Gershon Lehrer

Vincent Vagman has recently published an important   list of Jews who have lived in Charleroi before the outbreak of WWII .

Charleroi, which is in the Southern part of Belgium, is a very industrial city, which I’d not consider a particularly attractive city. Charleroi used to have a very active Jewish community, mainly thanks to the coal-mining industry.

Vincent Vagman specializes in genealogical researches, as well as in the history of Charleroi and its Jews. The  list which he has published for free on his website, contains names of 1641 Jews, of whom 507 were deported between 1942 and 1944.

Mr. Vagman explains in the introduction of the book his methodology and the sources he has used in order to compile the list. The list can and should be considered as an invaluable source if you had any relatives living in Charleroi.

Visit the following website to gain access to the list (an English version of the website is in its planning stages):
www.zakhor-belgium.com/fr/genealogistes/ancetres-juifs-a-charl

As a Jew living in Antwerp, Belgium, and with an interest in Genealogy, I have some specific interests which are reflected somehow in  my choice of magazine subscriptions.

In this article I’d like to discuss the magazines I’m subscribed to (or was at some point). Most are related to genealogy, both Jewish and non Jewish,  and/or  culture and/or Antwerp  and/or  Belgium, etc. I know that the list is (still) small, but it is a start:

In the article I’d like to post a very quick and short cheat sheet on how to get the alien files from the Archives of Antwerp.

Check the end of this article in order to understand more about the districts which together make Antwerp.

Getting the alien files from the Archives of Antwerp:

For the district ‘Antwerpen’:

• Use FamilySeach.org to search index of Alien Files in the Antwerp Police Immigration Index, 1840-1930 →  https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1477769
• Use the file number from FamilySearch to download the files → http://zoeken.felixarchief.be
• Alternatively browse scanned copies of the alien files from 1840 to 1930 which are not indexed yet → https://familysearch.org/search/image/index#uri=https://familysearch.org/recapi/sord/collection/2023926/waypoints  or an easier way, use the following handy website which makes browsing the FamilySearch website much simpler  â†’  http://zoekakten.nl/plaatsen.php?id=AW|B0000|

For the other districts:

• Search the index → http://zoeken.felixarchief.be/zHome/Home.aspx?id_isad=327220
• Get the file on site (not yet available online, status June 2015)

Check www.gershon-lehrer.be/blog/2012/11/getting-copies-of-alien-files for more information etc.

The Districts of Antwerp:
You need to understand that the city of Antwerp is composed of 9 districts. Most of these districts were in the past independent municipalities. These districts, which are now part of the City of Antwerp, do have some limited independent administrative functions.

Here is a map of Antwerp with its 9 districts:

District Antwerpen (district) Berchem Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo Borgerhout Deurne Ekeren Hoboken Merksem Wilrijk

Source: By LennartBolks at nl.wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by Westermarck at nl.wikipedia. [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

When my father in-law and his sisters recently cleared their mother ´s home in Amsterdam after she has passed away, they came across a paper which seemed to look like a certificate with text in Dutch for land in, what was then, Palestine.

The front of the certificate has mostly  typed text whilst the back has handwritten notes and a drawing.

The front of the certificate:

And the back:

Now follows  the Continue reading →

Recently I went through the alien file from my great-grandfather Gerschon Lehrer, whom I am named after, which I found in the Belgian state archives.

While analyzing the documents in the file, I came across some letters written between a (Belgian) senator and someone who was working for the Belgian sûreté (State Security). What struck me was that after having checked biographies of these officers (both from the sûreté and the senator), it seemed that they played and important role, if not back then in the 1930 ´s, then in the future.

Here under are these letters which I ´d like to discuss.

The first one is a letter from 27 April 1934 by the officer of the sûreté, Mr. De Foy, who ´s checking with senator Van Berckelaer whether in the opinion of the latter my great-grandfather should be entitled to get a permit of residence in Belgium. He ´s checking whether my great-grandfather ´s stay, who was then a merchant in the diamond business, would be beneficial to the Belgium:

In the next letter, from 11 may 1934, the senator expresses his opinion that Continue reading →

My mother owns an embroidered painting which her mother created as a young girl and which now hangs in my parents’ living room. The painting shows a landscape: a lake with a tower and a bridge in the background. When I asked my mother about it, she told me that she believed it was somewhere in Nuremberg which is the Bavarian city my grandmother was born in.

The embroidery of my grandmother

Thanks to information I got through the German ‘Ahnenforschung’ forum (http://forum.ahnenforschung.net/showthread.php?t=60423) I was able to find out more about the river,the island, the two bridges, the buildings and the direct surroundings which are depicted in this painting. Let’s first take a closer look at the Continue reading →

Prof. Hannah Berliner Fischthal requested to post the following request which I am gladly doing. Please contact her for more information (or add your comments below).

I am researching Yiddish Antwerp Between the World Wars. I am particularly interested in het Vereeniging van Joodsche Ambachtslieden te Antwerpen (1919-1940), and in its yiddish school, Di ershte yidishe tsugob-shul baym hantverker farayn. If anybody has any information, I would be grateful.

Prof. Hannah Berliner Fischthal, New York
Fischthh@stjohns.edu