Seven New Films for You from Tomek Wisniewski of Bialystok

There are now a total of ten short films of Tomek Wisniewski being shown at the Museum of Family History. I have announced three so far, and seven new ones are ready for you to view. Most of them have interesting instrumental music to go along with the film's scenes.

These new films include:

1. Of Bialystok, Poland:
--"Once Upon a Time in Bialystok," a very interesting film that takes you back to the Bialystok of the interwar period. Thirty minutes long.

--"The Kaufman Brothers", one of whom was Boris Kaufman, the cinematographer for "Twelve Angry Men" and others. The brothers were all natives of Bialystok.

--"A Yiddish Song in Bialystok." A large group gathers in Bialystok in 1940 to hear a couple sing what seems to be a Yiddish song. Can anyone identify the song by name? If so, please contact me privately. More films of Bialystok are to come, including a film about the Warner Brothers (also from Bialystok).

2. Of Zabludow, Poland:
--Two films of the Zabludow Synagogue, scans of photos of the interior and exterior of the synagogue, cir 1927.

3. Of Kossovo, Belarus (pre-1939, Kosow Poleski, Poland):
--"Berteza Kartuzka: The Street That is No More, 1916"

4. Of Minsk, Belarus:
--"Jewish Minsk." While watching this film, you can imagine you are walking or in a horse and buggy down the streets of Minsk as Tomek scans across a few of his very old photographs of Minsk. Also photographs of the synagogue complex and the Choral Synagogue.

You can access these films, as well as the previous films announced, on the webpage I've created listing Tomek Wisniewski's films at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/tomek/films.htm .
Enjoy!

Memoirs of a Lida Partisan and the Bielski Unit

The original Hebrew language memoir of Chaim Basist of Lida, Belarus (once part of Poland), has now been translated into English and is available online for the first time at the Museum of Family History.

"The Story of the House of Plotnik-Monco-Basist" is a gripping tale in detail of family genealogy in Lida, Belarus and its environs and the Holocaust. Chaim Basist's story includes the hiding in the forests with the Bielski partisans of he and his family, and once surviving finding a permanent home in the new land of Israel.

The full English translation, as well as the original Hebrew version, can be found within the Museum's exhibition "Walk in my Shoes: Collected Memories of the Holocaust." The memoir can be found at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/wims-basist-01.htm. A link can be found there for the Hebrew version.

Museum's Cemetery Project: New Unique Surnames Lists Ready for Viewing

The gravestones in the following society plots have been photographed and the names of the deceased recorded. The plots are listed by the name of the town that is associated with each plot.

You can find the links to these lists at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/cp-townlist.htm. If you find a surname of interest and would like the photo sent to you, please email the Museum at postmaster@museumoffamilyhistory.com and indicate the surname and the town associated with the listing. Here are the towns:

Budanov, Ukraine
Lokachi, Ukraine
Bitola/Monastir, Yugoslavia/Macedonia
Pukhovichi, Belarus
Khoshchevatoye, Ukraine
Stavishche, Ukraine
Divin, Belarus
Pomoryany, Ukraine
Shargorod, Ukraine
Novogrudok, Belarus
Raygorodok, Ukraine
Shumskoye, Ukraine
Voynilov, Ukraine

There are other society plots for each town located within other cemeteries within the New York metro area, but these burials are from Beth Moses Cemetery only in Pinelawn, New York. There are no plans to photograph the other plots for the towns noted.

The Pogrom in Gomel, September 1903

For those of you are interested to learn more about the pogrom that occurred in Gomel, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1903, you now can read an article from the San Francisco Call newspaper published less than two weeks after the pogrom. The article is based on a report written by an Associated Press correspondent who visited Gomel after the pogrom.

Also included on this webpage is a letter written to the Editor of the Washington Times, published five days after the Call article was published. The letter was written by Rabbi J. T. Loeb of Congregation Adath Israel in Washington, D.C.

The link to the article ane letter is www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/mfh-pogroms-gomel.htm.

The Museum's Cemetery Project's New Burial Data

The Museum of Family History has increased its offering of burial data and gravestone photographs to include ten more plots from Beth Moses Cemetery and one more from Wellwood Cemetery, both located in Pinelawn, New York.

These society plots are associated with the following towns and countries:

Bitola (Monastir), Macedonia
Divin, Belarus
Khoshchevatoye, Ukraine
Novogrudok, Belarus
Pomoryany, Ukraine
Pukhovichi, Belarus
Raygoroduk, Ukraine
Samokhvalovichi, Belarus
Shargorod, Ukraine
Shumskoye, Ukraine
Stavishche, Ukraine
Voynilov, Ukraine

The information from these gravestones has not yet been entered into the Museum's database, but hopefully this will be done within the next two to three months. If your family genealogical research involves any of these towns, please let me know (along with the surname associated with the specific town), and I will keep an eye out for you.

Once databased, you will be able to check an alphabetized list of unique surnames for each plot. Just visit the Museum's Cemetery Project and look at the list of towns and simply click on the name of that town. The link for the Project is www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/cp-main.htm.

A Memorial Book from Telekhany

In 1932 a memorial book was created, mostly of views of the town of then Telechany, Poland, now Telekhany, Belarus. For those of you with an interest in this town, or for those of you who would like to see more than ten views of Telekhany as it appeared in 1932, please visit this small exhibition.

The introduction to this memorial book reads:

"This album reminds us of our old, forgotten home. It's good to take an occasional look at the past, but it's certainly hard for each of us to make the trip to Europe. Here we're sparing you this [journey] by bringing you pictures of Telekhany and your friends and close ones. That's why, dear friends, you must buy this remembrance book. The money you pay for the album will help your relatives and acquaintances.

Be united, landsleit, because a united body can accomplish a lot."

The memorial book for Telechany can be found at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/ce/telekhany/telekhany.htm.