Shtetl Reunion

            Danny Miller, Itshe Meyer Korolnek, Susan Miller

As the one-year anniversary of my blog approaches, I’ve been thinking of all the cool things that have happened as a result of writing in here. I met a bunch of great people—fellow bloggers as well as regular commenters (and the occasional sociopath).  One of the most exciting developments has been to find people who have connections to my family dating back to our ancestral town in Poland, the shtetl called Staszow. This is where my family lived for hundreds of years until my great-grandparents Itshe Meyer and Alta Toba Korolnek left in 1910 for a new life in Toronto, Canada. My grandfather Sam (Shmuel) was three when he left Poland but for some reason his adult passports always listed Canada as his birthplace.

For years I did research on Staszow (my family always used the Yiddish phonetic spelling of Stashev) but never met anyone else whose family came from there (except for the actress Judy Graubart from “The Electric Company” whose grandfather, Rabbi Judah Leib Graubart, was a good friend of my great-grandfather’s and later joined him in Toronto). Today Staszow's once-thriving Jewish community is a distant memory. Staszow was occupied by the Germans on September 7, 1939 and in 1942 all of the Jews (about 5,000, half the population of the town) were forced into a ghetto. They were then shipped off to the extermination camp of Belzec, near Lublin, where they were all murdered upon arrival. The only people to survive were those few who were young and brave enough to escape into the forests and find a hiding place. There is no longer a single Jewish person living in Staszow.

My great-grandparents died when I was 12. We used to visit them often in Toronto and they would frequently visit their three sons in Chicago (who had changed their name from Korolnek to Karoll when they moved to the U.S. in the 1920s). Visiting Itshe Meyer and Alta Toba was like paying respects to royalty. They were very kind, but it was clear we had to behave a certain way and treat them with great deference. I remember visiting Alta Toba when I was young enough to see her relaxing without her shaitel (the wig orthodox women always wear in public). Itshe Meyer used to look at the long hair on all the boys in my generation and say, in his heavily accented English, “Are you a boy or are you a girl?” I remember the twinkle in his eye and his ever-present smile, but little else. Oh, how I wish I could talk to him today (he’d be 121 years old) and ask him endless questions about his life in Staszow, his childhood, his various jobs as a child (grooming the Cossacks’ horses, dealing in feathers, and his ultimate livelihood in bottles), his arranged marriage to my great-grandmother (hey, don’t knock it—it worked better than most non-arranged marriages in my family!), his devotion to Jewish education, his singing, and his life in Canada. I think I’d need about a week to ask them all the questions that are swimming in my head about their lives.

Itshe Meyer and his father were full-fledged Gerer Hasids, a large Hasidic dynasty that was founded in the Polish town of Gur (Gora Kalwaria) hundreds of years ago by Rabbi Yitzchak Meyer Alter (whom my great-grandfather was named after). Almost all of the 200,000 Gerer Hasidism were wiped out during the Holocaust but their leader managed to escape to Palestine as the war broke out and a new Gerer community was set up there, one that Itshe Meyer was involved with. The Gerer Hasids still wear the dark Hasidic garb (which my great-grandfather stopped wearing after he emigrated to Canada) and on holidays the men wear high circular fur hats called spodiks (not to be confused with the flatter shtreimels worn by many other Hadisic groups). When I think about the fact that I am only three generations away from being a pious Hasid, it’s almost impossible to believe. While many of the descendents of Itshe Meyer and Alta Toba are orthodox Jews, we are all solar systems away from a Hasidic lifestyle. Look at my nephews, Spencer and Sam, two of Itshe Meyer’s great-great grandchildren following his direct bloodline. Instead of growing payess or studying Talmud in a cheder, these two are playing rock music and posing for pictures with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and the rest of the Rolling Stones. Oy.

Recently, after mentioning Staszow in a post about “The Wizard of Oz” as a Jewish story, I got an email from a writer in New York named Jack Goldfarb. It turns out Jack’s parents were from Staszow and he has not only visited the town every year on a pilgrimage for his lost family members, he has single-handedly recovered many of the discarded headstones from the old Jewish cemetery in the shtetl and has had it rebuilt. It is an amazing story full of roadblocks and intrigue and every descendent of Stashever Jews owes Jack a huge debt of gratitude. The Nazis tended to plunder the Jewish cemeteries and use the stones for construction projects or cobblestone. The fact that Jack was able to cut through so much Polish red tape and reconsecrate a Jewish presence in this town, even if it’s just through the cemetery, is incredible. Among the stones in this cemetery are those of many of my Korolnek ancestors.

Just a few weeks ago, on the 63rd anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto in Staszow, students at the local high school prepared a multimedia presentation about the life of the former Jewish community there. They went to the Jewish Cemetery and, after a moment of silence, recited some ecumenical prayers. Professor Micha Czajkowski, a member of the Polish Catholic Bishops Council Committee for Dialogue with Judaism, said that “today’s memorial program in Staszow creates a new history on the ruins of the tragic and gruesome.” I had breakfast with Jack and his son yesterday. They were in town to help bury one of Jack’s old friends, a German actor who knew Gestapo leader Hermann Goering (but that's a whole other story!). Between his activities in Staszow, his yearly trips to Albania where he has been researching the incredible acts of bravery of the Albanian people during the war to protect “their Jews” from the Nazis, and his endless list of fascinating friends and acquaintances, I wanted to turn every anecdote Jack told me into a screenplay. There was something very moving about sitting with a man whose ancestors and mine were so connected. I also heard from a man in North Carolina whose family is from Staszow and just got back from spending three weeks there researching a book. Amazing.

Even more incredible was the email I got last weekend from a woman in Switzerland named Danya who had just discovered that Itshe Meyer Korolnek was the half-brother of her great-grandfather Hershl Korolnik. Who knew? Apparently Itshe Meyer had two half-brothers who emigrated to Switzerland about the time he went off to Canada. The spelling of their name is slightly different but I was thrilled to find out that I have a bunch of Korolnik and Korolnyk relatives in Zurich and other European towns. I can’t wait to learn more about this newly discovered branch of the family. Rumor has it that still other relatives were flung to faroff places such as Odessa and Australia.

This is a picture of Itshe Meyer and Alta Toba on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1952 with their children and some of their grandchildren. Those grandchildren had many children and those great-grandchildren (myself included) now have children of their own. Two people responsible for several hundred descendents, none of whom would have been born if Itshe Meyer hadn’t had the good sense to hightail it out of Staszow when he did. Here is an excerpt from a conversation between a cousin and my great-grandmother Alta Toba Korolnek recorded shortly before her death in 1972:

Zelig: When did you meet Itshe Meir for the first time?

Alta Toba: We were living in Staszow. My mother and I happened to be visiting Szydlow where an uncle of ours was living. Itshe Meir came to Szydlow for the Sabbath and with his father dropped in to my Uncle for Shalesh Seudos. That’s when I saw him and his father. I was four and Itshe Meir was five.

Zelig: Did you speak to each other then?

Alta Toba: We were only children. We laughed and quarreled as children do. Later when Itshe Meir’s father died I was five and a half, he was a year older. His mother remained in Szydlow with her three children. She was constantly in tears. Who will teach Mendel (her oldest son)? At that time Itshe Meir’s father came to her in a dream and said, “I will teach Mendel.” That week Mendel died. When her child died she left for Lodz.

Zelig: Your mother-in-law?

Alta Toba: Yes. She went with her two children, Itshe Meir and his younger brother Simcha. Her husband came to her again in a dream and said, “Itshe Meir will not be a workingman.” When this dream occurred on two more occasions she saw that this was somehow quite serious. She went back home and got married in Staszow. Itshe Meir was then nine years old.

Zelig: When did you get engaged?

Alta Toba: I was fifteen years old and he was sixteen. There was another candidate aside from me, quite a nice girl, her name was Tziril. Itshe Meir’s mother preferred the other girl, and she asked Itshe Meir which one he preferred, and he said “Alta Toba.” Two years later we got married on the nineteenth of Sivan—June 24, 1902.

Zelig: How long did you live with your parents?

Alta Toba: Until we left for America—that is, from 1902 to 1910. It’s true that I didn’t want to go to America. But Itshe Meir was stubborn and nobody could talk him out of it. His mother wept bitter tears—she didn’t want him to go to that godless country. He promised me that if he was convinced that he could not bring up children in the true Jewish path in America he would return. He said good-bye to everyone except his mother—she didn’t want to say good-bye to him.

Zelig: How many children did you have when Itshe Meir left?

Alta Toba: Four children—two later died, a young boy named Pinchas and a girl named Miriam Esther. There was an epidemic of scarlet fever; all the children got sick, two died, and two, with God’s grace, remained alive.

Zelig: When did Itshe Meir find out the sad news about the children?

Alta Toba: Several months later. He was surprised, for I would send greetings and regards from each child separately, and later I wrote merely, “the children send their love” without mentioning their names. He realized something was wrong. He kept asking me for more details about the children. I didn’t know what to do. Finally I went to the Rabbi to seek some advice. The Rabbi told me to write that for the money he sent I made suits for the two children and then he would understand that the other two were no longer alive. He received the letter and was very puzzled and in despair. At that time a woman from Staszow came and the woman told him the news and Itshe Meir sat shiva according to Jewish law.

I love the mystical elements of their lives which sound like an Isaac Bashevis Singer novel, and I was blown away by that last part—what a way to find out that two of your children have died with you so far away. And what twist of fate was it that my grandfather was one of the children who survived? Alta Toba then goes on to talk about their journey to America, their life in Canada, her seven children (she gave birth to five more in Toronto) and their families, and Itshe Meyer’s bottling ventures which led to the Consolidated Bottle Company, still a family business 95 years later.

I could go on for hours about my family history but I think I will go to bed and perhaps dream of life in pre-war Staszow. I am collecting information on my family and our past for my own daughter in the hopes that she will one day be interested in exploring her roots. I’m sorry she won’t ever have any firsthand experience with the people who once inhabited this vanished world and who for a time lived with those of us who were born in such wildly different circumstances. Today when I think of all the family gatherings in which the old generation from Poland reigned over the younger generations, it’s as if I’m visualizing a strip of film that has been double-exposed—one side in sepia-toned black and white, the other in blazing, saturated color.

Comments

[heather]

This is a really neat post, Danny. I enjoyed reading about your ancestors, and the photos are great.

[Melinama]

What a fascinating story. I love genealogy too and found myself confounded when I worked on a friend's family and realized that as they left Russian and Poland they tended to "shed" their former identities and cut loose from their ancestors. They didn't want to be connected to the Old Country. And so those connections are lost forever, what a sad thing. I'm happy for you that you have a rich connection to your past. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

[david]

Phew. What fragile twists of fate our lives rely on... and then, to see that picture with dozens of ancestors. I wonder: Could we survive what they survived?

Phenomenal post, Danny.

[Pearl]

Good stuff here, Danny. Especially with the accompanying family photos.
I've spent hours on www.jewishgen.org seeking out possible family links and family shtetl links. Genealogy can be a cesspool, taking you deep, deep down, but it also, as you see, offers great rewards.

[nappy40]

Great story.

[Neil]

Fascinating stuff, especially to see how different you are from someone in the not-so-distant past. But maybe you're not that different. Isn't working for a publisher of educational books in a way similar to Torah study?

[OldOldLady Of The Hills]

What a fabulos and incredible post, Danny...I love that you know as much as you do about your family history...Have you ever gone on to some of the Genological Websites? (I'm sure you have..) I know there are certain company's that specialize in taking trips (tours, if you will) to wherever...in Europe, to visit the places of one's ancestory...You probably are aware of this, too....I love that you have such strong ties to all your heritage...It's wonderful in so very many ways, dear Danny.....especially for Leah...LOVE that Family Photo!!! Magnificent!!

[Uncle Paul]

Danny:
The weirdest reference to a Stasow family I know about is in the great bluesman Jimmy Reed's song "I Ain't Got You" where he sings, "I got a charge account at Goldblatt's, but I ain't got you". This year I picked up a used CD of the greatest hits of the Yardbirds where they covered the song in the 60s. I doubt these young Limeys heard of either Goldblatt's or Stasow.
Count on your Uncle Paul to give you the adult ADD spin on the subject. Thanks for your usual focus, Danny.

[Uncle Paul]

Danny:
Now that I've had more time to digesr your last post I can tell you how truly incredible it is. The article about Mr. Goldfarb and the cemetary has been duly bookmarked and all the pictures saved to "My Pictures". That envelope from Stasow with the Nazi stamps and the "Judenrat" return address is more than chilling. What is it and how did you acquire it?
Paul

[Danya]

dear danny

I am very much impressed about the family story and how far back you could detect all those fantastic tales. I wish I could do only partly as good as you do.....!
wish you further succes in your research and am looking forward to reading more ! And hope of course, that one day I will meet the unknown part of my family personally.
your great-great-great cousin from Switzerland

[Danny]

Paul, are you saying that the Goldblatts of department store fame were also from Staszow? I had forgotten that although I remember something about Uncle Herb and Zaid working for them when they first came here.

And while we're on the subject of things you would know, I also remember some vague story about folksinger Phil Ochs having some kind of encounter and friendship with Itshe Meyer at one point. Does that ring a bell or am I having an acid flashback (not that I ever did acid!).

Danya, welcome to the family! We are as eager to learn more about the Swiss branch of our clan as you are to learn about us. Hope to meet you in person some day!

[Danny]

The miracle of the Internet! I just found a bio of Maurice Goldblatt that indeed confirms he was born in Staszow on December 17, 1893.

Regarding the photo of the correspondence from the Staszow Judenrat, I found that on a site that also includes a riveting first-person account of daily life in the Staszow during the war:

December 30, 1941: There are posters in the streets that from the first of January, no Jew may leave Staszow without the permission of the District Council at Opatow. Every Jew found outside the limits of the town after that date will be shot. This decree has gravely affected the Jewish population, which lives by trade with the surrounding villages. When this economic branch is cut off, many Jews will be left without the means for living.

January 6, 1942: In accordance with an order issued by Governor General Frank, every Jew had to hand over all his fur garments to the Germans, otherwise he was in danger of the death sentence. The collection point of the contributed furs was in the Jewish Community building, at the Judenrat offices. The order was carried out punctually, in spite of the bitter cold of winter all round. Several Jews in the neighbourhood who were found in possession of furs were shot.

January 15, 1942: From today no Jewish business may operate except under the supervision of a German, a Volksdeutsche or a Pole. The sources of livelihood of hundreds of Jewish families in town have again been cut off at a single stroke.

February 1942: This month the notorious Von Maloschki, that trained tyrant and sadist of the Hitler school, has begun to take charge in Staszow. Until now his place of residence was at Tarnow near Cracow. Von Maloschki arrived for the first time with his assistant, entered several Jewish shops and took whatever goods he felt like taking. Anybody who dared to ask anything was murderously beaten by him, and shot in many cases. Later, this person often appeared in Staszow and savagely terrorized the Jewish population, always taking valuable things.

March 17, 1942: Von Maloschki came back to town, became thoroughly drunk and began attacking passing Jews. First he caught hold of Leibush Blum, beat him thoroughly and wanted to shoot him. But Blum managed to run away. To make up for it the next man was a victim. The news of the murderous hooligan quickly spread through the town and Jews vanished from the streets. These first victims warned everybody that an extermination action was approaching in Staszow.

April 1942: Poverty in Staszow is growing from day to day. Anybody bringing a little food in from the villages is shot. The Poles are denouncing the Jews to the Germans when they catch them on the road. The first victim of such a denunciation was the 19-year-old daughter of Hershel Bezem of the Stodolna Street. The girl stole out of town and went to Dobre village near Staszow. Two Poles caught her, and she was handed over to the German gendarmerie. They shot her at once.

* * * * *

There is LOTS more and it gets much worse, including vivid accounts of the Staszow Ghetto (June 1942) and the terrifying reports of the transports out of Staszow that November. Click here to read the full transcripts and other articles about Staszow.

[Uncle Paul]

Danny:
I believe Alta Toba and Gildechana are from the Goldblatt clan and that is how Sam and Herb came to Chicago.

Paul

[Pearl]

My grandparents, great-grandparents and great-aunts and -uncles also left Poland for Switzerland after WWI. My mom was born there. So I, too, am a "Swiss Miss", by heritage...and achieved citizenship!

[Tammy]

Wow! I was a little blown away by the amount of family history in that post and I'm a sucker for old pictures of the Itshe Meir. Nice to see the plug for Consolidated too!

[justin kreutzmann]

that's wonderful family history.

[Natalie]

Fascinating and moving, Danny, thank you for this.
Like you, I wish I had asked more questions about their pasts to my grandparents, uncles & aunts before they passed away. When you're young you don't think these things matter and then it's too late. I did manage to record with my camcorder, my father in his 90's answering my questions about his childhood in Russia. But by that time he was rambling a bit and I wasn't a good interviewer so the result ain't great. If only we'd had all this technology much earlier, we could now have complete family histories on video etc.

[Green-Eyed Lady]

Hi Danny,
I'm here via OOL of the Hills' blog. This is a fascinating post. I will return to read it more fully when I'm not sleepy. Most of my ancestors perished in the camps, but I, too, have some whom I remember including great-grandparents! I'm sorry he died before your Bar Mitzvah.

I clicked on OOL's link because of the "Wizard of Oz" info. Ironically, I've had my blog over a year, am of Russian Jewish ancestry, (plus other areas) and I put my location in my profile as "Over the Rainbow" since it began. I bookmarked you and will be back to read.

[Wildcat]

Hello,
I live in Staszow - Poland.

[Lynda Kraar]

Hartzekeh Yasher Koyach!

I loved this entry. I came upon it as I'm researching for my late mother's memoirs, writing it up for -- of course -- an educational performance and companion book.

After 50 years of living in Toronto, my mother passed away last May and was buried on Mother's Day. Although she was from Lodz, she had been sent by her parents to Leninogorsk in Kazakhstan to sit out the war. Of course, she lost everything and everybody, and there was literally nothing to come back to afterward.

She left me her amazing memoir to carry forward. Mum's memoir is 100 pages and is written from the perspective of a 14-year-old who came of age while hiding out in Kazakhstan. Her story is quite uplifting. Just as you found everyone to be decent and nice in Russia, people were friendly and helpful to my mother, too. Despite all, Mum really believed that people were generally good.

As a speaker for the Holocaust Committee in Toronto, Mum brought this presentation to hundreds if not thousands of school kids, mostly not Jewish.

I am going to read and re-read your post. I've made it a favourite.

By the way, my friend was the professional director of the Landsmanschafts division of the Jewish Federation of Toronto when I was in the Marketing/Communications dept. there (I've lived in the metro NYC area for the past 21 years with a few stints in Toronto in between). I remember that the Stashowers were very active. I know a number of them.

I invite you to check out my blog sometime. The address is http://www.guitargirlsdigitaldiary.blogspot.com, and the answer is yes, I am a musician. :)

Keep up the good work and -- if I may quote Jack Black from this past week's Saturday Night Live -- Happy Chanuka.
Lynda

[David Zigelman]

Hi Danny:
I am your cousin from Toronto (Joy and Danny's son). We met on your last trip north of the border. I am not sure the family in Toronto is aware of the great research you have put together on Itshe Meyer and Alta Toba. I will be passing it along to some of the family in Toronto in hopes of spreading the story of our amazing history.
Cheers/Cousin David

[Sandy Karoll]

Hi Danny, we are hooked on your blog, amazing info you have collected and remembered! Yasher Koach!!

Some clarification on some details - while we just started reading tonight, and this may be elsewhere - here is some of what I know...

1) Goldblatts were simply landsman and friends from Stastow - not related as Paul suggests.

2) When Uncle Herb was struggling in Chicago, Alta Tobah contacted Goldblatt's mother and told her that Herb needed help. Herb was invited for Shabbos Dinner and mama Goldblatt told the boys they had to buy from Herb. He became #1 salesman overnight.

3) As to winding up in Toronto, (this may be elsewhere) Alta Toba's father Moshe was turned back at Ellis Island because he had a double hernia and was sent to England. He then heard that Canada allowed people with such conditions in to the country. He arrived in Toronto on the 3rd day of Chanukah in 1904. There were 100 Jews on the boat, with no means of support, the Canadian government dropped 50 in Montreal and 50 in Toronto.

Do you have a copy of the family book - Reb Itshe Meyer Korolnek in Memorium published in 1975?

[Ari Rosenzweig]

HI,

It is Ari Rosenzweig here. Marcee and Arthur (Rosy)'s Son. I am one of those people Dovid Zigelman forwarded the email to. I truly enjoyed reading it and hope that there is more information to follow. Please email me when more info is posted at [email protected].

All the best to everyone,

Ari

[Judi Kaplan]

Dear Danny and Susan:

What a wonder is the internet. I just had googled my grandfather, Rabbi Judah Leib Graubart, when your web site came up.

Where do I begin? I knew of your great-grandparents because my father, Carl Gottfried, worked for the Karoll's for over 50 years. As a teen in the summers I also worked at the State Street office of Sam Karoll. All of the Karoll's attended my wedding in July, 1966.

I have a copy of the book of rembrances that was published about Itze Meyer and Alta Toba that was in my mother's possesion.

Since you are Millers I assume that Judy and Pete are your grandparents?

My mother, Deborah,was born in Stazsow in 1914, the last of a long line of siblings from the two marriages of my grandfather. Sadly, she passed away 2 years ago in Chicago at the age of 89.

Judy Graubart is my first cousin and resides in New York.

I could go on and on, but I would like to hear from you.

[Bernhard Korolnik]

Dear Danny

Great work.

I am one of the Swiss Korolnik's. My grandfather (Jehuda Jechiel) was a brother of Hersh) and was a Ben Bais of your great-uncle Harry when I learned in the Yeshiwa in Toronto (1976-78). I had a great time and enjoyed living with my Canadian Mishpacha.

Unfurtunately we lost contact after Harry and his wife Mary passed away. Let's renew it.

I am looking forward to hearing from you

Bernie and Family

[Robert (Pinny)]

Danny

In the early 1960 Harry Korolnek happen to spend a shabbes by a neighbour of ours in Zurich when he was stuck. After dinner we got introduced as there are no too many Korolniks or Korolneks around the globe.
My grandfather (Jehuda Jechiel) passed away 1944 in Switzerland but always mentioned of having an older brother growing up by a grandparent of his after his mother got remarried. In does days they only made a Chupa and no civil marriage and the kids of a second marriage remained with the name of the mother in that case Korolnik (after her late Husband). And that is us. We later had it confirmed that Itshe Meier did indeed not live with his mother at some time of his childhood. My grandfather came to Switzerland 1908.
By the way the spelling difference comes from the English and German Spelling translation from Yiddish . An English “E” is in German a “I” so this is how Korolnik turns into Korolnek or the other way around.

I also share very pleasant memories to my Yeshiva Days back in Toronto 81-83 with the Korolniks and Karols and the Ziegelmans.

All the best and hope to hear from you all soon

Pinny and Family

[Ephraim Shore]

I'm also related (somehow) to the Korolnek's). My family, Unger, married into the family in Toronto I believe. I hope to be visiting Staszow next week and would welcome any information people have on the family roots there or the town itself.

Perhaps best to respond to me by email.

Thanks,

Ephraim
[email protected]

[Barbara Strashun]

Itshe Meyer Korolnek was my maternal grandmother's first cousin (Bertha Beranbaum - maiden name was Wasserman). I remember hearing about "Itcha Meyer" growning up. My uncle Murray and his wife sent me the following memories I thought you might be interested in:

"When he was a kid, your grandmother used to take Murray to the Korolneks after shull on Rosh Hashana for lunch. Icha Mayer Korolnek used to bounce Murray on his knee at the table. Murray remembers the old man was, to him, a giant of a man with a red, red, huge, full beard. His company in Toronto introduced the selzer bottle with the metal spray handle that most of the Jewish community used. They supplied the bottles, and picked up empties to refill."

I also used to work with Ephraim Shore in Toronto, and saw his recent article on "Stashev" at aish.com. Didn't know at the time, but we were probably related - and I guess you and I are too! We had Korolnek neighbours in Toronto, that my mother says were related to us through the wife, who was a Korolnek (the husband took the wife's last name when they left Poland). I'll speak to my mom and get some names.
Thank you so much for your website!
Barbara (Rothman) Strashun
St. Louis, Missouri (formerly of Toronto)

[Chaim]

While I am too young to remember I.M., I have vivid memories of Harry Korolnek , OB"M, one of my all-time favourite people. He was a piller of life in our synagogue and community. He is sorely missed. They say that Harry was similar to his late father. You are then truly fortunate to have known your great grandfather.

[Ian Jackson]

My grandfather Samuel Jacobovitch,born 1890, came to England in 1912 from Staszow, his father Kulman was a butcher there, he died in early 1900's, he would have been buried at the Staszow cemetery, and I am trying to find if there are records of the graves there. His wife Dobra came to join the family including her other 2 sons and two daughters in England in the early 1920's. I believe the family originally came from Lodz. At present I am having difficulty tracing roots in Poland

[Rob K]

You all muight be intewrested in this book:

Life Is a Game, Play to Win! (Hardcover)
by Louis Goldblatt

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Game-Play-Louis-Goldblatt/dp/0964533103/sr=1-1/qid=1169587897/ref=sr_1_1/104-5304541-4791964?ie=UTF8&s=books

[Marina]

Dear readers, I would really appreciate your help. I'm trying to help my mother-in-law find out more about her family that was killed in Staszow. I learned that her grandfather, a famous cantor in the region, was shot in Staszow on November 11, 1942. His name was Israelke Weizman (also spelled Yisroelkele Weitzman). The fate of her parents may have been the same. Their names are Avraham and Lea Grosberg. If you have any information on them or any picture of a headstone or record of a grave, I would really appreciate you contacting me. If you have relatives from that region, please take a minute and ask them if they knew this family.

[Peter]

Hi Danny,
Thank you for a fascinating blog.

I have a small website about Jewish Staszow, which is available at http://www.staszow.co.uk/.

I am very interested in the history of the Jewish Staszow and would like to ask anybody visiting your blog to get in touch with me if they can help me with my research . I am particularly interested in a person called Sima Herszkowicz.
I have heard that the Jewish cultural life flourished and that there were numerous choirs and small theatres there, but I haven’t managed to find any evidence for that. Maybe somebody has some old photographs?

Any help is much appreciated.

[Isa Goldfarb]

Hi Danny -- I found the account of your
Staszow roots very moving. I grew up
hearing about Staszow from my grandmother
who lived there (I am one of Jack
Goldfarb's neice's),but I have never spoken
to anyone outside of the family who also
has roots there. Somehow that made it
more real, not just a family fairytale
place. Thank you.
Isa Goldfarb

[Sy Taubenblatt]

Hi Danny,

Thanks for the very moving history of your family roots in Staszow.

My father, Jacob "Jack" Taubenblat(t) was born in Staszow and came to New York in 1933. His entire family, who lived in Staszow perished. I would be interested in any information on the Taubenblat family of Staszow. They lived on Synagogue Street (now called Swierczewskiego Street) until that tragic day of November 8, 1942.

I have gathered much information on Staszow from my father who passed away in February 1999 at the age of 98. I have also accumulated additional information on Staszow during my visit there in November 2000. See my book, entitled: "To Remember: Letters from Staszow, Poland, 1937-1941." by Selig A. "Sy" Taubenblatt. The book is based on letters received from my father's family in Staszow, written to my father, my mother and to me which covers life in Staszow during the period 1937-1941, and describes their hardships, hopes, aspirations, love of family and religious beliefs. Copies of the book are available in the U.S., including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the U.S. Library of Congress, and many other Holocaust museums and centers for Judaic studies in the United States and abroad.

Sy Taubenblatt
Bethesda, Maryland
August 28, 2007

[annabelle jacobs]

I'm so excited about finding this file I have a stomach ache. It's being printed as I type and when I get home I'm going to stay up all night reading it over and over. After I read it, I'll have something less emotional and more intelligent to say. I just talked tonight with two young people raised in Staszow, a call from Great Bend, Kansas to Chicago and back again; received a letter in Polish from Staszow, from Leokadia Kowalec and her daughter, Anna Garscynski(a?) It was Anna's son Norbert I talked to, all today within a two-hour period. And watched moving pictures taken in the Staszow cemetery. Now, because of the background houses in the distance, I know for sure my grandparents were NOT buried in Krakow as cousin Faigl Boguchwal thought. I'm so grateful to be able to trace my mother's footsteps back to Poland and share in the wonder of modern technology. I finally belong somewhere--with others worldwide, as a Staszow descendent. Thank you, Jack Goldfarb, for making room for me in your life. aj

[Leslie Moser]

This is a message to Annabelle Jacobs. I saw your mention of the name Boguchwal. My great-grandfaher was a Boguchwal supposedly from Lodz. He changed his last name to Klein and settled in Paterson, NJ. If you have any information on the Boguchwal name, I'd be very interested to hear from you. Thanks, Leslie

[N & J Goldblatt]

Really enjoyed looking at your site, and all the research. Part of our family is from Staszow, and we were just trying to find out more about it when we stumbled on your site.

Thanks again,

Nathaniel & Jessica Goldblatt

[annabelle jacobs]

Oye, do I ever regret what I did. Got your response to my "passionate" comment to you and when I transferred it to my Jack Goldfarb file, I lost it. It was late in the day and I had long-since given up editing. You asked for my Staszow ancestry and I have it for you. E-mail me again and this time, yours will be the first one I answer and I WILL GET IT RIGHT. Or should I have done it here? Please give me direction again. We have a joke here in Great Bend, Kansas: Annabelle has HALFheimers. There's that dry humor again.
You might think I'm eight, but I'm really 64. aj

[Rebekah]

Wow! This was a very interesting post. Like reading a historical novel. You have given me ideas for writing my own novel based on my family history. (I have made up my mind that I am going to be an author and have been trying to come up with ideas for my first book.)
I have always been fascinated with the World War II era. Not sure why. But the Diary of Anne Frank was one of my favorite books out of the ones we were required to read for English class. I think my mind attributes it to classic Good vs. Evil stories such as Lord of the Rings, in which it appears that the heroes are doomed to live a life of captivity and despair, under the rule of a domineering tyrant, but deep down you know that good will prevail in the end. It is the knowledge of light at the end of the tunnel that keeps you reading/watching/living. It invokes the survivor, the warrior spirit that is within all of us and silently wishes for darkness to envelop again so that the warrior can make itself actively known. And it also reminds one of the vulnerability and fragility of the human race, makes one appreciate life more.
It is hard to believe that something like this actually happened recently, that for awhile to many people (especially Jews), the darkness was thick and seemingly impenetrable. In fact, it also kind of makes it hard to believe that Hitler's ultimate demise came by his own hand. Kind of a disappointing end to it all, really, and probably not how I would have ended the story. But far be it from me to defy God's work.
Anyway, I have babbled on, I see. My point was that you have a very interesting family background and I enjoy reading about your reminiscences. Makes me want to call up my grandma and start asking her all kinds of questions about her lineage, before I never get to speak to her again in this lifetime (she is slowly fading).

[annabelle jacobs]

This message is to Leslie Moser who posted a message to me, Annabelle Jacobs, on September 20, 2007 at 2:17 p.m.

Leslie, if your great-grandfather was a Boguchwal who lived in Lodz there is a chance that he was my mom's Uncle David Boguchwal, born to Mendel and Malka (Katz) Boguchwal and he could have been born in Stopnice where the rest of the Boguchwal family was born. There are records of Boguchwals in Stopnice at least as far back as the turn of the century (1900s). Mom lived with Uncle David for a few years (1932ish)and in 1935 or 1936 pictures were taken of them together when she returned to Krakow with her Uncle David to pay respects to the final resting places of her parents. One of David's sisters was in the picture taken at the gravesight. By the way, the Boguchwal men were short in stature, all of them.

I pray that you still look at this blog. You say your great-grandfather changed his name to Klein and settled in Patterson, New Jersey. Is he still alive? Please tell me what you know about him. If he died...where is he buried? If I don't hear from you in a reasonable amount of time (I messed up when I didn't write to you in September...I wasn't ready) I will plead with Danny to help me find you. PLEASE RESPOND. We can do this searching together if I can get through to you. I love to research and I GET RESULTS. annabelle jacobs

[annabelle jacobs]

Leslie Moser: This is so embarrassing. When I'm excited I sometimes get confused. In the history about your possible great-grandfather (my great-Uncle David Boguchwal) I said he was Mendel's son. He wasn't. He was Mendel's brother. He was still born in Stopnice. Here is my e-mail address: [email protected]. Use it.

[Leslie Moser]

Annabell: Check your e-mail. Leslie

[Jacques Korolnyk]

Dear Danny, Well - another Swiss great great cousin saw your impressive page. I'm one of 3 Korolnyk brothers living in Zurich. We spell Korolnyk with a 'y' apparently because when registering the birth of our late father Abraham z.l. the name was written with a mistake. As the grandparents just wrote and spoke yiddish they didn't notice the irregularity in spelling. Opapa Hershel was a brother to Jehuda Jechiel (see Bernhard Korolnik blog of May 28, 2006).
Our 2 daughters are married in Israel.This is a good reason to fly over many times a year. During one of our trips we met late Jack z.l. and Chana Wolff-Korolnek,(Chana is the sister of late Harry.z.l.) On your family picture of the 50th anniversary we recognized Jack and Chana on the left hand side. What a story.
If you want to know more about the Korolnyk's in Zurich - my brother Alain has set up the whole family tree.
Be well
Jacques and Monique Korolnyk

[annabelle jacobs]

Shmuel Terkieltaub was born in 1870 probably in Osiek, Poland (abt. 10 miles east of Staszow). He married Goldie Silberberg and soonafter moved to Januszkowice, abt. 15 miles wsw, sort of. A twenty-minute walk north to Rzedow found him working on the Radziwill Farm. The farm was probably within five miles south of Staszow. Or so we think. Their children and other relatives immigrated to the U.S. some before and some after the pogrom maybe before maybe during World War One. Shmuel and Goldie were my Zayde and Bubbe. It would be a shame to pass on without having established them more firmly within Polish history and would appreciate any recounting anyone could make of that particular pogrom or the existence of the Terkieltaubs who have become almost impossible to find anywhere.

[Yisroel Z.]

I stumbled upon your web site when I was doing a search on the current Gerrer Rebbe in Jerusalem.
Being that I am a Gerrer Chusid I was very excited to learn about your great grandfather Itshe Meir.
I mentioned Itche Meir’s name to a friend here in Brooklyn, New York who is originally from Toronto and davend (prayed) in the same shul as Itche Meir. He remembers Itche Meir telling him that his father (Itche Meir’s) is buried in the town of Ger, Poland since he died there suddenly when he went to spend the Holidays with the previous Gerer rebbe (The famous” Sfas Emes”or his son the” Imrei Emes”).
That really tells us a lot about who Itche Meir’s father was – a true devoted chusid.
Yisroel Zel
P.S. Would it be possible to access more of Itche Meir's songs? I was really moved by the one that was posted.

[SAMUEL GOLDFLUS MANDEL]

Mi nombre es SAMUEL GOLDFLUS MANDEL por mi abuela paterna Krongold y por mi abuela materna HAUER todos de STASZOW, traduje al español junto a mi hija SANDRA " The sefer from STASZOW" y estoy muy interesado por informacion sobre los judios en general y posibles familiares en especial de STASZOW durante el siglo pasado, Se que familiares de mis padres emigraron a USA,CANADA & ISRAEL. MI

[Stephanie Taylor was Leaman]

I am looking for information on Dora Yacamovitch her mothers family name was Samuel.
Dora married Solomon Leaman (Lehman) in England

[Ricki Gold]

I just found out that my grandfather, Samuel Greenwald, and his family lived in Staszow. Does that name ring a bell with you or anyone who reads your blog. Samuel's siblings were Jacob, Chayala and Lazer. The three boys came to the U.S. around 1910. My father Ben Greenwald was born in the Bronx in 1914. Thank you and kol hakavod for sharing this fabulous information!

[Richaard]

Dear Mr Miller

as I am interested in the history of Staszow Jews, I would like to learn more about the cemetery founded by Mr Goldfarb. Would you be so kind to provide me with his email address, possibly yours, I would be much obliged.

Richaard

[Mallory Sorenson]

Dear Danny,
I am thrilled to read your blog post. I too, descend from Jews in Staszow, KRONGOLD, who came to the USA around the turn of the century (through Canada to New York on their way to family in Chicago). We are still in Chicago. If you have any contact info about the above commenter SAMUEL GOLDFLUS MENDEL please email me. I look forward to following your blog, I hope to see more.

Atencion SAMUEL GOLDFLUS MENDEL: Mi nombre es Mallory Sorenson y yo soy de Chicago, USA. Mi abuelo materno Morris KRONGOLD y mi gran abuelo Leon KRONGOLD, y mi gran abuela Roza KRONGOLD nacieron en Staszow. Llegaron a Chicago circa 1900-1902. Viajaron a traves de Canada y New York en su camino hacia Chicago. Hablo, leo y describe solo un poco de espanol, pero... Por favor escribeme! [email protected]

[Jean-Pierre Stroweis]

Nice page.

Staszow civil records (Births, marriages and deaths) have been indexed by Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, see www.jri-poland.org. Contact me for more details, I am JRI-Poland "town leader".

You may also join the Facebook group called Staszowers at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/113494452028154

[Jean-Pierre Stroweis]

By the way, your family name in Poland was Koralnik.

[Sue Addelson]

I am Sara Goldblatt's and Jacob Handelsman's granddaughter. They both left Staszow as children and came to Chicago. Sara by way of Toronto. In Chicago in the early 1900s, two Handelsman brothers married to Goldkind sisters; two other Handelsman brothers married to Goldblatt sisters. I'm researching Sara's life and writing a book. She lived to 104, I was in my 30s when she died. I asked her some questions, but not enough. Happy to share and would love to hear from others. Sue Addelson ([email protected])