I’m counting down the minutes before I tune into this event at the Smithsonian Institute today:
80 Years after Kristallnacht: Diarists of the Holocaust
This is Renia, who was murdered on the streets of occupied Przemyśl at the age of 18 in 1942. She left behind a diary that through some miracle found its way to her family in New York.
/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/cf/d4/cfd4d42f-3410-4b63-a61e-ee98078e59bf/nov2018_n14_spiegeldiaryprologue.jpg)
Renia in Skole in the 1930s (Courtesy of the Bellak family)
I grew up calling Renia’s sister “Aunt Elizabeth,” but she never mentioned her sister until a few years ago. Encouraged by her daughter Alexandra, they started looking for someone to translate the diary from Polish to English, and Elizabeth started talking about her hidden past. It’s an extraordinary story about two extraordinary sisters. Both Elizabeth and Alexandra will share their stories at 1 PM eastern time today, November 8, 2018.
Uncovering Jewish Heritage 
My name is Rose Grosman Gelbart
It is very important to me to be able to contact
You regarding our common ancestry.
I was born in Leszno Poland to the Grosman
Family in 1035.
At age 2 we moved to Kalisz near by city.
My father had a retail ladies and children store
In Leszno later started mnfg shoes in Kalisz.
My grand mother from my mothers side was from
from Kutno. After her marriage to my grandfather
They moved to Sieradz than Warta and Kalisz
until 1939.
All I know from my mother was that her mothers
Mothers brother and nephew were cantors in Kutno.
Kutno.
However they emigrated to S America prior
to wAII. Around 1939 or prior.
I was in Kutno but the office of the archives
was closed due to summer vacation.
Same happened when I visited Leszno during
a holiday and everything was closed including
The synagogue.
It seems we have common ancestry from Kutno
Kutno to Leszno.
If there is anyway we could be in touch on ema
email or phone I would be grateful.
I would be grateful.
I have no one to ask and am looking for
My grandmothers family from Kutno.
Perhaps if I knew their first names I could trace
trace them in S America.
All I know the family name was Zeifer
My grandmother was Zeifer from Kutno.
Thank you and I admire you for all the
Work on ancestry you have done.
I know Kutno was a prominent Jewish cultural
town with many neshivot and Jewish learning.
Perhaps that is why my uncle was a cantor there.
Unfortunately when mother died and my uncle
who survived the Holocaust as I snd mother
did I never asked about my families.
However my uncle spoke about Kutno and and his mothers family.
Thank you again
Rose Grosman Gelbart
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Rose, So good to get your note and learn a little about your family story. I did a quick search on JewishGen, but didn’t find any records for Zeifers in Kutno or Grosmans in Leszno. Vital records are only made public after 100 years, and many were lost or destroyed, or they are not yet indexed. But more and more is becoming available online. I will look in a few more places and let you know if I find something.
My great grandmother’s family is from Zychlin, which is near Kutno. I don’t know of any relatives from Kutno itself, or from Leszno, though I have spent time in both places. Some of my relatives emigrated to South America, too.
Warmly, Marysia
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