Genealogy / Looking for My Grandfather's Family in Sao Paulo, Brazil ( Francisek Przytula ) [7]

Cindy,
I have that picture already myself, as well as some of the other ones that my cousins forwarded to me, from later years. My grandfather did have another child with his second wife, a daughter. I will try to find out the name when I speak to them, my cousins, again. So, I do have another aunt, and maybe some cousins. We know my grandfather was alive till at least the mid sixties, but don't know when he died. My cousins and my aunt, his youngest daughter from his fist marriage, lost track of him. They tried to find him through the Red Cross, but had no luck. I want to try and find his family again. I just found these other cousins this week, by sheer luck, and some good detective work. No, that's not my profession. I am a nanny to a six month old. I just used my brains, and made some calls, and got an article in a local paper out, talked to secretaries in cemeteries, and funeral homes, and bada bing, I found them. It was pretty darn amazing!!! Now, I need to find the rest of my family in Brazil, so we can all be together again. My mother would have wanted that. I am hoping this story sounds familiar to someone in Sao Paulo. I would think the family may still be there, but maybe not. I don't know. This is a start. I hope I find the answers I am looking for. You can reach me directly at mateychapindia@earthlink.net, if you think you may know my family. Thank you so much.

My grandfather's second wife was called Marisia, maybe not the right spelling. my cousins are not sure if he did have a daughter or not. The oldest cousin says he didn't. We still would love to find out when he died, or anything else about him. I know it was a long time ago, but, if anyone from the older generation may have any info, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you again.

Genealogy / Looking for My Grandfather's Family in Sao Paulo, Brazil ( Francisek Przytula ) [7]

This was just sent to us by our cousin Jack Groscki. It gives my grandfather's last known address, and his employment in Brazil. Does anyone recognize this? I know it's dated, but, it's a good clue. My grandfather could have died in 1972, but they never got confirmation of this. Any help from anyone, would be gratefully appreciated. My family has a right to know about what happened.

Kasha
PS Sorry, I just had to fix it, so you could actually read it.

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Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

first of all my mother did not steal my aunt's boyfriend or any such thing. please....this is serious. I realize that Krolik means rabbit. it also means king. it could be jewish, polish, or german. second of all my grandmother was from Kalisz. Her whole family was from there. I also know that to deny your family completely is a pretty serious thing. you don't just deny the total existence of another human being, for stupid reasons. There has to be something very serious to rip a family like that apart. thirdly, my sister has been doing a lot of research on this subject of Poles and Jews during that time. One thing that has come across, is that many of them tried to assimilate themselves with Catholics so that there would be no detection. My grand dad, my mom's dad, was RC. His last name was Przytula. BTW, both my mom and my grand dad were Virtuti Miltari receivers. Hence, there had to be something HUGE for them to split. DNA does not lie. I talked to my doctor, and told her the story. She is going to hook me up with a genetics counselor, and then we will go from there. I realize also that she could be Polish Catholic also. But Krolik is also Jewish name. If you look in JewishGen, you will see it come up a lot. Finding my roots is very important to my sisters and I. Up until last week, we did not know we had 3 first cousins. Now, we know, and have been in touch. A whole branch of family, that we NEVER even knew about. When my sister went to Warsaw a few years ago, and found out all this info on my mom, it was a shock to all of us. The whole time my mom was alive, she used her code war name. Then we find out she had a sister, whom she never once mentioned...EVER. This sister lived till 1992. As a child at that time, and before, we could have got to know her. We were also told that my aunt had no kids. Well, after calling funeral homes and cemeteries, I found out that she did have kids... three of them.

Finding my mom's family helps me feel like a complete. I look like my mom, and I look like my cousins on her side. After my mom died, I was at a total loss. Now, I have family from her, and I want to know why she kept this secret and took it to her grave. It has to be HUGE, and I am determined to find out what it is. You just don't go denying your family for no good reason.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Good to know this info. Thank you for your thoughts, and will share that with my sister. Quick question though, why is it in the JewishGen then? I'm confused.

We are trying to do all kinds of research. We have a fair amount of info from the military research. My granddad was born in 1900. Not sure about my grandmother, but probably around the same time. My sister has that info. I think they married in the early 1920's, cause my mom, who was the oldest was born in 1923. We only just got all this info very very recently. Because of the war, my mom used her war name. All the dates were quite screwed up, so we didn't even know when her real birthday was or anything. They had to hide that info, and change it a lot, to avoid detection. Would they still have marriage records etc from the 1920's in Kalisz, or would they be destroyed in the war??? We got my mom's birth certificate, a copy of it anyway. We also don't speak Polish, so that makes it difficult to do the search. Any tips on how we can proceed with that?

We have a lot of info on my grand dad, just not much on our grandmother. We do have the names of her parents though, so I will also check that way. My sister has that info in her files. I will see if she can dig it up.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Okay. Got ya. Thanks for that clarification. I was super confused with that.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Okay, I just heard from one of my cousins. She confirmed that they were definitely Catholic. Told me some stories about what they did before the war. Still don't understand why the split though. How could two sisters hate each other so much??? How could my mom not even acknowledge her existence. I just don't get it. It seems like they had a good family life. I just don't get it.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Well, little by little is coming out. My aunt didn't like my mom. Trying to figure out why. Maybe if we get more information, some of the mystery will get cleared up. I hope so. I hope they had a really good reason, but honestly, they should have just got over it. They were sisters for gosh sakes. Sometimes my older sister and I clash like a set of drums, but we always make up. I have just learned to forgive her, and accept her for who she is, as I hope she done the same for me. I just found my cousins last Tuesday on Feb 11th. I have connected with 2 of them but not the third yet. it will be interesting to hear what they all say. I think it's more than just another woman that my grandfather liked, after his own wife died. My mom wasn't that petty, trust me. What is cool, is that I see much of my grandfather in me. He was very outgoing and gregarious, which is how I am. My mom was like that too. My grand dad and I liked to do the same things too, and we are both good at it. Gosh, I sure wish I had got to meet him. I really do. Even if it was for just one time.

We are not wanting to be Jewish, we were wondering about it. We had heard different things, and were confused. But, my cousin just sent me an email, and she highly doubts any Jewish blood in us. Her mom at least talked about her life before the war. My mom told stories, but now, I am wondering if most of those were made up or what. Why she would do that even many years after the war, I have no clue. This is what I am trying to find out. Why the deception???? It makes no sense and yes, it is very intriguing, and yes, I plan to get to the bottom of this.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

I don't want to let it go. I want to know why we were cheated out knowing our family. That's important to me. It's really important, and I want some answers. I won't stop till get them. Please respect that. This is my family, and my quest.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Okay, one I now know that we were not Jewish, after reaching out to my cousin. Our theory about being Jewish, was just a theory, was simply theory that were exploring. Secondly, whatever answers we do find, no matter how unsavory, I still look at my family as heroes. You don't win the highest awards(Virtuti) for doing unsavory acts though. My mother led the Krybar unit during the Uprising. She was awarded this medal because of her courage, her leadership skills, and how she dealt with people. She was only 20 years old. How many 20 year olds do you know today that can do that???? Not many. She was a nurse, and officer (sergeant), and a messenger. She survived 3, yes 3, death camps. She was an incredible mother. So, my friend, I hardly see anything unsavory about that. I really do. My mother will always be my hero, and she fought tooth and nail for Poland. My grandfather was a career army officer who fought in both world wars and was decorated with not only the Virtuti, but with also other medals from other countries. Hardly anything unsavory about that. He was apparently a pretty dashing guy, who loved his kids, and did things with them. Hardly anything unsavory about that either. I have no theories at this point. Just complete confusion.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Regardless of what they were, they were all pretty awful. Many people died, and the fact that she survived three of them, I will get the name of the third one, but I think it is the one that you mentioned, is pretty damn amazing. It was a testament to her strength and character. She suffered a lot in those camps. A lot. She also encouraged to carry on. In Oberlangen, even though they were supposed to be following the Geneva Convention rules, they weren't, and I remember my mom telling me how thin she was, and boils she had all over body. So, for that alone, and the fact that she kept up a positive attitude, and help others with that attitude, is pretty darn amazing. As for the secret, it's important for us to know. I think even though our mom is dead, she wants to know. The fact that my sister found out all this info, and the fact that we found our cousins, none of that was an accident. I do believe she wants us to know. So, at some point, when the stars want to us to know more we will. We are finding out stuff all the time. In fact, yesterday my sister just told me that her guide in Poland had information on how our uncle died. This was my mom's younger brother. Also, what unit he belonged to, and other information. Maybe even a picture. My mom wants us to know. We have been searching for years, and know it's time to let go of whatever the big family secret was. In the long run, the secret affects us all somehow, and not in a positive way. So, as a loving mother, I think she wants to resolve that. She may have just not had the courage to reveal it. Maybe she wanted to tell us, but didn't know how to tell us, and then figured what was the point. But there was a point, and somehow, eventually we will find the answer.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Stuthoff that was the one. I remember it was a German sounding name. That sounds right. Was that all Jewish too, or did it have a mixture of everyone? Was it also a concentration camp?

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

Interesting. Thanks for that info. I don't know how people survived the way they did, and then carried on in the rest of their lives to do incredible works. Adversary makes you tough I guess. The scars they must have all bore.......no wonder not much was said. I don't know if we will ever get the full story of why my mom split with her family. I think some information will come out, but I wonder if we will ever get the full story. It's sad for all around. I am still going to get tested to see if I have any of the Ashkanzie markers, just to rule out. I don't expect I do, but one never knows.

Genealogy / My grandmother's last name was Krolik, is this name Jewish? [66]

good to know. Yes, she was in the AK. The only thing is this, her mom could have assimilated herself so well, in terms of changing her name, shortening it etc, going to church......we don't know. I think you are most likely right in your thoughts, however, just to rule out, I am going to take the genetics test. But, I so appreciate your words. Thank you. BTW, my sister just told me the name of the 3rd concentration camp my mom was at. It was Sandbostel. Does anyone know about this camp???