While he was in Poland in August, my older brother Wiley had some valuable insights about Jewish heritage and about our family. This was his first time in Poland and his fresh perspective gave me a lot to think about.
This is what he posted on Facebook about Lesko:
“The largest structure in Lesko, Poland is a synagogue yet there are no Jews. Larger than the church. Not only are there no Jews there is no memory that there were any Jews. Let’s remember that 3,000 human beings, Jews, were murdered from this town, half the population, and there are those that care.”
The interior of the Lesko Synagogue.
Inside the synagogue: List of 3000 residents of Lesko and surroundings murdered by Nazis during the years 1939-1944.
About this photo, my brother’s commented, “Someone took the time to list the names. Thank you.” About me he remarked, “Taking the time to read the names and remember.”
Today, the synagogue belongs to the county (gmina) and is used as an art gallery. Just this month, I learned that the gallery is closed from fall to spring because the building has no heat. The Dom Kultury (Community Center) which manages the building wants to apply for funds to renovate the synagogue. The most pressing problem is moisture issues. Water creeps through the old stone walls and plaster, weakening the structure and even damaging the art housed within it.
Uncovering Jewish Heritage 
Thank you for taking the time to document this. My Great Grandmother came from Lesko about 1903. In spite of our numerous attempts we have been unable to obtain any information about her or any relatives prior to coming to the United States. I have often wondered if she was Jewish. Her maiden name was
Skoboviack and prior to her immigration she was a nanny / housekeeper for a Priest and him family in Lesko.
Jeff Bubna, Chugiak, Alaska
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Jeff, Thanks for sharing a little of your family history. It’s true that more than half of Lesko’s population was Jewish a century ago, though it’s also possible your great grandmother was Polish or Ukrainian. Have you tried alternate spellings of her name? I found a few references to “Skobowiat” though none in Lesko. Let me know if you find out anything more about her!
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Hi Jeff,
not sure, if you will ever read it, but there is a great chance that your g-grandmother was Ukrainian, since the name doesn’t pop up in Poland, but actually quite frequently in Ukraine (I looked for the cyrillic version скобовяк). Since I can’t find no real variations of the name in Polish, I would assume that if her family was originally from this region, they a) were from Lesko county and not the town itself, and b) she was from a part of that region, where the Ukrainian population was resettled to the newly formed Ukrainian SSR and not into Western Poland (otherwise we would have records of that name).
After some digging, I discovered a scan of a Ukrainian newspaper in the US from 1948 (http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1948/Svoboda-1948-049.pdf). There is a section, where apparantly people were looking for their relatives (I have a less than basic understanding of the Ukrainian language mind you, but it’s close enough). Here is what I stumbled upon:
“Скобовяк Марії і Катерини, з с. Панишева (повіту Ліско), від брата Скобовяк Івана.”
Which basically means “Skoboviak Mary and Catherine, from Panysheva (Lesko county), from their brother Skoboviak Ivan”.
Now the scan is a bit grainy, but I’m fairly certain that the village is Paniszczów in Polish, which – behold – is in Lesko county. Or was, unfortunately. According to Polish sources, the village (majority Ukrainian, with a handful of Poles and Jews mixed inbetween), first ended up in the Ukrainian SSR after the war, but after a border correction in the early 50s back in Poland, upon which the Ukrainian population was resettled (into Ukraine). The now uninhabited village remained so, since noone wanted to move there because of its location and it basically ended up being used as a source for building material. It’s now gone, I’m not even sure if there are even ruins left.
Hope that helps a little. Not saying that your g-grandmother was directly from that specific village, but it definitely show that there were Skoboviaks in Lesko county before the war and that they most likely ended up in Ukraine and not in Poland after the various population “exchanges”. Maybe she worked for the local Greek Catholic priest in Lesko?
My apologies to Dr. Galbraith for this long post that isn’t really related to the (very interesting) topic of this blog. I just stumbled upon Jeff’s post and had a little time on my hands.
Regards
Krystian
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This is great stuff. Thanks for helping out a fellow reader, Krystian.
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This is awesome. Thank you so much. Jeff
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Thank you for your response. Where did you find the name Skobowiat listed? Is there a list of those who perished during the war? I know there is a listing in the synagogue but I am unable to read it from any of the pictures I have located.
Thank you.
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My ancestors come from Lesko county in the region once known as Ruthenia, at one time in Czechoslovakia, now largely in Ukraine, I think; I know very little other than that. My grandmother’s maiden name was Lesko, she is no longer living and neither are her siblings. I am trying very hard to trace my heritage, but it’s difficult because this location does not formally exist anymore. My grandmother did not speak much, but her siblings did and based on their testimony I believe that they were Jewish, I just don’t know how to trace records to confirm evidence of this. I appreciate any suggestions on how to search; I have already been trying ancestry.com and Ellis Island but I’m still pretty lost.
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Thanks for sharing your story. One of the reasons I write this blog is because I hope it will help others learn more about their ancestry. Interesting what you say about your grandmother’s heritage. The Polish town of Lesko is in a region that historically was populated by Ruthenian people also. It borders what is now Slovakia. The whole mountain region extending into Ukraine was part of the Austrian Empire until the end of World War II, so your family might have been from what is now Slovakia, Ukraine, or Poland. If you think your family has Jewish heritage, the best place to look is Jewishgen.org. It can take a bit to figure it out, but it’s well worth it.
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