnotincludeallwebsitesonthelist,butwehaveincludedthemostprominentones,whichprovideextensiveresearchpossibilities.
Finally-Thisissueof"SharsheretHadorot"couldnotbepublishedifnotforthehelpfromoureditorialboardmembers–using theiroriginal thinking,sharing theirknowledgewithus,helping ineditingthejournal,correctingandproofreading.Allwasdonewithagoodwillandwiththejoyofdoinggenealogy.Thanks!
The readers are hereby invited to publish their research, so as to enrich genealogical researchconductedinIsrael.
Yours, Dr. Leah Teicher, Chief Editor
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |3
DearFriends,
Thisissueof“SharsheretHadorot”isdedicatedtoGalicia,aregionwhereenlightenedphilosophers
and“Hassidim”livedandoperated.
ThisregionproducedsuchwritersasAgnonandBarash,poetslikeHirschLasarTeller,UriZviGrinberg
andShimshonMeltzer,painterslikeBrunoSchulz,LeoRothandMordechaiArdon,andphilosophers
likeJosephPerlandSolomonBuber.
Incontrast,thousandsofHassidimfromBelz,Stratin,BojanSanz,WiznitzandCzortkow(Chortkiv)
adheredtotradition,meticulouslyabidingbyall“Mitzvoth”,usingaccuratelanguageandabidingby
theirdresscodes.
Galicia–eachofus,readers,canfindasourceofidentificationinit.
Wearehereinthebeginningofsummer,andarealreadyplanningthewinterevents–the2012Annual
ConferenceSteeringCommitteebeganitswork,thenewIsraelGenealogicalAssociation’sWebsite
is inhighmotion.Thesociety’sFacebookpagehasmore than800friendsand thenumberkeeps
growing,andnotinvain–memberskeepuploadingrelevantmaterialsforfamilyresearchofthe
differentpartsoftheworld,andyouaremorethanwelcometoaddyourmaterials.
Agenealogicalfairisplannedforearly2013…
Thereisalottolookforwardto.
IamcallingyoutohelpusintroducefamilyresearchintotheIsraelidiscourseandconsciousness,as
eachandeveryone’sstoryisalinkinourhistory.
Alwaysatyourservice,
Dr. Leah Haber-Gedaliah Chaorperson of the Israel Genealogical society
[email protected],[email protected]
Chairperson’s Note // Dr. Leah Haber-Gedalia
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society4
Jewish GaliciaGeography, Demography, History and Culture
ThenameGaliciareferredtoaregioninEasternEurope,northoftheCarpathianMountains,which
turnedintoageo-politicalentitywhenannexedtoAustria(1772–1918).In1919theregionwasrestored
toPoland.
Fewarethecountrieswhosebordersweredrawnonamapbydiplomats,aswasthecaseofGalicia,
accordingtoProf.Brawer1.However,intermsoftheGalicianJews,theregionhadbecomethehome
ofalargeJewishcollectivewithuniquemarkers,createdbythefactthatGalicianJewswere,onthe
onehand,partofthehistoryofPolishJewry,andontheotherhand,hadlivedforgenerationsunder
Austrian rule influenced by its language and culture which brought them closer to the culture of
centralEurope.
WhenDidtheJewsArriveinGalicia?
ThefirstJewishsettlementinGaliciawasinthetimesofRuthenian(Ukraine)GrandDukes’Volodymyr-
HalychDuchyregimeinGalicia’seasternterritoryandunderthejurisdictionofPolishkingsinthe
westernpartsoftheregion.2
Sincethe14thCentury,JewishsettlementsexpandedintheeasternregionknownasRusCzerwona,
whereJewsconstitutedamajorfactorinabroadsettlementinitiativeofPolishhighnobility,and
tookpartintheestablishmentoftownsontheirlands.
TheJewsinthese“private”townsenjoyedtheautonomytopracticetheirreligiouslivesaccordingto
theircustomsandtoengagefreelyincraftsandtrades.3
1) A.J. Brawer, Galicia and Its Jews, Studies in the History of Glaicia in the 18th Century, (Jerusalem, 1968) [Hebrew] p. 11 2) About Jewish settlement in East Galicia -The Settlement of Jews in West Galicia probably began in the 12th-13th centuries in Kraków or Rzeszòw, where Jews lived until Rus was annexed to the Polish Kingdom in 1340 -1348. The first settlers mostly arrived from Česko and Moravia, or from Silesia, and former Rus cities. Some Jews arrived from the eastern Volodymyr-Halych Duchy, Wlodzimierz and even Kievan Rus. Danuta Dąbrowska Abraham Wein and Aharon Weiss (Eds.) “Eastern Galicia” Pinkas Hakehilot Encylopaedia of Jewish Communities, Part IV vol. 2 (Jerusalem, 1980). 3) The region north of the Carpathians has remained a passageway between Polish and Ukrainian population. The eastern part of Galicia was occupied by Ruthenians, the majority, and the Polish, a large minority, occupied the western part, be-yond the San River, and were a definite majority there.
By:LeahHaber-Gedalia
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |5
PartitionMap–betweenEastGaliciaandWestGalicia
GaliciahadbeenalternatelygovernedbythekingsofPolandandtheRusDukes(Ruthenian),untilin
themid-14thcentury,duringthereignofKazimirtheThird,Polandestablishedcontrol.SinceGalician
Jewishcommunities livedbetweentwolargepopulationgroups, theUkrainiansandthePoles, the
relationshipbetweenthesetwogroupsdeterminedtheeconomicgroundsforGalicianJews’living.
KingKazimirIIIgrantedtheJewsprivilegesin13674
4) According to Polish and Jewish tradition, the king had a Jewish mistress called Esther’ka, and several sites in Poland are named after her.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society6
MuchlikeinotherregionsinPolandandLithuania,theJewshadbecomeacrucialfactorinproduction
andbusiness:theyhadleasedalcoholdistilleries,beerbreweries,flourmillsandsawmills;marketed
agriculturalproduceandimportedluxuryproductstosupplytheneedsofthenobility;theyloaned
moneyandcollectedtaxes.
InPolishkingdom’sfeudalsociety,theRusCzerwonaJewsconstitutedaseparate,uniquegroupwith
religiouspracticesandcustomsthatweredifferentfromthoseoftheothergroups.WhereasthePoles
mostlybelongedtotheCatholicChurch,andmostofthem(exceptforcitypeople)weremembersof
thenobilityandenjoyedtherightsonlands,andtheGreek-CatholicRuthenianswereprimarilyserfs
andhadnorightsinlandassets–theJewswerelandleasersandhadrightswhichresembledthoseof
thecityresidents.JewsandthePolishnobilityhadcommoninterests,andhencethelatterprotected
theJewsfromurbanhostility,fromtherageofRuthenianpeasantswhichofteneruptedinriots,and
frompersecutionsonthepartoftheCatholicChurch.
Hatewavesandserfpersecutioncausedthecentralgovernmenttoissueanedictin1485,forbiddingthe
Jewsfromengagingintheiroccupations.ToestablishthestatusofPolishJewry,thekingsformalized
the Jews’ residence incitiesand towns,andprivilegesgrantedby thekings.Definedoccupations
whichJewswereallowedtopractice,anddeterminedcommunityrepresentativeswouldattendtoall
communityissues.
In the 16th Century, Jews enjoyed religious autonomy. They engaged in the development of their
day-to-daylanguage–Yiddish–and“LeshonHakodesh”(thesacredlanguage)-Hebrew.Jewswere
freetoopen“BateiMidrash”(studyhalls),andYeshivotforTorahstudies.Intheframeworkoftheir
autonomy, Jewswereallowed to formacentral Jewishauthority,basedonPoland’sgeographical
regions.
The“CouncilofFourLands”(“Va’adArba’Aratzot”)wasthecentralJewishauthorityinPolandfrom
1580to17645andconstitutedamajorfactorinmakinglawsandregulations.Thecouncilreceived
questionsandanswers fromallaround thePolishKingdom.The “CouncilofFourLands”was the
highestconflict resolutionauthority,and thecouncils’ rulingswerebinding toall Polish Jews.As
forinteractionwiththePoles,thecouncilhandleddirecttaxcollectingandengagedinresolvingthe
Jewishcommunity’sdailyproblemsandinternalaffairs.“TheCouncilofFourLands’”activitycame
toanendin1764afterasaresultofPolishgovernmentdecidedtocollecttaxesdirectlyfromallPole
citizens.
The Cossacks’ uprising in the mid-17th century and the decline of security in the Kingdom of
Poland influenced the Jewish community, and consequently the regional city of Lviv (today in
theUkraine) lost itseconomicstrengthand influenceon the smallerRusCzerwonacommunities.
Jews left the city to settle in “private cities” where they enjoyed the nobility’s protection.
ThecommunitiesofBrody,Zolkiew,Buczacz,TarnopollandKomarnoevenchallengedLviv’sspiritual
andreligiousauthority.
TheappearanceofmessiahclaimantJacobJosephFrankinPoland(1726–1790)uncoveredtheimpact
5) The Council of Four Lands’ composition: 1. Poznań, the capital of called Greater Poland Voivodeship; 2. Kraków and Lublin, major cities in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.; 3. Rus (Rus Czerwona or East Galicia and Podolia) with the capital – Lviv; 4. Wołyń with the major cities of Włodzimierz and Krzemieniec; 5. Lithuania (withdrew!) with major cities of Brześć and Grodno; 6. Wilno – an independent city-state at the time. The number of “lands” changed from time to time and the councul’s title did not always smatch the number of participating lands” (Editorial note).
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |7
ofKabbalahinRusCzerwonaandthespiritualrelationshipsbetweenGaliciaJewsandSpanishJewry
livingacross theborderwith theOttomanEmpire.Theseevents indeeddiminished theeconomic
resilienceofJewishcommunities,butdidnothalttheincreaseinpopulation.
A.J.Agnon,whowasborninBuczaczwrote(freetranslation):
“Oncethelandhadquietedfromthehavoc,andriots,andkillings,someofthewarremnantsreturned
totheircitiesandtheirplaces.ThepeopleofBuczaczdidthesame.Theybuilttheirhousesandshops,
and before that (they buils) – houses for Torah and prayer. They sat peacefully for a number of
generations,exceptfor years of warandrevolt, first undertheKingdomof Poland,andthenunder
Österreich Kingdom. Then came the poles, seized the Kingdom made some conquests and boykotts
untiltheirenemyarivedandfinishedthemall.6
Mapofpartitionofpoland
UndertheruleJosephthesecond
In 1772, Austria annexed the districts of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin in "Little Poland"7 and a
largepartofRusCzerwonaunderthename“Galizie”.Inthesameyear,Galicia’sJewstotaled171,851
6) S.J. Agnon, A City and the Fullness Thereof,” (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), 1973, p. 13. 7) "Little Poland"- aHistorical expression which describes Geographic area of South East Poland. Until WWII parts of Ukraine'sareas were included in that area. (such as Galicia). L'viv and Krakow were two main towns in "little Poland". Hun-dredsof years Jews used to live there. Representatives of the region were one part of "Va'ad Arba Ha'Aratzot,which was the representative body of Poland Jewry. (Editor's note).
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society8
constitutingsome6.5%ofthepopulation,spreadinthousandsofvillagesand280townsandcities;in
15ofthem(includingBrodyandBelz),theJewsconstitutedthemajority.
UntiltheendofWorldWarI,TheeasternpartofGalicia(withtheexceptionofterritorieswhichwere
partoftheRussianempireduringtheNapoleonicWars),wasunderAustrianrule.Duringthattime,
thecharacterofEastGaliciaJewrywasdeterminedandremainedthesameuntilitperishedduring
theHolocaust.
“Betweenthetongs’armsoftwoforeignpeoples,Jewishcommunitieserodedinthemeagertowns…
worldwidespiritualmovementsspreadtheirarms,asifseekingtomakeupformaterialpovertywith
therichnessofspiritandthought,knowledgeandTorah.Hasidismand“Haskala”(enlightenment),like
currentsoffreshwater,fedthejoyofspiritualcreation,inthemysteryofexperienceontheonehand,
andinformedrationalismontheother.Theyoungintelligence,whoserootsarewellgroundedinthe
people’sculture….turnedtoassimilationontheonehandandlongingfornationalZionistrevivalon
theother.ThesparklingyoungIntelligentiacombinedthehesitantstepsofwanderinginaforeign
world,budsofthinkingwhichbegotinfluentialmovementsandephemeralideas.”8
ThehistoryofJewsinEastGaliciaunderthereignofJosephIIcanbedividedintotwoperiods,which
differedintermsoftherelationshipswiththeauthoritiesandrelationshipswiththenationsinthe
region.
TheFirstPeriod:fromAnnexationtoAustriato“SpringofNations”(1848)
The Jewish population was constantly pressured by the authorities, and at the same time began
acultural and political approach to the Imperial center in Vienna started budding. During these
years,AustrianstreatedGalicianJewsinwaysandmethodswhichcharacterizedabsolutistregimes
inEurope,seekingtogainmaximumeconomicbenefitsandreducethenumberof“useless”Jews:
special taxeswereimposed,occupationsconnectedtoretailsalesandtrade,peddlingand leasing
assetsandproductionmeanswererestricted,marriagesweresupervisedandbeggarswerebanished.
Nevertheless,duringJosephsecond’sregime(the1780s)anotherapproachwasadded–“Enlightened
Absolutism”seekingtoformulatelawsregulatingthemoralandpoliticalstatusoftheJewsinAustria,
soastointegratetheJewsasworthyresidents.Toreachthisgoal,stateschoolswereestablishedfor
Jewishchildren[supervisedbyJewishenlightenmentMovementmember,HertzHomberg(1749–1841)];
thebroadautonomywhichJewshadenjoyedbeforewasabolished,Jewswererecruitedtothearmy,
attemptsweremade to setup Jewishagriculturalcommunities. Secondaryschoolsandacademic
institutionsopenedtoJews,andcertainprofessionals (doctors,forinstance)wereencouragedand
supported.
WhentheNapoleonicWarsended,andtheCongressofViennaconvened(1815),JosephII’sreforms
werediscontinued.RestrictionsplacedonJewslosttheir“enlightened”natureinthebeginningofthe
19thcentury.EconomicrestrictionsbroughtaboutthedetachmentofGaliciafromthePolishKingdom,
8) D. Horowitz, My Yesterday (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1970 p. 12 (David Horowitz was born and grew up in Drohobyč, and Lviv)
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |9
meaning,cuttingtheregionfromthetraderoutes,whichconnectedGaliciatothenorthandthewest.
Galiciastartedlaggingbehindtheotherpartsofthekingdom,andimportedproductsfromregions
wheretheindustrialrevolutionhadalreadybeenunderway.Apartfromsomethrivingcenterssuch
asBrody,whichenjoyedeconomicprivileges,thebeginningofthe19thcenturymarkedthedecline
oftradecenterswhichhadexistedpriortothepartitionofPoland.
“Hassidism”and“Mitnagdim”(Opposition)
HassidismspreadinEuropeintimesofincreasingeconomicdistress.Withindecades,themovement
swept the small and medium sized communities and had become a crucial factor in the region’s
socialandreligiouslife.
Hassidic groups evolved around charismatic leaders, who were the focus of alternate leadership
mechanismsabolishedbythegovernment.The“Tzadikim”dynastiesdevelopedfromafewHassidic
families:RokachofBelz, FriedmanofRozhinSadgora,Husiatin,Czortków,HagerofWiznitz –all
preserved the traditional life style, on its garments and language, in the attempt to prevent the
authoritiesfrom“Germanizing”theJewishpopulation.
Many leaders of the Jewish Enlightenment movement arrived from large communities that had
tradeconnectionswiththecitiesofGermanyandAustria(Lviv,BrodyandTarnopil)andconsidered
Hassidim to be enemies of the enlightened regime. Their leaders opposed the rapidly spreading
religiousmovement,butcouldnotstopit.OneoftheoppositionrepresentativeswasJosephPerl(1773
–1839)ofTarnopil,awealthymanwhohadgoodrelationshipswiththeAustrianauthorities.In1813,
PerlestablishedamodernschoolinthespiritoftheEnlightenment.Perlsubmitteddetailedreports
totheauthorities,inwhichhelistedthedamagecausedbyHassidim’sirrationalbehavior.Hismain
literarycontributionwasthecreationofsharpsatireswhereheridiculedtheHassidim’sbeliefsand
customs.
JosephPerlandhisbook“RevealerofSecrets”(MegallehTemirim)
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society10
TheSecondPeriod:fromthe“SpringofNations”(1848)toWorldWarI
The “Spring of Nations” revolutions constituted a highlight in the political, social and cultural
developmentofEastGalicianJews,especiallyinLviv.LeadersoftheJewishpopulationtookanactive
part in thepolitical struggle,while identifyingwith theclaimsof thePolishpopulation,although
manyofthemdidnotsupportthePoles’nationalistattitudesandtookapro-Austrianstand.
Alreadyin1848,thePolesrevealedastronganti-Jewishattitude,andtherewereattemptsatviolent
riots(“pogroms”)againsttheJews.UnlikeinotherpartsofEastEurope’sincethe“SpringofNations”’
Jewsintegratedintothestate’spoliticalactivityatall levels. InGalicia,wherethePolesenjoyeda
gooddealofautonomyunderAustrianrule,Jewsfacedtwooptionsofpoliticalidentificationwith
government,andindeedtheydeliberatedbetweenidentifyingwiththeGerman-Austriancultureand
thePolishone.
In East European countries of the early 19th century, Galicia preceded the Russian Empire in the
organizationofmodernpoliticalschoolsofthoughtevenwiththetraditionalaspectsoftheirsociety
included.Alreadyin1849equalrightsweregiventomembersofallfaiths,butinpractice,allthelegal
differencesbetweenGalicianJewsandtherestofthepopulationwerefinallyerasedonlyin1868.
Despite the slow pace of guaranteeing the Galicia Jews equal rights, an intensive process of
embracingGermanculturebegan,andatthesametime,culturalcontactswiththePolesintensified.
Thepro-Polishtrendincreasedwiththecompletionoftheemancipationprocessinthelate1860s,and
decreasedduringthe1880s,whenthePoles,inthespiritofmodernanti-Semitism,startedmanifesting
hostilitytowardstheJewishminority.
Thosewhowerepro-AustrianGermancultureoriented,establishedthe“ShomerYisrael”association
in Galicia (1867), constituting the “go ahead” of modern political activity in Galicia. The members
of the association spread German culture in the attempt to integrate Jews into the local, regional
andimperialpoliticalsystems.TheyissuedanewspaperinGerman,DerIsraelit,setupaclubanda
libraryinLviv,andsupportedthe“restored”synagogueinthecity.However,onthepoliticallevel,
theycooperatedwithPolishorganizations.
Asecondgroupwhichconsolidatedinthoseyearswasstrictlypro-Pole,anditsmembersestablished
anassociationnamed“DorsheiShalom”,whichbegotthePolish-Jewishassociationof“AgudatAchim”
(UnionofBrothers,1880),whichadvocatedJewishassimilationandeventurningtheJewsinto“Poles
oftheMosaicPersuasion”(“DatMoshe”).Oppositethesetrends,OrthodoxJewsalsoorganizedunder
theleadershipofRabbiShimonSofer,ChiefRabbiofKraków,andRabbiYehoshuaRokachtheRabbi
ofBelz,whohadalsoembracedmodernpoliticalstrategies,issuedtheirpaper,“KolMachzikeiHadas”
andcooperatedwiththePolessupportingdelegatestotheAustrianParliament.
Freedom of assembly granted to the Galician Jews, together with opening the gates of general
educationinstitutions,andtheirintegrationintogovernmentsystems,begot,inthesecondhalfofthe
19thcentury,threewaysofintegratingintolocalcultures:
TherewerethosewhochosetheimperialcultureandmigratedtoCentralEurope,especiallytoVienna,
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |11
soastoengageinautonomousprofessions;othersintegratedintoPolishculture,andtherewerethose
whocombinedOrthodoxJudaismandopennesstowardstheEuropeanspirit,andsoughttoestablish
co-existencebetweenthetraditionalwayoflifeandthePolishorGermanculture.
Nevertheless,alongsideallthose,thousandsofGalicianJewspreservedtheoldlifestyle,madetheir
livingontheirfarmsorbypracticingoccupationssuitableforvillageorsmalltownlife,andsuffered
fromtheregion’seconomicpoverty.
Thefirstdecadesafterthe1848revolutionswerecharacterizedbyaflowofliteraryandjournalistic
activity,inwhichmembersofthesecondandthirdgenerationoftheEnlightenmentMovementin
Galiciatookpart.Duringthoseyears,LvivwasanimportantEuropeanprintingcenter,amongother
things because already in 1836, Russia restricted publication of books in Hebrew or Yiddish. Still,
duringtherevolution,newspapersinYiddishsuchasthe“Zeitung”werepublished.
ThefactthemajorityofGalicianJewshadnoinclinationtowardsculturalintegrationasthedesired
by Poles, together with an increase in the influence of anti-Semitism on Poland’s political life,
constitutedthebackgroundfortheemergenceJewishnationalism.
As early as 1875, in Przemyśl (now in Poland), on the border between East and West Galicia, “an
associationfortheadvancementofJewishsettlementsintheLandofIsrael”wasestablished.From
the1890son,Galiciawasfilledwith“HoveveiZion”associations.
Inthebeginningofthe20thcentury,Zioniststookpartinpoliticalcampaignsandwereinvolvedin
the Austrianelections for Parliament.The Poles stronglyobjected to the Jews’ organizedpolitical
independenceandsupportedthepro-PolishcirclesinJewishcommunities.
Togetherwiththegrowthofthenationalistmovement,aworkers’movementalsoformedinGalicia.
ThemovementevolvedfromthecraftsmenunionsandcontinuedinJewishassociationsadjacentto
thePolishSocialParty.
TheGalician“PoaleZion”movementwasestablishedin1903.MuchlikeinotherpartsofEastEurope,
nationalandsocial radicalismjoinedhands thuscreatingan infrastructurefor thepolitizationof
the Jewishstreet.On theeveofWorldWar I,EastGaliciahadnetworkof Jewishpoliticalparties,
associations and organizations, engaging in a variety of political and cultural activities: Zionists,
socialists,membersoftheintelligence,speakersofGermanandPolish,OrthodoxJewsandmembers
oftheEnlightenmentmovementintownsandcities.
Lviv became one of the thriving centers of Jewish activity in East Europe, together with Odessa,
WarsawandSt.Petersburg. Ithosted “Cheders”of theoldstyle,aswellasschoolsof thedifferent
ideologies,publiclibrariesandevenaYiddishtheater(1890).Culturalinteractionwasexpressedin
thegreatnumberofJewishstudentsintheUniversityofLviv(1n1897,some205ofthestudentswere
Jewish).OtherswenttostudyinUniversitiesinCentralEurope.
AlongwithperiodicalspublishedinHebrewandYiddish,JewishnewspaperswerepublishedinPolish.
HebrewwritessuchasYosefHaimBrenner (1881–1921)andGershomShoffman(1880–1972) lived
andcreatedtogether;inothercities,scholarsstudiedandresearchedPolishliteratureandclassical
languagesinthelocaluniversities.
TheencounterbetweenJewishcultureandalongtraditionofintimatecommunitylifeontheone
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society12
hand,andtheinfluenceofEuropeancultureonitsGermanandPolishexpressions,madeLvivthe
cradleofmodernhistoricalresearchoftheJewsofthePolish-LithuanianKingdom.
AdministrativeDivisionoftheKingdomofGalicia,1914
WorldWarI
During World War I, East Galicia was a battlefield. Once again, the armies of Russia and Austria
engaged inwar.The regionchangedhandsanumberof timesand thousandsof Jewish refugees
abandonedtheirhomesandfledtoregionsintheAustro-HungarianEmpire.
ThosewhoremainedbecamevictimsofRussiansoldiers’molestations,killings,rapes,pillagingand
destruction.JewswerealsoexiledtoRussia.Hungerandepidemicsresultedinnumerousdeaths.
Helpwasgiventowarcasualtiesbycommitteessetupinthecommunities,withthehelpofRussian
Jewishcommittees,whohadattemptedtoensuretheRussianswouldnotriotagainsttheJews.Author
S.Ansky,whotookanactivepartinthisactivity,describedthefateofGalicianJewsduringWorld
WarIinhisbook“TheDestructionofJewsinPoland,GaliciaandBukowina”:
“AnoutrageousthingwhichthehumanmindcannotperceivehappenedinGalicia.Alargeterritory
hostingonemillionJews,who,untilrecentlyenjoyedallhumanandcivilrights,issurroundedbya
chainoffire,bloodandsteel,separatedfromtheworld,andsubjecttotheruleofbeastly“paritzim”
inthefiguresofCossacksandsoldiers.Thisfeltasifawholetribewascutofffromthepeopleof
Israel”.9
9) S. An-sky, The Destruction of Jews in Poland, Galicia and Bukowina, (Berlin-Wilna 1929), Part I p. 14.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |13
ThewarinfluencedtheEastGalicianJewishpopulation’seconomicinfrastructure,andshatteredtheir
demographic resilience. The number of Jews in many communities was small, and their ratio in
theruralsettlementsdecreased.Ifthatwasnotenough,whenthebattleswereover,theJewswere
betweenthehammerPoleswhowinpoliticalindependence,andUkrainiananvil,whoestablishedan
indendentrepublicintheregion.
BetweenTwoWorldWars:BacktoPolishRule
Uponthewar’send,EastandWestGaliciaJewsmadethetransitionfromlivingunderamulti-national
regime,wherebytheyenjoyedpoliticalequalityandtoleranceonthepartofgovernment,toliving
undertheruleofanationalstatewithanacuteminorityproblem.TheeconomicroletheJewsplayed
in theregionwasnowassumedby themajoritypopulationand thePolishregimeremoved them
fromgovernmentpositions.
The Jewishcommunity inGaliciabetween the twoWorldWarswasnothealedof thewoundsof
war.TheJews’economicsituationbecameevenworseduetoPoland’staxationpolicy,whichhurt
tradeandcraftsmanship,andduetotheincreasingcompetitiononthepartofPolishandUkrainian
Cooperatives.
TheeconomicboycottofJewishbusinessesexpandedinthe1930s,andtheiradmissiontohighschools
anduniversitieswasrestricted.
Anti-JewishpropagandaincreasedonthepartofUkrainianright-wingparties,andstudentriotsin
LvivcauseddamagetoJewishbusinesses.Restrictionsonmigrationtowesterncountriestightened
reducingchancesofimmigratingtoPalestine,andthusmigrationwasnolongeragenuinesolution
fortheJews’distress.
However,asinotherpartsofindependentPoland,distressandhostilityenhancedJewishactivity:a
diversesystemofwelfareorganizations,helpandeconomicsupportwassetupinGaliciancities.
Associationshelpedcraftsmenandtraderscopewiththerestrictionsanddifficultconditions.
Jewishpoliticalactivityalsoexpanded,andthousandsofmembersjoinedthevariousparties.
TheNational-Hebrew“Tarbut”and“AgudatYisrael”educationnetworksoperateddozensofschools
all over east Galicia. Unique Jewish political and cultural activity increased where “Polanization”
trendsdecreasedintimesofincreasingPolishalienationtowardstheJews.
Lvivbecamethecenterofactivity,andbetweenthetwoWorldWars,thecitywasoneofthemost
prominentculturalcentersinindependentPoland.Everythinginthecitywasanexpressionofthe
neighboringtowns’andcities’politicalandculturallife.Thislifewasmulti-lingual,andusedPolish,
YiddishandHebrew,whichinturn,addedtothevarietyofeducationalinstitutions,literaryworks
andjournalism.
Apart fromthedifferentschools, thecityalsohostedaHebrewCollege,a Jewishvocationalhigh
school,teachers’seminariesandevena“Folks’University”(establishedin1926)wasfoundedbythe
“Tarbut”Association,wheretheytaughtJudaism.Manyoftheeducationalactivistslaterimmigrated
toIsraelandintegratedintotheeducationsystemhere.
Lvivhosteda largeconcentrationofJewishacademiciansandphilosophers,someofwhomwere
connected to theUniversityofLviv.Anassociationof “HebrewUniversityFriends”alsooperated
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society14
inLvivtogetherwithUniversityofLvivprofessors.Thankstothisassociation’sactivity,dozensof
studentsfromEastGaliciaenrolledintheHebrewUniversity.Allthiswasdoomedtoceaseuponthe
soviets’entryofEastGaliciainthebeginningofWorldWarII.
In conclusion, The Galicia region has undergone numerous historical-social-political-economic
changes.Thesechangesinfluencedcultural,economic,politicalandZionistJewishlifeaswellasthe
Jewsspiritualheritage.
ForthesereasonsitisrecommendedthatresearchersofGaliciafamiliesstarttheirquesttryingto
findexactlyinwhichstatetheorigintownorcityoftheirfamilywas,anditsexactlocationinlightof
today’spoliticalchanges(forinstance,LvivandBrodyarenowpartoftheUkraine,whereasPrzemysl
andNowySączarenowinPoland.
To make research more efficient, we recommend the use of the “Gesher Galicia” website:
http://www.jewishgen.org/Galicia/andtheAllGaliciaDatabasewebsite:
http://search.geshergalicia.org/
RecommendedReferences:
An-skiShlomo,HurbanHayhudimBe’Polin,GaliciaU’Bokovina,PartI,(BerlinandViena1929),p.14.
Brawer,AvrahamYa’akov,EretzYisrael,GaliciaVe’Yehudeha,MechkarimBeToldotYehudeyGalicia
Ba’MeaHashmonaEsre,(Jerusalem,1965).
BartalYisrael,InNathanMichaelGelber,(ed.)“Lvov”,EncyclopaediashelGaluyot,(1956),Vol.IV,partI
p.772.
GelberNathanMichael,ToldotHa’TnuaHazionitBe’Galicia,1875-1918,(Jerusalem,1958).
GelberNathanMichael,ToldotYehudeyBrody,(Jerusalem,1955).
Dumbrowska, D.Wein, A.Weiss (ed.), “Galicia Hamizrahit”, Pinkas Hakehilot,Vol. II, (Jerusalem, 1980),
pp.1–47.
MahlerRafael,HachasidutVe’ha’HaskalaBe’GaliciaUve’PolinHacongresayitBamachatzitHarishona
shelHa’MeaHaT’shaEsre,(TelAviv,1961).
Magocsi,P.R.,GaliciaaHistoricalSurveyandBibliographicGuide,(Toronto,Buffalo,London,1985).
Markovits,A.S.andSysynf.(eds.)M:“EssayonAustrianGalicia”,NationBuildingandthePoliticsof
Nationalism,(Cambridge,Mass.,1982).
http://www.jewishgalicia.net/
http://galiciantraces.com/blog/
Dr. Leah Haber-Gedalia is the Chiarperson of the Israeli Genealogical Society, born in Israel and
graduatedfromtheHebrewUniversity–Ph.DinInternationalRelations.Inthepast,Dr,Haber-Gedalia
managedhumanresourcesandtaughtintheuniversity.Dr.Haber-Gedaliaismarried,amotherof
three,grandmotheroffourandlivesinAtlit.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |15
Galician Genealogy: Researching Your Roots with Gesher Galicia
By:PamelaA.Weisberger
GesherGalicia(“BridgetoGalicia”)isthespecialinterestgroupforpeopleresearchingtheirJewish
rootsintheformerAustrianprovinceofGalicia.Itsgoalsaretopromoteaforumforresearchersto
shareinformationandtopromoteindividualandgroupresearchofGalicia,theformerprovinceof
theAustro-HungarianEmpirefrom1772-1918.
Wehostawebsite:www.GesherGalicia.orgalongwithtwosearchabledatabases:TheAll GAliciA
Databaseatwww.search.geshergalicia.organdtheCadastralMap&Land-OwnerRecordsInventory
at:http://tinyurl.com/MapsofGalicia.
CadastralMapInventoryOverviewShowswhatapagelookslikeonourwebsitewhenyousearchforrecords
WhatdoesitmeantodoGalicianresearch?Whereshouldonebegin?Theusualprocesswastostart
withresearchingvitalrecords–births,deathsandmarriages.TheindexesofJRI-Poland,hostedby
theJewishGenwebsite,provideagoodstartinthatdirection,buttheyonlyrepresentrecordsheldin
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society16
AGAD–thePolishStateArchives,andnottheJewishrecordsheldinLviv.
GesherGalicia’snew“AllGaliciaDatabase”(AGD)searchenginecurrentlyfeaturescloseto200,000
recordsfrom70differentdatasources,andisgrowingdaily,includingtheLvivarchiverecords.It
coverseverythingfromGalicianbirth,death,marriageanddivorcerecordstophonebooks,school
andlandownerrecordsandcanbesearchedbygivenname,surname(and“kinnui”orJewish
nickname)withdatasortedbytown,orrecordsource.Mostoftherecordsonthissearchengine
haveneverbeenonlinebefore.GesherGaliciaisactivelyinvolvedinresearchinPoland,Ukraine
andAustria.Wephotographandscanrecordsonsite,orindexinformationdirectlyatthearchive.
ThedataeventuallyfindsitswaytotheAGDandtheimagesarealsohousedonoursite.
TheAGDInstructionGuideillustratesTypesofsearchesyoucandoonthisnewdatabase
Butwhataboutmovingbeyondvitalrecords?Supposethattypeofrecordforyourtowncan’t
befound?ThatquestionmotivatedGesherGaliciatoinvestigatemoreunusualtypesofrecords
thatwouldalsoprovideusefulgenealogicalinformationandleadusto“thinkingoutsideofthe
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |17
(genealogical)box.”
WeareespeciallyproudoftheCadastralMapandLandownerRecordsProject,whichbeganin2007
asalong-terminitiativetoinventoryandobtaincadastralmapsandpropertyrecordsfromarchives
inUkraineandPolandandtoindextheinformationcontainedthereintofurtherfamilyhistory
research.Whythissuddeninterestinmap?PartofthereasonmightbethatforsolongJewish
researchersfeltthattheirancestorsdidnotownland.Thisisfarfromthetruth.NotonlydidJews
ownland,theyhadrenter’scontractsfromthePolishmagnatelandownersthatallowedthemto
operatetaverns,mills,andinns.Allofthisinformationisdocumentedintheserecords.
AndasGalicianresearchersaccumulaterecordscontaininghouseandparcelnumbers,their
interestincadastralmapshasalsogrown.AsdescribedbyBrianJ.Lenius,authorofthebook,The
GenealogicalGazetteerofGalicia:“Threedistinctpropertylandsurveyswereconductedforall
ofGaliciaduringtheAustrianperiodofthe18thand19thcenturies.Theseconsistedofdetailed
recordsshowingthesizeoflandparcels,typeofland,cropsgrownandmore.TheAustrianStable
CadastralSurveyofthe1830sto1860sconsistedofrecordsandextremelydetailedmapsshowing
thesmallestparcelsofland,individualyards,houses,barns,roads,fieldplots,cemeteries,churches
andsynagogues.
Atleastthreeversionsofthesemapswerecreatedatthetimeincludingafieldsketch,apreliminary
draftedversionandtheCadastralMapinfullcolor.Atleastoneormoreversionsofthesemapsstill
existformostvillagesandtowns.”
Bymatchingdetailsandtheinformationinthelandrecordbookstothemaps–alongwith
comparingthemapstohousenumbersonvitalrecords–youcanseeexactlywhereintownyour
ancestorsoncelivedanddrawconclusionsaboutpossiblerelatives.
BukachivtsiComparisonshowstwocadastralmapsforasingletownfromdifferenttimeperiods
showingtheevolutionofthetowns,buildingserected,etc.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society18
Manyhouseswerehandeddownthroughmarriage.
DetailsonJewishfamilies,whoownedbuildingsinthemarketsquare,wheretheyconducted
business,wereoftenhand-writtenoncadastralmaps.Themergingofthesenewdatasources
withtraditionalmetricalrecordswillofferGalicianresearchersamorecomprehensiveportraitof
thelivestheirancestorslead.Takingbirthrecords—andthehousenumberslistedonthem–and
linkingthemtoonlinemaps,willbeoneofthenewfeaturesontheGesherGaliciawebsiteaswill
annotatingmapswithinformationaboutthetowngatheredfromavarietyofsourcessotheshtetl
can“comealive”totheresearcher.
SeethisexampleoftheannotatedmapofGrzymalowintheTarnopoldistrict.
Severalofourmembershaveundertaken“HouseNumbersProjects”whichtracetheoccupants
ofasingledwellingoverhundredsofyears.Inthiswayonecandiscerninheritanceandfamily
patterns,andwomen,whoareoftenlosttohistoryoncetheygetmarriedandtheychangetheir
name,canbefoundthisway.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |19
Above:BukachivtsiNamesshowsthenamesofthebuildingownerswrittenonthesideofthe
blackandwhitemap
Below:Buckazczowce&JewishNames(AnotherversionoftheBukachivtsimap.OneisthePolish,
theotherUkrainianname.(Sametown.)
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society20
GesherGaliciahasalsoexpandeditsresearchtoincludevoter,taxandschoolrecords,spanningthe
nineteenththroughtwentiethcenturies.Thereismuchusefulinformationtobefoundinthistype
ofrecordthatsometimesgoesbeyondwhatmetricalrecordscantellus.Oftenthe“townofbirth”
isnotedonthesedocuments.Wetendtoforgetthatpeoplemovedaround.Amanwhomarried
mightleavehisvillageandhisfamily.Ifyouareonlysearchinginoneplace,findingarecordfora
relativethatidentifiesatownwherehisrelativeslivedcouldopennewdoorsforyou.(Andkeepin
mindthatwomenwerevotinginGaliciabeforetheyhadtherightinmanyothercountries!)
WearealsocoveringLviv(Lwow)newspapers,nowavailableonline,inwhichmanyJewishnames
arementionedandoftenfromasfarafieldinBrody.Notetheinterestingtextonthis1874noticein
thepaper:
SUMMONS
Thecitycouncil(magistrate)ofthefreeHanseaticTownofBrodyasksthefollowingpeopleto
register:
Allindividualsdueformilitaryservicebutabsentduringtherecruitmentof1846onthe“Ussenplatz”
mustregisterwithinsixweeksandmustexplainwhytheydidnotshowup.Otherwisetheywillbe
treatedaccordingtothecurrentrulesas“draftdodgers.”
AndfromtherewehavealistofmostlyJewishresidentsofthetownobviouslynoteagertojointhe
Austrianarmy:
Baleisen,Jossel–House44
Papuscher,Marcus–House131
RozinRecteRutin,Dawid–House302(Notethe“Recte”meansthathehadhismother’sname
becausehisparentshadonlyareligiousmarriage,notacivilone,buthisfather’snameisalso
listed.)
BrodyOverview-withcaptions
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |21
ThisisacommonproblemwhendoingGalicianresearch.Ifacoupledidnotregistertheirmarriage
withtheState,theywerenotconsideredlegallymarriedandtheirchildrenwereregisteredas
“illegitimate,”somethingthatallGalicianresearchersshouldkeepinmind.Oftenthechildrenofthe
samecouplewereregisteredunderavarietyofnames,sousinglogiccomesinhandywhendoing
genealogicalresearch.
GesherGaliciahasalsoconductedresearchintheAustrianStateArchivesweremanyinteresting
communityrecordsareheld,manyofwhichcontainerintimatedetailsofshtetllifeandbear
thesignaturesofyourancestors.Manyofthesedocumentsreflectcomplaintsfiledwiththe
governmentinViennaincludingdisputeswiththerabbioverhissalary,thetownscribebeingupset
overnotgettingaworkroompromisedtohim,orthetowns’eldersbeingupsetbecausetheywere
slanderedbyanothergroup.Theargumentsvoicedarereminiscentoflifetodayandhumanize
ourrelativeswhotoiledinKahalorgovernmentalwork.Imaginefindingarecordthathasthe
signatureofyourancestor!Rathermiraculous…but,thenagain,notreallywhenyouexpandyour
Galicianresearchbeyondnamesanddates,birthsanddeaths.Wehavealsoacquiredtablesshowing
therabbis,cantorsandsochetsforeveryGalicianJewishcommunitythathadasynagoguefora
varietyofyears,aswellasalistingofJewishschoolteachers,createdin1788.
TabularegistersalsoexistformanyGaliciantownsandheldintheLvivStateHistoricalArchive
–the“TabulaKrajowa",orTabulaRegisters(Fond166,1780-1891).In1780theStateRegistrar
Department--establishedbytheAustrianEmperorJosephthe2nd—begandocumentingthepurchase
andsaleofrealestateandland,propertyleasing,testaments,deeds,money-lendingagreements,
promissorynotes,andpublicsalefordebts,etc.BecauseJewishpeoplewereactiveincommerce
-itwasoneofthoseareasinwhichthegovernmentallowedthemtowork-manyfamilieshad
occasiontoparticipateinsomekindofbusinessrelationshipandsignacontract,whichoften
containednamesofboththehusbandandwife,representedinthedealasoneparticipant.Other
documents,liketestamentsandpublicsalesfordebts,frequentlycontaininformationonseveral
generations.Inordertogiveyouanideaofhowimportantanduniversalwerethedocumentskept
bytheDepartment,itsenoughtomentionthattherewereabout300volumesofvariousindexes
totherecordsandALLthelandownershipregistersafter1874werearrangedbasingontheTabula
registers.
TheTabularegistersconsistof4parts:
1.TabularegistersforthecityofLemberg.Thereare932volumesofregistersdated1787-1886
thatincluderegistersofrealtyowners,booksforregistrationofdeeds&contracts,booksfor
registrationofwills.
2.TabularegistersforthetownsinthevicinityofLemberg:
Basiowka,Bilogorszcze,Brzuchowice,Hamulets,Grzybowice,Hodowice,Horodowice,Holosko
Wielkie,HoloskoMale,Zydatice,Zawadow,Zamarstynow,Zarudce,Zaszkow,Zboiska,Zimna
Woda,Rudno,Kaltwaser,Zniesienie,Zubra,Kleparow,Kosiejow,Krzywczyce,Persenkowka,
Sichow,Sknilow,Jaryczow,JaryczowNowy.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society22
3.TabularegistersforthevillagesandtownsofGalicia:
• Arlamow
• Bandrow
• BaniaKotowska
• Belz(15volumes)
• Berwinkowa
• Bialoberezka
• Bialogora
• BialyKamien
• Blyszczywody(includedintoMokrotyn)
• Bolechow
• Bolehowce
• Brody(32volumesdated1794-1884)
• Bronica
• BrzegiDolne
• Brzezany(12volumes)
• Buda(includedintoWysoka)
• Busk(5volumes)
• Cholojow
• Chorocowa
• Chyrow
• Czajkowice
• Dobra
• Dobrohostow
• Dobromyl(16volumes)
• Dobrzanica(includedintoUszkowice)
• Dolhopol
• Dolina(10volumes)
• villagesofDolinaarea(includedinto
Lopianka)
• Drohobyczwithsuburbs(81volumes)
• villagesofDunajowvicinity
• Dynow(3books1780-1825)
• Engelsbruk
• Falkenberg
• Falkenstein
• FolwarkiWielkeandFolwarkiMale
• GajeStarobrodskie
• Gerynia(includedintoWitwica)
• Gleboka
• Gliniany(8voumes)
• GrodekJagiellonski(11volumesdated
1797-1880)
• Halicz(10volumes1753-1886)
• Holowy
• Hoszow
• Hoszow(includedintoStankowce)
• Hrusatycze(includedintoStrzeliska)
• Hubice
• Huczko
• Jagielnica
• Jaroslaw(50volumes1792-1892)
• Jasien
• Jasienica
• JasienicaSolna
• Jaworow(9volumes1792-1893)
• Jozefow
• Kalusz(7volumes1758-1822)
• KamionkaStrumilowa(21books)
• Katyna
• Kimirz
• Kniahinin(4volumes1801-1885)
• Kniazpol
• Kobasz
• Kolomyja(30volumes)
• Kolpiec
• Komarno
• Korostow
• Kotacin
• Krakowiec
• Krasnoila
• Krechow
• KropiwnikNowyandStary
• Krystynopol(7volumes1792-1883)
• Kulczyce
• Kulikow
• Kurowice
• Kuty(18volumes1781-1888)
• Kwaszenina
• Lacke
• Liskowate
• Liszczyny
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |23
• Lisznia
• Lopianka
• Lodyna
• Lopuszanka
• Lopusznica
• LubyczaKrolewska
• Makow
• Mariampol(3volumes1807-1855)
• Migowo
• Mizun
• Modrycz
• Mokrotyn
• MokrotynwithSmerekow,Przedrzymichy
andBlyszczywody
• Muzylowice
• Nadziejow(includedintoLopianka)
• Nahujowice
• Nanow
• Narajow
• Neudorf(includedintoBolechowce)
• Niedwedza
• Nojdorf(includedintoZawidowice)
• NoweMiasto(1volume)
• Obersdorf
• Olesko(3volumes1798-1882)
• Orow
• Paprotno
• Plebania
• Polana
• Potylicz
• Powitno
• Prochnik(14volumes1814-1874)
• Przedrzymichy(includedintoMokrotyn)
• Przemyslwithsuburbs(56volumes1799-
1894)
• Przemyslany(11volumes1816-1881)
• Radziechow(2volumes1827-1874)
• Raniowice
• RawaRuska(12volumes1796-1882)
• Rodatycze
• Rogozno
• Rozenburg
• RozenMalyandRozenWielki
• Roztoki
• Roztoczki(includedintoWitwica)
• Rudawka
• Rudki(4volumes)
• RybnowithSlobodka
• Rybotycze
• Rymanowwithneighbouringvillages(6
volumes1782-1888)
• Samborwithneighbouringvillages(69
volumes)
• Sielec
• Smereczna
• Smerekov(includedintoMokrotyn)
• Slobodka
• Smolnica
• Smolno
• Sniatyn(volumes1791-1832)
• Sokal(volumeswithindex)
• Solec
• Sopotnik
• Stainfeld
• StanilawithStebnikandKolpets
• cityofStanislawowwithsuburbs(99volumes
1784-1882)
• StankowcewithHoszow
• StareMiasto
• StarySambor
• StarzawaSanocka
• StebnewithDolhopol
• Stebnik
• StrzeliskaNoweandStare
• Sulukow(includedintoLopianka)
• Szmankowce
• Tarnawa
• Tartakow(1volume1817-1883)
• CityofTarnopol(50volumes).
• Trebowla(12volumes1803-1886)
• Truskawiec(includedintoTustanowice)
• Tudiow
• Tustanowice(1802-1889)
• Tyzlow
• Uhnow
• Ulyczno
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society24
• Untervalden(includedintoUszkowice)
• UstrzykiDolne(1855-1880)
• Uszkowice
• Warez
• Wierzblany
• WitkowNowy
• WitwicaincludingRoztoczkiandGerynia
• Wojnilow(3volumes1652-1839)
• Wolica
• Wysocko
• Wysoka&Buda
• Wyzniany&vicinity
• Zablotow(3volumes)
• Zaleszczyki(4volumes)
• Zawidowice&Nojdorf
• Zbadyn
• Zbaraz(8volumes)
• Zloczow(50volumes)
• Zolkiew(24volumes)
• Zoltantce
• Zurawno(2volumes)
• Zydaczow(8volumes)
4.TabularegistersforentireGaliciaarrangedbycounties:
Brzezany,Bochnia,Wadowice,Zolkiew,Zloczow,Kolomyja,Lwow,NowySacz,Jaslo
AndbeyondtheseLwow/Lemberrecords,therearemanymoreforahugenumberofGalician
towns.ThelistisdetailedontheGesherGaliciawebsitehere,ascompiledbytheresearcher,and
GesherGaliciaadvisoryboardmember,AlexanderDunai:
OneofMr.Dunai’stranslationsofarecordprovidesawonderfulexampleoftheprecise,and
unexpectedinformationcontainedhere:
Contractofpurchase#124.KaluszApril29,1816
Today,intheendoftheday,betweenarealtyownerEsterGlanzontheonesideandherson
MosesGlanzontheothersidetherehasbeenagreedanddeclarednext:EsterGlanzsellsahouse
#327(whichshehasinheritedaccordingtotheWilldatedIyar5,5567issuedbyherhusbandIzaak
Glancwhodiedbecauseoffire)andaparceloflandwithintheknownboundariesbetweenthe
neighboursOsiasHausnerandDawidLemonim,tohersonMosesGlanzfortheamountof1400
florinswhichshehasreceivedinadvance.
Thiscontracthasbeensignedbywitnesses:BerlFrankforter&JakobRudolf.
AlthoughitwouldbeimpossibletophotographeveryTabularegister,wearestartingtoacquirethe
nameindexestothesebooks,andtheinformationwillbeontheAGDincomingyears.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |25
Polishmagnatelandownerrecords,whichdetailtheholdingsofthesenobles,alsocontainawealth
ofinformationabouttheJewishresidentsofthetowns.Leasingcontractsandinventoriesofthe
Jewswhoworkedforthemagnatesareoftenquitedetailsandcandatebacktothemid1700s.These
documentsareusuallyfoundinspeciallibraries,liketheStefanykLibraryinLviv,andfirstrequire
doingtheresearchtodeterminewhichmagnateownedyourtownduringtheyearsyourancestors
livedthere.Thisisacomplicated—butmanageabletask.
Twomoreexcitingprojectsdebutingsoon:
1. TheGesherGaliciaMapRoomwilldisplayhigh-resolutioncadastralmaps,offeringyouthe
abilitytozoominforacloselookatyourancestralshtetl.
2. Our“VoicesofGalicia”webpagewillbeadedicatedmemorialtosurvivorsoftheShoah.We
willdisplayactual,full-lengthvideotestimoniesofsurvivorsfromGaliciantowns,taken
fromtheShoahFoundationcollection.Ourmemberswillbeabletosponsoratestimony
soitcanbeviewedbyanyoneonlineandthewordsofaneyewitnesstohistoricalevents
occurringinthattownwillbringhistoryalivetoaworldwideonlineaudience.
Gliniany&Belz-examplesofclose-upmapviewsfromthesetwotownswithcaptions
Ofcourse,allofthisworkrequiresfinancialsupport!Althoughwehaveastrongcorpsof
volunteers,includingourtirelesswebdesigner,BrookeSchreierGanz,whocreatedtheprogramfor
theAllGaliciaDatabaseanddesignedthenewwebsite,wemustcoverthecostsofthedifferent
researchersweemployinEasternEurope.Howcanyouhelp?Theanswerissimple.Becomea
member!
GesherGaliciaisamembershiporganizationwithannualdues,whichincludeasubscription
to“TheGalitzianer,”ascholarly,quarterlyjournalfocusedonGaliciacoveringtopicsofinterest
toJewishfamilyhistorians.(Membersandnonmemberscontributearticlesandsuggestionsfor
articlesonavarietyofsubjectsonGalicianhistoryandsociety,travelexperiences,photos,research
results,adviceonobtainingrecords,andstoriesfromtheirownGaliciafamilyhistory.)
Soontherewillbeamember’sonlyresearcharea,providingrecordimages,accesstokeyword-
searchablearticles,andtheGesherGaliciaFamilyFinderwhereyoucanlocateothersresearching
yourtownsandnames.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society26
Weinviteyoutojoinusandtodonatetotheprojectsthatmeanthemosttoyou.(ClickJoinGG
onourwebsitehomepage:www.GesherGalicia.org.)Yourcontributionsenableustomaintain
ourfree-to-alldatabasesandcontinuefundingresearch.Andyoucancontributetoongoingtown
projectsor–ifyoudon’tfindyourtownrepresented–youcanfundyourtown’sprojectsandbe
awardedmatchingfundsfromourgrantprogram.Wefeelasenseofurgencywiththisresearch
becauseatanytimearchivalaccesscouldchangeorrecordscouldbedestroyedinfloodsorfire.
Rightnow,whilethearchivesarecooperativewithJewishresearchers,weneedtotakeadvantage
ofthesituationandgetasmuchdataaspossible.Eachdaywehearofaresearchbreakthrough
someonehasmadeusingourresources.Perhapsitwillbeyou!
WelookforwardtotakingyourfurtheronyourGalicianjourneybackintime,andforwardintime
todiscoveringnewrelativesthroughouttheworld.
PamelaWeisberger
PamelaWeisbergerispresidentandresearchcoordinatorforGesherGalicia,thespecialinterest
groupforpeopleresearchingtheirJewishrootsinGalicia.SheisalsoprogramchairfortheJewish
GenealogicalSocietyofLosAngeles,andwasaco-chairofthe2010IAJGSInternationalConference
onJewishGenealogy.ShehastraveledthroughoutEasternEuropeconductingresearchinPolish,
Ukrainian,AustrianandHungarianarchiveswithaspecialtyinnewspaperresearchandcadastral
maps.Sheregularlyspeaksatinternationalvenuesongenealogicaltopicsandisaprofessional
researcher.
PamelacuratedtheIAJGSFilmFestivalsfrom2006-2010andwasprogramchairfor“LimmudLos
Angeles2012”.Shewroteandproducedthevideos“IRememberJewishDrohobycz,”andthesatirical
lookatgenealogicalresearch,“WhoCaresWhoYouThinkYouAre?”
Pamelaisdocumentingherfamily’shistoryforoverthirtyyears,holdsaB.A.fromWashington
UniversityinSt.LouisinEnglishandEducationandanM.S.fromBostonUniversityinBroadcasting.
www.GesherGalicia.org
www.search.geshergalicia.org
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |27
Introduction
InaHolocaustSurvivors’familyalbum,characterizedbyalackofhistoricaldepth,beginningwith
myparentsmarriageinGermany,1945,aftereachof themhad lost theirpartner thereweresome
strangephotographsofayoungmanwearinguniforms,onOrientalbackground.Mostcuriouswas
thephotographofthesamepersonwithagroupofuniformedmenwearingturbans,andacamel.
Myuncle(standingthirdontheright),SzymonSchrencelduringhisserviceinAnders’Army
ThephotographwastakeninIndia.
Itwasfoundthemanwasmyuncle,mymother’sonlybrother,borninLviv.
WhatwasaPolefromLvivdointheFarEast?
MymotherandherbrothersurvivedthehorrorsoftotaldestructioninLviv,eachinhisway(ofsome
150,000Jews,only300remained).Mymother,Bronya/BranislavaoftheSchrencelfamily,hadlosther
firsthusband,fledfromtheGhettoandfoundrefugewithalocalfamily,whereshewasemployedas
aservant.Herbrother,SzymonSchrencel,wasasoldierintheSovietArmy.Whenthearmyretreated
fromLvivuponNaziinvasion,Szymon,atankcrewman,retreatedwiththem.Sincethen,theyhad
losttouchwitheachother.
OnlyafterthewardidmymotherfindoutherbrotherwasaliveandlivinginIsrael.
My Journey in the Footsteps of Anders’ Army
By:Dr.EliBrauner
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society28
Theorientalphotographsgavenopeacetothegenealogicalresearcherinme.Relatives’explanations
thatthephotographwastakeninIndiacorrespondedwiththeturbanswornbythesoldiers.Howdid
SzymonSchrencelendupinIndiaandlaterPalestine?
Overtime,adecisionwasmadetosetoutonanewgenealogicalresearchthatwouldhelpunravel
themystery.
Furtherconversationswithfamilymembersrevealedmyuncleservedasasoldierinamilitaryunit,
whicharrivedinPalestineduringthewar.Surprisingly,thesoldiersspokePolish,andwereknownas
“Anders’Army”.
ResearchGoal
Thisresearchhadatwofoldgoal:toprovideabriefaccountoffamilyhistory,bitmostlytoserveasa
guidetogenealogicalresearchersseekingtofollowfamilyeventsinthetimeandsituationdescribed
inthisarticle.Hence,firstofall,thegoalistolistresearchtoolsandrelevantapplications.
Thesetwogoalswillbeaccompaniedbyathirdgoal:toenrichthereaderswithdetailsofanimportant
historicalchapterinthehistoryofestablishingtheJewishDefenseForce,andtherescueofJewswho
hadsurvivedthehorrorsofSovietregime.
Fromtheabove,itseemsthatAnders’ArmyhadindeedspenttimeinIndia.Thatishowtheoriental
photograph(showingmyunclewithIndiasoldiers),themotiveforthisresearch,wasconnectedto
Anders’Army.TheinevitableconclusionwasthatIhadtolookforinformationwithbodiesholding
documentsaboutAnders’Army.
MappingFactsandData
Any research, including genealogical research, begins with mapping the research and setting its
boundaries.First,researchquestionsarisesuchas“Whatisthegoalofthisresearch?”“Wherearethe
researchmaterialstobefound?”“Wherewilltheinformationcomefrom?”“Whoistobeincludedin
theresearch?
Theresearchquestionwas“DidmyuncleactuallyserveinAnders’Army?”Andifhedid,Isoughtto
confirmitbylocatinghismilitaryrecord,whileleaningontheassumptionthat,Iwouldalsofind
additionalinformationaboutthemanandhislife.
Anders’Army
WładysławAnders(August11th1892–May12th1970)wasaPolishArmyGeneralduringWorldWarII,
commanderofwhatisknownas“Anders’Army”1.
WładysławAnderswasbornin1892inavillagenearWarsaw,studiedintheRigaTechnicalUniversity
andservedasanofficerintheRussianTsaristarmyofWorldWarI.Afterthewar,Andersjoinedthe
1) "Władysław Anders", based on Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |29
armedforcesofthenewlyindependentPoland,andfoughtasabattalioncommanderagainsttheRed
ArmyinthePolish–SovietWar(1919–1921).Inthe1930s,AnderswaspromotedtoGeneral.
WiththeoutbreakofWorldWarII,onSeptember1st,1939,Anderswasincommandofacavalrybrigade.
ThePolishcavalrywerehardlyamatchtoGermanArmedForcesandhadtoretreat.Anderswaslater
takenprisonerbySovietforcesandwasjailedlaterintheinfamousLubyankaprisoninMoscow,
interrogatedandtorturedbyNKVD.
Anders destiny changed after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Anders was released by the
SovietswiththeaimofformingaPolishArmytofightalongsidetheRedArmy.Anderswasappointed
commanderofthisnewarmedforce,whoseformaltitlewasthePolishIICorps,butwasknownas
“Anders’ Army” which consisted of Polish civilians and soldiers who had been released from the
GulagsinSiberia,KazakhstanandotherregionsintheSovietUnion.
WhenAndersfirstinspectedhistroops,hefoundweak,hunger-stricken,raggedmen.Ofsome
1.5 million Polish citizens, including over 200,000 Polish prisoners of war deported from Soviet-
occupiedPolandby theNKVDto theGulags,onlyafewpeoplesurvived.Andersrehabilitatedhis
soldiersandturnedthemintoanorganizedarmy.Polishrefugees,women,childrenandtheelderly,
andthesoldiers’familiesaccompaniedAnders’Army,andwerefedwiththesoldiers’fieldrations.
Negotiation between Stalin, Churchill Polish forces enabled Anders’ Army with its 100,000 soldiers
andtheaccompanyingcivilianrefugeestomakeitswaythethroughthePersianCorridorintoIran,
whichwasthenunderBritishinfluence.InIran,Anderstrainedhismen.ThealliesgaveAndersthe
missionoffightingintheItalianFront.AfterafewmonthsinIran,Andersledhistroopstowardsthe
MediterraneanonhiswaytoItaly.
IraqandTurkeyrefusedtoallowthetroopspassage,andAnders’armyandhisrefugeeswereforced
totravelbyseaviaKarachi(thenIndia,nowPakistan)toPortSaidinEgypt,whichtheythenleftby
train,reachingPalestineonFebruary18th,1943.
JewsjoinedAnders’ArmyonhisjourneytoPalestine,andwiththem716“TeheranChildren”.When
they arrived in Palestine, some 3,000 Jewish soldiers deserted and remained in Palestine as illegal
immigrants. Those soldiers joined the Jewish resistance movements which operated here during
thestruggleagainsttheBritishmandate,thusstrengtheningtheJewishdefenseforces.Someofthe
desertersjoinedtheBritishArmy.
OneofthesoldiersinAnders’ArmywasMenachemBegin,wholaterbecamePrimeMinisterofIsrael,
whowasreleasedfromlaborcampsinthenorthSovietUnion.WhentheyarrivedinPalestine,Begin
obtainedpermissionfromAnderstoleavetheirmilitaryunitsandbecamechiefcommanderofthe
“Irgun”inthesteadofYa’akovMeridorwhowascommandingthe“Irgun”afterthechiefcommander
DavidRazielhadbeenkilledinIraq.
Anders’Armyturnedintoamajorcombatforce.In1944theyarrivedinItaly,whereheparticipated
intheBattleofMonteCassinoon17-18thofMay1944.TheabbeywascapturedbyAnders’armyafter
theAllies'threefailedattemptswithheavylosses.Lateron,Anders’Armyengagedinbattlesonthe
AdriaticcoastcleansingthePoValley.Anders’ArmyliberatedthecitiesofAnconaandBologna.In
theoutskirtsofBologna,acemeterywasbuiltforthePolishsoldierswhohadbeenkilledinthose
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society30
battles, in addition to the Monte Cassino cemetery. Andres received honorary citizenship in both
citiesasatokenofrespectforhisactions.
AfterthewarAnderslivedinEngland,thoughhehadneverbeenmadeaBritishcitizen.Heopposed
thecommunistPolishgovernmentandregardedhimselfapoliticalexile.Hewasoneoftheleaders
ofthePolishcommunityinEngland.Anderspassedawayin1970.Athisrequest,hewasburiedin
themilitarycemeteryinMonteCassinonexttohissoldiers.Oncethecommunistregimefell,Anders
becameanationalPolishhero.Hereceived33wardecorationsin10differentstatesincludingthe
AmericanLegionofMeritdecoration.
InthebeginningofmyresearchIfounddetailsaboutAnders’ArmyinPalestine.
“IntheirfirstencounterswiththeEretzYisraelpeopleinIranandinIraq,andwiththeirrelatives
and acquaintances in Palestine, the possibility arose to immediately leave the Polish Army on its
anti-SemitismandintegrateintotheJewishsettlements…butatthesametime,summerandautumn
of1942,theGermanArmywascloseatthegatesofPalestine,andduetothegravityofthesituation,it
seemedinappropriatetoleave…
When the danger of German invasion under Rommel’s command decreased, the Jewish “Yishuv”
Authoritiespreparedforabsorptionof JewishsoldiersfromAnders’Army.Theheadof "Aliya" in
theHistadrut,IsraelKarmi,offeredthehelpofthecooperativesettlementmovement(“Hahityashvut
Haovedet”) in theabsorptionof thesoldiers,providingthemwith identitycards,clothing,Hebrew
namesandmainly,recruitingthemtotheJewishunitsoftheBritishArmy,ortothe“Notrim”(Jewish
PolicemenintheBritishPolice)ortothe“Hagana”.
SoonbeforetheHighHolydays(“YamimNoraim”)of1943,Anders’soldiersweregivenleave,which
wasusedtorecruitthemtotheundergroundorganizationsandtheBritisharmy.InOctoberofthat
year, the number of deserters reached a peak. Altogether there were 3,000 Jewish deserters from
Anders’Army.”2
WhoWereAnders’Soldiers?
Everymodernresearcher’sfriendis,naturally,theInternet.IstartedanintensiveInternetsearchin
ordertofindinformationaboutthosemysterioustimesfollowingtheagreementbetweenthePolish
government-in-exileandtheSovietregime.
Theagreement,leadingtothereleaseofthousandsofPolishprisonersfromtheGulagsandremote
laborcampsallovertheSovietEmpire,allowedthemtoresumetheirPolishidentity.Thispopulation
did not only include Polish soldiers who had been captured, or Polish citizens who had lived in
territoriesconqueredbytheSoviets,butalsomanyJewswhohadbeenexiledbytheNazistoSoviet
territory,andthus,theirlivesweresaved.
Intheendof1939andthebeginningof1940,therewerestillsomeJewslivingoutsidetheGhettos.
SomefledtotheSovietUnionintheeast,andtheGermanswereinterested,asitcorrespondedwith
NaziGermany’sracistinterests.TheGermanshad“encouraged”JewishmigrationbydeportingJews
totheSovietUnion,whereasthelatterobjected.Germany,inanattempttoavoidconflictwiththe
Soviets,ceased.
2) Dov Levin, “Anders’ Soldiers”, Et-Mol (June 1993) Vol. 18, 5 (109).
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |31
InJune1940,even“Kosher”JewishrefugeeswerearrestedanddeportedfromLvivandneighboring
communities.Therefugees’deportationtookplacethroughoutthemonthofJuneintoJuly1940.The
highlightwasonJune29th,whencomprehensivesearcheswereconductedallovertheWestUkraine
andBelarusian,ineverycommunitywhereevenonerefugeewasliving.Hundredsofthousandsof
refugees,mostlyJewish,butalsoPolish,werearrestedanddeportedinthatAktion.Accordingtoan
officialPolishsource,some100,000peoplewerearrestedonlyinLviv,andthecitybecameaghost-
town.
TheNKVD3preparedformassivedeportations. Ithad listsofcandidates,arrestprocedures,public
placesweredesignatedforsearchesandkidnapping,hundredsoftrainsandthousandsofwagons
were prepared, and destinations were set for deportations. Prison staff and guards escorting
deportees'convoyswererecruitedandinstructedofwhattodowiththedeportees.Theprisonersand
thedeporteeswerespreadalloverthevastregionsofSiberia,NorthEuropeanRussiaandKazakhstan.
TheSovietUnionwasnotpreparedfortheabsorptionofsomemillionrefugees,whohadarrived
fromPolandtoSiberia’sconcentrationcamps.Refugeeswereofferedachancetobuildtheirown
livingaccommodations.
ThewarbetweentheSovietUnionandGermanybrokeinJune1941.Itwasthenthatthesituationof
Polishdeterioratedconsiderably.Manyweresavedbytheclemencyof1941.OnAugust12th1941,The
SovietUniongranted“amnesty”to“Polishcitizenswhosefreedomwasdeprivedaswarprisonersor
forotherreasons”.Twodayslater,onAugust14th,1941,anagreementwassignedinMoscowregarding
theformationofthePolishArmedForces.Mostrefugeeswereinaterriblestate.Theywerereleased
fromtheirimprisonment/exileplaceswithnothingtotheirname,hungerstricken,sickandwearing
rags. More than anything, they wished to get out of the harsh climate in the north and reach the
neighboringrepublicsofthesouth,becauseoftheirwarmerclimate.
ThePolishArmy,stationedUzbekistaninthesummerof1942,“attracted”thousandsofJewsandPoles
attemptingtofleetotheevacuatedunits.TheseunitsmadetheirwaytotheeastandreachedIran,
IndiaandevenPalestine.4
WhereWouldIFindInformation?
Fromthispoint,theissueofmappingbecamecomplex.
• WoulditbeavailableinthearchivesofSovietgovernmentorarmy?
• WoulditbeavailableinthearchivesofthePolishgovernmentandarmy?
• WoulditbeavailableinBritisharchives?Afterall,negotiationsfortheestablishmentofAnders’
Army were held in London, and agreements were signed in 1942 by General Sikorsky, Prime
Ministerof thePolishGovernment inExileandIvanMaisky,Sovietambassador inLondon, in
thepresenceofWinstonChurchillandBritishForeignOfficediplomatAnthonyEden.TheArmy
operatedaspartoftheBritishArmy:thePolishIICorps.
• Woulditbeavailableintheresistancegroups’archivesinIsrael?ManyofAnders’Soldiershad
desertedandjoinedtheresistancegroupsoperatinginPalestine.
3) The ministry of Interior Affairs was actually the former secret police of the former Communist Regime, In theformer Soviet Union (Editor's note). 4) Joseph Litvak, Jewish Refugees in the soviet Union 1939 – 1948, (Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, 1988).
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society32
Hadtheresearchreachedadead-endalreadyatthatpoint?
ItwasclearthatpreliminaryresearchhadtobeconductedinordertolocatethedetailsaboutAnders’
Armyandthesoldiers’personalfiles.
The www.kresy-siberia.org website engages in all Polish citizens who had left the Soviet Empire
afterthe1941amnesty.ThewebsitecontainslistsofthosewhohadjoinedGeneralAnders,arrivedin
Iranandmovedonfromthere.SomejoinedthedifferentBritishunits;therearealsovarioussources
for the research of the history of the Polish nation in World War II. No fewer than 18 sources of
informationpertainingtoPolishsoldiersinWorldWarIIwerefoundinthewebsite.Thequestionwas
wheretostart.
Inasituationlikethat,oneisrequiredtofocusandmakealistofsearchpriorities.However,asearch
inthewebsite’sforumyielded1,798messages.Therewasonlyoneoption–toconsultandexpertwho
wouldsiftthroughthesourcesandidentifytheonesthatwouldberelevanttofindingdetailsabout
thesoldiersofAnders’Armyandrankthemaccordingtotheirorderofimportance.Butwherewould
Ifindsuchanexpert?
The inevitable stop of any Jewish genealogical research is the JewishGen website – an amazing
Americanorganizationseekingtogatherallpossiblesourcesofinformationaboutthehistoryofthe
Jewishpeople.Specialinterestgroups(SIG)operateinthewebsite’sframework,whichhaveexperts
onaparticularregionorissue.Asearchrevealedthatamongthediscussionforums,thereisagroup
engaging in Jewish communities in Britain: JCR-UK – Jewish Communities and Records - United
Kingdom.
AquestionpostedtothegroupregardingwhereIcouldfindAnders’Armydocumentsbroughtabout
extensiveresponses.AIGexpertspointedtothefollowingsources:5
1. Sikorski Archives - 20 Princess Gate, London SW7 1PT, Great Britain. Where it was stated: The
majorityofthedocumentsheldbytheArchivesrelatetothePolishGovernmentinFrance(Angers),
inGreatBritain(London)andthePolishArmedForces.
2. MinistryofDefense(PolishSection)-DR2c,BourneAvenue,Hayes,MiddlesexUB31RF,England;
3. TheNationalArchives-OfficersorSoldierswhoseservicesendedbefore1921.
RuskinAvenue,Kew,Richmond,Surrey,TW94DU.
4. RegimentalHeadquarters-OfficersandSoldiersoftheFootGuardsRegiments
WellingtonBarracks,BirdcageWalk,London,SW1E6HQ.
5. ArmyPersonnelCentre-OfficersandSoldierswho’sregularorreserveserviceendedafter1997
HQSecretariatDisclosuresSection1.
MailPoint520,KentigernHouse,65BrownStreet,Glasgow,G28EX.
6. PMA(ewc)IM1b,Room5,Building248a,RAFInnsworth,Gloucester,GL31EZ
Officerswhoseserviceendedin1920orlater.
5) All of the following records are to be found in the Public Records Office (PRO). The archives include millions of documents from the days of the British Empire. Not long ago, the archive posted some of the documents, which do not invade privacy, online (Editor’s note).
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |33
Airmenwhoseserviceendedin1928orlater.
7. ThenationalArchives,RuskinAvenue,Kew,Richmond,Surrey,TW94DU
Officerswhoseserviceendedin1920orearlier.
Airmenwhoseserviceendedin1928orearlier.
8. MinistryofDefense,APCDisclosures5(Polish)
Building28B,RAFNortholt,WestendRoad,Ruislip,MiddlesexHA46NG.
FindingDetailsofMyUncle,SzymonSchrencel’sMilitaryService
Anoutcomeoffindingtheabovesourcesofinformationwasissuingnotarizedcertificatesofthe
familyrelationshipandpostingpaymenttothosebodieswhichrequestedpaymentforthesearch.
Thesenotarizedcertificateswereattachedtoaseriesofletterssenttotheabovelistedbodies,asking
fortheinformation.
At thesametime,anappraisalwasmadeas towhere Iwouldbemost likely tofind therequired
information.Indeed,inresearch,apparently,onecannotrelyonapproachingonesourceofinformation/
archiveonly;thesearchiveshavetodealwithnumerousrequests,andthereisnoguaranteethatone
wouldgetaresponse,orbenefitfromameticuloussearch.Anappraisalwasmadetherewasafair
amountoflikelihoodtheinformationwouldbefoundinaspecificarchive,andthebestwouldbeto
visitthearchivepersonallyandsearchfortheinformation.
Appraisingtheabovelistedsourcesofinformationandconsultingexpertsledtotheconclusionthat
thechancesoffindingtheinformationinthePolishInstituteandSikorskyMuseuminLondon.This
estimatewasbasedonthemuseumcontainsmaterialspertainingtothetwomajorcommandersof
thePolishArmedForcesintheWest:GeneralSikorskyandGeneralAnders.
When the war had ended, and the Communist Polish Government was formed, most Poles who
hadservedinthePolishArmedForcesintheWestandwerePolishcitizenschosenottoreturnto
theircountry,whichwasnowbehindthe“IronCurtain”.ThatishowalargePolishcommunitywas
formed in exile. One of their first goals was to collect all available information about the Polish
struggle,organizeitandenableresearch,includingmaterialspertainingtothePolishArmedforces.
Thiscollectionofmaterialswasstoredinanespeciallyacquiredprivatehouse,wheretheSikorsky
Museumnowresides.
Afterthefallofthecommunistregime,themuseumhascontinuedtoactasaresearchfacilityanda
culturalcenter.
Andso Iheaded toLondon.Avisit in themuseumled to theconclusion thepeople inchargeare
amazinglykind,butresearchpossibilitiesareratherlimitedduetolackofcomputerizedmaterials
andindices.Itwaspossibletoreadthroughkeymaterials,butnottoengageinseriousresearch.Itwas
agreedtheInstitutewouldtrytotraceinformationandwouldcostme£30.
Afterashortwhile the institutewrote “Regrettably,NoinformationhasbeenfoundaboutSzymon
SchrencelasoldierinAnder’sArmy”.Thisroutehadended,andallIcoulddowastowaitforresponses
fromtheotherbodiesIhadapproached.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society34
Onebyone,repliesarrived,allexpressingsorrowfornotbeingabletofindtherequiredinformation.
Hadthegreatinvestmentoftimeandaconsiderableamountofmoney,reachedadead-end?
And then,onMay5th, 2009a replyarrivedfromtheBritishMinistryofDefense,APCDisclosures5
(Polish)attheRAFBuilding–markedNo.8inthelistofpotentialarchivesforresearch–theletter
openedwith theMinistry’sgladlyconfirming thefollowingdetailsaboutLanceCorporalSzymon
Schrencel:bornNovember24thinLviv,Poland.
The letter confirmed the details of his parents, my grandparents, and included an interesting and
surprisingpieceofinformation:duringhismilitaryservice,myunclewasmarried...hereisatopicfor
futureresearch…andtheevidenceofthesignificanceoffamilyresearch,asthispieceofinformation
mayopenaroutetoawholeunknownbranchofthefamily.
It was also found that Szymon had served in Anders’ Army for a short time, from April 1942 to
November1942’andhadnotdesertedlikemanyothers,butdischargedhonorably.Itwasconfirmed
thatwhenhewasaPolishcitizen,hewastransferredtotheSovietUnionwiththeretreatofSoviet
forces,andjoinedthePolishArmedForcesbasedontheSoviet-PolePactknownas theSikorsky-
MaiskyAgreement.
The document also reveals that Szymon Schrencel had crossed the Soviet-Iranian border, was
stationedinIran,wherehisunitwasunderBritishcommand.AfteramedicalexaminationonApril1,
1942,hewasdeclaredunfitformilitaryserviceandwasdischargedonNovember21st,1042.
TheRAFreplyreaffirmedastoryhewouldtellaboutdroppingbombsfromairplanes.Themedical
certificateattachedtotheletterlistedthemedicalreasonsforhisdischarge,aswellashospitalsin
whichhehadbeentreated.
Thestoryendswithanothersurprisingdetail:theBritishauthorityannouncedthatSzymonSchrencel
waseligiblefortheWarMedal(1939–1945)whichhadneverbeenclaimed.Itwasstatedthatifthe
familywishedtoreceivethemedal,aformhadtobefilled.Ofcourseitwasimmediatelyfilledand
mailed.Afterashortwhile,apackagearrivedwiththemedalinit.The
TheBritishWarMedalAwardedtothefamilyofLancePrivateSzymonSchrencel
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |35
Epilogue
Genealogicalresearchisoftenperceivedasaquestforgettingcriticalinformationasbirth,marriage
anddeath,andtheconstructionofafamilytree.Indeed,thisistheheartofsuchresearch.However,
itisalsoimportanttolearndetailsofthefamily’sdailylife,orelsetheresearchendsupinatable
andnothingmore.Whenweenrichthefamilytreewithdetails,wepaintitwithintensevividcolors.
Thetreehasleaves.Recordsbecomecomplexfigures.Wecanlearnabouttheirstudies,occupations,
incomeandtaxes,buildingtheirhouses,relationshipswiththeirneighbors,relationshipswithinthe
familyandtheirconsequences,andobviously,theirmilitaryservice,whichmatuncoverunknown
details.
Indeed,theresearchdescribedherhasyieldedcriticalinformationthatwasunknowntothefamily
aboutasignificantfamilymember.Themanwaspaintedinnewcolors.Itwasfoundhowhehad
survivedtheHolocaust,andatthesametime,asisthecaseinsuchaninvestigation,achapterinthe
historyoftheJewishandPolishpeopleaswellasWorldWarIIunraveled.
Theresearchdescribedherepresentsapracticalaspectofintroducinganinterestingfamilystory.
TheresearchsetsthesteppingstonesforgenealogicalresearchaboutAnders’Army.
Itismyhopethisresearchwillhelpmanyotherslocatedetailsabouttheirfamilymemberswhohad
servedinAnders’Army.Itmayalsomotivatetheidentificationofotherissueswhichwillenrichany
familyresearch.
Dr.EliBraunerhasanM.A.degreeinPublicAdministrationfromtheHebrewUniversityinJerusalem,
andaPh.DinthefieldofNonProfitOrganizations.
Dr.Braunerhasbeenanintensivegenealogicalresearcherforsevenyears.Whenhestartedhehadbut
afewdetailsabouthisfamily,andnowhasafamilytreewiththousandsofdetails.Hespecializesin
complementaryresearchofthedailylivesoffamilymembersandthehistoryoftheirhousing.
Eliismarriedandhasthreedaughters.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society36
ThisarticlepresentstwoimportantdecodingprojectsrecentlyconductedinthecityofBrodyinEast
Galicia,todayintheUkraine.Thedecodingworkwasdonewiththesupportofthe“GesherGalicia”1
organizationheadedbyMs.PamelaWeisberger.
Thefirstproject,whichendedin2011,engagesindecodingtheJewishcommunity’scivilregistryin
the19thcentury.Theworkincludedregistrationofbirths,deaths,marriagesanddivorces.Some75,000
registryentriesweredecoded,andasearchengineallowingforfreeaccesstotheinformationwas
constructed.
Thesecondprojectnearing itsend (2012)has todowithdecoding tombstones in the “new”Brody
cemetery.About6,000tombstoneswerephotographed(somefrombothsides);threequartersofthose
are readableand were decoded.All tombstoneswere catalogued (location – GPS coordinates; row
and serial number; tombstone position – headstone/gravestone/broken; and reading ability). This
information,aswell,willsoonbeonlineandaccessibletoall.
BrodywasacitywithaJewishmajorityofsome80%.Itreacheditsthrivingpeakinthefirsthalfof
the19thcentury,whenitwasafreetradecityintheeasternmostendoftheAustro-HungarianEmpire.
BrodywasfamousforitsKloiz“BeitMidrash”andRabbis,themostfamousbeingRavYechezkiel
Landa,andRavShlomoKluger.
Brody–ACitywithAJewishMajority
Brody,acitywithaJewishmajorityattheeasternmostpartofGalicia,isnowapartoftheUkraine
(Photograph1).
1) http://www.jewishgen.org/Galicia/index.html
Decoding Civil Registry and Mapping the Brody Community Cemetery
By:Immanuel(Ami)Elyasaf
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |37
Photograph1:GaliciaMap
Whenlandtransportwasbasedonhorsesandcarriages,Brodywasasignificantpassagewaydueto
itstopographicaladvantages,sinceitislocatedinthecenteroftheeastEuropeanplain,inajunction
ofroadsleading(north,south,eastandwest)tothemajorcitiesofLeipzig,Moscow,Danzigandtothe
BlackSea.Hence,BrodywasacrossroadsandaJewishtradecenter.
After the first partition of Poland in 1772, and Austria’s invasion of Galicia, it became clear that
customratesbetweenRussiaandAustriaweretoohigh,thuscausingthepricesofgoodstoriseand
theresidentstocomplain.Hence,in1773,BrodywasremovedfromtheGaliciancustomszoneand
becameafreetradearea.AbolishmentofcustomsresultedinastatewheretradeinBrodyexceeded
allofGalicia’strade.
UponNapoleon’svictoryandtheimplementationoftheTreatyofSchönbrunn(orVienna)2,Austria
lostitsentirecoastline,andBrodywastheonlyopenrouteforthetradebetweeneastandwest.
Brody’s Jewsstatuscanbe seen inTable 13: thenumberof Jews increased from7,627 in 1764 toa
peaknumberof19,060in1849.LatertherewasagradualdecreaseinthenumberofJewsto7,200in
1939.Eventssuchas“SpringofNations”,WorldWarIandwavesofimmigrationtothewestplayeda
significantroleinthechangesinthenumberofJewsinthecity.
2) Treaty of Schönbrunn (or Vienna) was a peace treaty made between France and Austria on October 14th 1809. The treaty was signed after the Austrian defeat in the Battle of Wagram which resulted in heavy casualties for the Austrians, and thereby forced them to sign that harsh treaty. Austria had to surrender Tirol and Salzburg to Bavaria, West Galicia to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and Tarnopil to the Russians as well as other territories which were surrendered to France. (Editor’s note). 3) “Brody”, Pinkas HaKehillot, (Jerusalem, 1980) Volume II.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society38
%oftheentirePopulationJewsYear
7,627176486%14,105179988%16,392182086%16,000183087%16,159184077%19,060184984%17,627185281%15,138186976%15,316188072%11,854190068%12,1501910
7,2001939Table1:JewishpopulationinBrody
Mostofthecity’sresidentsearnedtheirlivingfromcraftsandtrade.Trademostlysupportedexport
andimportpassingthroughBrody.
BrodywasfamousforitsRabbisoftheKatzenelbogenfamily,Babad,Rokach,Horowitz,Kristianpoller
andmanymore;scholars,“dayanim”(religiousjudges)and“maggidim”.AmongthefamousBrody
KloizscholarswereRabbiHaimZonser,RabbiEphraimZalmanMargolisandthe“NodaBiyhudah”.4
DecodingtheCivilRegistry
AbouttheCivilRegistry
UponthefirstpartitionofPoland(1772)andthepublicationofJosephII’s“EdictofTolerance”,defining
the demands from Jewish communities and subjects of the empire, the Austrian administration
demandedthatJewshavefamilynamesandkeeprecordssuchasthepublicregistry.Theserecords
werehandwritteninlarge,respectablebooks.TheyhavebeenpreservedandcanbefoundintheLviv
archives.
ThepublicregistrywassavedonmicrofilmbytheMormons.Table2containsall theinformation
availableaboutBrody.
Theprojectdescribedinthisarticle,isaboutthedecodingofalltheBrodyrecordsfoundintheLviv
Archives.Therecordsincludeinformationaboutbirths,deaths,marriagesanddivorcesintheJewish
communityofBrodybetween1815and1861.Records’officialsinLvivmaintaintherearenoavailable
recordsofBrodyfromearlierorlaterperiodsduetothedestructionofarchivesinwars.
TherecordsarehandwritteninGerman;someinGothicscript(Photograph2).Thequalityofwriting
changesovertime.Evidenceofthiscanbeseenonthepageswheredecodersleftnumerousquestion
marks, in contrast to pages that were all clear, with hardly any question marks on them. A small
4) Aviv Meltzer, An Eternal Light: Brody, in Memoriam (Ramat Gan, 1994), herein: ”Ner Tamid”, p. 67.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |39
numberofrecordsweredestroyedduetomoistureandinappropriatemaintenance.
Mormonmicrofilmingmissedafewpages(whereasotherswerephotographedtwice).Mostofthe
missingpageswerelocatedinLviv.
Thepagestructuredependedonthetypeofregistration(births,deathsandsoforth),andchanged
over time. If, in thebeginningsome30namesofdeceasedpersonswerecrowdeduntoonepage,
attheendoftheperiod,eachrecordofthedeadspreadovertwopagesandthenumberofdeaths
perpagedecreasedto10–15.However,towardstheendoftheperiod,eachrecordcontainedsuch
additional information as the names of both parents in birth records, names of spouses in death
records,commentsandsoforth.
The archive year begins on November 1st and ends on October 31st the following year. An annual
summaryoftherecordsispresentedaftertheOctober31strecord.Someoftherecordshaveserial
numbers.Serialnumbersbeginat“1”everyNovember1st.
OntheDecodingProjectandItsFindings
Thedecodingprojecttookplacein2009–2010.Itwasprecededbynumerousfundraisingactivities,a
processofobtainingthephotographs,writingamanualforthedecodersandrecruitingadecoding
team.Thedecodingteamincluded12researchersfromNorthAmericaandSouthAmerica,Europe
andIsrael.Thegoalwastodecodenames,dates,places,housenumbers,andsignificantnotes.Notes
thathavenotbeendecodedwereminor,suchas thenameof thedoctorwhodeterminedtimeof
death,orthemidwifeandsoforth.
Photograph2:ApageoftheBrodyCivilRegistry
Theprojectfindingsareavailableatthe“GesherGalicia”website5andaresupportedbyauserfriendly
searchengine.Eachrecordhaslinkstoitssources(Table2).ItispossibletoapproachtheLvivarchives
orthevariouscentersoftheMormonChurchandaskforaphotocopyoftherequestedpage.
5) http://search.geshergalicia.org
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society40
Table2:BrodyCivilRegistry
Civilregistryinformationreflectsmanyfactsandmaybeofusenotonlyforgenealogicalresearchers
(Table3):
• Birthoftwins.
• Percentagesofnewborndeaths.
• Womenwhodiedinlabor.
• Yearswithhighdeathrates(choleraepidemics–1831,1848and1855).
• Lifeexpectancy.
• Percentagesofmarriagesanddivorces.
Birth Death Marriage Divorce totalrecords
dates records dates records dates records dates records
LDS#[1] Item Vol.[2] p. from to from to from to from to
2405310 5 701-1/11 187 7-Nov-1815
31-Oct-1819
3,264 5-Nov-1815
30-Oct-1819
2,561 29-Nov-1815
4-Oct-1819
127 5,952
2405310 6 701-1/12 188 1-Nov-1819
30-Dec-1826
5,287 4-Nov-1819 28-Dec-1826
191 5,478
2405310 7 701-1/13 176 2-Nov-1819
30-Dec-1826
5,933 5,933
2405310 8 701-1/14 83 01-Jan-1827
16-Mar-1829
1,530 09-Jan-1827 08-Jan-1833
81 27-Jul-1827
28-Jan-1831
8 1,619
2405310 9 701-1/15 304 17-Mar-1829
30-Jul-1831
4,393 4,393
2405311 1 701-1/16 201 18-Mar-1829
21-Jan-1833
2,713 27-Dec-1830
25-Aug-1871
622 14-Jan-1821
1872 34 3,369
2405311 2 701-1/17 335 1-Aug-1831
31-Dec-1837
4,927 4,927
2405311 3 701-1/18 285 02-Nov-1831
31-Oct-1840
7,619 7,619
2405311 4 701-1/19 352 1-Jan-1838
14-Nov-1844
5,241 5,241
2405312 1 701-1/19(cont.)
307 1-Nov-1844
30-Sep-1848
4,351 4,351
2405312 2 701-1/20 667 1-Nov-1840
31-Dec-1854
11,117 11,117
2405313 1 701-1/20(cont.)
32 27-Dec-1854
18-Feb-1855
116 116
2405313 2 701-1/21 566 1-Oct-1848
4-Aug-1855
6,284 6,284
2405313 3 701-1/22 374 19-Feb-1855
30-Jul-1857
1,752 1,752
2405314 1 701-1/22(cont.)
102 31-July-1857
8-Feb-1858
431 431
2405314 2 701-1/23 472 04-Aug-1855
31-Mar-1861
3,829 3,829
2405314 3 701-1/24 396 10-Mar-1858
11-Nov-1860
2,164 2,164
2405315 1 701-1/24(cont.)
59 4-Nov-1860
29-Mar-1861
322 322
Total 5,086 35,993 37,841 1,021 42 74,897
*LDS and Item numbers refer to Mormon microfilm.**Volume is the Number of Volume in Lviv Archive.
***
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |41
Years Births Deaths **Marriages **DivorcesMiscarriage/
Death***
1816-1820 4038 3373 161 0 340
1821-1825 3686 4159 122 2 630
1826-1830 3487 2792* 95 9 424*
1831-1835 4917 6032 91 13 1208
1836-1840 4280 3745 61 2 833
1841-1845 4294 3892 55 8 796
1846-1850 3980 5037 38 1 658
1851-1855 3425 5368 37 5 1009
1856-1860 3892 2870 76 0 685
1861-1865 192* 165* 130 0 42*
1866-1870 132 0
Table3:Numberofbirths,deathsmarriages,divorces,miscarriagesand
deathsduringorafterchildbirt
*RecordsofdeathsfromJanuary1,1827toMarch16th,1829andbirthsanddeathsfromApril1stonaremissing.
**Unlikelynumbers,possibleexplanation–notallcouplesbotheredtoinformtheauthoritiesofmarriagesand
divorcesperformedbythecityRabbi.
***Thereportednumbers,bothbirthsandmiscarriagesornewborndeathsbeforeanamewasgiven.Nooption
wasexaminedofdualregistryofthesamenewbornbothonthebirthspageandonthedeathpages.
BrodyCemeteries
TheBrodycommunityhasexistedsincethe16thcentury6.
Threecemeteriesoperatedinthecity(Photograph3)7
1. Theancientcemetery–nearthesynagogueinthecenterofthecitybetween1600–1625.
2. Theoldcemetery–inthecenteroftown,todayafootballcourt,between1625–1830.
3. Thenewcemetery–inthenorthofthecity,between1830-1941.
Of the three cemeteries, only the last one was preserved after the war, and is documented in the
presentproject.Dr.NathanMichaelGelberarguedthattheancientcemeterynearthesynagoguehad
beenusedonlyforafewyears.8
In the appendix of the Brody Book9, “From the Ancient Cemetery” (1699 -1841)”, he copied the old
cemetery’sbookswhichhehadfoundin1912,andincommentnumber1there,hewrotehehadrelied
6) N.M Gelber, Arim VeImahot BeIsrael: Brody, (Jerusalem, 1955), herein, "Gelber", p. 13. 7) Gelber, p. 47. 8) Ibid. 9) Ibid p. 336.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society42
onapreviouscopyof1778,whichhadalsoreliedonold,lostrecords.Theoldesttombstoneisfrom1625.10
In1935GelebrfoundouttherecordshadbeenlostinWorldWarI.
Professor Dov Sadan, born in Brody, tells that engineer Ernst Mach11 took pictures of the
cemetery, and these photographs are kept by Rabbi Joseph Leiner-Parvari. I have tried to locate
them in the past year, but they are neither with his son nor with any of second generation
Brody families. Perhaps Mr. Parvari, who was one of the editors of the Brody Yizkor Book12,
depositedtheminsomearchive.TwophotographsfromthiscollectionareintheBrodybook.13
Sadan14tellsaboutarumorheheardinpostWorldWarIIPalestine,pertainingtotheoldcemetery’s
fate.TherumorsaidtheoldcemeteryhadbeendestroyedbyaJewappointedbytheSoviet
administration(AftertheMolotov–RibbentropPact)totendtotheaffairsoftheJewsinBrody,and
thathehadbuiltaparkonthecemetery,whilesomeofthetombstonesweretransferredtothenew
cemetery.Todaytheplaceisafootballcourt.
Photograph3:TheBrodyCemeteries
In1996,Dr.NeilRosenstein,Dr.BenSolomowitzandRavDovWeber,alloftheU.S.A.initiatedaproject
10) Ibid, Footnote 1. 11) Dov Sadan, MiMehozot Hayaldut (Tel Aviv, 1981) herein “Sadan – Mehozot Hayaldut”, Dov Sadan, Mima'agal Haneurim (Tel Aviv, 1981), Dov Sadan, Ir Va’em Be’einiei Baneiha, (Tel Aviv, 1981), here in “Sadan – Ir Va’Em”, pp. 143 – 144. 12) Meltzer, “Ner HaTamid”. 13) "Gelber", table no. 5 in his book. 14) Sadan, “Ir Va-Em” p. 143.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |43
ofphotographinganddocumentingthecemetery.Informationaboutthisprojectwasuploadedtothe
JewishGenwebsite15
Sincephotographywasdoneonfilm,whichmeantcomplexandharddecodingwork,the“Gesher
Galicia”steeringcommitteedecidedtoreturnandphotographthetombstonesofthenewcemetery,
andthistimeitwasdonedigitally,andincludedtherecordingofeachtombstone’slocation(including
GPScoordinates).
Thedecodingproject tookplace in2012andwasprecededbyfundraisersandphotographing the
tombstones.
TheNewCemetery
Thecemeteryislocatedinthenorthofthecityona200X500metersareaandissurroundedbya
fence;woodssurrounditonthreesides(west,northandeast).Intheeasternpartofthecemetery,there
isamonumentinmemoryoftheBrodyJewskilledintheHolocaust(Photograph4).Theinscriptions
onthetombstonesareontheirwestside,meaningapersonstandinginfrontofthetombstoneand
readstheinscriptionislookingeast,andtheinscriptionfaceswest.Thecityisinthesouth.Adirtroad
separatesthecityfromthecemetery.
Noofficialbodycaresforthecemetery.Inthesummer,vegetationgrowswild,andtheplaceisfilled
withmosquitoesandotherpestswhichmadethephotographycrew’sworkveryhard.Someofthe
photographsrevealthatnaturalfiresarerathercommonthere.
Photograph4:MemorialinmemoryoftheJewsKilledintheHolocaust
15) http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Brody/brody_cemetery_project.htm
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society44
Photograph5showsageneralviewofthecemeteryfromsouthtonorth.
Photograph5:Generalviewfromsouthtonorth
Photograph 6 presents the locations of all the photographed and documented tombstones in the
currentsurvey.Theledgerclustersthetombstonesaccordingtorows,wherebyL1-10representsrows
1–10.TheSmarkrepresentsaclusteroftombstoneswhichcouldhardlybeassignedtoaspecificrow,
sotheyweremarkedseparately.
Photograph6:Mapofgravesinthecemetery
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |45
Mosttombstonesarereadable,butmostlikely,inthenortheastarea,therearegravestonescovered
bymud,andthesamemaybetruefortheareainthecenterofthecemetery.
PhotographingtheTombstonesandFindingsintheField
TombstoneswerephotographedbyMr.AlexDenisenkoofLviv,whoprovidesJewishgenealogical
researchservicesintheUkraine,andguidestouristsinthelocalJewishcommunities.Fromthespring
of2011untilNovember2011,Mr.Denisenkomethodicallyphotographedthecemetery,accordingto
rowsandblocks.Tombstoneswithinscriptionsonthebackwerephotographedfrombothsides,and
talltombstoneswerephotographedtwice.
Tombstonesare2meterstall(seephotographs7,8)andareusuallydividedintothreeparts:theupper
part is decorated in meaningful engravings such as hands in a blessing gesture for a “Kohen”, a
washingcup(“netilatyadayim”)foraLevy,andlionsforimportantfigures,rabbisandphilanthropists.
Manyofthewomen’stombstonesweredecoratedwithcandlesorfruittrees.Themiddlepartofthe
tombstonepresentstheengravingofthedeceased’sname,“Yichus”anddateofdeath.Thebottom
partisusuallydedicatedtoaeulogywiththeacrosticofthedeceasedperson’sname.
Photograph7Photograph8TheTombstoneofRavMeirBenRavYechiel,MichalKristianpoller,AvBeithDinBrody,Died1886
ThetombstoneofRavYechiel,MichalsonofRavMeirKristianpollerAvBeithDinBrody,Died1863
*
*ThisRabbiMeiristhegrandsonofRabbiMeirKristianpollerthefirstAvBeitDinBrodyinthisdynasty,died5545(1785).
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society46
SincetheobligationtohaveafamilynamewasdecreedbyAustrianadministration,mosttombstones,
areonlyengravedwith thedeceasedperson’snameandthenameof thefather,withoutafamily
name.Familynamesusuallyappearedonthetombstonesoftherespectablefamilieswhohadhad
familynameshundredsofyearsbeforesuchasRappaport,Horowitzandsoforth.“Cohen”and“Levy”
areusuallyengravedwithaprecedingdefinitearticle“TheCohen”etc.Thefamilynamecommonly
appearsofthebackofthetombstoneaswellastheGeorgiandateandinscriptioninlocallanguage.
Asformarriedwomen,thetombstonehashernameandherfather’sname.Thehusband’snameand
thefamilynameaftermarriageappearonlyonasmallpartofthetombstones.Thedateofdeathis
alwaysinHebrewaccordingtotheJewishcalendar.SometimesthedateappearsinGematria,and
interwovenintoaversewhichismeaningfultothedeceased.Men’sandwomen’sgraveswereusually
separated,exceptformembersoffamilieswhohadboughtgraveswhilestillalivefortheallfamily
memberstobeburiednexttoeachother,soasoncouldbeburiednexttohismother,andahusband,
nexttohiswife.
Thereareanumberofdoublecapacitygraves,mostofthemliterallythesamegrave,whereafamily
memberwhohaddiedlaterwasadded.Theonetombstone(notdouble)carriesthetwonamesand
twodatesofdeath.
OnDecodingandFindings
Thedecodingworklastedaboutfourmonths.Theresearcherwashelpedbyateamoffourpeople,for
translatingnamesintoforeignscript,andtranslatingHebrewdatesintoGeorgianones,authenticating
materialsandorganizingthefiles.Theinformationwillsoonbeuploadeduntothe“GesherGalicia”
website(seefootnote5),andtheJewishGenwebsite.16Of8,130photographsof6,175tombstones,4,580
were perfectly readable (74%), 1,510 were either broken or impossible to read (25%) and about 80
tombstoneswereimpossibletoreadduetothephotographyquality(1%).
Someofthetombstones’inscriptionscouldnotbereadforavarietyofreasons:somearebroken,
somearecoveredbyfungi,somehaveerodedbynatureandsomeweredamagedbyman.Asforthe
lattergroupoftombstones,itisevidentthatsomeweredeliberatelybrokenordamagedbyshooting
ordebris,somewerestrippedoftheirmetalsigns,andothersdamagedbyHebrewreaderswhohad
attempted toclean the inscriptionsanddestroyed them17or theyhaderasednamesandhonorary
titleswithoutdamagingtherestoftheinscription(Photograph9).
16) http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/ 17) It is recommended that families and researchers seeking to restore their family members’ tombstones consult with experts specializing in the restoration of old tombstones. Careless cleaning with chemicals may cause irreparable damage to the tombstone. The activity has to be suited to the type of stone and its condition.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |47
Photograph9:Atombstonewherethefather’sname
wasscratchedwithaknifebyaHebrewreader
Table4showsthenumberoftombstoneswithreadableinscriptions.Asmentionedbefore,thenew
cemetery started operating in 1830. There are a few older tombstones, which had probably been
relocatedfromtheoldcemeterytothenewone.EvidenceofthatcanbefoundinSadan’sstatement.
Itislikelytherearemoreancienttombstones,buttheyhadnotbeenerect,butratherleveledonthe
groundortotallyunreadable.
YearsTombstones1826-184060
1841-1850104
1851-1860119
1861-1870144
1871-1880221
1881-1890462
1891-1900966
1901-1910991
1911-1920505
1921-1930494
1931-1941386
Table4:Tombstonesaccordingtoyear
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society48
Itisinterestingtocomparethedatainthistableandthedeathsrecordsintheregistry(Table2).Since
theothertableendsin1861,themostinterestingresearchinformationisthatoftheCholeraepidemic
1n1846–1850.Thecivilregistryreports5,037deaths,whereasinthetenyears1841–1850thereare104
tombstones.Perhapstheexplanationisthatpeoplewerethenburiedinmassgraves,ornotombstones
wereplaced,ortheyweremadeofcrispstonethatdidnotlast
TheTombstones
Thetombstonesmaybeclassifiedintodifferentcategories:gender,socialandoccupationalstatus,
yearsandsoforth,andsowecanlearnfromthetombstonesaboutthecity’sresidents.Thisisatopic
foradditionalresearch.Manytombstonesareunique,andIwouldliketopresenttwoexamples:one
hasexceptionaldecorationsandtheotheristhelasttombstoneinthatcemetery:
Photograph10:ThetombstoneofMalkaBat-YitzhakBabad–traveledtotheLandofYisraelandreturned.
ThistombstoneforMalkaBat-YitzhakBabad(diedDecember10th1834).Shetraveled,sotheydecorated
hertombstonewithaboat(Photograph10)
Photograph11:TombstoneofMosheBenShmuelFrankel,May1,1941–thelasttombstone.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |49
ThetombstoneforMoshebenShmuelFrankel(DiedMay1st1941)isthelasttombstoneinthecemetery.
There is no doubt that they continued to bury the dead in that cemetery, except there were no
tombstones.AccordingtotheAshkenazicustomabroad, tombstonesareplacedaboutayearafter
death,meaningthistombstonewasprobablyplacedonthegraveinthespringof1942.
Tounderstandthefullmeaningofthistombstone,andthededicationofwhoeverbuiltit,wemustnote
thatOperationBarbarossabeganonJune21st1941,andGermanyinvadedtheSovietUnion,including
territorieswhichweretransferredtotheSovietsacordingtotheMolotov–RibbentropPact.10days
later,onJuly1st,1941,GermansinvadedBrodyandinthespringof1942theyalreadygatheredtheJews
inGhettos.Ayearlater,onLagBa’Omerof1943Brodywasdeclared“Judenrein”.
Therearetwotombstonesfrom1940andonlythreefrom1941,comparedtoafewdozenperyearin
theyearsbeforethewar.
Conclusion
AsadescendantofthreegenerationsoftheRabbisofBrody,theKristianpollerfamily,Ihaveinitiated
the twoprojectsdescribedabovesoas touncover thegenealogicalaspectof this importantcity,
whichhasalreadybeendiscussedinnumerousarticlesandbooks.However,thisinformationwas
ratherneglected.
Theproductofthisresearchisavailabletoallandmayserveasgroundsforacademicresearchinthe
domainsofsocietyandart,andforpeoplewhosearchfortheirroots.
To succeed in the decoding work one needs a dedicated team and work methods. The team was
recruitedfromthecity’sresearchers’pool,andsoitisimportantthatresearchersregisterinJGFFon
theJewishGenwebsiteandlist thenamesofthetownsinwhichtheyareinterested.Theworking
methodsincludeinstructionstodecoders,thetoolsforpredictingthemeetingofdeadlines,appropriate
databaseconstruction,identificationofteam’sstrongpointsandweaknessesandprovidingproper
solutionsinthecourseofwork.Thistopicisworthyofanotherarticleinthefuture.
Acknowledgements
Mygratitudegoestothedecodingteaminthetwoprojects.Theirnamesare listedinthe“Gesher
Galicia”Website.
IwouldalsoliketothanktheGesherGaliciamanagementforthesupportandjointthinkingduring
bothprojects.
Immanuel(Ami)Elyasaf(Kristianpoller)–PhysicistinthefieldofElectrooptics,worksasaproject
managerinaHi-Techfirm;livesinRehovot,Israel.Mr.Elyasafhasbeenengagingingenealogical
researchfor20years.HisresearchincludeshisrootsinGaliciaandHungaryandengagesinthousands
ofnamesfromthe11thcenturytothesedays.Informationisavailableat:
http://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily.
Inthecourseofresearchinghisfather’sfather’sfamily–theKristianpollerfamilyofRabbisoriginating
fromBrody,Galicia,theauthorinitiatedtwoprojectsfordecodingtheBrodycivilregistryinthe19th
centuryanddecodingthetombstonesinthe“new”Brodycemetery.Theinformationisavailableat:
http://search.geshergalicia.org,[email protected]
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society50
The Town of Yahil’nytsya1 Memorial Website
By:AmnonAtzmon
ThetownofYahil’nytsya(formerlyPolandnowintheUkraine2)ismyfather’splaceofbirth.MyfatherimmigratedtoIsraelintheearly1930s,andsincehehadpassedawaywhenIwasveryyoung,andmyrelativeshadnotprovidedanyinformation,Ihadnotheardmuchaboutthetownuntilrecently.
Thisarticlepresentstheinsightsgeneratedfrommyresearch,whichengagedinthedocumentationofthecommunity–theplace,thepeopleandtheeventsconstitutingitslife.AllthiswasdonetohelpthosewhoresearchGaliciaorthosewhodocumentittosetupamemorialwebsiteforoneofthetownsthathadbeendestroyedintheHolocaust,asatoolforresearchingtheJewishworldofourfamily,aworldthathadperished.
My research started when I tried to organize a meeting of Yahil’nytsya survivors on HolocaustMemorialDaynearthetown’smemorialintheNahalatYitzhakCemetery,TelAviv.
Ashortlistofsurvivorswasthebeginning.Stepbystepmoresurvivorswereadded,astheinformationwaspassedaround.Ifoundthetownspeople,whohadbeensaved,andtheiroffspring,membersofthesecondandthirdgeneration.Imadeafilewiththeirpersonaldetailssoastobeabletocontactthe survivors and their families. I sent them all invitations to attend the memorial service of theYahil’nytsyasurvivorsinthecemetery.Foroveradecade,myfriend,AviSchneebaumandIhavebeenorganizingthesememorialservicesforthetownspeoplewhowerekilledintheHolocaust.
Avi,ahistorianbyeducation,whoseoccupationisinthefieldofprinting,hadshownmeadecodedcollectionofphotographshekept.Tofindallthosenames,Aviwouldasksurvivorstoidentifypeopleinthephotographs,andsowiththequestionshehadasked,hegotmostofthenames,andourlistoftownspeoplewasenriched.Thedecodedphotographsareonthewebsite.
Chapter1–CollectingSurvivors’Testimonies
Istillhadnoideawhatthisresearchwouldbelike.IknewIneededevidencetopreserveandrememberthosewhohadlivedinthecommunityandthecommunity’slifestyle.Testimoniesofsurvivorslivingamongstusconstitutedthefirststep.Ibelievedresearchofmaps,recordsanddocumentswouldcomeafterthestageofrecordingthe
1) The town Yahil’nytsya is in the Ukraine. In the past it was under Polish rule and was called Jagielnica. 2) Yahil’nytsya is in the Tarnopil County, Province: Chortkiv East Galicia.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |51
testimonies.Sadly,mostpeopleoftheoldergenerationhadpassedaway.Thosestilllivingamongstuswere16–18yearsoldduringtheHolocaust,meaningtheyhadunderstoodtheevents,andinmostcasesIcouldrelyontheirmemories,asthetraumaisengravedinthevictims’hearts.
Ihavecompiledafilewiththedetailsofalltheadultsconnectedtotownspeopleandarrivedatthenumberof330people(Ilistedmen,women,ages,namesoffamilymembersandcontactinformation).Thesepeopleconstitutetheremainsof44familieswhohadlivedinthetown.AmongthemIfound14livingsurvivors.Therearethreewrittentestimoniesofsurvivorswhohadpassedaway.Therestofthetownspeople’sfamilieshadperishedintheHolocaust,withnotrace.
ItraveledthecountryfromEinHaMifratzinthenorth,throughJerusaleminthecenterandtoBe’eriinthesouth.Irecordedsurvivors’testimonies.Atfirstthesurvivors“couldnotremember”detailsandevents.Inourattempttorejectthe“donotremember”claims,Iaskedsuchinformativequestionsas“Canyoutellmeaboutthewatersupplytoyourhome?”Soonmemoriesreturnedanddetailswereprovidedaboutthelocationsofwaterbarrels,wellsnearthehomes,watermanagementonShabbatandmanydetailsaboutthedailylife,allaroundtheissueofwater.Survivorsprovideddetailsabouttheirlives.Thesewerebitsofinformation,picturesofmemories,briefdescriptionsofeventsandstoriesabouttheirfamilies–notalwayscomplete.Withthedetailsprovided by the survivors, I could try and reconstruct the life in the town before the Holocaust.This insight led me to phrasing questions about the various life domains: community life, youthmovements, holiday customs, public figures, school memories about teachers and friends, familyevents and services. Eight domains of questions were determined, which were divided into sub-questions,soastogetasmanydetailsaspossibleandenrichthetown’sstory.InsomecasesIhearddifferentdescriptionsandstoriesaboutthesametopic. Ididnotrejectoneversionforanother,butratheracceptedthemboth.Irealizedsurvivorshadrememberedthesameeventfromdifferentperspectives.Variationsaddedinformation,andsoweendedupwitharatherrichdescriptionofavividtown,withmanyfacesandasituationwhereeveryoneisright…
Chapter2–WhatWastoBeDonewiththeInformation?
Havingcollectedthetestimoniesofallofthesurvivorsknowntous,thematerialsaccumulatedhadtobesorted.Iwantedtosharethewealthwiththesurvivors,withthemembersofthesecondandthirdgenerationsandwithresearchersandotherpeoplewhomaybeinterested,anddidnothaveanypersonalpartinthestoryofthetown.Iknewwewantedtopreservethematerials.
The big question was: how was the information to be preserved?
Iwillnotwritemuchaboutthesignificanceofvalueofpreservation.Ithoughtthosevalueshadtoberelevanttothemembersofthesecondandthirdgenerations.Hence,whenwefacedtwopreservationoptions–towriteabookinmemoriamofthetownortoconstructanInternetwebsite,wechosethelatter.
Awebsitehasitsadvantages;itisforeveravailabletoall,anditscostismuchcheaperthanthatofpublishingabook.WethoughtifthewebsitewastranslatedintoEnglish,itwouldbeaccessibletosecondandthirdgenerationrepresentativesallaroundtheworld.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society52
Isoonfoundmyselfimmersedindeepresearchseekingtobuildamemorialsiteforthetown.Wehaveprobablybeenright.Morethan10,000visitorshavereviewedthewebsite,andthemeanpageentryisseven.
Chapter3-TheYahil’nytsyaWebsiteIsOnline
OnceIhaddecidedtobuildthewebsite,Ialsodecidedtogetsomehelp.Ithoughttheprojectwouldbeofsomeeducationalvaluetotheeducationsystemandwasprovenright.IapproachedMs.YaffaLehavi,principaloftheRa’anaanOstrowskiHighSchool,communicatedmythoughtsandideas,andimmediatelygainedapartner,willingtorealizemyideas.IaskedMs.Lehaviforhelpintwodomains:buildingawebsiteandtranslatingitscontentsintoEnglish.ShereferredmetoMs.SimchaSidon,coordinatorofcomputerscience.Iaskedthembothtosuggestastudentwhocoulddotheworkvoluntarily.RoyBajaio,alovely15year-oldboy,builttheYahil’nytsyawebsitemaintenancesystemthatoperatessmoothlybyusingafreehostingservice.
Asstatedearlier,theschoolvolunteeredtohelpwithtranslation,andagroupofthegiftedstudentstranslatedsomeofthematerialsintoEnglish,butnotbeforeItalkedtothemaboutthewebsiteandthetown,Yahil’nytsya,anditsdestructionintheHolocaust.TheWebsiteisactiveandcanbeaccessedin:http://users6.nofeehost.com/Jagielnica/
Chapter4–WhatisontheWebsite?
TheTownofYahil’nytsya’sGeographicalLocation
Yahil’nytsya is located in East Galicia (today the Ukraine), about 120 kilometers from Lviv, southsouthwesttoTernopil;fromthere,some60kilometerstothesouthtothetownofChortkiv,and10kilometerstothesouthisthetownofYahil’nytsya.ThetownislocatedonthebankoftheCzerkaskaRiver.Amainroadpassesthroughthetown,aswellasarailwayfromnorthtosouth
MapwiththetownofYahil’nytsyaonitReadersareinvitedtovisitthe“NeighboringTowns”section,whichincludesalistofsome70townswhichhostedabout
100Jewishinstitutions.Quiteafewofthemwereliterally“erased”.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |53
OnthemapwecanseefourStarsofDavid(“MagenDavid”)andtwocrosses.Along“snake”ofsettlementsliesfromthetownnorthward,andtheyareallconnected.Yahil’nytsyaislocatedinavalley,andthereisaneighborhoodtothesouthofthevalley(today)calledNagorzanka.Inthecenterofthatneighborhood,standsthePalaceofCountLanckoronski
Rynek–theCenterofYahil’nytsya(Yahil’nytsyawebsite)
CountLanckoronski(I)andtheMansion
Inthecourseofcollectingtheevidence,survivorskepttellingaboutCountLanckoronski.IdecidedtoresearchthehistoryofCountLanckoronskiandhisconnectiontothetownandtheJewishcommunitywhichhaddevelopedintheplace.Oneofthemansionsownedbythecount’sfamilywasinaplacecalledLanckorona,andhencethenameofthisnoblefamily,whoownedthetownofYahil’nytsya.
TheLanckoronskifamilywasaPolishnobilityfamilybasedinPolandinthe14thcentury.In1425twobranchesofthefamilywerecreated:theolderone,“Jagielnicka”,andtheyoungerone–“Wodzislaw”.3
Yahil’nytsyaismentionedinPolishRoyaldocumentsin1488.Itwasgiventhestatusofatownin1517,anduponPoland’spartitionin1772,itbecameatownunderAustrianrule.
TheLanckoronskifamilybecamewealthybywieldingestatesreceivedfromtheking.Merchants,debt collectors and Jewish craftsmen helped the noble family mange their estate. The family, inturn,wasinterestedintheJews’work,soalargeinterdependentgroupofJews(”Minyan”,“Mikveh”,Synagogue)gatheredaroundthemanor,andsosmalltownships,orintheirJewishname“Shtettles”developedaroundtheManor.CountLanckoronskiwasadescendantofthe“NewChristians”(followersofmessiahclaimantJacobFrank).4
3) A town in that name near Lviv. 4) “New Christians” refers to all Christians who had been pagans or Jewish in their past, and accepted the Christian Faith and were baptized. Jacob Frank, a messiah claimant, also claimed to be the reincarnation of of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi, was an anti-Talmudist and led his followers unto a new religion different from Judaism, called Frankism. Frankists converted to Christianity in 1759, but in fact, they rejected Christianity as well. After his death in 1791 they integrated into Christian communities (Editor’s note).
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society54
Thelastofthemanor’scountswasKarolLanckoronski(4.11.1848–15.7.1933).
Due to the family’s high status and the political-economic relationships between Poland and theAustro-HungarianEmpire,KarolwasappointedamemberoftheViennaParliament.HebuiltacitypalaceinVienna,engagedinartcollectingandbecameapatronofartists.Healsotraveledaroundtheworld.
ThereisnoevidenceofhiseverhavingvisitedthetownofYahil’nytsya.Thetownwasmanagedbyhisrepresentatives.Theestatemanagementkeptameticulousarchivewithreceiptsforpayments,contractsanddifferentnotationspertainingtothemanagementofthemanor.Familydocumentsandthoseofthemanorarekeptinthefamily’sarchivesinKraków,andcopiesarekeptintheCentralArchivesoftheHistoryoftheJewishPeople(CAHJP)inJerusalem.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Count Lanckoronski’s art collection was seized andtransportedtoahidingplaceinGermany.HermannWilhelmGöring5wasanotoriousartplundereralloverEurope.HeseizedtwooftheLanckoronskipaintingsandappropriatedthem.ThePalaceinYahil’nytsyawasevacuatedandturnedintoatobaccofactory.InVienna,theLanckoronskipalacewasburntduringthewarandtheheadquartersoftheAustrian“Motorola”companyarenowbuiltonitsruins.6
CountKarolLanckoronskiandhisdaughter,KarolinaLanckorońska
5) One of the leading members in the Nazi Party, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe (Air force), was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but committed suicide (Editor’s note). 6) http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=36 http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Lanckoro%C5%84ski http://www.poland.pl/archives/ww1/article,,id,284221.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Lanckoronski
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |55
Yahil’nytsyaJews
Jews settled in Yahil’nytsya at the beginning of the 18th century. Rabbi Dovid, author of “BrachotDavid”(David’sBlessings)wasthetown’sfirstRabbi.SonsoftheSahpirafamilyfollowedstartingwithRabbiZvi,hisson,RabbiIsrael,hisgrandson,RabbiShmuelZe’evandhisgreatgrandson,RabbiZvi.Atthebeginningofthe20thcentury,RabbiMenachemMelamedservedasthetown’srabbi.7
Atthebeginningofthe20thcentury,theJewishYahil’nytsyapopulationwas1366.MostJewsmadetheirlivingthroughtrade,peddlingandreligion-relatedoccupations.IntheperiodbetweenthetwoWorldWars,andbecauseofthepoliticalandeconomicchangesinPoland,manyofthecommunitymembersimmigratedtotheUnitedStates,othercountriesinEuropeandothercitiesinPolandsoastofindasaferfutureforthemandtheiroffspring.Thetownagedfast,andmostofitsyoungstersleft.Inthatsameperiod,townspeopleexperiencedpoverty,butthecommunitymaintainedinstitutionsinitsattempttoalleviatetheJews’suffering.Movementssuchas“HapoelHaMizrachi”,“Achdut”and“HashomerHazair”werefounded.AJewishschoolwasestablishedinYahil’nytsya,whereteachingwasconductedinHebrew,andanotherschoolwasestablishedbyBaronHirsh. Jewishsocialandculturalassociationslike“Tarbut”alsooperatedinthetown.8
DuringtheHolocaust,manyJewsfromtheneighboringtownsfledtoYahil’nytsya.WiththeadventofSovietregime,thetownhadsome2000Jewsfromothertowns,whereasbeforetheHolocaustthetown’spopulationwas1,066.
TheGermanoccupationoftheSovietUnionin1941resultedinthebanishmentofJews,arrestsbytheGestapo,tortureandkilling.Otherswhowerecraftsmen,hadtoworkfortheNaziwarmachine.
Youngpeople,includingwomen,wereforcedtoworkinKaochuckplantationsintherubberindustry.ThoseJewshadacollectivekitchen,andsincetherewasnoghettointhetown,theycouldsmugglefoodoutoftheirworkplaceandcaredforeachother.
AJudenratwasappointedinYahil’nytsyaanditsmembershadpermanentconnectionswithJudenratsinotherplaces,andthatishowtheywereinformedaboutwhatwashappeningoutsidethetown.TheJudenratobeyedGermanorderstohandoverjewels,goldandfurstotheGermans.Jewswhorefusedtocomplywerekilled.
TheJews’majorsufferingwasduetotheUkrainianscollaborationwiththeNazis.“Aktions”beganintheautumnof1942-1943.MostJewswhowerecaughtweresenttoBelzecexterminationcamp.Othersescapedorwereshotinfarms,mainlybecauseUkrainiansturnedthemin.Afewfoundrefugein
7) Significant in formation about the town’s rabbis can be found in Rav Meir Wonder,Meorey Galicia: Enciklopaedia Le’Chachmey Galicia – Toldoteyhem VeKorot Yemeyhem shel Chachmey Galicia Mi’shnat 1772 Ve’Ad LaShoah, (Jerusalem, 1978) 6 Vo. In my site commemorating the shtetl of the shtetl Yahil’nytsya I paid attention to the rabbis of the town, and realized that “Kosher” (of food). Divirces and “Eruv” were the main issues they dealt with. 8) A unique story appears on the website under the link “The Book of Harvest”.On the eve of Purim, February 22, 1939, the Principal of the Hebrew school in Yahil’nytsya, the poet Avraham Dov Werbner, assembled his students instructing each of them to compose an essay on a subject of their choice. The essays were bound together and sent to the United States to Moshe Herzog, philanthropist and chairman of the Yahil’nytsya Landsmanschaft Committee, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Many years later the manuscript was rescued by an alert Jew who retrieved it from a rubbish bin. The manuscript was brought to Israel. Reading these essays amazes the reader as the pupils expressed deep thoughts (we have to remember that Hebrew was not their mother tongue).
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society56
farmsuntilthetownwasliberatedbytheSovietsinMarch1944.
Conclusion
ThisarticlebrieflydescribestheconstructionoftheYahil’nytsyamemorialwebsiteanditscontents.Thesitecontainsagreatdealofmaterials:descriptionofthetown,communitycustomsofdailylifeandofholidays,storiesoffamiliesandindividuals,memoirs,photographs,documents,sourcesforcommunityresearchwhichhavenotyetbeenexhausted,amemoriallistoftownspeoplekilledintheHolocaust,alistofsurvivorsandmore.
Here are a few insights from the data collection stage to the stage of uploading materials to thewebsite:
The journey for locating the survivors and their offspring was fascinating. Survivors providedinformation about their families and friends, and they made sure to make contact and provideinformation.Thesurvivorshavetaughtmeagooddealaboutmanyfamilieswhohadlivedinthetownandwerelost.
ListingsurvivorsinanExcelfile,andthenrecordingtheirtestimonieshelpedorganizethematerialsandprocessthem.Eachsurvivor’sinformationandstorywasrecorded.Ihavetriedtomakethemtalkinanumberofways,amongthemaskingquestionsaboutthetiniestdailylifedetails,whichwasratherfruitful.Thismethodprovedtobeusefullateron,astestimonydetailsweredividedaccordingtodomainsandthenamesofthewitnesses.
Survivors had witnessed and remembered events from different perspectives. I have realizedsurvivorsrememberbitsandpiecesbetterthantheentirestory.Perhapsthishastodowiththeirpasttrauma,thetimedistance,andtheirwishtolivetheirlifewithoutthetroublingmemoriesinterruptingtheirdailyroutines.
Successfulcooperationwiththeeducationsystemledtotheconstructionofa“living”Internetwebsitewhichcanbeupdatedatanytime,whichisaccessibletoall,andI,forone,preferitoverabook.
Ihavealsolearntthatwhenconstructingawebsite,onemustbecarefulandnotuploaddatatoafreehostingservice,asiftheservicestopsworking,youlosethewebsiteandhavetoreconstructit.
AmnonAtzmon,borninIsrael,married,fatherofthree,retiredfromtheI.D.F.AmnonusedtoworkinabankandhasadegreeinCriminology,SociologyandPoliticalSciencefromBar-IlanUniversity.AmnonistheheadofRa’ananabranchofthe“IsraelgenealogicalSociety”.HelivesinRa’anana.
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |57
Galicia – Selected Web Pages
SearchengineofGesherGalicia
http://search.geshergalicia.org/www.search.GesherGalicia.orghttp://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily/There:http://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily/galician-familieshttp://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily/brody-datahttp://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily/biegeleisenhttp://sites.google.com/site/elyasaffamily/kristianpoller
DirectoryforGaliciaisnowfull-text
www.genealogyindexer.org:http://genealogyindexer.org/directoriesSearchablepage:http://genealogyindexer.org/?PHPSESSID=e27f2dd2a474b835d8f13008f121c425
Krakowandvicinity(halfpartfreeandhalfpartpaid)
http://www.shoreshim.org/en/default.asp
JewishHistoryinGaliciaandBukovina
http://www.jewishgalicia.net/http://galiciantraces.com/blog/http://jewishwebindex.com/ukrainian_shtetls.htm
MiriamWeiner’swebsite:DocumentationandArchivesinPoland
http://www.rtrfoundation.org/Archdta1.html
JewishShtetles:http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/city/jagielnica/http://www.polishroots.comhttp://www.kresy.co.uk/galicja.html
PicturesuploadedbyPolishfriendsofJewswhoperishedintheholocaust(partarewithexplanationswho’swhointhepictures,someareunknown)
http://www.zydzipolscy.pl/
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society58
Instructions for writing articles to be published in“Sharsheret Hadorot”
ArticlesinEnglishshouldacceptedbasedonthefollowingcriteria: • Articlesaresuitableforthe“SharsheretHadorot”magazine.
• Articleshavetoengageinresearchmethodsandmethodologyofgenealogicalresearch.
• HistoryofGenealogy.
• Auniqueinvestigationofanevent/photograph/document.
• Thearticlemustbeoriginalandcomposedbytheresearchers.
• Thearticlehasnotbeenpublishedelsewhere.
• Articlesandtheirtranslationswillnotbepublishedelsewherewithouttheexpressedconsentof
the“SharsheretHadorot”editor.
• Theeditorhastherighttodetermineifandwhenanarticleispublished,basedonprofessional
editorialconsiderations.
• ArticlesshouldbesubmittedinWordforWindowsdocumentsasanattachedfile.
• Spacesbetweenlines–1.5lines.
• Spacingbetweenparagraphs–1.5lines.
• Wordcombinations–thewriterhastousefullwordswithoutshortforms(suchasU.S.orU.K.).
• Writersshouldnotadddiacriticmarks.
• Photographsshouldbesentasjpgorgiffiles.Theeditorreservestherighttopublishphotographs
accordingtoneed.
• Tables–shouldbeaddedintothebodyofthearticle.
• Length–thearticleshouldbe6–12pageslong.Theeditorwillconsidersplittingalongarticleinto
twoparts,ifthearticleisofspecialinterest,allincoordinationwiththewriters.
• Foreignfamilynames shouldbewritten inHebrewand in their foreign languagespelling (e.g.
.(Gorenshtein/Gorenstejnגורנשטיין
• Namesofplaces shouldbewritten inHebrewand in their foreign languagespelling (e.g.רובנה
Rowno/Rivne).
• NamesofPlaces(geographical/political)shouldbewrittenaccordingtothestatetowhichthey
belongedinthediscussedperiodandtoday(e.g.Rowno,thenPoland,nowUkraine).
• Font:“David”inHebrewand"TimesNewRoman"inEnglish.
• Quotesfrombooks/articleswillbewrittenininvertedcommasfromthebeginningofthequote
toitsend.Thequotedpartwillappearinanewparagraph,butthefirstwordswillbewrittenafter
threespaces.
• Referencesshouldbewrittenasfollows(examples):
• Attentionhastobegiventothecomponentsofthereference,spacesbetweenwords,commas,full
stops,invertedcommas,underline,bracketsandcapital lettersinEnglishwhenwritingnames,
placesandsoforth.
• References–shouldbewrittenatthebottomofthepageandwillcarryanumericalidentification
onthesamepagewheretheitemtobeexplainedappears.
• Book:AnitaShapira,YigalAlon:NativeSon,(UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress,2008)pp.52–80,
The Israel Genealogical Society | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | |59
• “Shapira”.
• Anumberofwriters:AnitaShapira(Editor),MotiGolani,“TheHaifaTurningPoint”–Britainand
theCivilWarinIsraelDecember1947–May1948”inAStateEvolving(Jerusalem,2001)pp.7–13.
• Article–DaphnaZimhoni,“TheMandateGovernmentandtheStatusofReligiousGroupsinIsrael”,
Cathedra,80,(Jerusalem,1996)pp.150–175,“Zimhoni”.
• Anewspaperarticle:NetaPeleg,“Karmiel:AJewish-Arab-Americanencounter”,“YediotKarmiel",
p.46.
• Repeating References at the bottom of the page with the identical mark on the page
“Shapira”/"Zimhoni",pp.28–59.
• Interviews:Nameoftheinterview,dateoftheinterviewanditsplace:InterviewwithRabbiYust
Meir,Haifa21.4.2008.
• Archives–thenameofthearchive,itslocation,thenumberofthedocumentasitislistedonthe
documentorinthearchive.
• Internetsites–fullURL.
Writersareinvitedtopresenttheirquestionsanddiscussanyissue.
| | "Sharsheret Hadorot" | The Israel Genealogical Society60