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The Children of Teheran







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A Film by Yehuda Kaveh, David Tour, Dalia Guttman
(Israel, 2007, 63 Minutes, Color, Hebrew, English subtitles)



World War II. Autumn of 1939. The Nazis occupied Poland and thousands of
Jewish families escaped eastward, into the hands of the Russian army that
exiled the refugees to the freezing weather, hunger and dreadful poverty of
Siberia. After their liberation, many decide to go to south, to Samarqand
in Uzbekistan where they hoped food was available.

Despite the milder climate of these lands, life was difficult and many died
from hunger and epidemics. Some Jewish parents preferred to give their
children a better chance for survival, and left them in local Polish
orphanages, posing as Christians. The parents made their children swear
never to forget their Jewish faith, and promise to live as Jews as soon as
they reach safety.

In 1942, the Stalin-Sikorsky Agreement was signed between the Polish
government in exile and the USSR government, calling for the recruitment of
Polish refugees into the Polish army, to fight alongside the Allies. This
army, known as the Anders Army, set out to the battlefields of the Middle
East, through Teheran, which like Israel was then under British rule, and
was the only route possible at the time.

Most of the Jewish families were not permitted to join Anders' Army's
departure from Poland, but the Christian Polish orphanages were allowed to
join the journey. The children were transported by cars and on trains to the
port city of Krasnovodesk on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and from there,
to Pahlevi in Persia. After a short stay in Pahlevi under extremely harsh
conditions, the children were moved to Teheran and were crowded in tents, in
horrendous sanitary conditions.

When word of the children's arrival in Teheran reached Palestine, the Jewish
Agency sent three Israeli emissaries to care for them and to extract as many
Jewish children from the Christian orphanages as possible. Several months
later, in early January 1943, after intensive diplomatic efforts, the
British authorities granted certificates to the children to enter Israel.
700 children and their escorts left Persia through the Karachi Sea to India,
and from there, after several days of travel through the minefields of the
Indian Ocean they reached Suez. On February 18, 1943, the train bearing the
children from Teheran arrived in Gaza and continued from there to Rehovot
and Atlit, where their arduous journey ended.

The Children of Teheran was first large group of Holocaust survivors to
reach Palestine from occupied Europe. Youth Immigration activists, headed by
Henrietta Szold and Hans Bate, welcomed the children at the camp established
in Atlit.

The story of the Children of Teheran was branded in the history of early
statehood as a demonstration of the heroic spirit of survival of the Jewish
people during WWII. Many generations of Israeli natives were educated on
this ethos, exemplifying the perseverance and tenacity of heroic rescue
operations during the Holocaust.


AWARDS & FESTIVALS

Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Kansas Jewish Film Festival
Jewish Motifs Film Festival, Warsaw
Jewish Federation of Ottawa
Iranian Studies Conference

QUOTES

"The film is a most powerful film. You have been highly successful in
combining together the components of the horrific historical facts and the
individual first-hand authentic experiences into a richly woven tapestry.
It conveys this saga with sophistication and taste. It is therefore both
enlightening and heart-rending. The efforts you invested in this film are
thus splendidly evident. I was deeply affected by the impact of the film,
heart and mind." (Yael Medini, the daughter of Zippora and Moshe Sharett. In
the winter of 1940-41 Zipporah Sharett was the Yishuv's emissary to the camp
of the Children of Teheran - as shown in this film. Moshe Sharett was the
head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency prior to the
establishment of the State of Israel.

Walking the talk?


Long Walk, Radio 4

Rawicz's story described an escape from Siberia through Tibet to India





By Hugh Levinson
Producer, BBC Radio 4's The Long Walk



An epic story of human endurance is being challenged. Did wartime prisoners
really walk from Siberia to India?

In 1956, a Polish man living in the English midlands published an
extraordinary book that became one of the classic tales of escape and
endurance.

In The Long Walk, Slavomir Rawicz described how, during the Second World
War, he and a group of prisoners broke out of a gulag in the Soviet Union in
1941. They walked thousands of miles south from Siberia, through Mongolia,
Tibet, across the Himalayas, to the safety of British India.

The only question is: is it true? From the start, a ferocious controversy
has raged about whether anyone really could achieve this superhuman feat.
Critics particularly questioned one chapter in the book where the walkers
apparently see a pair of yetis.

But The Long Walk was a sensation. It has sold over half a million copies
and has been translated into 25 languages and is still in print.

Archive trawl

Contemporary reviews raved about the story. Cyril Connolly said it was
"positively Homeric". The Spectator said "the adventures it describes must
be among the most extraordinary in which human animals have ever found
themselves involved".




SLAVOMIR RAWICZ

Rawicz

Born 1915 in Pinsk, Poland

Arrested in 1939 after Soviet occupation of Poland

His book, The Long Walk, described a 4,000 mile, 11-month escape by Rawicz
and six prisoners from a Soviet camp to India

He settled in Nottingham, UK after the war, died in 2004

One of today's leading explorers, Benedict Allen, says The Long Walk has
served as a personal inspiration. "It was just from the heart and - bang -
you get this story of this man who lived this tale and I loved it for its
simplicity."

Rawicz himself could never produce a single piece of evidence to support his
story.

So now, 50 years on, I set out in a BBC Radio 4 documentary to investigate
the claims. I sent out enquiries to contacts in Poland, America, Lithuania,
Finland, Latvia, Sweden and elsewhere. We sent out enquiries to Rawicz's old
school, to the Polish military archives and to the Ministry of Defence.

The programme's presenter, Tim Whewell, travelled to Moscow to see if he
could find any records of Rawicz's imprisonment in the gulag files - but
there was no mention there.

Then our first breakthrough came from an unlikely source - an archive in
Belarus, the most closed country in Europe. They sent us a package of
documents which shed amazing detail on Rawicz's pre-war life.

Conflicting evidence

There were official documents he had filled out as a young man, which tell
us a lot about his family and his background. But they couldn't confirm his
arrest, or his escape.


Amnesty document

An amnesty document challenges Rawicz's account of his escape

Our next find came at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London, a
treasure trove of Second World War memorabilia.

We found Rawicz's military record, which clearly says he had rejoined the
Polish Army in Russia. We wondered how this could possibly fit with the
story of The Long Walk.

The missing link came through documents discovered by an American
researcher, Linda Willis, in Polish and Russian archives. One, in Rawicz's
own hand described how he was released from the gulag in 1942, apparently as
part of a general amnesty for Polish soldiers. These are backed up by his
amnesty document and a permit to travel to rejoin the Polish Army.

These papers make it almost impossible to believe that Rawicz escaped,
unless there is a case of mistaken identity. However, the name and place and
date of birth all match.

The documents also show that rather than being imprisoned on trumped-up
charges as he claimed, Rawicz was actually sent to the gulag for killing an
officer with the NKVD, the forerunner of the Soviet secret police, the KGB.

Re-creating the journey

When I showed the evidence to Benedict Allen he was visibly taken aback.


Map

Rawicz's wartime escape - across the Himalayas to British-ruled India

"It's shocking for me personally," he said, "because it means the whole of
that great account is a - it's not all a fabrication, but the meat of it,
the great wonderful inspiring trek, is actually not that.

"And it's all the more shocking because he has provided the evidence that
all that was faked."

The news has also jolted French explorer Cyril Delafosse-Guiramand, who is
currently retracing the route of Rawicz's escape on foot and who has been
walking for several months. We spoke to him by satellite phone from
Mongolia.

"Let me just react physically, my hands are all wet right now, my back is
completely wet," he said. "That, that is amazing. I'm shocked because I've
been working on something that took me so much time, so much energy."

Delafosse-Guiramand remains determined to continue his trek in memory of
victims of the gulag.

Starvation

But what inspired Rawicz to write the book? Its dramatic passages tell of
extremes of exhaustion, starvation and thirst as the group of prisoners
survived snowdrifts and storms and even the pitiless Gobi Desert.


Benedict Allen

Explorer Benedict Allen says he had been inspired by Rawicz's story

"In the shadow of death we grew closer together than ever before. No man
would admit to despair. No man spoke of fear. The only thought spoken out
again and again was that there must be water soon. All our hope was in
this."

A clue may come from the story of Rupert Mayne, a British intelligence
officer in wartime India. In Calcutta in 1942, he interviewed three
emaciated men, who claimed to have escaped from Siberia.

Mayne always believed their story was the same as that of The Long Walk -
but telling the story years later, he could not remember their names. So the
possibility remains that someone - if not Rawicz - achieved this
extraordinary feat.

Rawicz's children, however, defended the essential truth of the book. They
said in a statement: "Our father was dedicated to ensuring the remembrance
of all those whose graves bore no cross, for whom no tears could be shed,
for whom no bell was tolled and for those who do not live (or die) in
freedom."

The Long Walk is broadcast at 2000 GMT on Monday 30 October on BBC Radio 4.
You can also listen online for 7 days after that at Radio 4's Listen again
<> page.

_____

Add your comments on this story, using the form below.

My father, Feliks Krzewinski, did a very similar walk, east through
Kazakhstan, then south and west through Iran and Iraq. I do have evidence,
though - he was an artist. Most of his paintings were executed with knives
and home-made brushes on bits of tent canvas, hardboard, anything he could
get his hands on. Some are in The Imperial War Museum. He died in 1981, and
had nightmares about his experiences right up to the very end.
Elizabeth Kay, Worcester Park, Surrey

It could be true. I have recently spoken to a Polish woman whose grandfather
walked 10,000 km from Eastern Siberia to his home in Silesia in WW2. He took
two years to do it. A friend once told me that he was in Mesopotamia (now
Iraq) during the war when thousnds of Poles appeared having walked from the
Soviet Union. They became one of the Polish Armies.
Joseph Hearn, Nailsea

This is a very interesting story but the account is not disproved on the
evidence that is provided here. When he said he 'escaped' he could have
meant that metaphorically i.e. he managed to leave the Gulag system. When
read like this he may of indeed 'escaped' i.e. pardoned. Second, he may well
have been sent to the Gulag on trumped up charges. This story does not give
any evidence that his alleged murder of an NKVD man was in fact not
fabricated. How do you know that he murdered the NKVD man and that the story
was NOT fabricated? The evidence is not provided!
Doug Stokes, Canterbury

This type of story is not new. I am now nearly 55 years of age - when I was
about 14 I purchased a book via my school's book club entitled "As far as my
feet will carry me". It was the story of a German POW who escaped from
Russia by walking. I was enthralled, I think he reached Europe via Iran?
Edward Hook, Norwich

One of the best programmes detailing the amazing journeys of the Poles who
were shipped from eastern Poland to Siberia in WWII is ?The Forgotten
Odyssey?. What many people do not realise is that even though Stalin let the
Poles go, the Russians provided no assistance for them to get to the British
in Syria (mainly). Many thousands never made it out and there are still many
of Polish descent still living in Siberia, but also many escaped through a
number of routes. These are not the only amazing stories of long distance
journeys during WWII. I recently found out that my own grandfather escaped
from eastern Poland with the advance of the Russians and he with five
friends from his small town walked all the way to what is now Croatia,
before joining the Allied troops in Italy. It took him nearly a year to do
this. We have no evidence for this story, apart from his own testimony.
Sadly he is no long with us and so I can get no more details. Why is it
necessary to question the val! idity of such stories so closely? Why does
there have to be such a burden of proof?
Szymon, Newcastle

In 1940 Poland was divided in two by the Germans in the west and the Soviets
in the east. Much of the entire Polish middle class living in the Soviet
sector was rounded up and sent to forced labour camps in the Gulag, mainly
working timber in the Taiga. When Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in 1941,
the Polish government in exile in London persuaded Stalin to release the
Poles in the Gulag, under the pretext that they would be better fighting the
Germans than cutting down trees. In a moment of weakness, Stalin let them
go. The hundreds of thousands of Polish families made their way out of the
Soviet Union as best they could. Clearly, they couldn't go west to the
Easter Front where the fighting was, so they got out in other directions:
across the Caspian Sea to British-occupied Persia, out through Vladivostock.
Some may well have trekked through the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts and
across the Himalaya mountains to India. If Rawicz himslef didn't make that
journey, some Poles in 1941/42 almost certainly did.
MM, Northwich

Fact or fiction, the book itself is an inspirational piece of work, and
should be remembered, as Rawicz's children say, as a warning to present and
future generations. We as humans need to do something never done before;
learn from historic mistakes.
Kim, London

Whilst working in Romania in 2000, I met an man in his eighties, who showed
me the second world war Romanian army boots that he had worn to walk back
home, from the Gulag mines in the Ural mountains, where he was interned in a
labour camp. He has since died, but I am proud to have met such a man and be
able to continue to let his story live on.
Simon Parker, Anglesey

I think the truth is still out there. The fact that he has faked the reasons
of his imprisonment certainly open doubts about the rest of his history.
However, it doesn?t prove that the walk never happened, does it?
Hot Spring, London

"It has sold over half a million copies and has been translated into 25
languages and is still in print." When a book like this reaches so many
people it is always going to inspire people. It gives them focus and
meaning. How truly sad that other people seek to puncture an inspirational
story, and for what? Has society/the media reached a point were everything
has to be challenged no matter the causalities, no matter what it does to
people who used it to give their lives focus?
Olly S, York

To Olly S in York: Stories that purport to be true should be examined and -
if proved to be false - debunked. The story is only inspirational if true.
That people "used it to give their lives focus" makes verification all the
more important - otherwise people are moulding their lives around a fiction
and that really is "truly sad".
JA Booth, North Yorkshire

I think it is probably near the truth. Firstly, author R.C. Hutchinson wrote
a novel entitled "Recollection of a Journey" which concerned Polish refugees
& prisoners who walked around Russia during WW2 and eventually arrived, I
believe, in Persia. Secondly, I worked with a Polish woman who was living in
New Zealand (in 1975). She was a very troubled lady who would break down
into tears frequently. I asked her about her wartime experience and whether
she had in fact 'done the walk' and if she had sailed to NZ from Persia. She
nodded and then asked how I knew. I simply said I had read about it in a
book. While I am sure not all the facts are as written or spoken of, I feel
that the human spirit, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, can
enable victims to perform seemingly impossible feats.
Ken Newell, Torquay

My father met Rawicz in the 1960s, when he (Rawicz) was working as at the
Building centre in Nottingham as a caretaker. He signed my fathers copy of
the Long Walk with "Remember always, the precious heritage of freedom". I've
read and re-read the book many times subsequently. Plenty of people have
published embellished accounts of exploration before, but at the centre of
them all is something based on experience. Its inconceivable that Rawciz
didn't experience at the very least some of what he wrote about.
Simon Pope, London

Slavimir Rawicz has long been a hero of me and my family. 30 years ago, he
did regular tours to schools and came to mine in Derby at the behest of the
English Teacher who herself was a big fan. This story is fabulous and I so
hoped that he would be proven to be true. Sadly there is now only a slither
of hope. To all those that havent read it, please do. It is a wonderful
story and deserves to be read regardless of authenticity. Though this
evidence has made it a sad day for me.
Simon, Kent

My Grandfather, a Pole, escaped from Russia via Persia and joined the 8th
army and fought in North Africa. He told me how he stowed away on trains,
poached food, and made this incredible journey. I have no doubt that he and
many of his fellow countrymen made this journey.
Ziggy, Falmouth

My father was a serving Polish soldier who was sent to prisoner of war camp
on Lake Baikal during WW2 and he escaped and walked to what was then
Palestine, then rejoined the Polish army in Egypt. This is most definitely
not a trumped up story - how dare people who have had a cosy comfortable
life try to "rubbish" tales of bravery which most of us couldnt even
imagine, let along make up !
Sheila Smith, Croydon

My grandmother was forcibly taken from her home in Poland, along with her
family, and put in a Siberian work camp at the start of WWII. Incidentally,
she makes the point that it was better than being killed by the invading
Ukrainians. After the amnesty, she *walked* from Siberia to British Kenya.
She lost all her siblings during, or prior to, this period. She is in fact
pictured (among many hundreds of children) in the book "Stolen Childhood: A
Saga of Polish War Children" by Lucjan Krolikowski, which I highly
recommend. History seems to have largely turned a blind eye to this
unpleasant facet of WWII.
P S, Nottingham









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

WHOOPS,

I just notice the little U.K. flag on the museum's website, and they've done a nice job of
translating the info.

Thank God that they care about getting the word out around the world.

The website is at:

Andy


--- In Kresy-Siberia@..., Andy Golebiowski <andywbuffalo@...> wrote:

While on the NYC Polish Consulate's site, I saw a link to a proposed exhibit entitled:

RODZINY ROZDZIELONE PRZEZ HISTORI??
(Families Separated by History)

The exhibit is being organized by the "MUZEUM HISTORII POLSKIEJ" in Warsaw.

I've quickly translated the front page of the website. I would like to share the translation

with the museum so that they can include it on their pages if they wish. I welcome anyone
to proofread the translation and to forward comments before I send it off. There is also a
questionnaire in Polish on the site for persons interested in sharing their stories. I will ask
whether they need that translated as well. It would be good for the site to offer
information in other languages as well.

Andy Golebiowski
Buffalo, N.Y.
USA

Muzeum Historii Polski realizuje projekt ?€?Rodziny rozdzielone przez histori???€?.

Chcemy poprzez losy rodzin, kt??re zosta??y rozdzielone na skutek wydarze??
historycznych (wojna, przesiedlenia, wyw??zki, prze??ladowania polityczne), pokaza??
zar??wno dzieje Polski w okresie 1939-1989, ale tak??e jak dramatyczny wp??yw na losy
ludzkie mia??y te dzieje.

The Museum of Polish History is realizing a project entitled "Families Separated by

History". We would like to show Polish history during the period 1939-1989 through the
fates of families who were separated as a result of historical events (war, displacement,
deportation, political persecution) as well as the dramatic effect these events had on
peoples' fates.

Na podstawie zebranych opowie??ci rozdzielonych rodzin Muzeum zorganizuje

wystaw??, na kt??rej zostan?¡­ opowiedziane losy indywidualnych rodzin; przedstawione
zostan?¡­ fotografie, listy, dokumenty i pami?¡­tki. Ten projekt ma nam pom??c
zbudowa?? pomost mi??dzy przesz??o??ci?¡­ i przysz??o??ci?¡­ ?€" zachowa??
pami???? o do??wiadczeniach rodzin i ich cz??onk??w, a u m??odych ludzi obudzi??
zainteresowanie histori?¡­ Polski i swojej rodziny.

The Museum will organize an exhibit based on collected stories of separated families.

Based on these stories, the fates of individual families will be told, and photos, letters,
documents and mementos will be presented. This project has the potential to build a
bridge between the past and the future - preserve the memory about family experiences
and those of its individual members, and awaken the curiosity of young people in Polish
history and the history of their families.

Dlatego zwracam si?? do Pa??stwa z pro??b?¡­ o propagowanie informacji o naszym

projekcie. Poszukujemy os??b, kt??re by??yby gotowe opowiedzie?? nam o losie swojej
rodziny i przekaza?? na rzecz Muzeum lub wypo??yczy?? zdj??cia/dokumenty/listy i
inne pami?¡­tki, dzi??ki kt??rym b??dziemy mogli opowiedzie?? histori?? rodzin
rozdzielonych przez histori??.

To that end, I am turning to you in asking that you publicize the information about our

project. We are looking for persons who would be ready to tell us about the fate of their
family and to donate it to the Museum, or lend us photos/documents/letters and other
mementos, thanks to which we will be able to tell the history of families separated by
history.

Og??aszamy r??wnie?? konkurs na opowie???? o losach rodzin rozdzielonych przez

histori??. Nagrod?¡­ w konkursie jest opublikowanie ksi?¡­??ki, prezentuj?¡­cej dzieje
rodzin ?€" laureat??w konkursu.

We are also announcing a contest for the best story about the fates of families separated

by history. The prize for best story will be the publication of a book that contains the
history of the families of the winners of the contest.

Osoby, kt??re by??yby gotowe na tak?¡­ wsp????prac??, prosimy o kontakt na adres:
We ask that persons who are prepared to work with us on this type of project to contact:

Muzeum Historii Polski
Z dopiskiem ?€?Rodziny?€?
ul. Hrubieszowska 6a
01-209 Warszawa
e-mail : rodziny@...
tel. +48 22 211 90 30

Bez zaanga??owania z Pa??stwa strony wystawa nie b??dzie mog??a powsta??.

Dlatego raz jeszcze prosz?? serdecznie o kontakt, nadsy??anie opowie??ci i
przekazywanie pami?¡­tek tych wszystkich z Pa??stwa, kt??rym zale??y, aby pami????
o tym, co si?? wydarzy??o nie zagin????a.

Pobierz kwestionariusz [pobierz]

Andy,

Thank you for this great site. Carol

While on the NYC Polish Consulate's site, I saw a link to a proposed exhibit entitled:

RODZINY ROZDZIELONE PRZEZ HISTORI?
(Families Separated by History)

The exhibit is being organized by the "MUZEUM HISTORII POLSKIEJ" in Warsaw.

I've quickly translated the front page of the website. I would like to share the translation with the museum so that they can include it on their pages if they wish. I welcome anyone to proofread the translation and to forward comments before I send it off. There is also a questionnaire in Polish on the site for persons interested in sharing their stories. I will ask whether they need that translated as well. It would be good for the site to offer information in other languages as well.

Andy Golebiowski
Buffalo, N.Y.
USA

Muzeum Historii Polski realizuje projekt ?Rodziny rozdzielone przez histori?¡±. Chcemy poprzez losy rodzin, kt¨®re zosta?y rozdzielone na skutek wydarze¨½ historycznych (wojna, przesiedlenia, wyw¨®zki, prze?ladowania polityczne), pokaza? zar¨®wno dzieje Polski w okresie 1939-1989, ale tak?e jak dramatyczny wp?yw na losy ludzkie mia?y te dzieje.

The Museum of Polish History is realizing a project entitled "Families Separated by History". We would like to show Polish history during the period 1939-1989 through the fates of families who were separated as a result of historical events (war, displacement, deportation, political persecution) as well as the dramatic effect these events had on peoples' fates.

Na podstawie zebranych opowie?ci rozdzielonych rodzin Muzeum zorganizuje wystaw?, na kt¨®rej zostan? opowiedziane losy indywidualnych rodzin; przedstawione zostan? fotografie, listy, dokumenty i pami?tki. Ten projekt ma nam pom¨®c zbudowa? pomost mi?dzy przesz?o?ci? i przysz?o?ci? ¨C zachowa? pami?? o do?wiadczeniach rodzin i ich cz?onk¨®w, a u m?odych ludzi obudzi? zainteresowanie histori? Polski i swojej rodziny.

The Museum will organize an exhibit based on collected stories of separated families. Based on these stories, the fates of individual families will be told, and photos, letters, documents and mementos will be presented. This project has the potential to build a bridge between the past and the future - preserve the memory about family experiences and those of its individual members, and awaken the curiosity of young people in Polish history and the history of their families.

Dlatego zwracam si? do Pa¨½stwa z pro?b? o propagowanie informacji o naszym projekcie. Poszukujemy os¨®b, kt¨®re by?yby gotowe opowiedzie? nam o losie swojej rodziny i przekaza? na rzecz Muzeum lub wypo?yczy? zdj?cia/dokumenty/listy i inne pami?tki, dzi?ki kt¨®rym b?dziemy mogli opowiedzie? histori? rodzin rozdzielonych przez histori?.

To that end, I am turning to you in asking that you publicize the information about our project. We are looking for persons who would be ready to tell us about the fate of their family and to donate it to the Museum, or lend us photos/documents/letters and other mementos, thanks to which we will be able to tell the history of families separated by history.

Og?aszamy r¨®wnie? konkurs na opowie?? o losach rodzin rozdzielonych przez histori?. Nagrod? w konkursie jest opublikowanie ksi??ki, prezentuj?cej dzieje rodzin ¨C laureat¨®w konkursu.

We are also announcing a contest for the best story about the fates of families separated by history. The prize for best story will be the publication of a book that contains the history of the families of the winners of the contest.

Osoby, kt¨®re by?yby gotowe na tak? wsp¨®?prac?, prosimy o kontakt na adres:
We ask that persons who are prepared to work with us on this type of project to contact:

Muzeum Historii Polski
Z dopiskiem ?Rodziny¡±
ul. Hrubieszowska 6a
01-209 Warszawa
e-mail : rodziny@...
tel. +48 22 211 90 30

Bez zaanga?owania z Pa¨½stwa strony wystawa nie b?dzie mog?a powsta?. Dlatego raz jeszcze prosz? serdecznie o kontakt, nadsy?anie opowie?ci i przekazywanie pami?tek tych wszystkich z Pa¨½stwa, kt¨®rym zale?y, aby pami?? o tym, co si? wydarzy?o nie zagin??a.

Pobierz kwestionariusz [pobierz]

Searching for information on Abersztajn Ajzyk



Eventually got out with Anders and joined the Polish squadrons



Heeeeeeeelp you research geniuses you



Lucyna

Stefan,
That's great progress.

Thanks for arranging for the NYC consulate to take applications.

Unfortunately, the Consulate's website does not state that fact. There is a brief note on the home page, only in Polish, that states:

"Odszkodowania za utracone mienia na dawnych kresach wschodnich.
Zapraszamy do zapoznania si? z informacj? dotycz?c? odszkodowa¨½ za utracone mienia na dawnych kresach wschodnich."

The subject page merely states:

"Odszkodowania za utracone mienia na dawnych kresach wschodnich.

Zapraszamy do zapoznania si? z informacj? dotycz?c? odszkodow¨½ za utracone mienia na dawnych kresach wschodnich.

W j?zyku polskim (pdf file)
W j?zyku angielskim (pdf file)"

Again, nothing about the Consulate accepting applications, and nothing in English from the Consulate.

Perhaps you can prevail on your contact there to fix this.

I've emailed descendants of Kresowiacy here in Buffalo to encourage them to file and given them the link to the Consulate website. I fear they'll be confused once they get there.

Andy Golebiowski
Buffalo, NY

Lillian,
I am glad you have the maps now.
As you notice this posiolek Skachok was almoast in Komi; this is mainly wooded area and logging was the trade.
However, there were a number of Gulags for singles who were engaged in road / rail construction and millitary installations as well. A much harder work than that on the posioleks.
antoni530

Stefan,
I would like to add that from my own experience it might take some time - and if at all -that one can obtain ANY documents regarding birth, marriage, 1sza Komunia or biezmowanie at some parishes or even Pinsk Diocese, as in my case.
I even visited Kosciol Parafialny to see or discover such documents, but failed. It might be necessary to obtain sworn statements from other living sources to support one's existence.
antoni530

I am pleased to announce that thanks to our efforts, the two flagship Polish Consulate Generals in London and New York have joined Toronto and Sydney in agreeing to accept applications for Kresy property compensation rights until the 31 December 2008.

CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, 73 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6LS England. tel: +44 (0)207 2913 900
CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, 233 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 USA. tel: +1 (646) 237-2100

Of course we are grateful, but can only wonder why the Polish Government and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not publicize this important right to the Polish people outside Poland until now, as it has been in force since October 2005. Perhaps this is a lesson for us and we only have ourselves to blame for not organising ourselves in this regard much sooner, for we only had to request this and most of the diplomatic posts agreed within a few days. (Sao Paolo is notably the only Consulate General to have outright refused to accept applications, and we are hopeful that the Consulates General in Chicago and Los Angeles will join their colleagues shortly).

In any case, we do look forward to a much closer cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consular Network in the future, including on processing evidence for claims in the former Soviet republics and in promoting the Kresy-Siberia Virtual Museum in the West.

Pozdrawiam,

STEFAN WISNIOWSKI

PRESIDENT, KRESY-SIBERIA FOUNDATION
3 Castle Circuit Close
Seaforth NSW 2092 Australia
Telephone +61 411 864 873
stefan.wisniowski@...
www.kresy-siberia.org

PREZES, FUNDACJA KRESY-SYBERIA
ul. Wisniowa 40B lokal nr 6
02-516 Warszawa, Polska
Telefon +48 22 5424090 fax +48 22 5424089
Kom. +61 411 864 873
Stefan.Wisniowski@...
www.Kresy-Syberia.org

Witam,

Try the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Kanczuga rather than the State Archives of Rzeszow Birth Books are transferred to the State Archives only, after they are 100 years old.

The cost is 22 zl = approx. $9.00Cdn.

Urzad Stanu Cywilnego Kanczuga (Civil Registry Office in Kanczuga)

tel.:
0 16 642 31 15
adres:
37-220, Kanczuga, Konopnickiej 2
woj. podkarpackie
godziny otwarcia:
poniedzialek - piatek: 7-15

Some records from the Kresy area, after the border change are in AGAD

Pozdrawiam
Danuta

My quick search on was not fruitful, so it will require some additional digging.

Stefan



From: Aneta HOFFMANN
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:51 AM
To: Kresy-Siberia@...
Subject: RE: [Kresy-Siberia] who would I contact for mothers birth certificate/proof info.? any idea?


Dear Lilian,

Sietesz is a village located in South-Eastern Poland - currently in gmina
(district) Kanczuga, powiat Przeworsk, wojewodztwo podkarpackie with
regional "capital city" in Rzeszow, so your spelling for a village was
right.

It's good that you placed your compensation application already with Polish
Consulate in Toronto, as this for sure must be done before 31 Dec.

For your mother's birth certificate you probably should write to City
Archives in Rzeszow.

I can check by phone with Rzeszow archives if they for sure possess birth
certificates from Sietesz village from 1920 and will get back to you, so you
will be able to write to them and ask for birth certificate copy. I will
call them after Christmas if you don't mind.

If you have any further questions or ideas please contact me directly.

Best regards,

Aneta Hoffmann

From: Kresy-Siberia@... [mailto:Kresy-Siberia@...]
On Behalf Of LillianNapierala
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 6:18 AM
To: Kresy-Siberia@...
Subject: [Kresy-Siberia] who would I contact for mothers birth
certificate/proof info.? any idea?

Hello all, and thank you for your help so far. I submitted the
application to the Toronto consulate as I didn't think there would be
enough time to get to Poland in time with Christmas. (I just found out
about this yesterday)

Question: Who would I contact for my mothers birth certificate? She
was born in (forgive my spelling)-- Sietesz Powiat Rzeszut (does that
sound right?)...it's very difficult as mom is 88 y.o. and her writing
is weak. She was born Nov. 17, 1920 and the family then moved when she
was just 2 weeks old to Osada Zaremba Powiat Kopyczynce Woj.
Tarnopolskie

I obtained my parents marriage certificate today and have requested
their military records from the British Ministry of Defence. Thank you
all for you help in this journey. I look forward to hearing from you
Dziekuje bardzo, Lillian Napierala, Thunder Bay, ON. Canada

thank you Aneta....I appreciate your help in assisting me with obtaining my mom`s birth certificate,..and yes, that is fine after Christmas if you are going to call...
once again, my thanks
Lillian Napierala
Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada

Dear Lilian,

Sietesz is a village located in South-Eastern Poland - currently in gmina
(district) Kanczuga, powiat Przeworsk, wojewodztwo podkarpackie with
regional "capital city" in Rzeszow, so your spelling for a village was
right.



It's good that you placed your compensation application already with Polish
Consulate in Toronto, as this for sure must be done before 31 Dec.



For your mother's birth certificate you probably should write to City
Archives in Rzeszow.

I can check by phone with Rzeszow archives if they for sure possess birth
certificates from Sietesz village from 1920 and will get back to you, so you
will be able to write to them and ask for birth certificate copy. I will
call them after Christmas if you don't mind.



If you have any further questions or ideas please contact me directly.



Best regards,



Aneta Hoffmann





From: Kresy-Siberia@... [mailto:Kresy-Siberia@...]
On Behalf Of LillianNapierala
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 6:18 AM
To: Kresy-Siberia@...
Subject: [Kresy-Siberia] who would I contact for mothers birth
certificate/proof info.? any idea?



Hello all, and thank you for your help so far. I submitted the
application to the Toronto consulate as I didn't think there would be
enough time to get to Poland in time with Christmas. (I just found out
about this yesterday)

Question: Who would I contact for my mothers birth certificate? She
was born in (forgive my spelling)-- Sietesz Powiat Rzeszut (does that
sound right?)...it's very difficult as mom is 88 y.o. and her writing
is weak. She was born Nov. 17, 1920 and the family then moved when she
was just 2 weeks old to Osada Zaremba Powiat Kopyczynce Woj.
Tarnopolskie

I obtained my parents marriage certificate today and have requested
their military records from the British Ministry of Defence. Thank you
all for you help in this journey. I look forward to hearing from you
Dziekuje bardzo, Lillian Napierala, Thunder Bay, ON. Canada

Carol,
?
I also recently joined this group and told the webmaster I liked?his site's?design and potential?and?I'd give a plug?as well to our Kresy-Siberia friends to take a look.
?
.?
Jim

Stefan,

I was going to add Kresy claims article to this new group I found.

Carol

Group,

I just joined this free group and was happy to see the "Eye on Poland"
clips. Its easy to join and free.

Carol

cool!....Is it difficult to apply for dual citizenship now--...I have no records of my mothers and or fathers birth certificates or any of that?info.?mom and dad have no passports either...everything is?Canadian so I`m not certain how I would go about doing this..although I would like to.

Can you give some clue as to where they were from (not Melbourne).
Stefan



From: Lucyna
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 4:23 PM
To: Kresy-Siberia@...
Subject: [Kresy-Siberia] research help pl


Yesterday I met Pani Halina Juszczyk nee Kojder - a sibiraczka from
Melbourne

Her mother, grandmother and three siblings were deported on 10 Feb
1940 to Archangielsk

she is wondering if there are any traces of what happened to her
father Jan Kojder and maternal uncle Ludwik Majcher who both
disappeared when the Soviets invaded

any help would be appreciated

Lucyna A

I would also like to request that you add your name to this letter. It only takes a few min. and supports the return of our family records. Use the link below to sign and you will get conformation of your name being added. This is a way we can support and hopefully bring a stop to this criminal behavior.

Thank you, Carol

Re: link to sign support /: Open Letter by International Scholars Regarding Atta


Subject: Open Letter by International Scholars Regarding Attack on
Memorial.

If you wish to add your signature to this letter (which will be sent
in English and in Russian), please reply to this email
(o.figes@ntlworld. com) with a 'Yes' and add your preferred academic
title, honorary degrees, honours, etc. (don't be shy - these may
actually help).

Also - do please circulate to anybody you think may want to sign,

Orlando Figes
----------

To
Dmitrii Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation
Valentina Matvienko, Governor of St Petersburg
Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights
Commission
of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights
Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov
Yuriy Chaika, General Public Prosecutor of Russian Federation
Sergey Romanyuk, Public Prosecutor of Leningrad region,

5 December 2008

We, the signatories of this letter, members of the scholarly
community
accross the world, wish to express our deep concern at the actions of
members of the Public Prosecutor's Office of St Petersburg on 4
December 2008 during a raid of the premises of the Research and
Information Centre "Memorial" in St Petersburg, ul. Rubinshteina
23-105, which resulted in the confiscation of the Centre's electronic
archive.

RIC "Memorial" is renowned for its research into the history of
repression under Stalin, the phenomenon of the Gulag and unofficial
movements of the 1950s-1980s in the USSR. The staff of RIC "Memorial"
helped to establish the fate of many thousands of people, citizens of
the USSR and other countries, who fell victim to the repressions
during the 1930s-1950s. Many of us know members of RIC "Memorial's"
staff in person or have used the organisation' s archive.

A total of eleven hard drives were confiscated. These drives hold
several databases containing: biographical information on more than
50,000 victims of Stalinist repression; the results of the search for
execution and burial sites of victims of repression (several hundred
sites described or photographed) ; the photo collection (over 10,000
photographs) and accompanying textual material of the "Virtual Gulag
Museum", which is a unique online source linking more than one
hundred
local Russian museums. Also confiscated were the database to the oral
history archive and an electronic collection of photographs,
including
scans of historic materials from private archives. What is more, the
prosecutors took a hard drive and documents belonging to the art
historian Aleksandr Margolis, a member of "Memorial" and the director
of the "International Charitable Foundation for the Renaissance of
St.
Petersburg-Leningra d", who is known for his commitment to
the preservation of St Petersburg's historic architecture.

The scholarly community fears the loss of a unique collection, which
has been amassed over the course of more than twenty years of
dedicated research. This collection is of priceless value for future
generations of researchers in both Russia and the wider world and
must
not be compromised or destroyed.

We are dismayed at the way the results of scholarly research and
researchers are being treated by the authorities of St Petersburg and
urge you to take action to ensure the electronic archive is
immediately returned to its rightful owners.

Yours sincerely,