Genealogy / Looking for information, and history about my last name "Dajczak" [4]

Are your grandparents still alive? Are they willing or not not to talk about where they grew up in Poland before emmigrating to Canada? My grandparents never talked about where they grew up in Poland or even that there was family still living there. I had to use clues to learn where they were born and what part of Poland these towns are in. So for example, did your grandparents ever write to anyone in Poland? The address might give a clue as to where to start. If the writer or the family are still alive as well, they may be able give you help. So, start by checking with the family first by asking for letters and documents.

Genealogy / Military Archives are temporarily closed, is there some other way of getting information? [7]

Thanks. Seems I will be spending 2-3 days in Warsaw in order to get that part done and another issue that I have to get clarified.

Well, I finally got a response from the military archives. The only problem I have right now is that I am going to have to get their response translated before I can understand what it is they are saying and respond to it.

Well, I got the email translated. They claim they were unable to find the requested information. So I double checked the dates and locations of reactivation that was in the letter from my grandfather. The last location when double checked with what was available about the Soviet invasion and an unverified family story suggests that the 1 unit may have captured by the Soviets. So I sent the military archives another email to see if they have declassified documents pertaining to this issue. Hopefully they will respond with positive information.

Does anyone know if the Russians ever declassified their military records regarding Polish p.o.w.s'.? So far all I have heard is that the Russians have given the Polish government some records concerning the Katyn massacre. When I was going over the 1 letter that my grandfather had written up when he was applying for veterans benefits over 50 yrs ago he had listed all the points of operations where the 2nd unit worked. Apparently when I cross referenced the last point of location this unit was stationed at, Czortkow, Poland Sept. 17, 1939, it seems the Russians were in that area as well. This, also ties in with an unconfirmed story that an aunt told me that he may have been a prisoner and wanted to go with the officers of the unit but was prevented from doing so. One thing that may have set him apart and maybe be freed later was his ability to speak Russian, German, and Polish. The other issue is that I have not been able to find information on the web about either unit. Even if they had been assimilated or absorbed by another military unit in Poland there should have been something listed about the Signal Corps that was part of the Polish Armed Forces.

Still waiting for the archives to answer back in regards to declassified military records from Russia. So far, I have not been able to find a link to the declassified material and see what units were captured during the last 2 weeks of September 1939. Since the archives are trying to tell me that they are unable to locate the service records for my grandfather, I am trying to think outside the box to see if they may have duplicated his records and have them in a different location.

The military archives are claiming that they are unable to find my grandfather's military records and made an attempt to direct me to go through the Sikorski Museum in Great Britain. But that seems to be more of a red herring. Someone mentioned about needing identification in order to get married. If that is the case my grandfather turned 65 in 1964 and was living in Canada. I am wondering if he needed his identification to apply for his pension through the Canadian pension services or would he have applied directly through the Polish pension? How easy would it be to obtain pension records from Poland and what information would those records contain about military service and what would I need in documents to obtain those records.

Law / A general legal question about inheritance in Poland - debts [31]

That is what i was thinking of. While I am not in this position, the monthly payments, if made affordable, can be spread out over a decent time frame to make it easy enough to live with.

Law / A general legal question about inheritance in Poland - debts [31]

Ok, let us say that a person (whether a minor or not) accepts whatever debts that are included with the inheritance, can arrangements be made to work off the debt? For example if the debt is more than 10-15 thousand zlotych and the person is unable to pay that off in 1 installment.

Travel / Visiting Warsaw In April - museums / galleries? [14]

There is a museum with some steam locomotives near the Warsaw central train station. I was there and it was not to bad. I noticed that some of the locomotives were missing parts for some reason or other that was obvious to me since I am familiar with them. The one with the military hardware on the property of another museum was interesting enough since there was some aircraft and other vehicles that I can't find here in North American musuems

Love / My Polish wife's mom is asking for money [11]

That is why i advised about going to a lawyer about this situation. If they think I am going to drain myself financially in order to support them, then I want power of attorney over their financial matters. That way any money the parents earned can be handled by someone who is responsible. That way the individual who made the posting will not be drained financially. That is why going to a lawyer about the situation before it goes to the courts makes sense. That way you know where you stand and if the power of attorney is a feasible solution and by talking it over with the inlaws about this, maybe the courts can be avoided. If the inlaws dont agree and it does the person can tell the courts that you tried to talk with the inlaws and avoid the courts but the inlaws refused to agree to the offer.

Love / My Polish wife's mom is asking for money [11]

There might be a way to scare them off. But to do so, talk to a lawyer and explain the situation and what you are thinking of and get the papers drawn up. My idea is this, if they want to mooch money off of you, then they will have to sign papers stating that you have power of attorney regarding all financial issues of theirs.Make sure you get additional papers made up for any and all places they may work to say that you have power of attorney and that any money earned by them is to be handled by you from that point on. As for any places that they got loans from, pay the loans off and tell these places that you have power of attorney and your inlaws are to be denied accessibility to such places from that point on. If your inlaws refuse to sign over all financial responsibility over to you in regards to the power of attorney, then tell them they will not get any assistance from you. Also, find out what would happen to them if they are financially destitute because of their incompetence in handling their finances, Since Britain had a poor house over a century ago.

USA, Canada / Applying for Polish Passport in Canada, appointing family member to act on your behalf [4]

I looked up to see if there was a consulate in Vancouver. Apparently, from their website, it sounds like they may have relocated to Edmonton. If that is so and if they handle passports, then you may not have to travel far. If they don't, at least you can ask for written confirmation that don't handle such paperwork and then give your relative power of attorney to act on your behalf in order to go to the consulate in Toronto or the embassy in Ottawa in case either do not want to mail the passport in Calgary or Edmonton. But I could be wrong either way. But look up the consulate info for Vancouver and see about the possible relocation to Edmonton. Then ask them if they handle passports there explaining that the office in Calgary told you they don't handle the paperwork for passports. Good luck.

Travel / Flights from Poland to North America [7]

As for Toronto, there are a number of places to visit while there. I can think of 4 that might be worth the look see. The 1st is the CN Tower, Casa Loma, Toronto Zoo and the Science Center. One hotel I stayed at when I was in Toronto is located on Roncesvalles Ave. That area has a lot of Polish people there, and it cots under $100 a night. Also, it is not that far away from the airport. Chances are they might meet someone there that can give them a bit of a tour around. I dont live in Toronto, but it is only a 2 hr drive east of me and I do know my way around some. I have a cousin in Warsaw and others in Wegrow and Pogreby.

Genealogy / My Grandfather was born in Poland and migrated abroad - Can I get a Polish Passport? [68]

Silam

Check into the website known as Poland Information. It will be found at 'information about Poland.' Once on the site click on 'forums', scroll down to where the list of countries are listed and click on Poland. Then when that comes up you will see where it talks about citizenship laws and that sort of thing. Click on that and then you will be taken into that part of the forum. In there you will find Polish citizenship pt3. There will be more informed people in there, since a lot of them have gone through what you are asking about in here. One lawyer I can recommend is Luckas Piotrowski. Chances are you may have to become a member before you can post, but it is free. While there, check the 1st 2 parts and read over the comments in there and see what you think and if it will be of any help.

History / For what the Germans owe Poland one trillion U.S. dollars? [299]

Poland could have resisted communism if its military did not suffer mass execution of its officers at Katyn in 1940. The British and the Americans were in on the conspiracy to cover up the truth for fear of offending a bunch of liars. If the military officers were not executed the morale for the army would have a lot higher and maybe the Polish would have accepted the Marshall plan.

As for communism, my grandparents got the h*** out since they knew what was coming in regards to communism. Meathead, you should do a little more research in regards to what the NKVD did prior to the 2nd world war and for almost 10 years after in regards to agriculture. There was a huge decline in production because the government didnt want the ordinary person being able to own property and replaced people that knew what they were doing when it came to farming with people who knew absolutely nothing. So, in fact when you compare figures like that from Germany and Russia, I think Russia owes the Polish people a lot more than just a monetary amount. It was the livelihood of a lot of people and the families communism destroyed and to top it off, the mistrust. One good thing was the prison system. Over here in the U.S. and Canada, the criminals hae it far to easy and know how to use the system to get ahead. Under communist rule as a criminal you didnt get very far and chances r u didnt live long.

Genealogy / Dziurdziński and Obiedzińska - Archives in Poland to find my origins or last name [8]

As for the old documents archives, how do they organize the documents? Is it by family name and date of death and type of document (ie. will or death certificate) or based on location (ie.town/city, province), date, and familial name? I would like to obtain copies of wills from my ancestors. The problem is I am only aware of 4 dates of deaths for family members that are buried in the same town. I do not know when the others died so am unable to provide those dates.

Also, would these archives include accessibility to land registry records and census information from 1800-1900? The reason I am asking is that I want to be able to get copies of wills from deceased individuals of the family, but I would like to know how to provide the information in the right order and all the information, that I can, in order to facilitate the research. While I may no know the exact date of death for most family members, all I can do is provide a best guess if that is necessary. Thanks.

Law / Dual citizenship (Mother forced to renounce Polish one) [6]

Actonkin

It is understandable that your mother wants nothing to do with Poland. Probably from the horror stories she has no doubt heard from her parents and others of that generation. Another website to look into is the Poland forum on Polish expat talk. In there, you will find section on Polish Citizenship pt 3. There have been a lot of others with similar problems as yours.

Even though your mother does not want to go back, you will have to convince her as to how it will benefit you. In that website, the others that have gone through the hoops and got their Polish citizenship, some were Jews and one or two had a parent that did not want to regain. How they got around it I do not know. But one thing to check into is getting a confirmation of citizenship done in regards to your mother first. If it comes back that she still has citizenship, then you will be able to proceed. In order for you to proceed would be to get a long form of your birth certificate and get it translated into Polish. And you can do that in the meantime while you wait for the letter that will tell you if your mother has citizenship or not.

Actonkin

Were you able to look up the information on the website I mentioned? You can reach me by pm to let me know if it was of some assistance or not. I did send you a pm on this site, but not sure if you have read it.

Gary

Travel / Is it safe to travel to Poland? [194]

Adam

It is relatively safe to travel in Poland. I have been there twice and had no problem. Even took a bus from Wegrow to Siemiatycze and had a memorable trip from it. Do you have a bank card from the bank you deal in order to withdraw money from an automated teller? Then go into the bank before you leave and let a staff member know that you are going over and for how long. They can make a notation in your account so there are no problems accessing your money while there. That way they don't get the idea into their heads that your card got stolen.

Now if you want to travel by plane into a smaller city such as Poznan, Lodz, Lublin, Cracow,Gdansk, Bialystok or even Rzeszow, your best bet would be to fly into Warsaw and get a connecting flight into one of those smaller cities. Or as someone mentioned, you may be able to fly into Cracow instead of Warsaw. But you will have to decide where you are starting your holiday and if you want to head back to your starting point or head to the closest available airport and make a connection. Good luck and enjoy.

Genealogy / Are recorded birth dates sometimes different from the actual? [16]

Ziemowit

Whether I had the 2 interchanged is irrelevant. The main point still stands. It does help to help having another view in order to figure out the difference in time between documents and that is the main point. Now it is up to the person asking to determine which version of the calendar applies to the different documents. Besides, even though I had the names of the 2 types of calendar reversed or not, the gist of my previous comment still stands and does help to make some sense of the discrepancy. The person that started this conversation is smart enough to figure it out.

Genealogy / Are recorded birth dates sometimes different from the actual? [16]

Please forgive me. I was not trying to or intending to open a can of worms with the calendar business. The Julian calendar came into use about 1752 in most western countries. I think Russia didn't start using it until the 20th century sometime. Not sure of the exact date. But yes it is roughly a 2wk discrepancy between the 2 calendars. If the date given for the grandparent as date of birth, you will have to determine if that is the gregorian or julian date. If it is the julian date, then you add approx. 14 days. If it is the gregorian date, then you subtract.

Here in Canada we celebrated Christmas on Tuesday, 25 December 2012. The Orthodox Church found mostly in Ukraine and the area would celebrate 2 wks later since they use the gregorian calendar. So their Christmas celebrations would have been about January 6th, 2013. Does that help somewhat. By having the different documents try and determine what calendar each system was using that wrote the date down. If for example the baptism, if the church was using the gregorian date and the military document was using the julian calendar then each document confirms the other.

But, like I said, you will have to determine when each made the switch to the current calendar we use now for most of the world. If the government, whether they be from 1 of the 3 partitions, started using the julian calendar before the grandfather was born like most of the other countries were using and the church held out until the turn of the century or after. It is a round about way, but will help to establish who used what, when and for how long. If that is not the case, did the church have its own full time clergy or someone who came by once or twice a month because there was not enough parishioners to warrant a full time clergy. That could also be the reason for the discrepancy. Check with the officials of the church where the grandfather was baptised. They may be able to check the records they may have for the time frame in question to find out if the clergy was full time or not.

Genealogy / Are recorded birth dates sometimes different from the actual? [16]

Yes, to the baptism. Sometimes, parents waited to baptise the child once the mother and child were well enough to travel depending on how close they were to the church. The other thing to remember and look into is the change from Gregorian to Julian calendar. This would throw off a lot of records by 2 weeks. Try to find out when the switch was made. Otherwise, the church date will be the best to go from for the time being since it was recorded and you can backtrack from there by 3 days to the 2 weeks time frame. Another thing to factor in, how populated was the area for where the church is at the time of the baptism. If some churches, have a circuit riding clergy, that could also explain the 2 week delay. I have read about some churches like that in Poland.

Law / All 4 of my grandparents were born in Poland - Canadian living in the UK, looking for Polish Citizenship [12]

DLR14
If the original papers may be lost, try and backtrack their steps from where they entered Canada. By obtaining papers from entry into Canada and entry/exit papers from other countries along with copies of supporting papers, you may have a slim chance. Also, check the citizenship acts of 1920 and 1951 since they will pertain to your ancestor. Another website to check into on this matter would be poland expat under forums for Poland. There have been a couple of listings for lawyers/advocates dealing with cases of people trying to obtain citizenship.

They can advise you if it will be worth the effort or not.

Law / Canadian born looking for help obtaining a Polish Passport [7]

To Ihr24

If your grandfather served in the Canadian Military it is unlikely that Polish citizenship will have passed on to your parent(s) and then you. Check the website 'happened in Poland' and click on the forums button and then go to the forum for Poland. Once there look the a posting that deals with the citizenship acts of 1920, 1951, 1962 and later. If your grandfather was born in 1920 and then emmigrated to Canada with his parents and then served in the military during the 2nd world war then under the 1920's act it says that if you served in a foreign military then you automatically lost your citizenship.

But double check into this and good luck.

Law / Polish Passport and Polish Citizenship (dual with American) [14]

Regardless of the fact of the posting being dated from 2007, it is just a guideline in order to put the appropriate paperwork together. That is why I made reference to it. The way he presents the list should make it a lot easier for Jennagee88 to follow through and to determine if she has all the paperwork and what she needs to look for to fill in the gaps. That way she will be better prepared when she deals with a lawyer in order to see if she will qualify for what she wants.

Besides, even if the laws have changed, she can still use the posting to figure things out with the paperwork prior to her application.

Law / Polish Passport and Polish Citizenship (dual with American) [14]

Jennagee88

check out a website by the name of 'easy citizenship in Poland' and go to through the forums and into the Poland one. Then into the Polish citizenship pt 3. Once there, ask for Curious Poland. Ask for a posting that he made since he details what kind of paperwork you would need in order to apply for citizenship. His posting details somewhat in order the paperwork should be presented in. His posting is dated January 2007. I have the printout and could scan it for you if you wish or unable to find the forum on the website mentioned above.

Another way to find the reference I am talking about is to google it and using 'Polish Citizenship/Polish Passport through Polish parents/ancestors' and it is by curious Poland. Let me know if you found it or not.

Genealogy / Re: Obtaining records from Wlodawa [6]

To Muegre

I plan on visiting that area again, so I can ask about such paperwork. I do have a copy of their marriage certificate.

To Harry

If I can arrange a transport to visit Wlodawa, then I will have to locate the office and request the paperwork. Otherwise, all I can do is download the appropriate forms in order to request a birth certificate for my grandmother. Right now, I do not have squat 1 in regards to the exact date when her 1st marriage took place or the church. Unless my family is more forth coming with any papers that they have in their possession that might give me clues I am basically s.o.l. on that point. Unless the other clue in Germany might provide something.

Gary

Genealogy / My Grandfather was born in Poland and migrated abroad - Can I get a Polish Passport? [68]

Mleko

If you want to attempt at getting Polish citizenship and passport based on your grandmother take a look at the website: I found my Poland.

Once there, click on forums and look for Poland, once in there look for pt 3 of the Polish citizenship. Ask for Poland expat. He will direct you to a previous post of his as to the paperwork you will need in order to try and prove connection to Poland and thereby citizenship. Also, look into the citizenship acts of 1920 and 1951. Chances are if your grandmother married a foreigner and moved to the U.S. prior to 1951, you may be out of luck. While on the website you can also look into the Irish forum and see what people there have to say about what your chances are for obtaining Irish citizenship based on your grandfather.

But in order to do that, you will need to find out when and where he entered the U.S. and then when he naturalized as an American citizen. Then from there to check when which ever parent is his child was born. Was your parent born before or after your grandfather got naturalized as an American? By knowing that as well, will help to determine if you might be eligible or not.

Law / Palestinian / Jordanian. How can I apply for a Polish passport or nationality ? [7]

Nadine:

Unless you can prove direct ties to Poland through parent(s) and grandparent(s) you will not have any luck in getting a passport or nationality. The only way you will get this would be to live and work in the country of Poland for a minimum of 5 yrs. or be maried to a citizen of the country, then the wait may be less than that.

With Poland in the process of getting into the EU, your chances will become even slimmer. Check the website known as Poland for Expat and look in the forum for Poland. There, you will find 3 different threads dealing with others proving their links to Poland.

Kadie:

Have you checked the local civil registration office about the requirements for applying for citizenship? That would be a start. If not check the same website that I have mentioned already about Poland for Expat. You will find some answers to your questions about the requirements and where to apply. Good luck. Having been married to a citizen of the country as you claim for 4 yrs and living in the country for over 3 may be on your side. But chances are they may require proof of this. So if you can back up your claims to marriage and having lived in the country for the said times may help you get the required goal you eventually want.

Genealogy / Vintage Photos of Polish ancestors [144]

To ShawnH

Yes, I may be showing my age, but so are you. :) Regardless of the fact, if their catalogues survived it still helps to see the clothing styles they carried in comparison to their competitors for the same time frame. Not only that, a person might be able to draw an inference from the different lines each store carried in order to help date photos. Sometimes women did modify their dresses to have something that was different and yet original from other outfits that their friends, family members and counterparts wore.

That is why i suggested looking for reproduction catalogues or getting museums to provide cd/dvd of the catalogues they have on hand for sale for the same purpose. Because sometimes, we don't have access to the originals because of the condition of same and limited supply. By convincing the museums to do this helps them and us. Because of the fact one museum may havea catalogue that is damaged and another may have a complete catalogue, the museums can benefit each other by sharing the same. Then we visit these places, the museums can have an area set aside so we can see the catalogues.

I do have a reproduction catalogue from Sears & Roebuck 1900 and 1906, and an original catalogue from the Eatons Co. dated 1912. These three have helped me to date some photos I have from the 1st qrtr of the 20th century and a couple of photos from the last qrtr of the 19th.

Before I forget, Simpson's has been gone from the market since the late 1970's. From what I remember I think it was between 1978-1980. Eatons has been gone for over 15 years. Time is catching up with us sooner than we expect.

Genealogy / Vintage Photos of Polish ancestors [144]

How many of us have photos that are undated? No doubt many of us. Here is a suggestion that may help to narrow down the dating game for photos. The suggestions is to use (reproduction) catalogues from stores like Eaton's, Simpsons, Sears &Roebuck. The catalogues should be at least a minimum of 5 years apart in order to help establish a change in clothing styles. Especially womens fashion. This way you can date the photo(s) to within the 5 yr time frame of the catalogues.

For any catalogues that date before 1920 that may be in a museum, maybe someone can convince the officials to reproduce the catalogue on cd or dvd and make it available for the cost of having it done. This way, they can make a couple of dollars, so to speak, in their favour, for improvements and other purposes. Then we benefit by having such things made available that normally wouldn't be. When it comes to genealogy, aids like that would definitely be an assistance. Even from some minor stores that the rest of us haven't heard about or the stores are more localized, like Macy's in comparison to Sears & Roebuck or Eaton's (here in Canada). I certainly would not mind getting my hands on scanned copies of different catalogues like that, if some of them predate 1900 in order to 'date' some photos I have in order to match the photo to a person in the family. Or at least narrow down who the photo may have been of.

Genealogy / Kuras & Gulczynski 1872 Polish immigrants that lived in Toledo, Ohio [7]

Have you tried the closest census records that are available to the time frame that is available for Toledo? The reason I suggest it is there might be something in it that might point you in the direction as to where they may have entered the states. Also, there might be some old records from the city from that time frame that could also indicate from where they may have lived before. Because of his age being 11 or so he no doubt came with his parents. So by starting with the census and city directoriesfor that time frame should get you started. Also, use the microfilm of the various local papers for death notices for their parents. Chances are, the death notices may be similar to ones of today and indicate where an individual immigrated from if they were not born locally.