The Berlin
Family
Max and Sarah
Berlin
Taken about 1941
Max and Sarah’s Five
Children
L to R: Top-Celia,
Mildred, Mary
Bottom-Fay,
Deborah
The Berlin
side of the family is probably the most interesting. Thanks to the internet I have found out quite
a lot about them (including my first 18th century ancestor, Jossel
Dyzsel -(1799 – 1869)- son of Mechel).
The family has always been told that the Berlins
came to the USA
from Austria. I was only able to find them once I realized
that prior to World War One (when they lived), Austria
was not the little country in Western Europe
like it is today. Then, it was the vast
Austrian Empire. It included present day
Austria,
Hungary,
Serbia,
Bosnia,
Croatia,
Rumania
Czechoslovakia,
Poland,
Russia,
and the Ukraine. I finally found them in the Ukraine
(AKA Eastern Galacia) in the towns of Skalat, Pidvolochisk, Kamionki, and
Zbaraz. Click here
for a map of the region.
These towns were absolutely decimated in the
Holocaust. In some cases, surviving
citizens put together Yizkor Books which described the lives of the people
before, during, and after World War Two.
I was profoundly touched when I read them!
The Berlin
family is mentioned in the Yizkor books of
Pidvolochisk. They were among the
wealthiest of citizens. They owned the
seltzer factory and also ran a business dealing in leather goods. However, the entire Berlin
family (save one son named Moishe) was murdered. Six Berlins
died at the infamous Massacre at Feitel Hill on June 29, 1943.
The parents of our Berlin
family in America
are Max and Sarah Berlin. Click HERE to read about them.
Click HERE to
see a concise family tree of our Berlin
ancestors. It can be complicated J