Pages of Testimony Reunite Families

By Susan Weinberg

When I started doing genealogy, I began by interviewing my aunt. From her I learned the names of ancestral towns, the family business of flour milling, and her memories of my great grandfather. I asked her if there was anyone else she would suggest I speak with.

“Phyllis,” she replied.

“Who is Phyllis?” I asked.

“She rents my condo in Florida.”

Huh? I tried to process why a renter would know something of my family.

Noting my puzzled expression, she went on to explain that Phyllis was a survivor from Radom, Poland, the town my grandfather came from. Her family had worked in the same business as my family and she and my father shared a cousin who was a survivor. My father was related on his mother’s side, Phyllis on his father’s side.

And so, I called Phyllis. We had a long conversation which painted a picture of ancestors who had previously just been names. Her knowledge of them suddenly made them real. And I learned a fact that would prove important. Her aunt Chana Rosenberg was married to my grandfather’s oldest brother David Weinberg. David was 18 years older than my grandfather, a generation apart.

Fast forward to Yad Vashem testimony. I entered the surname Weinberg and the town of Radom into the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names. Up popped records for Chana and David Weinberg. Could this David be my grandfather’s brother? The years of birth tied closely to the ages from their  marriage record, and each showed the other as their spouse.

My attention shifted to who provided the testimony. Who was it, when was it provided, and what was their relationship? Often testimony was submitted years ago, and the submitter may no longer be alive, but this was submitted in 1999, just a few years before I had discovered this record. Joseph Rapaport submitted the testimony, noting David as his grandfather.

As I recall, I reached out to the Israel Genealogical Society with a question about Joseph. Is he still alive and if so, how do I contact him? They replied that he was alive and he’d welcome a letter. And so, I sent a letter explaining my connection.

A month went by. One day I received a thin overseas envelope from his daughter, Zehava. She shared information with details that confirmed the relationship. We began an e-mail dialogue.

When she told me she was to speak at a conference in Montreal, I impulsively proposed that I could fly there to meet. I came bearing a documented history on the linkages between our families. Since then, we have met several times in the U.S., Canada and Israel.

Our New York visit was especially memorable as we gathered descendants from multiple families connected through time. Zehava and her children joined us. There I was, related to her great grandfather, together with Phyllis’s daughter and granddaughters, related to her great grandmother, reconnecting both sides of family, all thanks to a page of testimony at Yad Vashem.

Record can be found at Yad Vashem