Cernauti
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Strada Romana
In a 1936 Czernowitz business directory (Source: ehpes.com), Samuel Blei, my great-uncle, is listed as a Frizer (Barber) working at Strada Romana #92. In the Austro-Hungarian period, the street was named “Russische Gasse” and in the Soviet and Ukrainian eras, it… Continue reading
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The Yiddishe Plotke Agentur
Recently, when reading some personal histories of life in Romania during the war, I came across several references to “agencies” of gossip or wishes, which turned out to be a sort of inside joke, a humorous expression of the frustration… Continue reading
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Postcard to Sigmund Schmatnik
The origin of this story is an image of a postcard sent to Sigmund Schmatnik in Bershad from Herman Lieb Stummer at return address Avram Iancu Nr 6 – discovered on one of my periodic crawls through the online archives… Continue reading
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Josef Schmatnik and his family: Sadagora to the Struma
Josef Schmatnik was born in 1868. He is my second great uncle. Josef Schmatnik, Tischler A 1898 Czernowitz business directory shows a Josef Schmatnik working from #23 Schulgasse (view in Google maps). His profession was “Tischler” or a carpenter – a… Continue reading
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Samuel Blei—Czernowitz to Mittelbau-Dora
Samuel Blei was born on May 9, 1901 to parents Salomon Selig Blei and Gusta Sandberg. His sister Ettel was my grandmother. Marriage to Freida Schneider Samuel married Freida Schneider in 1926. During the war, they lived at Fiakerhalter #2.… Continue reading
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Sigmund (Asher Selig ben Joil HaLevi) Schmatnik
Sigmund (Asher Zelig) Schmatnik was born in 1908 in Czernowitz to Ioil/Joel ben Schmuel (Proprietor of Galanterie Schmatnik) and Rosa Gittel. 1908 in Czernowitz 1908 was the year of the first Yiddish Language conference in Czernowitz, from 30 August to 3… Continue reading
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Chernivtsi Jewish Cemetery
The Jewish Cemetery on Gorechi Hill, Zelena Street in Chernivtsi originated in 1866 and more than sixty thousand are buried there. An old Orthodox and a Jewish cemetery were united in one historical reserve. In the book “Ghosts of Home” by… Continue reading
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Galanterie Schmatnik
In 1936, at General Zadik #4 in Cernauti stood Galanterie Schmatnik, a dry goods store and haberdashery. The proprietor in 1936 was Joel Schmatnik, my great-grandfather. Continue reading
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January 11, 1945
As I’m plowing through the list databases housed on JewishGen taking note of any mention of family names, I’ve found a number of new name spellings to search. Not only is my family’s original name Schmatnic also spelled Schmatnick and Smatnic, it’s apparently… Continue reading
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Samuel Schmatnik to Samuel AlRoy
Early Life Samuel was born in Sadagora (then in Austria) on 30 May, 1897. His parents’ names were Joel ben Schmuel Schmatnik and Rosa (Gittel) Engler. His siblings were Rifka, Sabine, Sigmund, Jenny, Judah, and Mordechai Aron. Samuel married Etel/Esther Blei/Bley… Continue reading
Schmatnik.com 