Kreis Elbing
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Demise of the Elbing Synagogue and Jewish Community
November 9-10, 1938 – “Kristallnacht” Elbing, Germany (today Elbląg, Poland) On the night of 9 to 10 November 1938 in the presence of the Mayor (Johannes O. H. Woelk), of Elbing, Germany officials of the Gestapo, the SS, the Elbing Fire Brigade, set fire to the Elbing synagogue and Jewish community house. Jewish men were arrested, beaten and robbed of their property. Windows were broken in all the Jewish shops in the city. At two o’clock in the morning, Elbing was steeped in a damp darkness and fog. Lantern light barely broke through the darkness. A large portion of the city was awake. Dressed in long military coats, people marched…
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When paths cross
This article is cross posted from the PEP, Inc. website. There are times in life when paths cross. As many of you may know, among my greatest interests are both process improvement (my ‘day job’) and my family (not just those living but also including my past, meaning my ‘genealogy’). Well, yesterday was one of those days where my day job and my family genealogy passions crossed. A couple of years ago through my genealogy work, I had the good fortune of meeting a young man (by my standards pretty much everyone is young). His name is Pawel. As it happens, Pawel and his mother attended some of the same…
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How I came over from [Zeyer] Germany
An “old neighbor” from Zeyer, Karl Jochem (deceased), whose descendants now live in the US, wrote the following school assignment, after his arrival in the US in the early 1900s. Because most of my stories are from the period immediately after the Second World War, I thought our readership might enjoy this tale of adventure and exploration from “a better more hopeful time”. Thank you for sharing Dan! HOW I CAME OVER FROM GERMANY (by Karl Jochem for school assignment) I was born in Germany. The village was Zeyer, which is some eight miles north of the city Elbing, West Prussia. My father was fishing. He afterwards bought a farm…
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The Elbing Streetcars return
Der historische Straßenbahnwagen stehen wieder auf dem Alten Markt in Elbing/Elblag. (The historical streetcars are once again in the Elbing/Elblag Old Market.) Click on the following photo to view a live webcam feed of the Old Elbing/Elblag Market.
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Grete geb. Roschkowski & Hannelore geb. Petroschka- Remembrances of Elbing
Hannelore Petroschka and Grete geb. Roschkowski were among the tens of thousands of Germans forcibly removed from their home by the German Expulsion – “Ethnic Cleansing” of Elbing/Elblag following World War 2. In March of 2013, I was contacted by Hannelore’s grand-daughter who wrote: My Grandmother Hannelore was born in Elbing [West Prussia] in 1923 to Julius Petroschka and Grete Roschkowski (whose family owned a furniture factory in Elbing). After my grandmother died a lot of her belongings were lost but we have recently discovered a box of photographs which included a lot of post cards from Elbing and the surrounding areas. It seems my great grandmother purchased them before…
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Bericht ueber den Untergang der Synagogengemeinde Elbing/ Report on the Destruction of the Elbing Synagogue
World War 2 and its aftermath was a tragic period for the inhabitants of Elbing Westpreussen (Elblag, Poland, today). It is essential to preserve and honor the history and travails of those people and their times. To quote: “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” Martin Luther King, Jr. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” Albert Einstein It is in this spirit that I am pleased to announce, courtesy of the Leo Baeck Institute, ManyRoads is able to present a transcribed version of the Bericht ueber den Untergang der…
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Elbing Damals- new photos
For those of you who might be interested in viewing my latest batch of Elbing “Damals” Photos. (Fals Sie interesse darueber haben, hier sind meine lezte Elbing Damals Fotos) The following images were added today (Die folgende Fotos sind jetzt auf ManyRoads): Alte Giebelhaeuser Alte Haeuser Spieringstrasse circa1935 Alter Markt circa 1935 Blick auf St. Nikolai-Kirche 1940 Blick auf St Nikolai durch die Fleischerstrasse 17.1.13 Blick ueber den Elbing-Fluss Brueckstrasse Fischmarkt Markttreiben mit Geschaefte Friedrichstrasse 1916 Lagerhaeuser am Elbingfluss Marktstrasse mit Friseurgeschaeft und Giesskanne Moltkestrasse mit ober Real Schule 1918 Moltkestrasse Realgymnasium 1927 Patrizierhaeuser Spieringstrasse circa 1935 Rathaus mit Erweiterungsbau 1931 Real-Gymnasium um 1900 Sankt Georgen-Bruederhaus circa 1910 Sankt Marienkirche…
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Past to future
.revised 5 July 2021 Over the past few years, I have been mulling over the significance of history, war, and the ravages of time. Quite the happy thoughts I know. I suppose this stream of consciousness was initiated by my review of some photos from my mother’s family church in Zeyer, Westpreussen, in what is today Poland. Then today an Internet friend sent an article from today’s Elbląg, Poland (what used to be Elbing, West Prussia, Germany) regarding their German past. Here are the photos and articles that prompt my thoughts. The first sets of photos focus on the Zeyer Evangelische Kirche- Zeyer Lutheran Church as well as the…
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West Prussia (near Zeyer) Mennonite Births, Deaths, Marriages
The links on this page have been sourced from the Prussian Mennonite Genealogy Resources site. I have rearranged the original links and grouped them for my convenience. Please note, these materials are used without permission because there was no copyright notice or location from which to request usage permission. All ownership and rights of this material belongs to its original author(s). If you wish to use the most current information and links on these topics and more, I encourage you to visit the original site. Any research queries should be directed to one of the Mennonite archives in Canada or the U.S. Elbing-Ellerwald Elbing and Ellerwald Mennonite Church Record Books:…
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Mennonite Histories of West Prussia
The links on this page have been sourced from the Prussian Mennonite Genealogy Resources site. I have rearranged the original links and grouped them for my convenience. Please note, these materials are used without permission because there was no copyright notice or location from which to request usage permission. All ownership and rights of this material belongs to its original author(s). If you wish to use the most current information and links on these topics and more, I encourage you to visit the original site. Any research queries should be directed to one of the Mennonite archives in Canada or the U.S. Danzig District The 1661 Census of Mennonites in…
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Zeyer- the end
Recollections of an officer of the chief administrative district in Zeyer. Johannes Jahn, farmer and farm owner in Zeyersvorderkampen. see original document This document has been translated and reworked with additional family history by Mark Rabideau. The District of Zeyer was located in the northeast corner of the Free State of Danzig, in the area that included the towns of Grosses Werder, Zeyer, Stuba and Schlangenhaken. The district followed the Nogat River, starting at the village Zeyer to the Vistula Lagoon estuary. The total area of the District was about 2510 hectares (~6200 acres) of which 480 hectares (`1200 acres) were the village of Zeyer, Stuba with the village of…
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Papatschen Käserei (Meierei)
. revised: 22 Dec 2022 In Zeyervorderkampen during and before World War 2, there was a small Käserei (Meierei) Dairy that was owned, all or in part, by Richard Senger. Based upon maps and analysis of the region (today Kepiny Male) by Rainer Glodde-Mueller during his 2010 journey to the area, it is believed that the following photos are what remains of that past business. Obviously the buildings had been worked on in the early 1950s (see the photo with the dated stone near the roof peak). Discussions with Luise Senger Rabideau (Richard’s daughter) were not definitive in identifying these buildings positively. A mystery remains. Are these, or are they…
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Wasserstrasse, Elbing
On the 22nd of October, 2010, I received an email from a long-time (since 1762) family friend (more on that later). Rainer and his family were in Poland looking at the alte Heimatland. AND… they had been to visit the street where my mother lived as a teenager with her Onkel Robert and Tante Olga. The email I received contained these photos. I was visiting with my mother when the photos arrived. Es war wirklich eine Ueberraschung! (It was truly a surprise!) Meine Mutter war sehr froh alles wieder zu sehen (My mother was happy to see everything again.). She had not seen her Onkel’s house since the mid- 1940s,…
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Heimatsortskartei & a true history
By the end of WW2, the destruction of Germany was nearly total. Almost every city had been leveled; the remnants of families were scattered all over Germany, Europe, North and South America. Everyone had lost family members or friends. According to Wikipedia losses in the Third Reich were: Country Population 1939 Military deaths Civilian deaths Jewish Holocaust deaths Total deaths Deaths as % of 1939 population Austria 6,653,000 261,000 58,700 65,000 384,700 5.8 Germany (within 1937 borders) 69,310,000 4,456,000 700,000 to 2,284,000 160,000 5,316,000 to 6,900,000 7.7 to 9.9 Ethnic Germans from other nations 7,292,000 601,000 200,000 to 886,000 801,000 to 1,487,000 11.0 to 20.4 Soviet citizens in the German…
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Senger Land und Großen Buden Kampe
The Senger Family appears to have had a long term link to the lands around Zeyer (see below). I guess it is no wonder that my mother is still so ‘mentally’ attached to this land and region (Es war einmal…). Thank you to Rainer Mueller-Glodde for this note & excerpt: Two years ago (2008) a Dr. Glodde from Berlin, […] tried to find out the meaning of “Glodde”, [and] sent me a shot he made of a document from about 1805 [located] in the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz. The subject is the estimation of the size of the Grosse Jacob Glode Buden Kampe [in the area of Zeyer, Westpreußen]. Zum…
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An Elbing Remembrance- Fred Rump
We’ve had some interesting discussions […] lately but I feel that for most of us Elbing and it’s history is far, far away. The people who actually lived there before 1945 are fast becoming a dying breed. In addition, while there is much Information available in German sources, little information can be found in English. Let me store some of my thoughts and a brief historical background on these pages. I was born in Elbing in Dec 1937. My earliest memories are rather vague. See My Story Point is we left under duress with the full expectation to be back in at most 2 weeks. That was the propaganda line.…
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You can’t go back (an appreciation)
A recent posting I placed on ManyRoads has provided me with some new insights into life, progress and accommodating the past. As an old adage notes, you can not control the problems life presents you with, but you can choose how you react to them. And, this is true. The following historical facts are true: World War 2 involved the senseless displacement and destruction of tens of millions of people Germany lost the second World War the German people of Kreis Elbing were expelled from their homeland the Russians and their allies destroyed much of what was West Prussia the Poles were given many former eastern German lands including those…
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Zeyer Friedhof- 2010
Vergangenheit in aller Munde (the original source article has been removed) Die Kirche und der Friedhof in Zeyer (Gemeinde Elbing) haben den Kampf gegen die Naturgewalten verloren – den gegenmenschlichen Widerwillen und Vergessenheit aber gewonnen. Das war ein wichtiges Ereignis für das ganze Dorf. An der Stelle, wo sich einmal die evangelische Kirche und der dazu Friedhof befanden, wurde am 22. August nach sieben Jahren der Bemühungen ein Denkmal zu Ehren der dort Ruhenden errichtet. Das Denkmal entstand dank den Bemühungen des ehemaligen Einwohners von Zeyer Ewald Frost, der weitere, in Deutschland zerstreut lebende ehemalige Einwohner von Zeyer versammelte, das nötige Geld organisierte und mit Unterstützung der Gesellschaft der deutschen…
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Our Elbing Addressbooks
Elbinger Adreßbücher Mark Rabideau hat auf seiner privaten Webseite zahlreiche Elbinger Addressbuecher (1847-1930) veröffentlicht. Auch ein Telefonbuch von 1937 ist dabei. Zahlreiche weitere Adreßbücher aus Westpreußen (Graudenz, Thorn, Konitz) sind auf der Webseite zu finden. Einwohnerbücher von Danzig, Graudenz und Zoppot stehen zum Download bereit. (GJ) see: http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Computergenealogie I truly appreciate this acknowledgement. These books are here for all to use as well as to honor my Oma, Opa und Mutti.
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Elbinger Adreßbücher
We are seeking to complete our collection of all known Elbing Prussia (Kreis Elbing Westpreussen) Address and Telephone Books. Please note we are only interested in obtaining copies of texts which were printed before 1945 prior to the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of the German population after the end of World War 2. A complete inventory of the texts in our possession are freely available and accessible on this site. If you know of additional texts, texts we do not currently list, please let us know and we will make very effort to identify and/or create an electronic copy to make available on ManyRoads. Once we have a completed collection,…
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Elbinger Schutzjuden
source: courtesy Fred Rump In 1783, Moses Simon paid 40,000 Thaler to the city to earn protection and the rights to compete with his Christian counterparts in Elbing for himself and his descendants. (Schutz = protection and Juden= Jews) By 1812, 33 such families had settled in Elbing. Most had paid a fee to the Prussian state and were permitted to settle anywhere. Some chose the city of Elbing. Hardenberg’s edict of 1812 gave full citizenship rights to all people of the Jewish faith in Prussia. Up to this time Jews were known by their biblical names and they now were required to chose a proper German name so as…
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Deutscher Zeitschriften in Elblag (Elbing)
Die sich in der Elbinger Bibliothek befindenden Zeitschriften und regionale Zeitungen auf Deutsch:
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Kirche Zeyer (evangelisch)
Original Source (used with author’s permission) Autor: Günter Mauter Fast ein Kuriosum ist ein Teil der Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche von Zeyer. Als am 22. Januar 1920 der Kreis Großes Werder amtlich wurde, befand sich das Dorf Zeyer im Freistaat Danzig, während die Kirche und die Kirchenhaüser mit ca. 35 Bewohnern auf Elbinger Gebiet lagen. Die Nogat bildete die Grenze und die Kirche lag ja auf dem rechten Nogatufer, damit also im Elbinger Landkreis. Allerdings, und das ist auch bemerkenswert, lag das Pfarrhaus im Dorf Zeyer! Dr. Kerstan (Die Geschichte des Landkreises Elbing) schreibt über den Bau der Kirche: “Wann die Kirche begründet wurde, ist unbekannt, vermutlich aber in der…
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Zeyer- das Ende
This article has been translated and reworked with family events. Erinnerungen eines Amtsvorstehers des Amtsbezirkes Zeyer. Johannes Jahn, Landwirt und Hofbesitzer in Zeyersvorderkampen. Der Amtsbezirk Zeyer lag in der nordöstlichsten Ecke des Freistaates Danzig, im Kreis Großes Werder und umfasste die Ortschaften Zeyer, Stuba und Schlangenhaken. Er zog sich entlang der Nogat, beginnend bei der Ortschaft Einlage bis zur Mündung der Nogat in das Frische Haff. Das Gesamtareal betrug etwa 2510 Hektar Davon fielen auf Zeyer 480 Hektar, Stuba mit der Ortschaft Neudorf circa 610 Hektar,Zeyersvorderkampen circa 1020 Hektar und Schlangenhaken 400 Hektar Die Gesamteinwohnerzahl betrug etwa 1735 Einwohnen deutscher Abstammung und Herkunft. Die Bevölkerung gehörte ausschließlich der Landwirtschaft und…
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