Family Herzfeld

December, 2021 - Some updates from Samuel

Regarding the article on my family that is published on your blog there are a few elements that should be corrected - we received some new info this year from Mr. Diamond (JRI Poland).

List of siblings : Malvina, born in 1914 (not 1905)

We can add Rachla, born in 1902, died in 1918 from tuberculosis.

The family picture was actually taken in ca. 1916, not in 1921. My grandfather Eliasz is actually not in the picture (he wasn’t born at that time). The baby right to the mother is Malvina and the teenage girl is Rachla.

Like most of these tales, it starts with an email...

My grandfather was Eliasz Herzfeld, born in Przemysl on October 5th, 1919.

He was in the Przemysl ghetto until the very end of its existence and was then deported to Stalowa Wola labour camp in 1943. He escaped miraculously and hid until the end of the war. All his relatives who were in Przemysl at the time of WWII perished in the Holocaust, either in the gas chambers of Belzec or in the Przemysl ghetto, a question mark that remains unanswered to us.

His siblings were:
- Izak Herzfeld, born on April 9th 1904, married to Beracha
  Tenenbaum. They had a child, Hadasa Herzfeld, born on
  September 5th, 1932.
- Malvina Herzfeld, born c. 1905
- Markus Herzfeld, born on August 12th, 1906.
- Aron Herzfeld, born on March 1st, 1911. He immigrated
   to Belgium before WWII and hid during the war.
  He passed away in 2013 at the age of 102.
- Moische Herzfeld, born on January 16th, 1913.

His parents were Salomon Herzfeld, of whom we unfortunately don’t know much (no picture, no place & date of birth) and Dwojra Tanenbaum, born on August 5th, 1878 in Przemysl.

If you have any information concerning the Herzfeld & Tanenbaum families from Przemysl, or might know anybody who could help, I would be much grateful. Samuel

The Herzfeld family in Przemysl c.1921- left to right: Aron ; Moische ; the mother Dwojra ; Eliasz; Malvina and Markus . Absent from the picture are Izak and the father Salomon. Aron and Eliasz were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust.

Aron (3rd from L) and friends in Przemysl (the Rynek?) c. 1928

Aron in the Chorus of the synagogue c. 1924

Private investor buysthe house in which 13 Jews found shelter during World War II

From Virtual Shtetl:

NEWS

2015-05-22

ENTREPRENEUR WANTS TO SAVE THE HOUSE - A JEWISH HIDEOUT

In Przemyśl, a private investor has purchased a house in which 13 Jews found shelter during World War II. He wants to preserve this place for future generations.

The place in question is the old tenement house at 3 Tatarska Street. Since 1942 up to the liberation, two orphan girls – 16 years old Stefania Podgórska and her 9 years old sister Helena – had provided an asylum to the Diamant family of 13 people. They all survived the war. After the war, Stefania Podgórska married one of the rescued Jews – Maksymilian Diamant.

In 1979, both women were awarded the title of the Righteous Among the Nations.

In 1996, this extraordinary story became a base of the film “Hidden in Silence” directed by Richard A.Colla.

Three years ago, the deserted and neglected building at 3 Tatarska Street was put up for sale. Social workers and politicians came forward with various ideas concerning its future. There were suggestions, for instance, to make the building over to the Foundation of Jewish Heritage in return for giving up a part of claims concerning the restitution of property of the former Jewish community in Przemysl.

In April, the house was purchased by Maciej Piórkowski, owner of a private enterprise “Orion” dealing with renovation of monuments of history.

During today’s telephone conversation with a representative of the Virtual Shtetl website, Maciej Piórkowski said: “You can call it a whim but I wanted to save the historic building from oblivion and preserve it for the sake of its history. I do not have any precise plans at this stage. I would like the house to be accessible to visitors where they would be able, for example, to watch a film telling the story of hiding Jews there.”

The house is in a poor technical condition. Now, the new owner faces a difficult challenge of renovating it.

Author: Krzysztof Bielawski
Sources: Polskie Radio Rzeszów, own information

Family Nussbaum

The Nussbaum family owned Przemysl's first electric mill in the '30s. Judging from the photo, they also played tennis.

Hi David,

My husband’s family, the Nussbaums, were from Przemysl. They owned the first electric mill in Przemysl. Attached is a picture of my father-in-law taken sometime in the late 1930’s in Przemysl. My father-in-law is the man seated. Mojżesz Nussbaum, born 1918. I do not know who the other people are – probably cousins. My father-in-laws father was Sali (Shlomo) Nussbaum. His first wife (mother of my father-in-law) was Leiba Ehrenfreund. She died young and Sali married Shoshana Ehrenfreund. Sali was from Hussakow, Mosciska. His family were bankers. Most of the family perished in the Shoah. Only my father-in-law and his brother, Berisch survived.

Regards Penni

Helene Rosenbach Deutsch

I've just learned about Przemysl-born Helene Deutsch in an email from a Polish journalist living in Vienna. Born Helene Rosenbach in 1884, she lead an extraordinary life.  After a brief affair with Polish socialist leader Herman Lieberman, she traveled to Vienna and joined Sigmund Freud's infamous Wednesday night meetings of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, first becoming his assistant and later, colleague. She moved to Boston in 1936 and died in 1982 leaving behind pioneering work in woman's psychoanalysis and psychology.

I'm a Polish journalist living in Vienna. I have a very close relation to Przemysl, the hometown of my mother and my summer stays during my childhood (not so remote, whatsoever!).

I wanted to draw your attention to a fascinating biography of Helen Deutsch. Born in Przemysl, she was Sigmund Freud's long time assistant and later successful authoress and psychoanalytic in the US. Her autobiography "Confrontations with Myself", containing a description of her childhood environment was published originally in 1973, got translated to Polish only in 2008. This book was greeted with much interests and brought anew attention to Przemysl's Jewish past. This is also when I realized that the house Helene Deutsch would grew up in (described in her memoir) , was the same house that the family of my mother lived!

Also in Vienna the biography of Helene Deutsch is again brought to light. In 2000 a city park was named after her. In 2008 in the in the campus yard of the main university of Vienna, an artistic intervention took place. Its aim was to change the male-dominated image of this institution. The plates with the names of female scientists were put on the 154 busts of their (male) famous colleagues, a.o. Helene Deutsch was remembered.

For some time I've tried to document Deutsch's biography and those latest signs of commemoration, ie running the blog: rynek26.blogspot.com. I had the privilege to get in touch with Dr. Sanford Gifford (1918-2013), who was one of the closest friends and colleagues of the Deutsch family, after they moved to the USA. I also know about an extensive collection of private documents which is stored at Harvard University. It contains Deutsch's notes and research on Przemysl. Attached to this email I'm sending you some excerpts that I could receive - should you once be interested in exploring this archive, I'd love to help you!

There are many other biographies linked to Przemysl (and Vienna as well), a.o. Karl Duldig or Franz Marek , but anyway, I'm keeping my finger crossed for your very valuable work! I hope there is not only the past, but also the future for the Jewish life in Przemysl!

Warm greetings from Vienna,

Happy scenes in Przemysl 2 years before the Shoah

From blog-friend Michal in Israel:

Skiing Przemysl's Tatar hill with the Yeti?

Some pre-war photos of my grandmother's parents and sisters, the city is Przemysl in Poland and it's about 1937.  My grandmother loved dogs and she worked as a pharmacist all her life. Except my grandmother who escaped to Leninbad during the war they were all murdered by 1942. I'm always looking for information about Bethauer, Dawid and Kudesch families from Przemysl and L'vov.

The happy dogs of Przemysl!

Strolling...

The family store

Laura/Lea Walder (Bethauer) - Michal's GGM

Professor Mario Hübner Lehrer

 Dr. Pablo Santiago Hübner Varela, from Montevideo, Uruguay, is searching for information on his father Professor Mario Hübner Lehrer (1925-2008) who was born in Nizankowice, south east of Przemyśl just over the present-day Ukrainian border. He was descended from a long line of rabbis and scholars and after immigrating to Uruguay with is parents he went to university became a noted scientist. Pictured below, he converted to Catholicism in 1950.

If you have any information on his family  you can email him at hublan(at)netgate[dot]com[dot]uy

Pablo writes:

My father was Jew, my mother Spaniard. He born zadik Kohen, family of Rabbis, chief of Jewish communities, Town Hall Council etc. For me is important all about Lehrer Family, Hübner family, Nizankowice, Nyzhankovychi specially where born my father. Also Dobromyl an Bircza where HÜbner comes from and Lwow,Lviv, Lemberg. Also Lublin and Krakow.

Grandfather ABRAM JAKOB LEHRER

Great-grandfather Abram Jakob Lehrer with friends walking in Nizankowice

Mania Lehrer Ganz in Przemysl

Abram Jakob Lehrer at Yeshiva Jajma Lublin,1930 near him is his son, the future Rabbi Efraim Lehrer Ganz

My father Mario, Majer, besides him Naftali Hübner his father, Chaja Hinda or Hela Lehrer Ganz, Hübner by marriage and the eldest people, Abram Jakob Lehrer and his wife Leah Ganz (really Lehrer by marriage and birth.