A Journey to Poland. Looking for my father s Jewish forebears. Gregory Sachs 24 th November 2009.

Transcription

1 A Journey to Poland Looking for my father s Jewish forebears. Gregory Sachs 24 th November 2009.

2 Introduction What stimulated my early interest; Joining AJGS; JewishGen Family Finder; Some important documents from my aunt; The original family name Zaklikowski; Early records from LDS Family History; The decision to visit Poland again in 2009.

3 Family Names I was searching for: Zaklikowski: Grandfather s family name; Weinstein [Wajnsztajn]: Grandmother s maiden name; Kirshbaum: Grandfather s mother s maiden name; Portek: Grandmother s mother s maiden name; And maybe variants thereof.

4 Documents that I started with: My grandfather's birth record in Russian [LDS]; My GGF s marriage record in Russian [LDS]; My grandfather s UK 1901 census record; My grandfather's Russian army document; Letter to my grandmother from United Jewish Overseas Relief Fund of NSW dated April 1949; Pages from the Dobra Book of Residents; Grandfather s naturalisation application; Handwritten notes from aunt; Some old photos.

5 Planning Synchronising an 8½ weeks multi-country holiday to Qatar, UAE, Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland & Norway. Contact with Stanley Diamond and thence Krzysztof Malczewski [Chris]. Agreeing timing and budget with Chris. Arranging accommodation in Poland. Keeping contact with Chris. Contact with Anna Przybyszewaka-Drozd [JHI].

6 Setting Priorities for Poland To find: a) the birth records for my father and his older sister; b) my grandparents' marriage record; c) records of my grandmother s birth & of her siblings; d) records of other children from my GGF s second marriage; e) records of my GGF s first marriage and of any children; f) if the family originated from around Zaklikow; g) how my forebears may have lived in Poland.

7 What did I take for my research? In Hard copy (in a plastic sleeved folder): a) Family records & documents I had collected; b) Recent correspondence with Chris, Anna and Mazenna Gruszecka; c) A Pedigree chart; d) Pages from Dobra Book of Residents for Weinstein; e) Other reference material.

8 Also took Duplicated USB memory sticks with all my family data, photos, documentation and other relevant material; My (tri-band) GSM mobile telephone with assured international roaming access and with Chris s & Anna s numbers already in its memory. We did not take a laptop due our other extensive travel, but used Chris s when needed. Also Chris transferred data to/from my memory sticks.

9 Our travels in Poland

10 Program in Poland [2009] 12 May: Depart Sydney; 27 May: Arrive Warsaw by train from Berlin; 28 May: Meeting with Anna & Chris at JHI; 31 May: Travel to Lublin with Chris, visit Majdanek; 01 June: Visit Lublin archive, visit Zaklikow; 02 June : Travel to Lodz, visit archive office; 03 June: Lodz archives and Foundation for Jewish Monuments in Lodz;

11 Program in Poland [2009] 04 June: To Zgierz, meet Mazenna, visit archive office; 05 June: To Lodz archive then to Zgierz archive. End of time with Chris; 06 June: To Krakow by coach for our tourist visit; 09 June: Return to Warsaw by train; 10 June: Visit JHI bookshop; 11 June: Depart Warsaw for Moscow by Aeroflot (Russian visa 11 to 23 June); 12 July: Arrive Sydney.

12 The Jewish Historical Institute

13 At the Jewish Historical Institute Thursday 28 May 2009

14 Sample document from JHI archive

15 Approaching Zaklikow

16 The Jewish cemetery in Zaklikow

17 The Lodz archive building

18 The first floor entry to the Lodz archive

19 The well appointed Lodz archive office

20 In the Lodz Archives

21 At the Lodz Foundation Index of Lodz Ghetto identity cards

22 Index of Lodz cemetery records

23 Entering Zgierz

24 The remains of the Zgierz Jewish Cemetery

25 My forebears may have lived in such a house in Zgierz.

26 The fortunate coincidence - From : Zuzanna Maria ORourke, (researcher code ) zmorourke@yahoo.co.uk - To : Gregory Lewis Sachs, (researcher code ) - Subject : The JewishGen Family Finder: ======================================================= Hello, I am writing this message as you appear to have searched the JGFF for 'Zgierz, Poland'. We are a non-governmental organisation in Zgierz. We are striving to protect our town's heritage and disseminate knowledge of its history, in which the Zgierz Jewish community played an important role. We are researching and documenting the history of Zgierz Jews; we have translated into Polish the Yizkor Zgierz Book which is now accessible on the JewishGen website and will soon be also published in a book form. Between the 18th - 22nd October 2009, together with the Mayor of the City of Zgierz we are organising an event to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Extermination of the Jews of Zgierz. We would like to invite all the descendants of previous Jewish residents of Zgierz. Anyone with Zgierz connections is very welcome. If you think you might be interested in this event, could you please contact me at zmorourke@yahoo.co.uk. Best Regards Zuzanna O'Rourke Association of the Cultural Preservation of the City of Zgierz Scalloway, Scotland zmorourke@yahoo.co.uk

27 Mazenna Gruszecka Co-ordinator of the Association of the Cultural Preservation of the City of Zgierz

28

29 Rewarded this is family.

30 My Great-grandparents marriage record (ex LDS microfilm)

31

32 Mazenna & Chris entering the Zgierz archive office

33 At the Zgierz Archives Office

34 My Great-grandmother's death record

35 My great-grandmother s death record translated.

36 What did this visit yield for me: a) the birth records for my father and his older sister; NO. b) my grandparents' marriage record; YES. c) records of my grandmother s birth & of her siblings; PART. d) records of other children from my GGF s second marriage; PART. e) records of my GGF s 1st marriage and any children; NO. f) if the family originated from around Zaklikow; NO. g) how my forebears may have lived in Poland. YES. That just 5 week days were not sufficient time to meet my target given the wealth of information we tapped into in the Zgierz archive office. There was insufficient time to also go to Dobra/Turek.

37 Some Lessons Learnt Allowing sufficient time for archive research; Allowing time for review of where to from here; To maintain some flexibility with searches; How to avoid brain overload ; Limitations of archive opening hours; Language need to have some of the basics; Activities for spouse while you are at archives; Estimate some 12 months to work through the information I returned with & follow-on activities.

38 Costings Fees charged by Chris [as at May 2009] Daily charge 140/day; Transport (car for 2 or 3 people) 0.60/km; Transport (mini-bus vehicle) 0.70/km; Plus all accommodation and meals. Chris accepted my payment in Zloty in cash.

39 Hotels we used in WARSAW a) Polonia Palace Hotel Al Jerozolimskie 45 Tp ; Fx [walking distance from main railway station & pleasant walk to JHI] b) Hotel MDM pl Konstytucji 1 Tp: ; Fx hotel.mdm@syrena.com.pl [short taxi ride from main railway station]

40 Hotel we used in Lodz Hotel Focus ul Lakowa 23/25 Lodz, Tp ; Fx [Recommended & used by Krzysztof Malczewski]

41 Contacts in Poland: Business Cards

42 Jewish bookshops visited: > Galicia Jewish Museum Bookshop ul. Dajwor 18, Krakow Tp > Jewish Historical Institute ul. Tlomackie 3/5, Warsaw Tp ; Fx

43 Galicia Jewish Museum Bookshop

44 Translations done by: Polish to English: Ms Eva Wetzlich Russian to English: Ms Elena Mikhailik

45 Conclusion Thank you for listening to my presentation. Are there any questions? I may be contacted at (02) or by at gregory.sachs@bigpond.com