We have divided our stay in Poland into two parts. The first part my wife and I are traveling on our own, first Warsaw, then Krakow, where we now are, and then Lodz. In the second part, we have hired a guide, who we met briefly in Warsaw, to take us by car to my …
Category: Connections: Past and Present
How exploring my past has led to connections in the present
A Yahrzeit observed
Last sunday, the 12th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, I observed the yahrzeit of my Zambrow family. This was that date that, in 1943, 72 years ago, my great grandmother Sheindl, my Zeidy’s mother, and three of his sisters and their families, were murdered by the Nazis. At least I believe this was …
Board meeting
Last Sunday, the board of the Zambrow Landsmanschaft met at a deli in Manhattan. We came together to discuss the various projects in which the organization is involved. Our connection with each other is through our ancestors, parents and grandparents, who lived in Zambrow. We represent different religious outlooks and live in various places in …
Myself as a latter day landsman
The connection to my ancestral roots took an unexpected turn about six or seven years ago. I picked up the copy of the Jewish Week, a weekly Jewish newspaper published in New York where I live. Usually this paper has marginal interest to me, and I get through it in about five to ten minutes. …
Zambrow: real and imagined
There was, as long as I can remember, a special book on my parent’s bookcase. I knew it was special because of the reverence in which my parents held it. I rarely pulled it off the bookcase and looked at it, nor do I remember my parents ever reading it. All I knew was that …
Introduction to the blog
I am writing this blog to chronicle my experience in finding out more about my ancestors and to connect with others who are engaging in a similar search. At this point, I am focusing mostly on my mother’s family, about whom I know the most. I am calling this blog Zambrow: A Jewish Roots Journey …