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(such as Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Israel, etc).

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Category: genealogy/history/culture

  • The State Archives in Belgium: Getting there

    (See also the links at the end of this article)

    How to get there:
    The State Archives of Belgium are on the following address:

    rue de Ruysbroeck 2
    1000 Brussels
    phone: +32 2 513 76 80

    [cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Rue+de+Ruysbroeck+2,+1000+Bruxelles,+Belgi%C3%AB&hl=nl&ie=UTF8&ll=50.842262,4.356058&spn=0.006436,0.014999&z=16&vpsrc=0 width=400 height=425 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no]

    It is easy to get there by taxi or public transportation. The national airport of Belgium, which is situated in Zaventem near Brussels, is about 14.4 km (8.95 miles) away and it takes about 16 minutes to drive by car (without traffic).

    The museum district “Kunstberg – Mont des Arts”:
    The archives are near the Kunstberg which in French is called Mont des Arts (hill of Arts).

    That area in fact serves as the Museum District of Brussels which was conceived by King Léopold II. King Léopold II decided to turn the whole district into what today is known as the Mont des Arts. The King dreamed of making Brussels a modern and cultural capital city and Mont des Arts the treasure of his country and witness to the history of Belgium.

    A plate memorializing Belgian kings Leopold II for conceiving the Mont des Arts, king Leopold III for implementing it and king Baudouin/Boudewijn I for establishing it. The Mont des Arts was dedicated to the memory of king Albert I

    The Mont des Arts is situated in about the same area which was known as the “Jewish (more…)

  • The source of the song En Den Dino

    “La Queue Leu Leu” , sheet music with illustration from a French children’s book Vieilles Chansons pour les Petits Enfants: Avec Accompagnements

    This was first published on my blog on November 10th, 2009 (12:43:01). I am reposting it now with some minor changes:
    I did first send an e-mail on March 1st, 2009 to the jewishgen newsgroup (soc.genealogy.jewish) in which I asked if someone knows more about the song “En Den Dino” (with spelling mistakes removed):

    From: gershon.lehrer@gmail.com (lehrer)
    Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.jewish
    Subject: Children’s song: “En den dino”
    Date: 1 Mar 2009 13:55:30 -0800

    Dear all,

    This is more a historical question then a genealogy related question:

    My daughter of 3 came from her preschool with the following song:

    “En den dino / sof al hakatino / Elik Belik Bom / Shabat Shalom / Un deux trois et vous n’y êtes pas!”

    I remember myself singing this song as a kid. Kids sing this when they want to decide which kid will have its first turn when playing a game.

    I also remember once seeing a documentary about rhymes from preschoolers. Quite often such rhymes appear to be very old with sources that go back till the middle ages.

    As this song sounds Spanish or Portuguese (except for the French part which obviously was added later), I am wondering whether this song’s source can be from the Inquisition’s times?

    Best Regards,

    Gershon Lehrer
    Antwerp, Belgium

    I’ve received many replies to my question and have compiled an overview of what I managed to learn about this song.

    What it is:
    Most of the (more…)

  • The abbreviation “v.” commonly found in Galician records

    The following is a post which appeared in the Gesher Galicia SIG digest from August 29, 2011.
    In this post, Suzan Wynne discusses the ‘v.’ which is commonly found in Galician records.
    (The Gesher Galicia Discussion Group is sponsored by Gesher Galicia and hosted by JewishGen, the Home of Jewish Genealogy. See for more here: http://www.jewishgen.org/galicia)

    Subject: abbreviation v is for vel non
    From: “Suzan Wynne”
    Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:04:55 -0400
    X-Message-Number: 1

    The abbreviation “v,” commonly found in Galician records about Jewish events, stands for vel non, a Latin legal term, which means “or not” or “alternatively.” This Latin term was adapted from the Latin that was commonly used for recording Jewish and non-Jewish vital events in Galicia until 1877 when the government authorized the kehillot to be responsible for collecting and maintaining Jewish births, marriages (civil), and deaths.

    The abbreviation was used when (more…)

  • A Schnapspfeifle

    I bought on my recent trip to the Black Forest in a souvenir shop of Titisee a Schnapspfeifle. (I try in general to explore tourist shops in places I visit where I can buy cups as a souvenir with the emblem of the town or city):

    I was wondering what a Schnapspfeifle is and how we need to use it.

    Schnapps is German for an alcoholic beverage. This is how (more…)

  • An introduction to the Belgian Statearchives and its immigration files

    The Public Safety Organization:
    In 1840 the Belgian state, which was founded in 1830, entrusted the Public Safety (in Dutch: Openbare Veiligheid, in French: Sûreté Publique, in German:Öffentlichen Sicherheit) which was an autonomous board under the Minister of Justice, to monitor the aliens on its territory.

    Note: Both Dutch, French and German are spoken in specific parts of Belgium as can be seen on the following map:

    In order to preserve public order, the Public Safety Organization had to remove undesired aliens from Belgium’s territory. In order to be able to implement this order, they had to rely on the support from the municipal authorities who had in their turn to report each registration of any alien in the register of the municipality as soon as possible to the Public Safety.

    This Public Safety organization would then decide whether the person could remain in the country. If this was the case, the Public Safety organization would keep a close eye on the alien citizen during his or her stay in Belgium. All authorities, including the army and the judiciary, were supposed to forward any document about the foreigner to the Public Safety Organization.

    How was the information collected:
    Most information was obviously gathered from aliens who voluntarily went to the municipalities to register. In addition, information was directly obtained by the police who found foreigners on Belgian territory and of foreigners that had to resort to the use of public services such as hospitals, etc.

    Some files were opened on aliens even though they never reached Belgian territory. The organization opened these files preventively for “subversive” and possible criminal foreigners in order to be prepared in case they would enter Belgian territory.

    When the foreigner in question passed away or (more…)

  • Expressions on 9 Av: “A Gitten Chorben”, “Morir havemos”, etc.

    It is today 9 Av (Tisha beAv) during which the Jews are still mourning after a few millennia about the destruction of the two Jewish temples.

    I saw someone yesterday wishing others “A Gitten Chorben”.
    I was at first quite shocked to hear that expression which literally means something like: “A good destruction”. (Greeting in its essence is not allowed (see Shulchan Aruch 554:20).)

    So I decided to find out more about that expression and found indeed on some places on the Internet the same saying. But I still was (and am) looking for sources.

    Someone then told me about another expression.
    The Jewish Portuguese Kehilla in Amsterdam has the custom to say after the reading of Eichah and Kinot in the pitch-dark and big synagogue, the following small sentence: “Morir havemos”.
    It is a combination of Spanish and Portuguese and its meaning is: “We will die”.

    I still personally prefer the second expression which also seems logic to me; it after all is simply trying to add to the spirit of the day.

    But I was still trying to find some sources and the origin of the Yiddish greeting “A Gitten Chorben”.

    We know the known passage from the Talmud which proclaims:

    (כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה (תענית ל ע”ב

    Meaning

    “Those who mourn for Jerusalem will merit to seeing Her rejoicing” (Talmud Bavli, Tractate Taanis, 30-2)

    Could it thus be that when someone says “A Gitten Chorben” to an acquaintance, s/he means to wish the other person that s/he will merit to fulfill the Mitzvah (Command) of our sages (כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה) to its best and subsequently merit seeing Jerusalem in Her rejoicing?

    Please let me know and share your thoughts and eventual sources by commenting on this article, thanks.

  • A Swedish Family

    The Bernadottes of Sweden (source: wikimedia commons)

    I came a while ago across an interesting article in the Belgian newspaper “De Standaard“.
    They run each day during the holiday season a series  of short articles ( “Elders is het beter”, literally translated “elsewhere it is better”) in which they describe what other countries do better then Belgium.

    On Friday (July 29, 2011) the newspaper discussed the Swedish system of how family members are called.

    In English you would for example mention your mothers mother as “my maternal grandmother”, which in Swedish would be only six (!) letters short: “mormor”. My paternal grandmother would (more…)

  • Photos about prewar Jewish Life in Eastern-Europe

    I received recently via e-mail a slideshow with amazing photos about pre-war Jewish life in Eastern Europe.

    Enjoy it here:
    [gview file=”http://www.gershon-lehrer.be/downloads/slideshows/Jewish_Life_In_Poland%20(VIKY%20).pptx” save=1]I am not sure who created the slideshow, but the properties of the file mention a Landau Mickey and the file was created in 2006. If you believe that this is copyrighted and you are/know the owner, please contact me.

    Note (August 31, 2014): I have thankfully been made aware by Mrs. Diane Morton from Australia about the source of the photo’s:

    “Image Before My Eyes”
    A photographic History of Jewish Life in Poland, 1864-1939
    By Lucjan Dobroszycki & Barbara Kirshenblatt – Gimblett
    Printed in USA in 1987 Random House
    ISBN 0-8052-0634-5
    Published in co-operation with YIVO Institute for Jewish Research…
    Schocken Books New York.

    You can alternatively check the photos when you click on the following picture:

    Some other websites with photos:
    Museum of Family History
    Bagnówka
    Yad Vashem Photo Archive

  • Warsaw Books of Inhabitants – update

    Recently Mr. Witold Wrzosinski from avanim.pl shared the following information via one of the newsgroups, I think it could be useful and therefore I’m (re)sharing it:

    Subject: Warsaw Books of Inhabitants – update
    From: ww Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:43:37 +0200

    I have been to the Warsaw archive today and was able to update the list of available books of inhabitants from the XIXth century.
    It is fond 622 in the archive. The updated list is below.

    1. District XI, house 5579, Piekna 21
    2. District I, house 2646, Mariensztat 13
    3. District X, house 412, Krolewska 1/3/5/7/9
    4. District I, house 2645, Mariensztat 9
    5. District I, house 2729, Browarna 16
    6. District III, house 545, Dluga 18
    7. District XII, house 614h, Niecala 12
    8. District XV, house 17a, Kamionkowska 25
    9. District III, house 1808, Franciszkanska 17
    10. District I/XI, house 519, Podwale 24

    Also, I’ve noticed there is some more information on Warsaw inhabitants in the remnants of Russian Police books from the years 1823-1918 (fond 31).
    This data concerns the following addresses:

    • Chlodna 46
    • Dobra 2
    • Elektoralna 19, 20, 22, 23
    • Krolewska 15,19
    • Mirowska 6
    • Mostowa 8
    • Krakowskie Przedmiescie 46/48, 72
    • Koszykowa 18
    • Chopina 13

    Good luck in your research!
    Witold Wrzosinski
    avanim.pl