Krelitz

Ellis (Eliashevitz)

Feinberg

Rose (Rosin)

Craine (Kroida)

Family Book

This book is the latest embodiment and expansion of a family tree first started in early September 1966, when Joel and Nicki Alpert went out to dinner with their grandfather, Harry Ellis, just prior to returning to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to start a new school year. During dinner the discussion turned to the questions about the family in Europe. Upon returning to Harry's apartment, the start of the family tree was sketched out. After the tree's initial creation, many people, in particular Aunt Fanny Ellis Rubenstein, helped fill in missing information. Over the past three decades, the tree was duplicated numerous times, distributed and notes of births, marriages and deaths were sporadically added. In December 1990, Joel obtained a Macintosh computer and a piece of genealogical software from the Mormon church. It was then that the combination of modern data processing and groundwork done over the previous three decades culminated in this project.

In researching the family history it became clear that many family members each has a few pieces of information or oral family history, but it had never been collected in a single work; that is the purpose of this document. It is hoped that this work can serve as the collection point for all the scattered bits of our family history so that it can be known to all those who want to know from where we came, and who were our immediate ancestors, and who we are.

More recently this search for family history has been contributed to by George Ellis(Milwaukee), Leslie Bern (Milwaukee), Leona Krelitz Freshman (LA), Rosalin Ellis Krelitz (Milwaukee), Olga Zapolsky Gans (Birmingham, MI-Detroit), George Zerry (Detroit), Sanford Loceff (Delray Beach FL), Helen Rosenbloom Ross Irwin (NYC), Henry Friedman (Dedham, MA), Ann Garfinkle Cohen (Lexington, MA), Helen Beiles(Ottawa, Canada), Faye Schrage Ullmann (Bloomfield Hills, MI-Detroit), Irwin Rose (Hopkins-St. Paul. MN), David Ellis (St. Paul, MN), Regina Borenstein Naividel (Tel Aviv), Gita Abramson Bereznitky (Tel Aviv), Bilha Bass Lerental (Tel Aviv) Joesph Rosin (Haifa), Max Sherman Krelitz (Mexico City) and Jack Cossid (Chicago - who is not a member of our family, but who knew many family members in Yurburg who were murdered in the Holocaust and supplied information on them) ...and others.

The intent of this book is to both document the names and information about the lives of our families and of our ancestors before this information is forgotten forever, and establish our family connections before we have dispersed so far that the connections are lost forever. An example of these nearly lost connections and information is the fact that the family name Naividel is unknown to most of us, yet is the name of our most common ancestor Hillel Naividel, the father of Sholom and Shmuel (who was identified as being part of the family only in 1994) Naividel, Mary Naividel Eliashevitz, Leah Naividel Krelitz, Beyleh Naividel Rose, Chana Rochel and Pesha Naividel Zapolsky. It is hoped that this book can provide answers to us and our descendents when we finally start to ask about our great-grandparents and their parents and so on. Eventually and inevitably many of us start to ask these questions, and become very disappointed in ourselves because we had neglected to ask these questions years before. With this in mind, this work is dedicated to the memory of our ancestors.

The purpose of this Family Book is to provide information to those of us interested in our family history, which now spans seven generations and nearly 200 years. It can become a vehicle for collecting information to even extend that history, since we all have tidbits of oral family history. Until now there has been no single repository for gathering it. In the end, it becomes a record of where we have come from, and where and who we were and are today. It can even become more valuable than simply family history, because by cataloging medical issues of our antecedents (see the medical alert at the end of this section), we can become aware of any hereditary data that could be helpful in shedding light on some of our individual medical concerns and those of our families. Further since many of us have old family photos not shared by others, there even exists the possibility of copying them and making prints available to all of us, thereby even providing us with a photographic (or videotape) record of these people, making them even more real to us. With the advances in computer technology we can now scan in these old photos and include them in this book and even transmit them electronically to eachother. Anyone with old family photos should contact the compiler, Joel Alpert.

Initially the text of this book is created on a Macintosh computer using the WRITENOW word processor. It is now being modified and generated using MS WORD 6.0 and can be transmitted via e-mail in many other word processors at no charge. The family descendent charts are created using a genealogy program, called Personal Ancestral File, from the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The photos are xerox copies of family photos that many people have lent the author, Joel Alpert, who has rephotographed them, so that negatives exist and high quality copies can be generated easily. The text and the genealogy program along with the data base are available from the author on floppy disks for the Macintosh or the PC and are the easiest way of transfering the information to those with computers. Eventually, if there is enough interest, we may decide to formally publish this material. It could then be periodically updated (possibly every ten years) with the decade's new information. Forms for submission of family records and history for this purpose are contained in the section: HOW TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION AND CONTRIBUTE YOUR FAMILY'S INFORMATION.

The basic information (and this text) exists in memory of the Macintosh type computer in the format readable with the Mormon software program Personal Ancestral File, it is easily transferable and available to anyone who owns or has access to a Macintosh computer or an IBM PC or compatible . It is important to note that the genealogical data base contains much more information than could be contained in the text of this book and is possibly of interest to those seeking more information. For further information please refer to the above mentioned section and fill out the form: REQUESTS FOR DISKS OF COMPUTER PROGRAM AND GENEALOGICAL DATA.

Our grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents came from Yurburg, Lithuania around the turn of the century (1900), seeking a better life, and now nearly a century later most of us, their descendents, have become part of the fabric of America, and have in fact spread all over it, from the Midwest, to the South and the Southwest, to Boston, to California, to Florida, and even to Alaska. Some have followed the Zionist ideal and have become part of Israel. Even others have become established in Mexico. Amazingly some of us survived the Shoah in Europe and remained there; others eventually immigrated to Israel from Lithuania even as recently as 1990. This is our story.

ORGANIZATIONAL NOTE: At present this book covers a maximum of eight generations of family members, with Hillel Naividel being the earliest known ancestor in the Descendant Charts. We have even guessed that his father's name was Mayerelie Naividel, based upon his many descendants with the name Meyer; chapter 5 contains a more detailed discussion of this hypothesis. We further guess that Hillel’s grandfather’s name was Shmuel, again based upon the names given to his descendants. Hillel’s generation is therefore referred to as Generation 1. Hillel is referred to as Generation 2. His children, Shalom, Shmuel, Miriam, Leah, Chana Rachel, Beyleh and Pesha, are therefore in Generation 3. However in the Krelitz family, the earliest ancestors Cecil, Avraham Mordecai, and their sister Sarah (name is in question) are at a level equivalent to Generation 3, in which they are placed; their father and grandfather, who certainly existed, but whose names are yet unknown, were therefore appended to the top of this tree and assigned to Generation 1 and 2. Similarly in the Eliashevitz family, Shalom, or Solomon, the earliest ancestor, belongs in Generation 3, so again his yet unnamed father and grandfather were appended as Generation 1 and Generation 2. Similarily in the Feinberg family, Chaim Mayer's father and grandfather is appended into Generation 1 and Generation 2, as are Dovid Kraid's father and grandfather in the Craine family. These additions allow the numbering of the generations to be consistent in all the families. This scheme is carried in the Descendants Charts, hence by finding a person, or yourself, you can immediately identify the person's generation by the number in front of the name. It is hoped that someday we will discover the names and something about the lives of the unnamed fathers and mothers! By leaving them conspicuously present, yet unnamed, it is hoped will spur us to find their names.

Lee Ellis Alpert was born with a congenital condition called a Shallow Asitabulum, which is a shallow hip sockets. It is a condition that is believed to run in the Krelitz family, with others known to be affected being her Aunt Chareva, cousins Lee Krelitz Weisberg, Leona Krelitz Freshman, and Lorry Krelitz. This condition appears to affect primarily females. Babies descendant of the Krelitz family should be checked for this condition shortly after birth, and their parents should be aware of it. This knowledge should be passed on to the newer generations. Leib Krelitz, son of Meyer Krelitz and a first cousin of Lee, Leona, and nephew of Chareva, was also know to have a hip problem (reported by Jack Cossid). He died in the Holocaust.

We have learned (Jan. 7, 1997) that Alexis Leah Sherman, great-granddaughter of Leah Krelitz Sherman (daughter of Meir Krelitz) also has this condition.

PAGE

PREFACE 6

CHAPTER 1. FAMILY BACKGROUND 14

Yurburg, Lithuania

Locating Yurburg on the Map of Lithuania

The Family in Yurburg: 1830 - 1941

Immigration To America: 1890 - 1930

and The Early Days in America

Immigration To Israel: 1927 - 1945

Immigration To Mexico

Holocaust Victims

Today

CHAPTER 2. DESCENDANTS CHARTS 69

Four Generations of Mayerelia Naividel Descendants Guide to the Big Picture

Sample Descentant Chart

Naividel Family - also contains the Ellis Family

Rose Rosen / Elka Family

Naividel /Elka Family

Krelitz Family

Craine Family

Feinberg Family

CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUAL HISTORIES 113 Harry Ellis Sam Ellis

Leah Golda Ellis Alpert Philip Krelitz

George Cecil Ellis Pinchas Shachnovitz

Max Zarnitsky Nossum (Norman) Kizell

Bernard Laden Gershon Hilelson

CHAPTER 4. FAMILY GROUP RECORDS OF THE 141 ANCESTRAL FAMILIES and SAMPLE PEDIGREE CHART

CHAPTER 5. FAMILY MYSTERIES 142

Hillel Naividel - Who was he? Who was his father?

Krelitz - Who was Cecil's and Avraham Mordecai's Father and was their sister (who married Chaim Meyer Feinberg?) named Sarah?

- The story of how this "missing " branch was found.

Craines - How exactly are they related?

- The story of how Ben Craine's 1927 films of Yurburg were discovered and identified.

Ellis - How was it spelled in Europe? Elijaschevitz? Eliashevitz?

- Who was Shalom Eliashevitz? Does anyone know anything about his parents?

Rose - Any contacts with this part of the family?

Naividel - What happened to the family of Shalom Naividel?

The Incredible Story of Finding the Naividel Family

Family members who died in the Holocaust - How Jack Cossid filled in many of the unknowns

The Story of the Photographs of the Headstones from the Yurburg Jewish Cemetery

Commissioned by Donald Levinsohn and the List of Headstones Identified

List of the Headstones from the Yurburg Jewish Cemetery

CHAPTER 6. NAMES AND HISTORIES OF FAMILY 201 MEMBERS WHO WERE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS,

EXCERPT OF THE YIZKOR BOOK ON YURBURG

THE HORRIBLE DAYS-The Story of Gita Abramson Bereznitzky

(as told to and translated by Regina Borenstein Naividel) "How I saved myself from the Kovno Ghetto at the time of the liquidation of the ghetto in July 1944......"

translated from the Yiddish by Regina Borenstein Naividel

TRANSLATION OF A SECRET NAZI DOCUMENT THAT DETAILS THE MURDER OF THE LITHUANIAN JEWISH POPULATION INCLUDING YURBURG AND OTHER COMMUNITIES OF OUR FAMILY

CHAPTER 7. HOW TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION AND CONTRIBUTE YOUR FAMILY'S INFORMATION

AND ORDER ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS BOOK 266

REQUESTS FOR DISKS OF COMPUTER PROGRAM AND GENEALOGICAL DATA

ORDER FORM FOR ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS BOOK AND PRINTOUTS OF TOTAL FAMILY INFORMATION.

CHAPTER 8. IDEAS FOR FURTHER FURTHER RESEARCH 271

YURBURG, LITHUANIA

Also called JURBORG, JURBURG, YURBERIK, JURBARKAS, or GEORGENBURG, is located at Latitude 55 deg 5' North, Longitude 22 deg 46' East and is 45 miles WNW of Kaunas (Kovno) and 75 miles west of Vilna.Referr to the map later in this chapter.

The Ellis (Eliashevitz), Krelitz, Naividel, Rose (Rosen or Rosin), Craine (Kroida), and Feinberg families lived in Yurburg, Lithuania on the banks of the Neman (Nemunas) River. In their time, the Neman River was the border between Lithuania to the North and East Prussia to the South. George Ellis recalls stories told by his parents that the Governor and his family had an estate on the river, in the town, and townspeople were allowed to use it as a park. On hot days after work, the family would swim in the river.

There was a famous wooden synagogue built in the town in 1790, and destroyed in 1941. In the Encyclopedia Judaica, in the article on Lithuania, there are pictures of it. Also see article on Jurbarkas. Also there is a print (plate 73) of it in the book Wooden Synagogues, by Piechotka, published in Warsaw in 1959. See figure below.

A very relevent book has been found entitled in Hebrew, Safer Hazikron Lekhelot Yurborg, Lita, or in English: The Memorial Book for the Community of Yurborg, Lithuania, published by the Organization of Former Residents of Yurburg, chairman: Shimon Shimonov (Shderot David Ha'Melech 1, Tel Aviv, Israel; cost was $30 in 1993). The author has a copy; it is mostly in Hebrew, with a five page English summary (which is reproduced in chapter 6). Many family members are mentioned. A translation, which does not exist, would certainly be of interest to our family. Anyone interested in contributing to the translation should contact the author. About 50 of the 500 pages has been translated. It has been place on the Internet by Joel Alpert at URL: http://www.jewishgen.org/shtetlinks/yurburg/yurburg.html It is cited as a source in many places herein. Helen Feinberg Schrage has written a chapter in the book.

According to Milton Blackstone, who made a trip to Yurburg in spring of 1994, the Jewish cemetery in Yurberik "is one of the largest and best maintained cemeteries" in Lithuania. He stated that the Yurburg cemetery actually survived the ravanges of the Holocaust and many of the headstones are upright and the cemetery is actually well preserves. In the December 1995 Joel Alpert obtained a set of 300 photographs from Donald Levinsohn (594 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge, New Jersey 07028), a cousin of Jack Cossid. Donald had commissioned a photographer from Lithuania to take pictures of the headstones in the Jewish Cemetery in Yurburg.

Joel translated the names and dates from the headstones that were readable. Late on the evening of December 13, 1995, Joel identified the headstone (photo # 265) of his great grandmother "Leah Krelitz daughter of Hillel (Naividel), who died on January 21, 1904." Other members of the family were definitely identified and there are others identified that might have been cousins. For more detail refer to chapter 5.

According to Jack Cossid, who emigrated from Yurburg in 1937 at age 19, the town was almost totally Jewish. They were the middle class, the merchants, whereas the non-Jews were mostly farmers and lived in the countryside around the town. In 1920, the town established a secular high school, the Gymnasium, in which secular topics such as physics and calculus were taught, according to Rosa Birger (of Lincolnwood, Illinois). Since the town has at most about 3000 residents, most of whom were Jewish, one can easily conclude that many of these people were related and in fact inter-related; there being many marriages between the same families.

In an article by William Berton (2071 Augsburg Drive, Saginaw, Michigan, 48603) in the genealogical publication "Landsman" Volume IV, Numbers 2-3, on page 19, it is stated that "according to Berl Kagan, Jurbarkas is one of the oldest Jewish settlements in Lithuania, dating back at least to 1593. In 1650 there were only about 8 to 10 Jewish families in 7 houses. In the 17th century, Jurbarkas Jews had the responsibility for collecting taxes from the surrounding towns. Jews from Kovno came there to conduct their business. Jewish population figures are given as follows: 2,333 in 1764-1766; 2550 in 1862; 1887 in 1927 and about 2300 before the Holocaust." Berton also states that "other town name variations are Jurburg, Jurbarak and Jurbarski."

The following are exerpts from various sources that deal with Yurburg and Lithuania:

FROM the ENCYCLOPEDIA LITHUANICA (obtained from the Cleveland Jewish Genealogical Society):

JURBARKAS, town in western Lithuania, on the north bank of the Nemunas river, at the mouth of the Mituva river. The bulk of the town is on the left side of the Mituva. On the west it touches the huge forests of Smalininkai-Viesvile. It had 5,000 inhabitants in 1963 (4,409 in 1923, 5,221 in 1939). One half of its population prior to World War II was Jewish.

In independent Lithuania, Jurbarkas was the township seat, containing a number of small knitting-, felting-, wool-combing- and other mills; a steam-mill with a power station and lumberyard; a furniture factory; several banks and co-operatives; a few dozen stores; a sanatorium for tuberculars and a gymnasium (secular high school) with 600 pupils. The stone Holy Trinity Church, dominating the town with its two high steeples, was built between 1901-07. The Jewish community had two synagogues, one of which, a wooden structure built in the 17th-18th centuries, was a rare architectural monument. When the Germans occupied Lithuania in 1941, the Jews were forced to wreck it and soon thereafter were annihilated themselves.

Under Soviet occupation after World War II the town was extended northward and made center of a district embracing roughly 20 collective farms, a flax-processing plant, naval repair shops, a Dutch-tile factory, a soft-drink manufacturing plant and other smaller establishments. There is also a secondary school, a theater, and a hospital with 100 beds. Transportation to Kaunus (96 km) and to Klaipeda (152 km) is by motor-boat on the Nemunas.

Historical sources mention for the first time in 1259 the castle of Georgenburg, built by the Teutonic Knights at the confluence of the Nemunas and the Mituva. After it was destroyed the next year by the Lithuanians, it was rebuilt only in 1336 as Jurgenburg, whence the Lithuanian name Jurbarkas. This fortress possessed great strategic importance for the Teutonic Knights, as it provided a supporting base for their drive deeper into central Lithuania along the Nemunas river. The Lithuanians in turn spared no efforts to stem this invasion; as a result the castle was twice destroyed (1340-41, 1384) and twice rebuilt (1343, 1387). After Vytautas the Great destroyed it for the last time in 1403 it was never rebuilt. Soon thereafter the long warfare between Lithuania and the Teutonic Order came to an end, and with the drawing of the boundary of 1422, Jurbarkas became a border town for 500 years. The boundary moved westward in 1923, when Lithuania reincorporated the territory of Klaipeda.

Lying close to an important water and land- route, which led from Vilnius through Kaunas to Tilze (Tilset), Klaipeda and Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad), Jurbarkas had ample opportunity for growth. Its commercial significance increased in the 16th century, when the forests on either side of the Nemunas began to be cut down and lumber and other forest materials began to be floated to Konigsberg and Gdansk (Danzig). A second important commodity was grain. In 1611 the town received the rights of Magdeburg and a coat of arms consisting of three white lilies on a red background. In 1862 the town's customs station let through goods whose total value was 10 million rubles. Commercial activity declined toward the end of the 19th century, when the water route via the Nemunas was partially replaced by a railroad.

Jurbarkas and its vicinity were the birthplace of a number of noted Lithuanian artists and intellectuals, including the poet Jurgis Baltrusaitis, the theater director Kastantas Glinskis, the opera singers Antanas and Stasys Sodeika, Prof. Izidorius Tamosaitis, the children's writer Antanas Giedraitis and others. The sculptor Vincas Grybas had his studio here. He was killed by the Nazis in 1941; today there is a museum in his memory.

Bibl: K. Forstreuter, Die Memel als Handelstrasse Preussena nach Osten, 1931; J Totoraitis. Suduvos Suvalkijos Historija, I, Kaunas, 1938. S Suz.

FROM the ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA:

JURBARKAS (German: Jurburg), town in S.W. Lithuanian S.S.R.; until the incorporation of Lithuania within Russia in 1875, the town belonged to the principality of Zamut (Zhmud; Samogitia); subsequently, until the 1917 revolution, it was in the province of Kovno (Kaunas). Jews who visited Jurbarkas at the end of the 16th century are mentioned in the responsa of Meir B. Gadaliah of Lubin (Metz, 1769, 4a no. 7). Within the framework of the Lithuanian Council (see *Councils of the lands) the community of Jurbarkas belonged to the province (galil) of Kaidany (Kedainiai, which is due North of Kovno). In 1766, 2,333 Jews were registered with the community. A wooden synagogue built in Jurbarkas during the second half of the 17th century was preserved until the Holocaust. There were 2,527 Jews registered with the community in 1847. The Jews numbered 2,350 (31% of the total population) in 1897, and 1,887 in 1923. In June-September 1941, after the occupation of the town by the Germans, the Jews of Jurbarkas were murdered by Lithuanians.

Bibliography: LITE (1951), 1595-97m 1849-54, index 2; M. and k. Piechotka, WOODEN SYNAGOGUES (1959), 200; YEHUDAT LITA (1960), index.

FROM THE SHTETL FINDER:

YURBURG, JURBARKAS, also GEORGENBURG, W of Kovno

Located north of Vlodislovov (Kudirkos Naumiestis). 1883- Donors to help publish a book by a native of Yorburg included Esther Feinberg, Eliahu son of Sholom Feinberg (Are these Feinbergs related? Special question to Helen Beiles and Helen Schrage), Yechezkel Meirovitch, Abraham Meir ben Yechiel Michal Kirshenboim, Dov Ber ben Yitzchak Rivkin, Rabbi Zav ben Yosef Shteinfeld...Mattiti' David ben Eli' Feinberg. Yorburg is mentioned in the memorial book LITA, 1951 E.J. article Jurbarkas, Kagan 4056.

FROM LITHUANIAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES by Nancy and Stuart Schoenburg, Garland Publishing Inc. Published in 1991. New York and London. ISBN-0-8240-4698-6 (this book is a recent translation of the Hebrew book Yehudat Lita):

YURBURG (JURBARKAS) - Rasin District

Yurburg is near the settlements of Shaudina (3 miles), Sudarg (5 miles), Skirstmon (6 miles), and Smoleninken in Prussia (6 miles). In Pakalnishky (8 miles) and Gauvary (14 miles) there were Jewish setttlements before World War I, but they were liquidated during Independent Lithuania. Yurburg is located on the banks of the Nieman River and surrounded by forests.

In the town there were wide streets with sidewalks and two public gardens. One garden was called "Tel Aviv." Mituva and Mastra, tributary streams of the Nieman, flow past the town. The Nieman River was heavily traveled between Kovno and Germany. There were trade connections with East Prussia. Most cargo boats and ships on the Memel-Kovno line were owned by Jews. The brisk trade activity provided a source of income.

The Jewish community dates from the seventeenth century, but actual data only exists from 1766. That year 2833 Jews lived there, out of a general population of 7391 people. The town is mentioned in the rabbinical responsa "Meharam M'Lublin' (R. Mayer of Lublin, seventeenth century) by the name Yurbrig. Yurburg became part of Lithuania with the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. In 1847, the Jewish population was 2527.

In 1906, a fire broke out and 120 homes were destroyed.

Most Jews had to leave during World War I. In 1923, the Jewish community numbered 1887, out of a general population of 4409. The number rose to 3000, about 700 families, but before the Holocaust, it had declined to 600 families. They traded in lumber, chickens, fish, fruits and eggs. They were involved in crafts, shipping and fishing. Market days were Mondays and Thursdays. There were 24 fairs held during the year. The Peoples Bank had 360 members in 1929. There was a Mutual Bank for loans and credit and the private bank of the Bronstein Family (Boris Bernstein according to Helen Beiles).

Jews emigrated to South Africa, Australia and America and some to Palestine.

The (wooden) synagogue was built in the eighteenth century and had a lovely ark, bimah and Elijah's chair. There was a beit midrash and three kloizes. The children studied in cheders and some in the Russian public school. Abraham Mapu was a teacher in this school. During Independent Lithuania, there were two cheders with 20 boys, two ethnic schools, in Hebrew and in Yiddish with 200 pupils, a Hebrew high school, two libraries, a drama club and a school of agriculture. A local Zionist Party, youth groups and sports groupt were also active in the town.

From the rabbinate: R. Isaak bar Eliezer; R. Arye-Yehuda-Leib (at the time of the Vilna Gaon); R. Moshe bar Shmuel Levinsohn (5621-5645 / 1861-1885); R. Zeev-Wolf Steinfeld (5639-3640 / 1879-1880); R. Yechezkel Lifshitz (5649 / 1889); R. Abraham Dimant; and R. Haim Reuben Rubinstein (author of "Divrei Reuven").

Natives: Shlomo bar Arye-Leib; William Zerach (sculptor); Shlomo Feinberg (public figure and philanthropist); and Zvi Ram (teacher and intellectual 1842-1886).

From part 2 of The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, by Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, published by the Judaica Press, Inc, 123 Ditmas Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11218:

To be added here:

From Where Once We Walked, A Guide to the Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust, by G. Mokotoff and S. A. Sack, 1991, Avotaynu, Inc, Teaneck, NJ:

Jurbarkas, Lithuania, (Jurborg, Jurburg, Yorburg, Yorvorig, Yurbarkas, Yurburg) : pop 1,887; 75 km W of Kaunas; 55deg04'/22deg46'.

The town is referenced in the following according to the book Where Once We Walked:

Chamber of the Holocaust More than 2,000 memorial plaques at this musuem / memorial in Jerusalem commemorate destroyed Jewish communities, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. Community survivors gather to hold memorial services here on the anniversary of the destruction of the individual communities. Attendance at memorial services is a good way to meet survivors from individual communities. For information, contact Rabbi Naphtali Gal, Chamber of the Holocaust, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Israel.

Guide to Unpublished Materials of the Holocaust Period. Yad Vashem Archival Material, Part 1, Vol III 1975 and Part 3 Vol V, 1979. This material provides an index to archival material at Yad Vashem about Jewish communities affected by the Holocaust. The series is edited by Yehuda Bauer and published in Jerusalem by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Yad Vashem.

Jewish Genealogical Family Finder. This reference is an up-to-date, computerized database of towns and surnames being researched by more than 1,500 Jewish genealogists throughout the world. Extracted from the database are the names of Central and Eastern European towns. The Jewish Genealogical Gamily finder is maintained and published by the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc, P.O.Box 6398, NY, NY 10128. The Yurburg family names of Krelitz, Elyoshevitz (Eliashevitz), Naividel, Feinberg, Craine, Zarnitsky, and Abramson have been entered by Joel Alpert in mid-1991.

Later Day Leaders, Sages and Scholars, by E. Rosenstein and N. Rosenstein, Elizabeth, NJ, Computer Center for Jewish Genealogy, 1983. This book lists the names of rabbis and scholars alphabetically by town name and surname.

Yahudat Lita (Lithuanian Jewry), by R. Hasman, D. Lipec, et al., Vol. 3, Tel Aviv; Association for Mutual Help of Former Residents of Lithuania in Israel, 1967. This is a four volume work on the history of Lithuanian Jewry. Volume 3 provides detailed descriptions of more than 200 Lithuanian Jewish Communities. It is written in Hebrew, although an English translation was published in 1991.

Manufactures shoes, furniture, and has sawmills and oil seed presses. (Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, 1952, 1962).

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE ABOUT LITHUANIA

FROM the ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA: LITHUANIA

Southernmost of the Baltic states of N.E. Europe; from 1940 Lithuanian S.S.R. (for earlier period, see *Poland-Lithuania). With the partition of Poland at the close of the 18th century the territories of Lithuania passed to Russia. Subsequently, for over 120 years, Lithuania ceased to exist as a political or administrative unit. It was divided up into six or seven provinces in which the history of the Jews was similar to that of the Jews throughout *Russia. Lithuanian Jewry nevertheless retained its specific character, and its influence on Russian Jewry--and on world Jewry in general--extended beyond the boundaries of historic Lithuania. Lithuanian Jewry was particularly oppressed during World War I. The attitude of the Russian military authorities toward Jews was one of suspicion and hostility; rumors were spread that they were traitors, and the army therefore perpetrated pogroms against them. In the spring of 1915 expulsions of Jews from the provinces of *Suwalki, Kovno (*Kaunas), *Courland, and Grodno began. During the fall of the same year, northern and western Lithuania were occupied by the German army. The population suffered from lack of food and unemployment. Limited aid arrived from the Jews of Germany and the United States and a ramified Jewish assistance organization was set up. A network of Hebrew and Yiddish schools, including secondary schools, was established. After the end of World War I, a considerable number of refugees returned to their former places of residence. Lithuanian Jewry was henceforth divided among three states: independent Lithuania, Belorussian S.S.R. and Poland.

Character and Influence on the Diaspora. The notion of "Lithuanian" ("Litvak in Yiddish) to be found in speech, folklore and Jewish literature in all its languages (dialects) applies to the Jewish community which developed within the boundaries of historic Lithuania, the region that formed part of the greater Polish kingdom during the 16th to 18th centuries. From the close of the 18th century until World War I this area came under the rule of Czarist Russia and included the provinces of Kovno, *Vilna, Grodno, and northern Suwalki, which were essentially of Lithuanian-Polish character, and of *Vitebsk, *Minsk, and *Mogilev, which were Belorussian-Russian in character. A distinction is sometimes made between Lithuanian Jews in a restricted sense (from the provinces of Vilna, Kovno and the northern parts of the provinces of Suwalki and Grodno) and the Belorussian Jews ("province of Russia"). At the close of the 19th century, about 1,500,000 Jews lived in this region; they constituted more than one-eighth of the total population. The Jews were mainly concentrated in the town and villages, where in the main they were in the majority. There were over 300 communities in Lithuania with over 1,000 persons, including 12 large communities each numbering over 20,000 persons: Vilna, Minsk, *Bialystok, Vitebsk, Dvinsk (*Daugavpils), *Brest-Litovsk, Kovno, Grodno, Mogilev, *Pinsk, *Bobruisk, and *Gomel; but even the smaller settlements with only some dozens of Jewish families had a vibrant and full Jewish life.

Both economic and historical factors were responsible for the unique character of the Lithuanian Jewry. Lithuania was a poor country, and the mass of its inhabitants, consisting of Lithuanian and Belorussian peasants, formed a low social stratum whose national culture was undeveloped. The Jews who had contact with them as contractors, merchants, shopkeepers, innkeepers, craftsmen, etc, regarded themselves as their superior in every respect. Lithuanian Jewry was relatively less affected by the *Chmielnicki massacres that devastated the Jews of the Ukraine in 1648-49, and those perpetrated by the *Haidamacks during the 18th century. Even when the wave of pogroms swept Russia during the last decades of czarist rule, there were only isolated manifestations of anti-Jewish violence in Lithuania (Gomel , Bialystok). These circumstances gave the Lithuanian Jews a feeling of stability and security, as a result of which they developed no desire to adopt the language and culture of the surrounding peoples.

The Jews of Lithuania maintained their own way of life. They spoke a special dialect of Yiddish-Lithuanian Yiddish which differed from the Yiddish spoken in Poland and Volhynia mainly in the pronunciation of the shin as sin or samekh ("sh" became "s"), a Shibboleth (also: pooter--Lithuanian / peeter--Polish). The world outlook and way of life of Lithuanian Jewry were based on the Written Law and the Oral Law. The Shulhan Arukh and its commentaries guided them in their everyday life. Torah learning flourished among wide circles, and love of Torah and esteem for its study was widespread among the masses of Jews. The Jews who lived in the region bordering Lithuania, the "Poles" in the west and the "Volhynians" in the south, associated specific characteristics with the Lithuanian Jews: a certain emotional dryness, the superiority of the intellect over emotion, mental alertness, sharp-wittedness and pungency. Their piety was also questioned (hence the popular derogatory appellation for the Lithuanian Jews: "tseylem-kop" meaning crucifix-head). It was also a feature of the Lithuanian Jews that *Hasidism did not strike roots in Northern Lithuania, while in the provinces of Belorussia it assumed a different nature and content - the Habad trend - from the original Hasidism of the Ukraine and Poland. Lithuanian Jews were considered the "prototype " of the *Mitnaggedim.

From Lithuanian Jewish Communities by Nancy and Stuart Schoenburg, Garland Publishing Inc. Published in 1991. New York and London. ISBN-0-8240-4698-6 (this book is a recent translation of the Hebrew book Yehudat Lita):

WORLD WAR II AND THE HOLOCAUST

After the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, some Jews were able to flee the Nazis. Lithuanian Jews received refugees and these poor communities helped the best they could. Although the handwriting was on the wall, few tried or were able to leave Lithuania during the "phony war" period.

On June 22, 1941, the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union. On the Lithuanian front, Battle Group North smashed through Lithuania, the blitzkrieg achieving complete occupation within days. The Jews farther to the east including Byelorussia, had more time and some were able to escape to the interior of Russia.

Freed from any constraints, the Lithuanians turned on the Jews and began to slaughter them. As the Nazi occupation took control, the slaughter continued, but in an organized manner. Enthusiastically helped by their Lithuanian assistants, the Germans would transfer Jews from the small shtetls to larger towns where ghettos were set up. Out of these ghettos, the Jews would be killed. By the end of 1941, the job in Lithuania had been substantially completed. The Jewish community had been wiped out.

After the War, 18,000 Jews remained in Lithuania centered in the cities of Vilna and Kovno. This community and the other Litvak commnities in Latvia and Byelorussia were able to establish the modern Soviet Jewry movement. The first activities centered in Riga. Since that time, most Lithuanian Jews emigrated to Israel leaving only a handful behind, not sufficient to maintain a viable Jewish community.

....The great Litvak community of eastern Europe ended. It had been the bastion of the three disparate movements so important in modern Jewish history: Orthodox Jewry, Political Zionism and Socialism. The few survivors moved on, ending 700 years of physical contact with Lithuania.

....What makes Litvaks different? ...One contributing factor was that Lithuania was, during the period of the development of the Jewish communities, a poor and backward country of peasants (note added: reference is to the non-Jewish Lithuanian peasants, because the Lithuanian Jews were literate and quite proud of it). The union with Poland robbed the country of its upper classes that could have provided cultural development. The Jews felt superior to the ethnic peasant population and made no attempt to emulate them. Therefore the development of Litvak communities were more inward and Jewish and less tempted by outside forces.

LOCATING YURBURG ON THE MAP OF LITHUANIA

Yurburg is located in the Neiman River, 46 miles (75 km.) to the West of Kovno (Kaunas) and listed as Jurbarkas, the name in Lithuanian on current maps.

The map on the next page shows the Baltic Sea to the upper left, Lithuania, and the town of Jurbarkas (Yurberik, or Jurborg) on the Neman River. In order to locate Jurbarkas, start at Vilnius (Vilna), which is easily located, then move West and slightly north to find Kaunas (Kovno). Then continue West and again slightly North about the same distance to find Jurbarkas on the Neman River. Raseiniai can be located to the Northeast of Jurbarkas, due North of Kaunas.

How and why the ancestors of our family in Yurburg, came to Lithuania and Yurburg, remains hidden in the past. In general, though, it can be stated there is some history that indicates that Jews were invited into Lithuania and Poland hundreds of years ago by the noblemen to develop commerce and act as middlemen between the noblemen and the peasant population. Jews were known to have developed commercial ties between the various communities in Europe and in the Mediterranian areas.

Between 1800 and 1900, the Jewish population in Eastern Europe experienced an increase of many fold, our families being an excellent example of this phenomenon. It is easy to imagine this increase when couples have six or even eleven children for several generations. The town of Yurburg, was small by today's standards, and had a limited number of Jewish families, probably no more than several hundred during the mid-1800s. Consequently, at the earliest point in our known histories these families were already interrelated and new marriages were likely to further interconnect the families, as we find out.

Hillel Naividel is the earliest known member of any of the families. His name is known to us because it was told to Joel Alpert by his grandfather Harry Ellis, who was the grandson of Hillel. Also the gravestone of his daughter, Mary Naividel Ellis says "Bat Reb Hillel" which means "daughter of the Reb Hillel." We know that she died in 1934 at age 85 (written on her stone) giving her birth date in about 1849. Even though we do not have any firm dates of his birth and death, we can start to calculate that since each generation is approximately 25 to thirty years, and that Hillel Eliashevitz, who changed his name to Harry Ellis when he arrived in the United States, was named after Hillel Naividel, was born in 1886, which would have been after his grandfather's death, according to Jewish tradition, gives us an approximate lifetime from about 1820 to 1886 for Hillel Naividel, 1820 being 25 years before 1945, the birth year of his daughter Miriam. There is an interesting and intriguing story told to Joel Alpert by his mother Lee Ellis Alpert, that Harry Ellis's grandfather, who would likely have been Hillel Naividel, had come alone to New York probably around the time of the American Civil War, had worked and made enough money to sent for his family. However his wife, upon her arrival did not find life here satisfactory. Consequently, the whole family moved back to Yurburg, only to have their grandchildren make the migration some fifty years later. This story has definitely been confirmed by Sanford Loceff. A check of immigration records at Ellis Island or other ports of entry such as Boston and Baltimore might be able to date this event.

The meaning of the name Naividel is not known. One possibility is that some male ancestor of Hillel Naividel was from a town with a name sounding like "Naividel;" so that when he moved to the town of Yurburg, the townsfolk naturally called him "Naividel." Before 1800 when people did not have surnames, if his name was Shmuel, they may have referred to him as "Shmuelik, you know, the one from Naividel." Then when surnames were required by law around 1800, they naturally called him "Shmuel Naividel."

Following this line of thinking a search was conducted using the JewishGen Shtetl Seeker (on the INTERNET http://www1.jewishgen.org/loctown.HTM) for a town near Yurburg with a name similar to NAIVIDEL (DM Soundex Code Value of 673800). The results were two towns quite close to Yurburg:

NEVADOLE is located at 54^o 36’ North Latitude and 22^o 49’ East Longitude which is 33.5 miles South of Yurburg

NOVODOLYA also known as NOVADOLIS is located at 55o 43’ North Latitude and 24^o 20’ East Longitude which is 76.5 miles NE of Yurburg.

Further, there is a town in Western Poland, called today Drawno, but also known as Neuwedell. It is located 88 km (about 55 miles) to the East of Szczecin at latitude 53 degrees 13‘ North and longitude 15 degrees and 45’ East. This town is much further from Yurburg and hence is less likely the town of the possible source of the Naividel name. It must be emphasized that all this is strictly conjecture.

Hillel had six children by his first wife, who remains unnamed, and a seven child, Pesha, by his second wife, Elka. Elka was the widow of an unnamed male Rosen, whose family later intermarried several times into the Naividel family, as is described below. Regina Naividel suggests that Hillel’s first wife’s name was Chaia because several of her granddaughters were named Chaia or Chareva. This is only a GUESS!! Specifically, three of her five children had daughters named Chaya Rivka (slightly different spellings came down to us, though, this is unimportant): Shalom Naividel's daughter Chaya Riva married a Lippman; Sarah Beyleh Rosen's daughter Chaya Rivka married a cousin Meir Eliashevitz; and Chana Rochel's daughter Chaia Rivka married a cousin Bass. Furthermore, among her great-granddaughters are Elka Krelitz Zarnitsky's daughter Chai Rivka married a Shachor, immigrated to Israel and had a daughter Ruth, Masha Krelitz Abramson's daughter Chaia Riva married Dr Bruskin and died in the Holocaust, and Meir Krelitz's daughter Rivka who married Shmuel Guttman from Sudarg (across the river from Yurburg) and immigrated to Mexico City.

In the descriptions below , it must be pointed out that the order of the children, other than Pesha as the last, is not known.

Hillel's sons, Shalom and Shmuel, became the carriers of the Naividel name, which became transformed to Newburg by Shalom's descendants in the United States. The origin or meaning of the name Naividel is not known. The existence of Shmuel to the author became known only in 1994, when research by Regina Borenstein Naividel in Israel brought that branch of the family back into the family tree. The name might also have been spelled Naiwidel ( "w" is pronounced as a "v" in many European languages).. Shalom's son David Naividel immgrated to the US and changed the name to Newberg. He is listed in the 1920 US Census as 32, immigrated in 1906, with naturalization in 1913, living at 1206 Dupont St, in Minneapolis with wife Pearl 28, born in Minneapolis and daughter Ethel, 3.5 years old, born in Minnesota. Two of Shalom's grandchildren, Mordechai and Hillel Naividel became attornies in Yurburg, survived the war by fleeing East with the Russian troops, and spent the war years in Uzbekastan. They returned to Lithuania after the war and Hillel eventually became the President of the Supreme Court in Vilna. Mordechai tried to get to Palestine in 1945 by hijacking a plane but was caught and spent 8 years in prison, as a "Prisoner of Zion." Mordechai and his wife and son Benny emigrated to Israel in 1979. Today Ben Naividel and his cousin Rachel Naividel Gershovitz and their families live in Israel.

Through contacts that Ben Naividel and his wife Regina Borenstein Naividel made starting in June 1994, other cousins have been found in Israel, Gita Abramson Bereznitzky and Bella Abramson Kaplan, sisters and the granddaughters of Shmuel Naividel. Current information given to Ben and Regina is that Shmuel was a sixth child of Hillel Naividel. (This connection was possible only because Gita was able to identify her mother’s uncle as Shalom and aunts as the other children of Hillel Naividel as identified in the family tree dictated by Harry Ellis.) This was questioned by Joel Alpert, because Shmuel was never mentioned as a child of Hillel by Joel's grandfather, Harry Ellis, at the time that the family tree was started, nor has anyone else ever mentioned it. Gita assured Regina that she was told by her mother that Gita's grandfather Shmuel was a brother to Shalom, Miriam, Leah, Beyleh and Chana Rochel. For more information on this fascinating story, refer to Chapter 5. Gita Bereznitzky arrived in Israel from Lithuania in 1991. It is truly amazing that we are finding relatives today who either survived the war themselves or they are the children of survivors, who represent branches of our family that we thought were all killed during the Holocaust. Ben and Regina Naividel used many leads and have found many now living in Israel and in Europe. Based on their research, over 125 people have been added to our family tree, which now numbers over 850 descendants of Hillel Naividel and their spouses, as of February 1997.

Hillel's third (actual order not known) child, Miriam, (born about 1849) married Shalom Eliashevitz, thereby connecting the Naividel and Eliashevitz families. Their descendants changed the name to Ellis upon landing at Ellis Island in America. The Eliashevitz family were flour millers and grain merchants. Their first child, Meyer, and his wife, Chareva Rose, from the above mentioned Rosen family, never immigrated. "Their large family perished in the Holocaust" according to Harry Ellis and later confirmed by many others. Miriam and Shalom's other children all immigrated to America. Shalom died young, about age 45, of an appendicitis. Miriam did immigrate to the US to join her family, lived in northern Minnesota and in Detroit with her daughter and son-in law, Jenny and Max Loceff in her last years. She died in on November 14, 1934 at age 85 (according to her grave headstone) and is buried in Chesed Shalom Cemetery on Gratiot Ave., in Detroit. Ted Merril Gans, the son of Olga Zapolsky is named after her. Olga's mother, Peshe, was Miriam's half-sister's daughter. To the author's knowledge, Miriam and Peshe were the only children of Hillel Naividel who came to America. The name Eliashevitz probably means son of Eliahu, and might, at times, have been spelled Elijaschewitz.

Pesha Naividel Zapolsky and Alta Feinberg Eliashevitz, wife of Reuven Ellis were partners in a business in which they bought eggs, hams and bacon from farmers and resold them in town. This was during the 7 years that they were in Yurburg while their husbands were already in the US, in Evelyth, Minnesota. They were delayed in bringing their wives and children over because of World War I. (Joe Ellis 12/29/91).

According to Reuven and Alta Eliashevitz's son Joe Ellis (2/8/92), there was some disapproval of the marriage of Reuven and Alta by some of their parents. The Feinberg family was wealthy, and the Eliashevitz family was envious of them. Joe also relates that the brothers Reuven and Meyer Eliashevitz built a home together, and one family was to take the front section, and one the rear. A disagreement developed as to which family would take the more desireable front. Reuven's family finally took the front.

Alta's father, was Chaim-Meyer according to Helen Beiles (11/25/91). He was a wealthy man, owned an egg distribution business, bought eggs from farmers and shipped them to Germany according to Joe Ellis (2/8/92). Fay Ullmann also related that he was a wealthy man, owned an Inn, an import-export business, a livery stable and horses, and also a lumber business. He also dealt in animal hides and often travelled to Germany.

The name "Krelitz" is so uncommon that, to the author's knowledge, that all known people with the name are, in fact, family members. The origin of the name is unknown, although the town of Korelitz in Belorussia, is so close in spelling that it might have been the place where some distant ancestor came from at the time that surnames were assigned. This is totally hypothetical, though likely. According to the book Where Once We Walked, the town of Korelitz is located at 53 degrees, 34 minutes North Latitude, and 26 degrees, 8 minutes East Longitude, and is 101 km, (63 miles) Southwest of Minsk. It is also known as Korelichi, Karelic, Karelits, Koreliche, Korelicze, Korelitz,Korzelice, and Kozhelitse. It had a Jewish population in 1920 of 535. There was a Lithuanian Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (1878-1953) who published the book "Hazan Ish" in Vilna in 1911; he eventually moved to Israel and lived in Bene-Berak. Possibly he was a relative, or maybe his family was originally from that town.

Cecil Krelitz died young, at about 45 in 1890, when Celia was 2 and Bill was 4; therefore his birth date can be calculated to be about 1845. He left a large family of ten children. A grandson and a niece, both named Cecil, were named after him. Leah raised the children running the bakery. Leah died in January 21, 1904, shortly after her daughters Rae and Celia left for America (they arrived in the US on August 4, 1903). Lee Ellis Alpert, Lillian Gittelson, Lillian Ellis (Sam's Daughter) and Lee Krelitz Weisberg, Leah Golda Eliashevitz (Meir Eliashevitz’s daughter) and Leah Krelitz Sherman (Meir Krelitz’s daughter) were all named after her, Leah Golda. Other descendants of Cecil and Leah immigrated to the US, Israel and Mexico. A number were caught in the Holocaust, particularly Meyer's family including his sons, Moshe and Leib and many still need to be identified by us in this book. Helen Beiles recalls that a daughter Elka Krelitz Zarnitsky had a son, Itzhak Zarnitsky who died was drowned in a flood in Yurburg in the Neman River. Faye Schrage Ullmann says that her mother Helen Feinberg Schrage recalls that a Feinberg child also drown during that same incident.

Little had been known about the fifth child of Hillel Naividel, Chana Rachel, other than the fact that she married a man named Yonkel. They moved from Yurburg to a "larger town". In July of 1994, we have found out from Olga Zapolsky Gans, that the town was Raiseinai, located about 15 miles North of Yurburg. She knew this because she and her mother lived in Chana Rachel's basement during World War I when they had to evacuate Yurburg. Olga also said that Chana Rachel's grandson, by the name of Bass married another cousin, Masha Rosen, who was the daughter of Sarah Beyleh Naividel and Isaac Rosen. Ben Naividel (Max or Mordechai Naividel's son from Tel Aviv) related that he found out from his cousin Bilha Bass Lerental, Masha's daughter that Bilha's father's name was Eliezer Bass, and she confirmed that Eliezer Bass was the grandson of a sister of Sarah Beyleh Naividel. In 1955, George Ellis was in Israel and took pictures of family, and it is believed that the Basses were in those photos. Bilha Lerental and here family including grandchildren live today in the Tel Aviv area. There are other cousins also living in Israel. Ben Naividel has found out out more; refer to chapter 5. It is very likely that other descendants were victims of the Holocaust.

The headstone (photo # 151 of the photos taken in the summer of 1995 in the Yurburg cemetery, commissioned by Donald Levinsohn) of "Shayna Beila Zapolsky, daughter of Menachem Mendel" was found; This was the sister of Olga Zapolsky Gans’s father. The stone indicates that she died in 1940, though the date is not clear on the photo.

Returning to the Krelitz family, Cecil Krelitz had a brother Avraham Mordecai, and an unnamed sister. Recall that the Krelitz family had been bakers for generations. Avraham Mordecai, however, did not want to be a baker, so it seems he moved from Yurburg, to Rasseyn (Raiseinai), about 15 miles away, so as to distance himself from the bakery business, and married Frieda Friedman. He became an overseer of a nobleman's lands and farms. He valued education for his eight children. He carried around his oldest daughter, Golda (the apple of his eye), on a horse as soon as she was old enough. She therefore learned to speak all the languages spoken, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian. He died in Europe in 1899 after being kicked by a horse in Europe. He was about 45 years old, therefore it can be calculated that he was born about 1850. His death prompted his family to emigrate to the US. Three of his daughters came first. Rasseyn, Lithuania is 69 km. WNW of Kaunus, at 55deg 22' North and 23deg 07' East, which is about 25 km or about 15 miles NW of Yurburg, where the Krelitz family came from.

Helen Irwin relates that Avraham Mordecai Krelitz was traveling and met the Friedman brothers and eventually their sister Frieda, whom he married, only condition being that he move to their town, which Avraham Mordecai agreed to because he didn't want to be a baker as was his family's profession. Helen Irwin also relates that she had heard that her grandfather Avraham Mordecai had a sister who married, but then was not close to the family. Helen couldn't remember any names. Helen mentioned the town of Gadenia (more than likely Kedainiai, Lithuania, population 4028 as of about 1920, 50 km North of Kaunus 55deg 17' North 23deg 58' East) as a town the Friedmans were from.

Helen Irwin says that her parents Frank and Golda Rosenbloom lived in Austin, PA., and wereonly Jews in town. Golda also had red hair, apparently a Krelitz trait. Her father believed that the only people who came to America were those fleeing the Russian army and those who could not support themselves. Frank was not considered a suitable husband by her father because his had too many family obligations. Golda and Frank emigrated to the US and were married there. Helen relates that a first cousin of Golda's, George Krelitz was enamored with her and had wanted to marry her.

The sister of Cecil and Avraham Mordecai Krelitz, possibly named Sarah, married Chaim Meyer Feinberg, according to the tree initiated by Harry Ellis. Their daughter Alta married Rueven Eliashevitz, the son of Shalom and Miriam Eliashevitz, further interconnecting these families. Chaim Meyer Feinberg had eight children by his first wife and six or more by his second wife, Sarah. The Feinberg family was in the lumber business, that is, that they ran a lumber yard and exported lumber down the Neman river. They also had an import-export business, and livery stable, and consequently were quite wealthy. Many of the children from both families immigrated to the US and settled in Detroit; others remained in Yurburg. Chaim Meyer Feinberg's second wife, Sarah Donon (Donevsky) was a younger woman than his first wife. Her mother had lived in Paris, according to Faye Schrage Ullmann. Faye also relates that her mother Helen Feinberg Schrage, who was raised in Yurburg and learned Hebrew there, was taught the Sephardic pronounciation of Hebrew. Helen confirms that all the Jewish women received an education.

Regina Naividel found two references to Naividels who lived near Yurburg, but are not known to be connected to the family. Further research may possibly indicate connections:

"Yehudat Lita" (Lithuanian Jewry) Volume III, Page 199:

Naividel, Eliyahu Ben Zalman (1821 -1886)

Author. Born in Beshereni. Student of Wolozin. Belonged to the group of "Maskilei Razien" (about 15 miles North of Yurburg) (together with Shneor Zaksh). Teacher. Author of "Moreh Sfat Ivrith" (Teacher of the Hebrew Language) according to the Oldendorf system (1874) and "Av LeBanim" (Warsaw, Taf Rexh Mem Beth), (Instructions for Young People). Died in Warsaw.

"Yehadut Lita" (Lithuanian Jewry) Volume III, Page 314-315. In the chapter about the town of Taurage (within about 20 miles of Yurburg) there is mentioned:

Naividel, Rav. Baruch-Nataniel

H , and Zionist. Signed a Zionist K in 1898.

This section on the families in Yurburg is closed with the passage from the Encyclopedia Judiaca which concludes its section on Yurburg as follows: "In June-September 1941, after the occupation of the town by the Germans, the Jews of Jurbarkas were murdered by Lithuanians." Many of our cousins were among them. A special chapter in this book is devoted to them.

IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA: 1890 - 1939

and THE EARLY YEARS IN AMERICA

As best we can discern, members of our families immigrated to the US starting possibly as early as 1890, and that immigration lasted to 1939. The first ones were likely the family of Avraham Mordecai Krelitz who started leaving shortly after his death, prompted by that event. George Krelitz, son of Cecil and Leah Naividel Krelitz is believed to be one of the first of his family to have immigrated to the United States. The last one to immigrate was a daughter of Chaim Meyer Feinberg and his wife Sarah, who came to US with her two daughters, Miriam Gold and Diana Tobin, but went back to Europe in 1939 to bring back another daughter and her husband, but they were caught in the war and died in Holocaust.

They clearly left Europe seeking a better life; little did they know what was to befall those who remained. Maybe they did have some sense that Europe was no longer safe and that America was. This question has not yet been posed to those remaining who made the immmigration, such as Olga Gans, Helen Feinberg Schrage, George Zerry and Helen Beiles.

In the period from 1905 to 1916, the key event that many cite as encouraging them to leave was that upon reaching either age 17 or 18 the sons were required to serve in the Russian Army. This service for Jews was a most unpleasant experience, to say the least. They were treated terribly, and accordingly sought to avoid it. The way out was to immigrate to America. The daughters followed their brothers; often then the mothers and fathers would follow in due time.

Rosalin Ellis Krelitz relates that "when the Eliashevitz family landed on Ellis Island, the people admitting them did not know how to spell some foreign names, so they gave them new ones. That is how the Ellis name was born. The Krelitz name, however, is the original name. When they landed in this country, they all went to Altoona, Pennsylvania, because their oldest brother and cousin, George Krelitz, had been here in this country a long time before any of them came and had an established business there. We had cousins by the name of Lippman who came there too. They went up to the Mesabe Iron Range in northern Minnesota where Sam Lippman opened up a big department store in Virginia, Minnesota, and his brother Ben Lippman opened a big store in Hibbing Minnesota. My husband, Bill Krelitz, peddled in the country in Pennsylvania until he made enough money to open his own department store in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania- 5 miles from Altoona."

Naividel became Newberg in one branch and became Lippman in another branch. Kreid or Kroida became Craine.

George Krelitz (appears in the Photo Section) married and had a son Milton, who also appears in the Photo Section with his Uncle Bill Krelitz. Unfortunately George Krelitz died young due to an appendicitis. Apparently he was widely loved and missed because at least three Krelitz family sons were named after him, George Ellis, George Zarnitsky (Zerry), and George Gittelson. George Krelitz's wife remarried a man by the name of Rubin, who adapted Milton, who then became Milton Rubin. Milton eventually became successful in the glass business in New York City, and lived in New Rochelle, New York. Contact with him and his family has been lost.

Rosalin Ellis Krelitz also relates that her father, "Sam Ellis opened a shoe store--but that didn't work and he also went up to the Iron Range and opened a store with his brother Harry. My Aunt Fanny Ellis married Max Bernstein and they lived in Chisolm, Minnesota for a while and then in Eveleth where we lived. Max was a cattleman and had a butcher shop there. I remember Uncle Reuven Ellis living in Eveleth when his family came over from Europe. They had a small store, and the Ellis boys used to sell papers. A couple of the boys worked in our store too. They eventually moved to Detroit because Aunt Alta (Feinberg) Ellis, Reuven's wife wanted to be near her family. Harry Feinberg was married to "Sis", from England.

Rosalin Ellis Krelitz further writes that her brother Shalby went to Dallas to go to night school taking Law. He graduated from there, wanted to become a corporate lawyer, but at the time Jewish lawyers had no chance to get into that field. During the day he worked for the government in the statistical department. He found a cousin Frank Rosen (that was the way he spelled his name)--I don't know if my Dad had found him or not, as my Dad was a traveler and when he got to a place, he'd look up and find landslite and then he'd find relatives that way. Shalby did not live with them, but they liked each other and Shalby was invited to their home and saw them often. I had gone to visit Shalby in the winter and when I got to Dallas, he met me at the train station and made me take off my boots; I had just come from Minnesota, where it was cold. I stayed at a hotel with a ceiling fan going the first night because it was warm. I met the Rosen's.

My Mother and Dad were well informed about the family because they traveled so much and had gone back to their home in Eurborek (Yurburg, Lithuania) in 1928. At that time they took a trip around the world. My Dad held an important office in B'nai Brith and my Mother held an office in Hadassah. They went to their home town, saw all the family, but at that time they were having curfew hours, so they didn't stay as long as they planned--it was the beginning of the war. When they got to Berlin they were told not to speak in the restaurants or wherever they went--Hitler was just coming into power, so they left within a few days--they went on to their next destination, and ended up in Palestine. They were taken all around there--my Mother said it was all orchards then. My Mother had kept a Kosher home and when she came back from there she said they were all Goyim. From there they ended up in England and then came home. They were gone over 6 weeks. My Dad was going to go into the importing business, so went to places in the countries so he could purchase merchandise. We were living in Milwaukee at that time and when the merchandise came into port, a lot of it was stolen, so he sold what he had and terminated the business. I have a hanging on my wall of a needlepoint and petti point that my Mother made based upon paintings. It was sent to the boat and when she got it home she had it streched on a wooden frame. No one liked it after my Mother passed away, so I got it--I wanted it and love it. That is some of the history of my family. My folks knew all the family in Europe and my Mother used to write to them. She corresponded with Max Zarnitsky's father (Leib)--he was a very well educated man and they corresponded regularly. They kept a diary of their European trip in Yiddish, which Lillian Borgin inherited and is now in the hands of Joel Alpert.

Leona Krelitz Freshman related that her father Bill Krelitz, son of Cecil Krelitz and Leah Naividel "was a runner, meaning that he knew the escape routes for emigrants to take to leave Lithuania. They would all leave at age 15 or 16 to escape the Russian Army service. He would be paid in gold pieces. Bill always retained a special respect for gold all his life, and left his daughters gold pieces. He said that gold is important and a gold piece could buy a life."

Rosalin Ellis Krelitz relates that years after Bill had passed away, she and her daughter Judy were in San Francisco for a library convention; they met a couple on the cable car from Altoona, and found out that they knew Bill. Another time, in Hawaii, on a boat trip, she met a man from Altoona who also knew Bill. Clearly Bill was a well known and well liked man in Altoona.

In July 1994 Rosalin Ellis Krelitz wrote that Sam Lippman (a cousin), the oldest brother, a very sweet person had a large department store in Virginia, Minnesota -- if I'm not mistaken he married a widow but also had children with her. He had a sister, Ethel, who married a Bankman and they had children. I tried writing to the daughter of theirs who lived in Chicago -- but never got an answer--there were three sons, I know that the oldest died and I don't know where the two younger ones are or even if they are still living. You might try writing to the Virginia court house records and see if they can find anything. The younger brother Ben, had a store in Hibbing, department store. He marrried a Rabbi's daughter, but she turned Christian Science and became a Healer. They had a son and a daughter, who went to a Christian Science University. ....They must have come from Yurburg if they were in business with my Uncle George Krelitz in Altoona. Everybody who came there landed in Altoona and they were helped by my Uncle George Krelitz. Many peddled in the country around Altoona. There were lots of farmers there and they used to wait for the peddlers to come so they could get new things from them as there were no cities close by. The peddlers were given hot meals, were put up in the farms and were welcome guests. I know this to be a fact, for one afternoon my husband took me out to see one of these farmers. When we drove up to the farm, the man came out and greeted my husband, who had had a heart attack, so when this Mr. Hoover came out he said, "Bill Krelitz, I thought you were dead." I was introduced to him and he asked about my Dad who had started as a peddler, so was told I was Sam Ellis's daughter, then he asked about the Lippman boys... we had a nice visit and left.

Bill Krelitz's grandson Samuel Freshman relates that William Krelitz met his future son-in-law's father Sam Freshman on a train going out from Altoona, Pennsylvania. Leona's father, William was then a greenhorn peddler. The conductor on the train was trying to charge him extra for putting his pack in the baggage car. Samuel, who had arrived in the United States three years earlier, and had the priviledge of selling Hamilton watches to the conductors, was travelling on the same train. He overheard the conversation and interceded on William's behalf. They became fast friends. Leona Krelitz's mother, Gussy Levine lived only a few doors from Anna Levy, her husband's mother and Gussy and Anna, grew up together.

Sam also relates that in the Krelitz family tree there is a Bill Diamond, who had an aunt or cousin, a Miss Diamond, who was a steel broker in Pittsburg. She never married.

As a young girl, Celia Krelitz, the youngest child of Cecil Krelitz and Leah Naividel, was sent by her mother to come to the US with her cousin Harry (later to become her husband) to join her uncle George Krelitz in Pottstown PA. Celia (about 14 at the time) and Harry (about 16 at the time) were taken to Hamburg, Germany by Celia's sister Rae, who was to have left them and returned home. Rae had recently been to a German doctor in Koenigsburg (now Kaliningrad) with her ailing mother Leah, who had been told she didn't have long to live. Rae, deciding that her future lay in America simply got on the boat with her sister Celia and cousin Harry. Leah died shortly thereafter. Lee Ellis Alpert, Leona Krelitz Freshman, Lee Krelitz Gittelson and Lillian Ellis Bourgin, and Lil Laden Kugel were all named after her.

Bernard Laden also wrote "In the first decade of the twentieth century, it took at least two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. As we learn from history books, most of the Jews who came here were horribly crowded together in what was called "steerage." This is in the hold, the bottom of the ship, where freight is carried. Ellis Island, in New York harbor, was the port of entry for immigrants, where they were processed, questioned, separated, classified, and scared to death, but eventually were accepted as legal aliens. In a day at Ellis Island, my mother became an American. She emerged as Sarah Reva Ellis, to match the names of her brothers, Sam and Harry Ellis, who preceded her here, and proceed to Altoona, Pennsylvania to stay with relatives. Like most immigrants at that time, she knew about as much English as I do Hindi. Educational opportunities were very limited for most Europeans, especially women. My mother was literate in Yiddish. She read and wrote Yiddish, but she had to come here to learn English. She didn't earn any college degrees, but she got along quite well in our culture."

Bernard also wrote that "eventually, my grandmother, Mary, came to America, as did six of her children. I remember her living with us in Kinney, Minnesota when I was very young. My mother was an unpretentious woman, completely devoted to her family. She was a hard worker; keeping house, caring for her four children, and helping my father in the store. She was sincere and straight forward. You couldn't find a better cook and baker. Home was not a place of contention. My parents had a harmonious relationship; neither drank hard liquor, smoked or gambled. They worker together for the good of the family."

A son of Cecil and Leaha Krelitz, Ben Krelitz came to the United States and eventually moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He had some retail establishment, but untimately started a wholesale drug distribution business, called the Twin City Drug Company, which his sons Cecil and Phillip took over ran. Cecil's son Barry ran the business for many years

Avrameyer Zapolsky, who was married to Pesha Naividel came to this country with his oldest daughter, Edith, before World War I. Before he could bring the rest of the family, the war broke out. Only after the end of the war in 1920, were his wife, Pesha, and the other children, Olga, Dina, and Harry able to immigrate.

Helen Kizell Beiles relates that it was her great aunt, Fega Feinberg Pollack, who was the first one of the family to come to Canada. She helped bring many others over. She and her husband had a country store, and eventually left it to a (grand)nephew, a brother of Helen Beiles, who did very well and in turn helped many others immigrate.

Helen Kizell Beiles and her parents and some of her brothers and sisters Toba, Mottel and Sybel immigrated to Canada in 1927 to join their family including five brothers and their families. This was the same year that Ben Craine visited his parents in the summer. Helen's brother Robert also immigrated in 1927; he had been studying at the University in Grenoble, France. Two sisters, Broche and Hene, remained in Europe and died in the Holocaust with their families. Helen recalls Chaim Meyer Feinberg's home in the center of Yurburg, always very hospitable, she also recalls listening to the first gramaphone in town at his house. They lived only a half a block away. Helen tells of a David (Craine or Kizell or other) who arrived in Canada on Sept. 2, 1939, one day after Hitler attacked Poland. The trip was very difficult because the boat was turned back three times. David came in as a farmer, because Canada was only admitting farmers at the time. The family bought a farm for him. He had been a farmer in Smolinika in Prussia, only 8 miles away from Yurburg. He came with a wife and two children.

Ben Craine came to this country on February 17, 1905, probably originally to Altoona, Pennsylvania, and eventually moved to Detroit where he established himself as a photographer and owner of the Rembrandt Studio and the Craine Studio. In addition to fine portraits, the studio also took portraits of high school graduates for the yearbooks. Joel Alpert relates that he remembers being told by his mother Lee Gertrude (Leah Golda) Ellis Alpertthat any trip to Detroit included a mandatory visit to Ben Craines studio for a portrait session. Many of the fine portraits in the Photo Section in the book are the result of such trips. Joel also relates that "my father tells me that in the winter of 1940 and on into 1941, before he and my mother Lee (whose mother Celia was a Krelitz) married, that it was arranged that he come to Detroit from Wisconsin, to work for Ben Craine. Lee spent the winter in Florida with her parents, but returned to Milwaukee via Detroit and also obtained worked. After a while they decided to elope and marry right in Detriot, and were married April 5, 1941, with Ben and his wife Brina as the witnesses. To this day, my father speaks warmly of his time with Ben Craine."

The members of our family remained close and did thing together. For example, in the 1940s and 1950s Earl and Leona Freshman, Harry and Celia Ellis and Ben Lippman shared a four-plex in Coral Gables Florida. During the winter they used three of the units and rented the fourth. This situation served as a focal point for the families of these people; they would come South during the winter and gather together. There are many pictures in family albums recording these warm meetings. (Leona should be asked about the Lippmans, who were possibly cousins.)

It was common for these cousins to help each other out. There have been cited many instances of one cousin sending money to another to bring them to America. Irwin Rose, when asked if he know of the David Newburg family, responded that David Newburg was the one who sent Irwin Rose's father Meyer Rose money to come to America. Further there are many instances of cousins joining together in business ventures. We must remember that people such as Harry and Sam Ellis were the first cousins of Celia and Rae Krelitz (their future wives), Meyer Rose, David and Sol Newburg. They had known eachother as family is Yurburg, and were selfless in their help of eachother in their new land. We who remember these people as our grandparents, remember them as older people, near the end of their lives; we must realize that they, too were once young, adventuresome and full of spirit. They built new lives in this new country, accomplished much, and are to be admired and remembered with much pride.

After immigrating to America, and initially settling in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the Krelitz and Ellis clans moved to Northern Minnesota. After establishing themselves financially and starting families, many found the need to reside in communities with larger Jewish populations. So Krelitz's moved to Minneapolis, Ellis's moved to Milwaukee and Detroit.

In those cities, the families grew and prospered and remained close. Many a wedding and bris and bar mitzvah saw movements of families between Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Detroit. The great-grandchildren of Hillel Naividel, the fourth Generation, really knew each other and knew of each other. There was great pride in being part of this family.

IMMIGRATION TO ISRAEL: 1927 - 1991

Max Zarnitsky was born and raised in Yurburg (Yurberig), Lithuania. He was a Zionist and upon graduation from high school wanted to go to Palestine, but was told by the Zionist organization that they were building a new country and need trained people. So Max asked what they needed and was told that civil engineers were very desireable. So he then delayed his Alyiah until he graduated Engineering School in Germany in 1927 (this story was told by Max's son Yitzhak). He went to Palestine in 1927 with money sent by the family; the money had been sent to him to pay for his passage to the United States, but of course Max was destined for Palestine. He was the oldest, and had just completed the equivalent of college; the family in America figured that he should come over first, get a job and then be able to send for the rest of his family (that is how it was done). Max instead settled in Israel, and among other things, designed new housing in Jerusalem in early years there. He earned back his passage money and sent it back to brother George, who did come to the US and settle in Detriot. Eventually Max became the Chief Surveyor and Land Appraisor in Israel. He travelled to US in 1950's, and visited family in Milwaukee and elsewhere. His home was always open to any family that came to visit in Israel, which included Harry Ellis, Helen Ellis Koppel, George Ellis, Leona Krelitz Freshman and Joel Alpert. His home in the 1950's was across from the Mann Theatre in Tel Aviv on Marmorek Street. Max and Bella eventually moved to Northern part of Tel Aviv, at 10 Biltmore Street.

Both of Max and Bella's sons followed their father's footsteps and became civil engineers. Yossi and Yitzhak both have become land appraisers as was Max, and Yitzhak has also managed concrete factories. Both sons served in the Israeli Army in several wars. Yitzhak became a tank commander in the army, and was at Mitla Pass in the Six Days War in 1967, in the Golan Heights in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and as a General in Southern Lebanon and in the hills above Beruit in 1982. He was retained in the army reserves well beyond the normal age, serving on staff, and was finally released at age 55.

Max's sister Chaya came to Palestine in the early 1920s, met a fellow, whom she married and stayed there. She did return to visit Yurburg (Yurberig) with her daughter Ruth, when Ruth was about 4 years old. Chaya died just a few years later.

Dovid Leb Abramson and his wife Genia were living in Lithuania in 1941 and escaped to Russia during the war. Dovid Leb had two brothers (?), Sholem and Mendel who died in the Holocaust. They were reported to have been in Kovno, presumeably in the Ghetto. Dovid Lab arrived in Israel sometime after the war after spending some time in France. Other family such as Gita Abramson Bereznizky and Bella Abramson Kaplan immigrated to Israel from Vilna as recently as 1991. Ben Naividel and his parents arrived from Vilna in 1979.

IMMIGRATION TO MEXICO

One of Cecil and Leaha Krelitz's children, Meyer and his wife, Esther, had a daughter Rivka who married a Guttman. Their children were Akiva, Elias, and Mottel. It is believed (this needs verification) that as World War II approached, they (either the parents and the children or the children alone) tried to come to the United States, but couldn't, so they went to Mexico City. It is believed that some of the family went into the button business and visited family in the Midwest, and another may have become a doctor. Contact has been lost with this branch of the family. We need more information about this topic. Any inputs would be greatly appreciated. A letter sent in 1991 to Mr. S. Guttman, Apartodo Postal 2538, Mexico City, Mexico, was returned to sender. Another one of Meyer and Esther's children is rumored to have gone to St. Louis. Again this is a dead end. Any inputs on this branch of the family would be greatly appreciated. This branch as been rediscovered in December 1996, and is described in a later chapter.

HOLOCAUST VICTIMS

The intent of this section is to enumerate as much as possible about the members of our family who were Holocaust victims. I feel it necessary to add a personal note here. I as a member of the Fifth Generation, the great-great-grandson of Hillel Naividel, being born in 1944, had learned about the Holocaust only after it was history. Somehow I believed that even though it was the history of the Jewish people of Europe, it applied to other families and that we were more fortunate. Maybe this was because it was a topic no one wanted to speak about when I was growing up in the 1950s. Only when I was in the midst of researching this family history, that I came upon those dead ends in the family tree, that I realized that members of our family were indeed victims of that horror. That realization makes this document even more important. Who were these cousins who were the victims? What were their names, their stories, what were their lives like? Unfortunately this subject has been considered so so painful to those who knew them that that would not tlak about it, thereby denying us any knowledge of the victims. It would only add to the injustice if thesilence meant that they were forever forgotten, in a sense that not only they died for simply being Jewish, but also never existed! I feel that it is very important to document anythin we know of them, even not fifty years after their deaths. Initially we only knew the story of the Abramson brothers, Aaron and Dovid Leb, the only information I have is the note on several branches: "Large family Lost in World War II." As of 1993 and 1994, with the discovery of Jack Cossid currently living Chicago, but originally from Yurburg (Yurberig), and also the discovery of Ben Naividel in Tel Aviv, along with research done by his wife Regina, much much more has been learned. Nevertheless much is still unknown. Anyone with any further information, such as names of wives, children, grandchildren, etc., is urged to send the information, no matter how brief, to the compiler, so that the information may be added and at least documented.

The oldest child of Shalom Eliashevitz and Miriam Naividel, Meyer Eliashevitz and his wife Chareva Rosen, had a large family; they were all lost in Holocaust. This was told to Joel Alpert by his grandfather Harry Ellis (Meir Eliashevitz’s brother) in 1965. Based upon a picture obtained from Leslie Bern, who says that his mother Fanny Eliashevitz, (sister of Meyer), identified those pictured as the Meyer Eliashevitz family, there were at least three sons and three daughters. Two of the daughters are identified by Helen Kizell Beiles as Shlyma and Golda Leah. Another daughter was identified as Esther by Jack Cossid. Meyer and Chareva were first cousins; Chareva Rosen was Beyleh Naividel Rosen's daughter, who was Miriam's sister. Miriam was Meyer's mother.

Another daughter,Elka Eliashevitz was married to a male Lande or Landauand they had (at least) one daughter according to information provided by Regina Naividel in a letter dated June 26, 1994. Whereabouts of Elka and her family are unknown, and it is assumed that they were murdered in the Holocaust.

Jack Chossid recalls a daughter named Esther Eliashevitz .

Rachel Ess Greenstein mentioned in a letter of 2/15/97 that the youngest daughter of Meir Eliashevitz family was Esther, who married her brother Fivel, and they lived in Yurburg.

On May 1, 1997, Rachel Ess Greenstein wrote from Haifa, " Regarding your question about Esther Eliashevitz and her husband Fivel Ess, my brother: They were married about December 1940 or January, 1941. They did not have any children because the war in Lithuania started about six months after they married. We they married, I was living in the city of Kovno with my family (we had left Yurburg after the Russians took control of Lithuania and after the great fire in Yurburg) and during this time until the start of the war, I did was not in contact with Esther and my brother. I have a friend now that lives near ime in Kiryat-Bialik (outside Haifa, Israel), who did live at that time in Yurburg and she does remember the wedding and party and says that it was very modest. This was at the time that the Russians were in control in Lithuania and it was after the big fire in Yurburg."

"I only remember one sister of Esther, named Elka Eliashevitz. I do not remember Golda Leah Eliashevitz from Yurburg."

"I am sure that my brother and his wife Esther were murdered in Yurburg and buried in a brooders (?) - buried in the Smalininken zone. After many years the Jewish community transferred the bones to the Jewish place near Yurburg (this is mentioned in the Yizkor Book)."

In April 1994, David Rosenbloom (a descendant of Avraham Mordechai Krelitz) traveled to Vilna, Lithuania and found information on Elka Eljasoviate and and a 1941 photo of Bela Eljasovaite ("-aite" is the Lithuanian suffix for and unmarried woman) in the new Jewish State Museum of Lithuania located at Pamenkalinio 12, 2001 Vilnius, Lithuania (Chief Curator is Roza Bieliauskiene). One of these women may be an unnamed daughter or granddaughter of Meyer Eliashevitz. Also found was a 1933 photo of two Jewish soldiers from Yurburg including Hirsas Eljasovas (Eliashevitz), he may be one of Mayer's unnamed sons. According to Jack Cossid, there was the only one Eliashevitz family in town. The only reference David Rosenbloom found to the Krelitz family was a 1929 photo in Roza's file of a Jewish girl's group in Yurburg which included Feige Krelicaite; how exactly this person fits into the family is unknown. Photos of Meyer Eliashevitz's sons and daughters were obtained by Regina Naividel from Gita Abramson Bereznizky and will be included in the photo section. Upon close viewing of the Ben Craine film of 1927, many members of the family appear, such as Meyer Eliashevitz, Moshe Krelitz, and Leib Krelitz. Others have not yet been identified likely also appear in the film.

Hillel Naividel's oldest son, Shalom Naividel and his two oldest sons, Meyer Eliezer Naividel and an Unknown Name Naividel, never left Europe and probably perished in the Holocaust likely with their families, whose names are unknown. This need to be verified. Possible official records in Yad Veshem in Jerusalem is a place to start. A Sholem Naiwidel from Kovno is listed as found in Italy in the March 1945 edition of "Lithuanian Jews." This was found on page 463 of the 1991 book "Lithuanian Jewish Communities by Nancy and Stuart Schoenburg, Garland Publishing Inc. New York and London. ISBN-0-8240-4698-6. It is an English translation of "Yehudat Lita" in Hebrew. This Shalom Naividel was possibly from our family, named after a grandfather or great grandfather (recall that all these names are results of transliterations and can easily appear to be different, whereas they are pronounced the same). This lead should be followed up as mentioned in the section below on Further Research.

Jack Cossid, originally from Yurburg, identified members of the Naividel family that he knew, both attornies, Hillel (Lushka), his brother and partner, Mordechai (Mota). Lushka had married an opthomologist from Kovno, and Mota had been engage to Cheka Karabelnik, but Jack lost touch and assumes they married. Jack did not hear about them after the war and therefore assumed that they had died during the war. There was also a sister who ran a variety store, and another brother Reuven, the youngest who ran a bicycle shop, and finally a youngest sister the same age as Jack. The two sisters and Reuven and their families were all killed in the Holocaust. A Macabee group (kvuza) was organized by and named the "Naividel Kvuza." A picture of the group, including Lushka,is in the photo section. All this information was supplied by Jack Cossid of Chicago, Ill. on March 13, 1994.

According to Benny Naividel, his Uncle Hillel his wife Basia and daughter Rachel, and his father Motta (Mordachai) Naividel were in Kovno when the Nazis invaded Lithuania, so they fled East with the Russian army and spent the war in Uzbekastan, near the Chinese border. Motta's first wife and a young daughter were in Yurburg and were killed in the first week of the war by the Nazis and their Lithuanian sympathizers. Eventually Motta and Hillel and his family returned to Lithuania after the war and lived in Vilna. Hillel eventually became the President of the Supreme Court in Vilna, and died in 1969 in that capacity. During the war, in 1941, Motta became the Attorney General in the Lithuanian Government. After the war, Motta wanted to reach Palestine and was involved in a failed airplane hijack attempt in 1945; it was intercepted almost immediately by the KGB and Motta spent 8 years in prison as a result, a "Prisoner of Zion." At age 76, in 1979, he and his second wife Bella Rud Naividel and son Benny immigrated to Israel. Motta and Hillel didn't know their parents because they died when they were very young; they were raised by an uncle and aunt (later identified as Pola Naividel Gurvich and her husband).

Beny was thrilled with the discovery of the family because he thought that all the family was killed during the war, because his father Motta spoke little about the family - a common behavior of survivors.

Many of the members of Feinberg, Craine and Kizell families also perished in the Holocaust. The Ben Craine film of Yurburg in 1927 shows many family members who did not immigrate to the US. This was only 14 years before the destruction of the Jews of Yurburg. It is stated in the narrative of the film that only one of Ben Craine's three sisters, and the one other brother, Nachum immigrated, hence the other two sisters and their families perished in the Holocaust. Also Chaim Meyer Feinberg and his wife, possibly the sister of Cecil Krelitz, had eight children. At least Lepka and Moshe and his wife and five children are explicitly mentioned in the film as having perished in the Holocaust ( they appear along with others who perished in the Holocaust in the Ben Craine film in 1927); it is likely that they were not the only ones. Chaim Meyer and his second wife, Sarah, had seven children. At least one daughter, Itel, the mother of Miriam Gold and Diane Tobin, along with her husband, Mordechai died in the Holocaust. Diana Berzaner Tobin relates that she emigrated from Lithuania in May 1939 , at age 9, with her mother Itel and an older sister Miriam. Her mother went back, sensing the impending war, to get the remaining sister, Raisa, and her husband. The war broke out, they were all caught and murdered. Mordachai Berzaner is mentioned as living on Kovno Street in Zevulun Poran's Book of Rememberence for the Community of Yurburg, Lithuania (1991, Jerusalem). Diana relates that the Jews were rounded up by the Nazis with the help of the local Lithuanians and told that they'd go to work camps so that they would take their most valuable possessions. They were taken to to outskirts of town and murdered. Diana says that she found out that her sister was initially hidden in the town high school by a Christian friend, but was found about a week later because someone told the Nazis. Diana says that at least her parents went to their deaths knowing that at least two daughters would survive and maybe a third would. Diana is trying to find out more through the International Red Cross.

Helen Kizell Beiles relates that she lost two sisters and their families in the Holocaust. Chiene Kizell Beiles and her husband Yacov Beiles was killed in Yurburg by Nazis. Gitel Kizel Zuckerman, her husband Itzhak Zuckerman, and likely her children Hana, Sholem, and a third child were killed in Kovno by the Nazis.

All that is known about the Abramson family is that the only survivors were the brothers Aaron and Dovid Leb, Aron was a forced slave laborer for the Nazis. The rest of the family all perished, including Joseph and Masha's sons Sholem and Mendel (identified by Helen Kizell Bailes), the wife and children of Aaron died in the Holocaust. The sons Sholem and Mendel are reported to have been in Kovno, presumeably in the Ghetto. After the war Aaron was nursed back to health by a German Christian woman, Helena, whom he married. They settled in the small town of Pfaffenhoffen, near Munich, where Aaron owned and managed a modern textile knitting factory ("ARONA Knitting Factory," Portenschlager Weg 17, Pfaffenhofffen, a/iLM (80861), Germany, Bayern.) George Ellis, Joel Alpert and possibly Niki Alpert McCurry all visited him in Pfaffenhoffen in the 1950s and 1960s. They had a daughter, Itta, who was about 5 in 1965. Contact had been lost with Aaron and his family. Joel sent a letter to the Mayor of the town of Pfaffenhoffen, Germany in February 1992 requesting help in locating any of the family. On March 5, 1992, two letters were received, one from the mayor, and the other from Itta Abramson Bauch. Itta's letter is included in the back of this book. She writes that the mayor is in fact her friend, so she received the letter quickly. She writes that Aron died in 1975, and that she knows very little about his past from before the war, and has lost all contact with his family, so the letter was quite a surprise and welcome. Her address is Ringstrasse 27, D-8071 Karlskron, Germany.Phone (0)8450/8598. She is very likely named after her father's first wife, Etta.

Aron Abramson from Yurburg is listed as found in Germany in the March 1945 edition of "Lithuanian Jews." This was found on page 466 of the 1991 book "Lithuanian Jewish Communities by Nancy and Stuart Schoenburg, Garland Publishing Inc. New York and London. ISBN-0-8240-4698-6. It is an English translation of "Yehadut Lita" in Hebrew.

His daughter Itta Bauch,(Ringstr. 27, D-8071 Karlskron, Germany) wrote in March 1992 to Joel Alpert about her father Aron: " He was born in Georgenburg (Yurburg), Lithuania. After school in Memel, he went to the University in Cologne, and then to Lille, France to study textile engineering. He returned to Lithuania and opened an enterprise. He married and had two children, a son and a daughter. (Joel has photos that Itta sent of Aron's two children, Yossi and Ida, his sister Frieda and another photo that is most likely Aron's parents, Masha Krelitz Abramson and Joseph Abramson.) With the beginning of WWII, because of the Nuremberg Laws, the family had to go to the ghetto in Schaulen. There his son, age 6, was killed. His wife and daughter were deported to the concentration camp at Stutthof; when the Russians approached, they were infected with dipteria and thyphoid and died. Aron was taken to Dachau and Landsberg, where he was until 1944. Then he was sent to another camp in Bavaria. Before the Americans came to it, they were told to go to Austria. After a nine day walk they were liberated by the American troops. After the war Aron met my mother Helene (her maiden name is Weigl and she comes from Bavaria). They founded another knitting factory in Landshut and then moved to Munich. In 1961 they moved to Pfaffenhofen." Itta concludes with "So this is the painful biography of Aron and I am quite astonished that they didn't leave Germany after those times; but I think that it was because of my mother, who didn't want to go away.... My mother gave me several letters of George Zerry, who told my father to come to the US ; also the family in Mexico invited him to move there."

In October of 1993, Genia Klein Abramson, the wife of Dovid Leb Abramson came to the United States, to Philadelphia, to attend a concert of music she composed, being performed in Philadelphia, specifically at the synagogue of Cantor Uri Naor of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. At that time Helen and Erwin Koppel came to visit her and time she told them about her life and what had happened to her and her husband during World War II.

She had met Dovid Leb during high school and were married in 1939 in Lithuania. She was from a fairly well-off family which owned a department store. When the Russians came, they took over two of the three rooms in their flat, so they went to Kovno. Either before or shortly after the start of the war, Dovid Leb came home one day, and told her that they must flee Kovno to the East immediately. They packed two suitcases and left that night. They took their gold, and eventually made their way to Russia, which took them six weeks. They went any way they could, including walking and by train. At one point she and Dovid Leb were on a train heading toward Russia. She got off the train to get some food. When she got back to the train station, the train was gone with Dovid Leb on board. She had no idea where the train was going, and she had no money or anything with her.

She met three boys, non-Jews who took pity on her and took care of her, she had been in a state of hysteria. One of the boys was very smart. He was able to dig up carrots from the fields with his knife and thereby feed them. They got on another train, not knowing where they were going. They came to a town. There she met another woman that she knew from her school, who had a small child, and who had just seen Dovid Leb. She left the three boys and went with the woman. Genia said that that was a mistake, as she faired much better with the boys than with this friend of hers. They finally reached the town of Surato, near the Volga river. She had no money nor papers, so she went to the mayor of the town for help, which he did. She eventually made her way to Bela Kova where she caught sight of Dovid Leb on the rail platform. She rushed off the train, found her husband and they hugged unabashedly in sight of everyone.

They spent the war years in Russia. They had a son born there named Yossi, named after Dovid Leb's father. The son, however died in Russia. They made their way to Paris, France after the war, where their daughter, Judith was born. Eventually they settled in Tel Aviv, Israel, where their second daughter Sarit was born.

Judith's name at birth was Ieda, given at the request of Aron, after his daughter, Ida, who was murdered in the Stutthof concentration camp. Genia relates that one day Ieda came home and said that she had enough of being an opera by Verdi, and thereafter was known a Judith.

Genia also related the following about the two sisters of Dovid Leb and Aron: Chaya Rivka Abramson was married to a Doctor Bruskin, and had a daughter Judy. All died in the concentration camps. Freida Abramson was married to a Dr. Padrich, and lived in a small Lithuanian town of Kolnehmei, and had two children, a boy and a girl. He was the only doctor in town and they the only Jews. Genia had been visiting them and decided to leave earlier than planned. It turned out that Frieda and the daughter were murdered by the towns people on the day after Genia left. The doctor and the son were killed in the concentration camps.

The members of the Zarnitsky family that perished in the Holocaust were Leb (Lev) and Elke (Krelitz), the parents and a son, Israel Maiska (Yisrael Moshe) his wife (name unknown) and two daughters, Chaika and another name unknown. Leb and Elka, and Yisrael Moshe Zarnitsky, his wife, and two daughters are remembered as having been victims of the Holocaust on page 486 of Zevulun Poran's Book of Rememberence for the Community of Yurburg, Lithuania (1991, Jerusalem). Max and his sister, Rivka, the mother of Ruth, immigrated to Israel and George (Zerry of Detroit), immigrated to the US. Any further information on the Zarnitsky family would be appreciated.

Also mentioned in Zevulun Poran's Book of Rememberence for the Community of Yurburg, Lithuania, are Moshe and Meyer Krelitz as living on Kovno Street, on page 497, on the list of "Jews of Yurburg - List of Names." It is virtually certain that they perished in the Holocaust.

Moshe Krelitz was recalled as his the best friend by Jack Cossid, (2646 W. Summerdale Ave. Chicago Ill 60625, Phone 773-271-1049) in Yurburg. Jack related on March 13, 1994, that Moshe was a few years older than Jack, who was born 1917, was an extremely creative person, carving figurines out of wood, doing electrical work for group productions, taking all the group photos. They were in the Zionist group of Betar together. Moshe was training to join the Palestine Navy, but deferred going to Palestine upon becoming engaged to the woman whom he married. The photo of him and his wife is in the photo section, obtained from Rosalin Krelitz. Had he gone to the navy he might have survived. He was Meyer's son, and did die in the Holocaust along with his wife and all the family that had remained in Yurburg.

Jack related that he found out that when the Nazis came to Yurburg, it was the local Lithuanians who murdered the Jews. They rounded up 300 men and took them to the cemetery and told them to dig their own graves. Then they were told to fight eachother to the death, and the one who survived would be allowed to live. Of course, all were killed. There were reports from the Lithuanian farmers that not all died immediately, but were buried alive and that the ground continued to move for days afterward! The women and children were herded into the synagogue and kept there for a week without food or water, then the Lithuanians burned down the synagogue killing all the women and children inside. More information is contained in Zevulun Poran's Book of Rememberence for the Community of Yurburg, Lithuania (1991, Jerusalem), but it is in Hebrew and Yiddish and needs to be translated. Any assistance is welcome.

This is the information that we have been able to obtain on the terrible fate of our family who remained in Yurburg. Amazingly we have found out the cruel facts fifty years after the event. Information about many family victims is still missing and should be found before all memory of them dies. They are gone but their memory should survive. It is the least that we can do. They died only because they were Jews. Their only crime was their heritage, which we carry. It is on our shoulders to carry on their memory. We shall not forget them.

We indeed lost much family there. In the Milton Blackstone film, there is a segment taken at the site in the woods outside Yurburg where on July 3, 1941 over 2200 Jews from Yurburg were slaughtered. This is the place that Jack Cossid has mentioned. Our family were among those martyrs.

TODAY

The children of that close knit fourth Generation, the Fifth Generation, grew up in the 1950s and 1960s. In our adulthood, a very mobile period, we have started to lose that strong family connection. No wonder, for we are spread out across the whole country. We reside in Los Angeles; San Francisco; Napa Valley, California; Fairbanks, Alaska; Phoenix, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington D.C. and of course, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, Albuquerque, and Mexico City to name just a few. Our children, the Sixth Generation, and their children the Seventh Generation, will lose all knowledge, unless we actively seek to preserve it.

Update in June 1995

In May 1995, Esther Ressler, a great-granddaughter of Elka Rosen Naividel (the second wife of Hillel Naividel) contacted Joel Alpert looking for "some relatives in Israel from Yurburg," because she was planning to be in Israel in June. Joel led her to Regina Naividel in Tel Aviv. ( It should also be mentioned that Gita had wanted to meet some family from America.) This utimately led to a family reunion described by Regina: " I just have to drop you a few lines....today we had a very nice family meeting and I am very excited and want to share it with you. Esther Ressler had phoned us during her trip and yesterday, when she finally came to Tel Aviv, we confirmed our invitation for today at 5pm."

" In the end we finally met with someone from "overseas" and as mentioned it was very exciting. Esther is a very very nice woman and so is her granddaughter Jassamyn. We were so thrilled to meet them! Gita (Abramson Bereznitky) came with her son Ahron (Alik), and also Bilha Bass Lerental, Yitzhak Zarnitsky and his wife Nava, and Moshe Ben David were also here. .....We had a VERY nice afternoon and it is amazing how we all got along together..... We had descendants of six of Hillel Naividel’s children here ( fourth, fifth and seventh generation descendents of Hillel Naividel). Gita and Moshe from Shmuel’s line, Esther from Pesha’s line, Yitzhak from Leah Naividel Krelitz’s line, Bilha from Beyleh Naividel Rosen’s line and Chana Rochel Naividel’s line, and Beny from Shalom’s line. What would Hillel say about that! Esther related that Gita was so excited that she held her hand the whole evening."

This section contains the descendants charts for the Krelitz, Ellis, Naividel, Feinberg, Rose and Craine families. These descendant charts are provided even though it is easier to visualize the relationships with the classic family tree structure, only because the software produces the descendants charts and not the trees. The descendants charts are quite understandable after reading an explanation of them and a bit of practice in using them.

Referring to the sample chart on the next page, the descendants charts are organized in an "outline" form, with the oldest ancestor, referred as the PATRIARCH, having the numeral "1" in front of the name, with the spouse directly under with the abbreviation "sp" for spouse. The children are the listed in birth order (if known), indented with numeral "2" in front of the names. Their spouses are similarly listed with "sp" in front of the names but indented to the same point as their spouses. Their children are in turn indented further with the next higher numeral, being "3." This scheme continues with increasing numbers, representing later generations. The female spouse's maiden name is used in this list, with the understanding that she took the husband's name upon marriage. Note that all children of a family will carry the same number in front of their name. Further, all persons of the same generation carry the same number in front of their names also. "UNK" means unknown. Note that there can even be cases of second spouses, shown here for the second child of the patriarch.

=============================================================

1- PATRIARCH

sp- Wife of PATRIARCH

2- First Child of PATRIARCH

sp- Spouse of First child of PATRIARCH

3- Grandchild 1 of PATRIARCH

3- Grandchild 2 of PATRIARCH

2- Second Child of PATRIARCH

sp- Spouse of Second child of PATRIARCH

3- Grandchild 3 of PATRIARCH

3- Grandchild 4 of PATRIARCH

sp- Second Spouse of Second child of PATRIARCH

2- Third Child of PATRIARCH

sp- Spouse of Third child of PATRIARCH

3- Grandchild 5 of PATRIARCH

sp- Spouse of 5th Grandchild of PATRIARCH

4- Great-Grandchild of PATRIARCH =============================================================

Hillel Eliashevitz or Harry Ellis, as he was known in America, was the fifth child of Shalom Eliashevitz and Miriam, or Mary Naividel Eliashevitz. He was born October 15, 1886 in Yurburg, Lithuania and named Hillel Eliashevitz, named after his grandfather, Hillel Naividel. He immigrated to the United States at age 21in 1907 along with his cousin Celia Krelitz, whom he would eventually marry, and her sister Rae. They settled initially with Celia's uncle George Krelitz in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Many of the Ellis family, the named changed upon immigration on Ellis Island, and the Krelitz family spent their first years in Altoona. Harry and his brother Sam became dry goods peddlers and went to the Mesabe Iron Range in Northern Minnesota to earn their fortunes. Sam eventually married Rae Krelitz; therefore two brothers married two sister, who were their cousins. This added to the already close knit family orginally from Yurburg. Harry, at age 27, and Celia, at age 25, were married in 1913 in Eveleth, Minnesota (considered a late marriage in that time). Harry and Sam opened a dry goods store in Eveleth Minnesota, called the "Fair Store" Recently Harry's nephew, Howard Bern, revisited the town and found the building still exists and a faded sign from the store still can be seen painted on the side of the building. Harry also was in the automobile financing business. He served as an ambulance driver in the Home Guard during World War I. All of Harry and Celia's children, George, Lee, Shim, and Helen, were all born in Eveleth, Minnesota. In the summer of 1928, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin so that the children could be raised in a larger Jewish community. Milwaukee was chosen by Harry's brother Sam, who had visited many town, always looking up is "landsleit", that is, people from his original town of Yurburg, Lithuania; He met landsleit in Milwaukee, and decided this was a good town with a significant Jewish population in which the children could receive a good Jewish upbringing. Harry and Sam opened a "Ready-to-Wear" clothing store on 13th and Vliet Street across from Schuster's Department Store. Unfortunately the store opened just in time for the Crash of October 1929. Sam then left the business in 1929. The family then went into a successful millinery business, with all members helping out. Family members remember him saying to the Polish women customers, "Dibzeh Kapalucha", meaning "nice hat" in Polish. Even though the depression was difficult, Harry and Celia sent all four children to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to obtain college educations, knowing that this was very vital to their futures. They first lived in a number of homes on the west side of Milwaukee, at 55th and Center and general area, then in 1940 moved to Shepard Avenue on the East side. All the grandchildren have fond memories of that home, which was sold in 1964, when Harry moved to Prospect Avenue with his son George. Harry was a warm grandfather, enjoying his grandchildren. Celia died in 1957. Harry lived to see his first great grandchild, Sivan Ruth Alpert. He died in 1974 at age 89, and is buried at Mound Zion Cemetery in Brookfield Wisconsin, in a family plot next to Celia and near his youngest sister Fanny.

"Ma" and "Pa", that is how I knew them, my grandparents on my mother's side. As I say the words now, I can do so in two different ways: the first "Ma and Pa", to mean my grandparents Celia and Harry Ellis-these have very warm and deeply felt meanings to me; the other "ma and pa" are sort of crude and disrespectful references to one's parents. I rarely think of the latter.

Why "Ma" and "Pa", and not grandma and grandpa? Not only for me but all of the eight grandchildren, of which I am the oldest, and my sister Nicki is the next oldest. I guess it comes from the fact that in 1945, when my parents moved back to Milwaukee from Madison after the end of the war, with their son, me, at one year old, the housing situation was impossible, so we moved in with "Ma and Pa" for a few months while other arrangements were made. I gather that the other children, my uncles George and Shim were still living at home on Shepard Avenue. I must have been learning to talk and identify people, so I picked up their references to "Ma" and "Pa" and so it was!

How well I remember their house. It had a smell, slightly musty maybe, but certainly not offensive, just plain home. It was a magnificent Victorian Tudor on a plot of land that could barely contain the house, a few trees, and the ivy that climbed up the outside walls. It had a big kitchen, with a huge hood over the stove, in which Ma made me oatmeal on cold mornings, soft boiled eggs that were served in an egg holder, a real treat, and her (ever-to-be-remembered) Bobka, a semi-sweet breakfast loaf with raisins. It must have been her specialty. I probably learned to love to eat from her cooking. Only later in life did I learn that her family had owned and run a bakery in Yurburg, Lithuania, on the shore of the Neman river, and she was the bobka maker in the family.

Years later, probably 1988, when I was back in Milwaukee (having left town for Madison to go to the University in 1962) to visit with my wife to be, Nancy. I was showing her around town and eventually drove down Shepard Avenue to show her that great home. Unable to resist, I went up to the front door and rang the bell, hoping someone was home, so I could beg to get her inside to show her the the great sunken living room and sun room with a fountain. When the current owner answered, he at first looked sceptical when I told him I was the grandson of the owner of the 1940s and 1950s and wanted to peek in. Once he agreed and saw how genuinely I was thrilled, he proceeded to show us the whole house. I was overjoyed. To me I was showing Nancy my history, the real stuff.

I remember one day, having slept over at the house, maybe I was 5 or 8. I recall noticing that Ma didn't talk like me, she talked funny--she had an accent, so did Pa! Made no difference, but I did notice it.

Pa enjoyed taking me, his oldest grandson, to baseball games. The Braves were newly in town. I do recall that he had promised to take me this particular summer, but didn't. Ma was very sick, and that took Pa's attention away from me. She required his time, and she did die within the year after my Bar Mitzvah when she was 69 years old. It was the first funeral that I attended where I was not treated as a child, I was now 14 in 1959. I really missed her. She was always very warm to me, leaving me great memories of her, pictures in my mind. She left me in my youth. Pa lived on into my adulthood.

I went to live in Israel in 1972; my daughter Sivan was born there. We returned in 1974, having lived through the Yom Kippur War. We arrived back in Wisconsin a few months after my grandfather John Alpert died. The following spring, in 1975 I was in Sheboygan for the stone dedication. It was a perfect spring day, about 72 degrees, dry, blue sky, light breeze, warm sun. I recall standing under a medium-sized tree looking off to see Pa and Uncle George in suits standing on the grass, framed slightly by the tree I was under. I just thought of how beautiful this scene was and knew that I wanted to remember Pa like this. I wondered how much longer he'd be with us. He died just before the following Labor Day in 1975. He was 90 years old. I occasionally dream of Ma and Pa. They are happy dreams. I feel really good afterwards. I am only sorry that they are only dreams.

Leah Golda was born in Eveleth Minnesota on Halloween October 31, 1917 right before the end of World War I. She was named after her maternal grandmother Leah Naividel Krelitz. Her birth certificate states her name as Golda Leah, which is reversed respect to the above, and how she was know. It was stated by her daughter Niki that she had heard that Lee had made the change about the time of entering high school. The birth certificate also states that her father was 32 and her mother was 27 (this is in slight disagreement with the birthdates of Harry and Celia as given on their gravestones). Carrying on the name, Lee's grandniece Lauren Grace Koppel is named after her, as well as for her brother George.

Her father Harry was involved with automobile financing at the time of her birth and belonged to the Home Guard and was an ambulance driver during that war. He later operated a soft goods department store, the "Fair Store" with his older brother Sam in Eveleth. The family moved to Milwaukee in 1927, when Lee was 10 years old, and George was 12, so that the children could get a Jewish eduation and live in a larger Jewish community. Milwaukee had been chosen by Harry's brother Sam, who had scouted out possible towns for the families. Other members of the Krelitz and Ellis families who also lived in rural Northern Minnesota also moved to the larger cities of Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Detroit.

The family originally lived in the vicinity of North 50th street and West Center Street in a heavily Jewish neighborhood (for Milwaukee). Lee attended Sherman grade school, Peckham Junior High and finally Washington High School, from which she graduated in 1936. While at Washington, she played on the school tennis team. In her spare time she worked in her father's millinery stores.

She attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1936 to 1940, and graduated with a BA in economics. She met her husband Bill in a speech class in 1939 and had several other classes together with him. He had trouble identifying her as Jewish with the name of Ellis, but perservered and asked her if she were Jewish. He relates that he later found out that "her family name was no more Ellis, than his was Alpert," the real names being Eliashevitz and Alperovitz. They were both descended from Lithuanian Jewish families. They both enjoyed being together and riding bikes together on campus.

After graduation ,Lee spent part of the winter of 1940-1941 in Miami Beach with her parents. She returned North via Detroit to visit her Aunt Jenny (Ellis) and Uncle Max Loceff. "Coincidentally" Bill was working for a cousinof Lee's, Ben Craine in Detroit at that time. They decided to marry at that time. and eloped on April 5, 1941. They returned to Milwaukee in August of 1941. With the start of World War II, Bill took a job as a civilian instructor in the radio school of the Army Air Corps at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin.

They lived in Madison during the rest of the war. Their son Joel was born there. They lived above the Joyce Funeral Home on Washington Street. They returned to Milwaukee in 1945 after the war and lived with Lee's parents for a few months before moving into an apartment above Bill's new appliance store in West Allis. They lived there until 1948, the same year daughter, Nicki was born, when they moved to 3870 N. 57th Street in Milwaukee, and lived ther until 1965, when they moved to a new home at 220 W Blackhawk, in Fox Point. They remained there until 1972 when Bill's employment with General Motors required a move to Detroit, where they lived in Troy, Michigan. In June 1974, upon Bill's retirement, they moved to Florida, living in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and finally in Delray Beach.

Lee was always active and supportive of Jewish groups, Hadassah, ORT and the Temple Beth El Sisterhood. She most often acted in the role of Publicity Director for those organizations. While living in Fox Point, Lee became the assistant manager of the Penney's applicance store in the Bay Shore Shopping Center. She was a terrific salesperson and manager because she took an honest personal interest in the employees and the customers she interacted with. She found that strangers would pour our their troubles to her because she had a very understanding nature. Yet for her troubles, she was always a strong person, and was the foundation for her family and the people around her. She always imparted to her family that they could do anything they set their mind to, with her as an example. She learned to drive in 1965, overcoming many barriers to her obtaining a driver's licence.

Lee Ellis Alpert was born with a congenital condition called a Shallow Asitabulum, which is a shallow hip sockets. It is a condition that is believed to run in the Krelitz family, with others known to be affected being her Aunt Chareva, cousins Lee Krelitz Weisberg, Leona Krelitz Freshman, and Lorry Krelitz. This condition appears to affect only or primarily females. Babies descendant of the Krelitz family should be checked for this condition at birth, and their parents should be aware of it. This knowledge should be passed on to the newer generations. Leib Krelitz, son of Meyer Krelitz and a first cousin of Lee, Leona, and nephew of Chareva, was also know to have a hip problem (reported by Jack Cossid). He died in the Holocaust.

We have learned (Jan. 7, 1997) that Alexis Leah Sherman, great-granddaughter of Leah Krelitz Sherman (daughter of Meir Krelitz) also has this condition.

George Ellis was born in 1915 in Eveleth Minnesota, the oldest child of Harry and Celia Ellis. He was named for his Uncle George Krelitz and his maternal grandfather Cecil. His grandniece Lauren Grace Koppel is named after him.

In 1927, when George was 12 years old, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, seeking a larger Jewish community in which to raise the children. He attended Peckham Junior High and Washington High School, where he was an active member of the drama club, Washington Players. He graduated high school in 1933. He then went on the the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He graduated with a degree in (speech major and English minor, BS in Education), in 1937. He then was an Intern Teacher at the Lake Bluff Public School in Shorewood for a year. In 1938-39 George then spend one year teaching at Norton School for Boys in Clairmont, California. While there he developed friends among the other faculty that he maintained throughout his life. He then returned to Milwaukee to work in his father's millinery business. Eventually he operated and owned a millinery store, "The Ellis Hat Shop" on Green Bay Avenue.

In July 1964, he closed the hat shop. He took the Civil Service Exam for social worker and in October 1964 and became a social worker for the County of Milwaukee Welfare Department. At about the same time, September 1964, George and his father Harry sold the house on Shepard Avenue and moved to a high rise apartment on Prospect Avenue. He retired in 1980, and was then involved in volunteer work.

George always enjoyed and was involved in drama, including minor roles in the Florentine Opera Company, and contributing to the high quality of the Milwaukee Jewish Community Players. He is remembered for his outstanding portrales in roles in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Land of Milk and Honey" by his nephew, Joel Alpert.

He travelled extensively, travelling to Israel as early as 1955. He has also been in Europe, to Alaska with his nephew Joel Alpert and Nancy Lefkowitz to visit George's niece Nicki McCurry, and often visited his nephew Brian in San Francisco.

In August of 1990, the family gathered for a wonderful surprise birthday party to honor George on his 75th birthday.

George contracted cancer in 1990, in his 75th year. After surgery he recovered and had another happy productive year. He started his final decline in health in the late summer of 1991, and essentially having said farewell to everyone, he died peacefully on the morning of November 27, 1991, his brother Shim at his side, with all his affairs in order. When sitting Shiva at Shim's house, it was pointed out to Joel that there was a boquet of flowers. The card read, "To My dear brother and sister, Shim and Phyllis, Thank you for everything. Signed George." This was sent by George for Thanksgiving, which was the day after his death. Surely he knew he was very close to death, and everyone was of the opinion that "sister" instead of "sister-in-law" was purposefully stated by George. George had put everything in order, even ordering flowers for his own Shiva.

Max was born and raised in Yurburg, Lithuania. He was a Zionist and upon graduating high school, he was ready to emigrate to Palestine, but upon consultation with the Zionist group, he was told that he must have a profession to be helpful there. He asked and was told that they were building a new country and a civil engineering degree would be very valuable. He left Yurburg in 1921 and went to earn an engineering degree in Germany. He had been sent an entry permit by either his uncle Harry Ellis or his uncle Bill Krelitz. Upon graduation he went to Palestine in 1925 instead of the United States. He sent the entry permit to his brother George, who did come to US and settle in Detriot. Max settled initially in Jerusalem and worked in an architecture office there. In his early years there, he designed some of the first new housing in Jerusalem outside the old city, in Neve Yakov. This neighborhood was destroyed by the British and the land became part of Jordanian Jerusalem in 1948. Today there is an Israeli army camp built on the spot. In the 1930's Max designed at least two apartment buildings in the "Bauhaus" style that still exist. His cousin Ezra Kapshud, also a civil engineer, who was born and raised in Israel, said that Max is considered the "Father of the profession of land appraisal in Israel."

He married Bella, originally from Moscow, and raised two sons, Yossie (Yossef) and Yitzhak, who both became successful civil engineers. Max eventually became the Chief Surveyor in Israel. In that capacity he travelled to US in 1950s, and visited family in Milwaukee and elsewhere. His home was always open to any family members that came to visit Israel. His home in the 1950's was across from the Mann Theatre in Tel Aviv on Marmorik Street. He and Bella eventually moved to northern part of Tel Aviv, at 10 Biltmore Street.

Max always served as an inspiration to his family all over the world. Bella and Max always welcomed any family members who came to visit or live in Israel. They were warm and wonderful people.

Much of the information about Max's early life was supplied by his son Yitzhak Zarnitsky.

My mother's name, in Lithuania, about 1900 was Sarah Reva Eljsevicious, which was a name that was misspelled and mispronounced from its inception. As we knew it, the pronounciation was Elyasevitz.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, it took at least two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. As we learn from history books, most of the Jews who came here were horribly crowded together in what was called "steerage." This is in the hold, the bottom of the ship, where freight is carried.

Ellis Island, in New York harbor, was the port of entry for immigrants, where they were processed, questioned, separated, classified, and scared to death, but eventually were accepted as legal aliens.

In a day at Ellis Island, my mother became an American. She emerged as Sarah Reva Ellis, to match the names of her brothers, Sam and Harry Ellis, who preceded her here, and proceed to Altoona, Pennsylvania to stay with relatives.

Like most immigrants at that time, she knew about as much English as I do Hindi. Educational opportunities were very limited for most Europeans, especially women. My mother was literate in Yiddish. She read and wrote Yiddish, but she had to come here to learn English. She didn't earn any college degrees, but she got along quite well in our culture.

My maternal grandfather was Solomon, the baker. He died young, in his early 40s, leaving a widow with seven children,a bakery and an exporting business. They bought grain from the local farmers and sold it to the Germans who came up the Neman River by way of the Baltic Sea.

Eventually, my grandmother, Mary, came to America, as did six of her children. I remember her living with us in Kinney, Minnesota when I was very young.

My mother never knew much about the "lifestyles of the rich and famous." Going to the moon would be like "Out of this World" to her.

My mother was an unpretentious woman, completely devoted to her family. She was a hard worker; keeping house, caring for her four children, and helping my father in the store. She was sincere and straight forward. You couldn't find a better cook and baker.

Home was not a place of contention. My parents had a harmonious relationship; neither drank hard liquor, smoked or gambled. They worked together for the good of the family.

Date of birth calculated from age 65 (from obituary) at time of death.

Now, so many years later, I realized I really could not afford to attend college, in the early 1930s. Somehow, I did not realize the obvious, or didn't look into it.

My sisters, Lil and Jeannette, were working for $10.00 per week, and my father was building a bakery delivery business from ground zero. I wonder how they survived.

I could manage to attend only the Milwaukee State Teachers College, because costs were low - $23.50 per semester, including book rental, plus streetcar fare of one dollar per week for an unlimited-ride pass.

I received my degree in elementary education in 1935, just about the wrong time to find a job. Graduates of professional schools (doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers) were taking any kind of a job they could find.

Fortune smiled at me. My sister, Sadie, was teaching in West Virginia. She got me a teaching job in Bartley, West Virginia, a "coal camp' near War and Welch.

Becasue I had a degree, which many teachers did not have, I was paid the princely sum of $1,000.00 per school year.

I soon discovered an incompatibility with the coal fields, the mountains, and the teaching profession. In addition, there was discovered a compatibility with a certain Fannie Rachael Cooper, of Barwell, S.C., who was then working in Washington, D.C.

Washington has strong appeal for young people. Government jobs were growing by leaps and bounds as Franklin Roosevelt pressed his New Deal. I didn't look for a government job.

By the time I arrived in the capital my lady fair was not there. She had been transferred to Columbia, S.C.

I began trimming windows for the Charles Auto Supply Co, of Reading Pennsylvania. They had nine stores in the Washington area, which became my responsibility.

One day in early 1937, a letter arrived from Uncle Sam. Do you wish to work for the Railway Mail Service (since discontinued)? While in West Virginia I had taken a civil service examination for this job.

The Post Office Department sent me to St. Paul, Minnesota to work, the transferred me to District 10 in Chicago. The work was on the Chicago, Minneapolis, & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (The Soo Line) to Minneapolis, and the Northwestern Railroad to Ishpeming, Michigan. Living in Milwaukee, I travelled to work in Chicago on a government pass.

In March of 1938, a year after our marriage, Fannie and I came to Barnwell, S.C. on a visit. She went back to work in the same office that she had left the year before, in Columbia. I began selling tires for the Goodyear store. Then, I was asked to go to work for the Dunlop Tire store, of which I became manager shortly afterward.

Tiring of the tire business, I solicited a job elsewhere. T. Parker Davis of the Parker Davis Coal Co. had an opening. It was while working here that Fannie's father and Uncle Leon came to me with a proposition.

Would I want to go in to the grocery business in Allendale?

Fifteen years later, I sold this grocery store and came back to Columbia (1954). There were two good reasons for this. The children were growing up and needed to leave the country town, and Sarah was not happy living in Allendale.

After five months, the store that we bought in Columbia was struck by lightning and burned. We were out of business. It was back to the Parker Davis Coal Co. for the next six years. There followed twenty years as an insurance agent, then retirement at age 67, in 1980.

To keep from being bored to death in retirement I got a part-time job in bookkeeping and tax service.

My mother's name, in Lithuania, about 1900 was Sarah Reva Eljsevicious, which was a name that was misspelled and mispronounced from its inception. As we knew it, the pronounciation was Elyasevitz.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, it took at least two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. As we learn from history books, most of the Jews who came here were horribly crowded together in what was called "steerage." This is in the hold, the bottom of the ship, where freight is carried.

Ellis Island, in New York harbor, was the port of entry for immigrants, where they were processed, questioned, separated, classified, and scared to death, but eventually were accepted as legal aliens.

In a day at Ellis Island, my mother became an American. She emerged as Sarah Reva Ellis, to match the names of her brothers, Sam and Harry Ellis, who preceded her here, and proceed to Altoona, Pennsylvania to stay with relatives.

Like most immigrants at that time, she knew about as much English as I do Hindi. Educational opportunities were very limited for most Europeans, especially women. My mother was literate in Yiddish. She read and wrote Yiddish, but she had to come here to learn English. She didn't earn any college degrees, but she got along quite well in our culture.

My maternal grandfather was Solomon, the baker. He died young, in his early 40s, leaving a widow with seven children, a bakery and an exporting business. They bought grain from the local farmers and sold it to the Germans who came up the Neman River by way of the Baltic Sea.

Eventually, my grandmother, Mary, came to America, as did six of her children. I remember her living with us in Kinney, Minnesota when I was very young.

My mother never knew much about the "lifestyles of the rich and famous." Going to the moon would be like "Out of this World" to her.

My mother was an unpretentious woman, completely devoted to her family. She was a hard worker; keeping house, caring for her four children, and helping my father in the store. She was sincere and straight forward. You couldn't find a better cook and baker.

Home was not a place of contention. My parents had a harmonious relationship; neither drank hard liquor, smoked or gambled. They worker together for the good of the family.

Early history from The Reform Advocate (the synagogue paper in Eveleth, Minnesota, written sometime between 1909 and 1918-found by David Ellis of St. Paul, Minnesota, a great grandson of Reuven, Sam's brother.)

Mr. Sam Ellis was born in the Province of Kovna, Russian Poland, September 15, 1879. As a youth of seventeen (in 1896) he migtated to America landing in New York, where he remained for a few weeks. The following three years (1896 to 1899) he lived in Williamsburg, Pa., learning the general store business. Moving to Altoona, he entered the employment of the Guarantee Clothing Company, working for this concern two years (1899 to1901), then embarked in business for himself. Two years following (1901 to 1903) were spent in Duluth where he conducted the Ellis Haberdashery Co., then came to Eveleth; opening a general store. In July 26, 1903 he and Miss Rose Krelitz were married. One boy and two girls comprise the family. Mr. Ellis has held the office of President of the congregation, served a term as secretary, is a member of the Duluth I.O.B.B and O.B.N. and Odd Fellows.

The following was written by Fanny Eliashevitz Bern Rubenstein's son Leslie Bern, based upon conversations with Fanny. It was shown to her, and she made corrections two weeks before her death in June 1987:

THE END OF AN ERA

Fannie, Aunt Fannie, Grandma, Granny Fannie, Bobbe Fannie - all endearing terms for a great, grand woman - Fannie Rubenstein. She was a mother of four boys, grandmother to eleven grandchildren, great grandmother to thirty-two great grandchildren. She was the "god-mother" of a very large family - the consultant - the advisor - the judge - and she had a great deal of influence on many, many people. She was the one her children turned to, to discuss as well as argue about their way of life. She was the confidant of her grandchildren who came seeking advice - talk things over - - very personal discussion even their parents wouldn't be consulted about. She had the knack of making you discuss situations and problems you wouldn't think of revealing to anyone.

A whole city, Rochester, Minnesota, knew her as Aunt Fannie. She was a friend to everyone- gentile or Jew. She was the first Jewish woman from Rochester to become an Eastern Star. She was a walker-- walked miles for as many years as anybody can remember. She befriended the man, woman, or child on the street--always open for conversation. She was a woman libber--years before the women's rights movement even began. She had a memory for people--where they came from, who their relatives were, and what kind of work they did. She remembered in detail the streets, the people and the countryside of where she was born. Fannie-Freda Rochel Ellis was born in Yurburg (Yurberik), Kovno (Kaunas) in 1890, in what was then known as Lithuania. She was one of seven children. Her family was in the grain business and milled flour. She loved to tell stories about her father Solomon, who crossed into Germany and into Russia to sell their grains. The family was well off, considering the times and the community in which they lived, but stories of the golden opportunities in America were to affect all their lives. Solomon was only forty-five when he passed away, and the oldest son Reuven decided to go to America. Sam, Harry and Sarah went shortly after. In 1907, Fannie, sister Jenny and mother Miriam sailed for America.

Altoona, Pennsylvania was the first stop for the new immigrants, as some of the family, the Lippmans, who were cousins, had come there first. But they were all destined to go West, to the state of Minnesota, the Iron Range (North of Minneapolis near Eveleth). The Ellis clan, and many of the relatives were to make their homes in the small communities. From the carts in Altoona, the brothers Harry and Sam sought their fortune by opening up department stores in Eveleth and Chisolm. Cousins and other "mishpocha" (family) opened general stores, ladies' stores in Ely, Virginia and Hibbing as well. The open-pit iron-mine workers, the Swedes and the Norwegians, were good customers and the families prospered.

Time passed, and Fannie met Max Bernstein, and fell in love. They were married in Virginia on April 17, 1910. They had four boys, Sanford, Howard, Leslie and James - Sholom, Chamasha, Shmuel Lipeh and Yonah. Max was a cattle buyer, but wasn't the kind of provider or father Fannie envisioned her husband should be. Differences in their life styles and goals in life, it was inevitable that there would be a separation.

In 1925, Fannie, determined to start a new life, packed up her belongings, took her four boys, ages two to twelve, and headed for Minneapolis. Many of the families were leaving the Iron Range, because they too had married and had children and headed for the big cities to bring up their children in a more Jewish atmosphere. In Minneapolis, Fannie somehow managed to open up a small department store and lived in the back of the building. Those were hard years, difficult to succeed in business, especially under her circumstances. Her sister Jenny, who had married Max Loceff was also in Minneapolis and moved to Detroit. Fannie decided to follow the Loceffs. So in 1927, she again packed her boys and moved to Detroit. She, as well as the oldest son, Sanford, worked long, hard hours in a department store . Howard worked in a men's store. Fannie was restless, felt there was no future for her family there and decided again to move on.

In 1928, bothers Harry and Sam opened a large ready-to-wear store on 13th and Vliet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shortly after, Sam decided to leave the business, and Harry asked Fannie, as well as Sanford the oldest son to come to Milwaukee to work for him,. So Fannie and her four sons headed for Milwaukee in 1929.

The Great Depression came along, and everyone was fighting to make a living. Fannie and her two boys were working, struggling to make ends meet, and yet provide a nice home for her family. Harry decided to open a chain of millinery stores, so Fannie, enterprising as ever, ventured out again in the business world on her own and opened a ladies' ready-to-wear store on Green Bay Avenue. She then opened another store on Mitchell Street in the early 1930's.

As difficult as conditions were they always lived in a nice home, surrounded by a large family. Many were the family gatherings at the homes, on the beaches, and at the lakes (Oconomowoc and Pewaukee). The cousins had their card parties and their picnics--a very close knit family. But the depression took its toll, and many businesses were forced to close. Fannie had her problems as well. The stores went out of business, but it wasn't long after that she opened a department store on 24th and Vliet Street.

Her sister Jenny was a very sick lady and had gone to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for an operation. Fannie went to visit her and while there, Jenny asked Fannie to visit with someone they knew when they lived in Minneapolis, Isaac Rubinstein. He was now a widower and in the furniture business and had five children, the youngest twelve years old. Fannie met Isaac and then went home to Milwaukee. Shortly after, Isaac came to Milwaukee and it was not long after, on July 28,1934, that they were married.

In the fall of 1934, Fannie took her two youngest sons and moved to Rochester. There she helped raise the youngest of the two families. Many were the large gatherings, and parties that the families looked forward to attending. Fannie was very active in the many communal organizations. The highlight of all her involvements was helping found the Bnai Israel Synagogue and Center in Rochester, which serves thousands of Jews from all over the world each year.

World War II came along, and three of her sons went to serve in the army. Many were the tense moments and anxieties that she endured for four years. Many were the bandages she made and the boxes of honey cake that she mailed to her two boys, James and Leslie, in the South Pacific. The war ended and God was good to her and sent her boys home safe and sound.

After the war was over, Howard settled in Milwaukee. Sanford went to Winona, Minnesota ( on the Wisconsin river, near LaCrosse Wisconsin), Jim had gone to Detroit, and Leslie went to Owatonna, Minnesota. But after a short while, all the boys ended up in Milwaukee -- all married and lived good lives.

Isaac passed away in August of 1950 and by the spring of 1952 Fannie decided to move to Milwaukee to be near her boys. She lived on Prospect Avenue, reacquainted herself with friends from years ago-- made new friends and was very happy in her new life style.

There were many events in her lifetime not related here, such as one of the happiest days in her life in April 1925 when she became an American Citizen. Perhaps some day we'll try to recollect many more of the happenings and record them for future references for our children.

Fanny lived to the age of 96, a very full life. There were happy times, sad times and hard times. Many, many people were influenced by her actions, her judgments, her thoughts, and her wisdom. And one thing for sure is that Fannie, Aunt Fannie, Grandma, Granny Fannie, Bobbe Fannie will not be forgotten. She passed away on June 13, 1987.

Les Bern

Philip J. Krelitz, 82, former chairman of Krelitz Industries in Minneapolis, died of a heart attack Tuesday at Miami Heart Hospital in Miami, Fla. Krelitz, of North Miami Beach and formerly of Golden Valley was born in Pottstown, Pa,. and graduated from North High School in Minneapolis.

He attended the University of Minnesota and worked in a linoleum business owned by his father, Benjamin. As a side line, Philip, his father and Philip's brother Cecil, started selling toothpaste, aspirin, razor blades and other sundries in 1926. It was the beginning of Twin City Wholesale Drug Co., part of Krelitz Industries. "It was easier selling these products than lugging rolls of linoleum all over the place,' said Philip's wife, Pearl. The company was incorporated in 1933 and expanded to over-the-counter products.

Philip was in the Army during World War II and Cecil, who also was a lawyer, operated the business. They bought a building near Loring Park in Minneapolis in 1946 and relocated to 800 N. 3rd St. in Minneapolis in 1973.

Barry Krelitz, Philip's nephew and a registered pharmacist who became chief executive officer of Krelitz Industries in 1977, said that the company really took off when it acquired the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical line and another drug wholesale business in 1954. The company added health and beauty aids and became a full-service wholesaler. At one time, Twin City Wholesale Drug Company served more than 1,500 retail druggists and hospital pharmacies in the Midwest. Philip became president when Cecil died in 1958 and later became board chairman of Krelit Industires. He retired in the late 1980s.

He was past commander of Jewish War Veterans Post 166 and President of the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations Council and Twin Cities Toastmasters. He also was fund-raising chairman for the development of Sister Kenny Institue's new building in the mid-1970s.

Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Ellen Krelitz, and Andrea Krelitz, both of Minneapolis; a son Ben, of Los Angeles and two brothers, Mason, of White Bear Lake and Milton, of St. Louis Park. Services were held Thursday at Temple Israel Synagogue in Minneapolis. Arrangements are by Hodroff & Sons Funeral Chapel, Minneapolis.

Pinchas Shachnovitz's home was situated in the center of Yorburg, in a big stone building. He and his family lived on the top floor of the building, and on the first floor was his stationery and book store. This store was the center for Hebrew and Yiddish book lovers, and at that place sort of a committee was formed for the prominent Jewish citizens of Yorburg, who used to gather and discuss worldly subjects, especially news from Eretz-Yisrael (the Land of Israel) - and eventually of course discussions about the new book...

Pinchas Shachnovitz, an intelligent man and impressive looking, was in the center of the discussions; he talked slowly and in a relaxed way, as if divinely inspired. And at that "shrine of the book" one could also look at a Zionist Yiddish newspaper as well as books written by Hebrew writers, and natives of Lithuania. Pinchas Shachnovitz, who came from a family of writers (see page 231 of the Yorburg Memorial Book for an article on Pinchas's brother Zelig Sachnovitz), was also interested in the Hebrew revived literature which was different in its style and contents from the Enlightment literature, which he felt close to in his youth.

At that time, during the 1920s, when we met Pinchas Shachnovitz, he was already well known as a writer. And as we found out in "Hamelitz" (the first Hebrew periodical of the Enlightment and the "Hovevei Zion [Lovers of Zion] " in Odessa Russia 1860-1904), he was a fast correspondent who sent his writings for publishing on Lithuanian Jews, including Yorburg. His Hebrew was a bit flowery and his style was that of the period. During the editing of the Memorial Book we read a few of the articles sent by Pinchas Shachnovitz to "Hamelitz", which were mostly up-to-date. From the articles it seems that in his youth he was a trustworthy correspondent involved in the life and happening of the Jewish community in Yorburg and Lithuania in general.

During our studies in high school we knew Pinchas Shachnovitz to be a modest man, one of the prominent Jewish citizens of Yorburg, a public person sensitive to people's pains, always ready to assist and help to solve problems. As a Zionist, according to his views, his main interest was Eretz-Yisrael, its development, problems and needs. He was involved in every Zionist enterprise, which could contribute to the developement and construction of Israel.

Pinchas Shachnovitz did his utmost for the Hebrew High School which needed encouragement and financial assistance, as it was difficult to keep up such an institution in a relatively small town like Yorburg. Nevertheless the Jewish Zionist community took upon themselves this heavy burden, with the understanding of the importance and value of this national-cultural institution for the Jews of Yorburg. The high school was kind of a mini-university, which contributed to the entire Jewish population, and was the pride of the Jews of Yorburg Pinchas Shachnovitz was also interested in the activities of the Zionist youth. While his daughter, Frieda, as a member and a counselor in the Jewish Scouting movement - Hashomer Hatzair (literally: Young Watchmen), he learned to know this movment and identified with its pioneering goals. Frieda went through all the stages of the pioneer training leading to her immigration to Eretz-Yisrael, to which her father gave his consent, encouragement and praise. [ a photo of Frieda and her father Pinchas Shachnovitz appears on page 254 of the Memorial Book]. And indeed, one day Frieda immigrates to Eretz Yisrael and joins the nucleus of Hashomer Hatzair movement of Lithuania, which is the nucleus of the kibbutz (group) founding Mishmar Zvulun, later becoming Kfar Massarik. Frieda adjusted very well to the kibbitz, marrying her friend David and adopting a very symbolic last name - Zvuluni. When their son was born he was named Ilan, Ilan Zvuluni, grandson of Pinchas Shachnovitz of Yorburg. Pinchas Shachnovitz who followed his daughter's life in the kibbutz was extremely happy. He was very pleased to receive letters from his daughter and had great satisfaction on hearing any news and developments of the kibbutz. But the happiness did not last for a long time. One morning the skies of Yorburg were covered with the darkest clouds. Hitler invaded Yorburg, which was located 9 km (5 miles) from the German border. And within three months, in the summer of 1941, the entire Jewish community was completely destroyed. People who read the article "The Old Synagogue tells" by Pinchas Shachnovitz may learn that as soon as Hitler came to power, Pinchas Shachnovitz had the feeling that this would be the end of the Yorburg Jewish comminity, even before it happened...and with this feeling he joined the departed.

May his memory be blessed. Zvulun Poran

Added Note: The following is based upon a telephone conversation between Joel Alpert and Charles (Chaim) Tabakin of Palm Beach Florida that took place on May 6, 1995:

Charles Tabakin (husband of Pinchas's grand-daughter Feiga) related on May 6, 1995, that he and Feiga were married in the Kovno Ghetto during the war. She was also called Fanny. During an action in the ghetto she was taken and sent by train to the Stutthoff concentration camp near Danzig. Charles found out from her mother, who survived the war, that Feiga did survive until the liberation of the camp but died a few days later. Charles was in Dachau for ten months, and was very sick at liberation; he was taken to a hospital by a doctor from Kovno. Charles also related that he was an officer in the Lithuanian army and saved Pinchas Sachnovitz (Feiga's gransfather) from an action by the Nazis and he later died a "normal death" in the ghetto. (I take it to mean that a "normal death" means that he was not murdered outright. JA)

Nossun Kizell, son of Moshe Tuvia Kizell and Rochel Laya Feinberg, one of seven daughters of Rafael Feinberg, son of Naftali, was born in Jurburg on April 14, 1900. Moshe Tuvia and his two brothers came from Finland (which I only learned of this past year!).

The Kizell family owned a bakery in Jurburg, so although they were not wealthy, they always had bread to eat.

My father's recollections of Jurburg were pleasant and he had a comfortable childhood there. He bragged of having "nickel ice skates", quite a status symbol compared to the "wire hangers" that his brother Hertz had (as related by Hertz's daughter Greta Kizell Florence). I assume his house had two storeys as he said that he kept upstairs his"collection of pistols" (for target practice only). He liked school, attending a "cheder" where he learned to read and writeYiddish and Hebrew. He also learned secular subjects. He often recited a Russian poem which began with the words "buryam gloyit". He never knew in which language the secular subjects would be taught that year, so he ended up speaking Russian, Polish and Lithuanian. He said that in the first grade he was the best in the class in Mathematics, justified by being the quickest to answer the question "How much is one million take away one?". Nonetheless, his favorite memory about cheder was the last day of the "z'man" (semester), when he threw all his school books into the bakery oven in his house.

Nossun was always a good sleeper and he told us of the time that his mother said "let him sleep a little longer" even as a fire was threatening their house. This may have been the "Great Fire of 1906".

On his 12th birthday, the news of the sinking of the Titanic reached Jurburg. My father claimed that this was the first news item that he personally remembers from beyond his shtetl world.

In 1925, at age 25, Nossun Kizell came to Canada to join his three older brothers and one sister in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. There he became Norman, worked by day, and went to night school where he learned to read and write English correctly, albeit with some idiosyncracies. When he wrote, there never seemed to be spaces between the words, or even anyother blank space on the page. We still don't know whether he was trying to emulate Torah script, or just trying get the most out of each page of paper. He walked to and from work to save the weekly 25 cent streetcar fare allowance he was given by his older brothers. He learned enough spoken French to direct his workers. I often heard him introduce himself as "IciMonsieurNormandKizellmarchanddepeauxquiparle" (Here speaks Mr. Norman Kizell the hide dealer) , when calling the butcher/trappers that he was planning to visit on his next"week on the road".

On such trips, our biggest worry was that the Mack truck would break down and we would have to get him in the Packard. His biggest worry was that he would be caught with deer skins out-of -season, or overweight at the weighing station.

At age fifty-six, he was able to retire from his very successful hides and fur business. At this time he began a new career in real estate, which was similarly successful. He bought, sold and managed properties in and around Ottawa. This included carrying with him (at all times) a peach basket full of keysas he visited the tenants to collect monthly rent and to atttend to complaints personally.

At the end of the day, he would water his trees with pails of water (not a hose), hammer straight loose nails he had collected. His office had a large map of the local counties, with his parcels (pronounced "possels") shaded in.

He was proud of his physical strength - in the early years he would balance and carry around a ladder with his teeth. Later on, he would challenge his daughters' suitors to brick-lifting contests. (My eventual husband was reputedly the first to decline the contest.)

Back to 1935 - my father was single, good looking and "economically promising", but he did not want to marry a "higa" (someone "born in America"). He travelled back to Lithuania on an extended visit to look for a bride.

Although his parents and most of the children were already in Canada, his two sisters, Chiene and Gittel, and his brother Dovid still remained in Jurburg.

During his visit, he met, courted and married Sonia Gitkin of Shavel (Siauliai, the second largest city in Lithuania at that time). They honeymooned in Paris and sailed back to Ottawa on the "Lusitania".

His greatest pleasure for the second part of his life was driving his wife, children and grandchildren, his many siblings and their families and many guests, for boatrides on his Peterborough outboard and Criscraft inboard motor boats at his summer cottage located just outside of Ottawa (in what is now called Nepean).

One of these guests stands out in my mind. In the summer of 1952 (approx.) we received a lone guest from Israel - Max Zarnitzky, whose family "lived in the same house" as the Kizells in Jurburg.

Helen Kizell Beiles, my father's youngest sister, who was born in Jurburg and who now lives in Montreal, confirms that the homes of the Zarnitsky and Kizell families did in fact share a common wall. Max had left Jurburg for Palestine in 1925 with Sam Kizell, Nossun's brother. Sam was not up for the task of building the country - in which his rolewas to pick up stones in the field, so he joined the Kizell family in Canada, and continued his active role as a Zionist in Ottawa. Max stayed in Palestine married, had two sons, Yossi and Yitzhak, and went on to become known as the "father of land surveying" in Israel. When Max returned to Israel from his visit in the 50's, he had his older son Yossi write to me as a pen-pal, and so the friendship between the Kizell and Zarnitsky families continued to the next generation and more.

On one of my first trips to Israel with my husband (about 1967), Max and Bella Zarnitsky reciprocated my parents' hospitality. We stayed a night or two with them in their apartment on Biltmore Street inTel Aviv and they took us to a Habimah Theatre production ofArthur Miller's "The Price". They had two pairs of seats and they insistedthat my husband and I sit in the better seats in front, while they took thepair in the back of the balcony. When my daughter Gina Pearl Gotlieb (Ra'anana) made aliyah to Israel, she stayed with Yitzhak and his wife Nava for two months. A few years later, the bris of Gina's son Erez was held in Yitzhak andNava's garden. Nowadays, when we or either Zarnitskys' introduce ourselves to others, we do so not just as friends, but always mention that our fathers were "landsmen" in Jurburg.

In addition to being a devoted family man, Norman Kizell's two other principal values were his good name in the community and his acts of tzedakah. He founded and funded the Ottawa Hebrew Free Loan Association. Sonia Kizell was a founding member of the Ottawa Newcomers Committee, a ladies group that welcomed and integrated new residents to the Jewish community.

Together with Helen Kizell Beiles, Sonia founded the Rachel Leah Kizell Chapter of Mizrachi, (in memory of Rochel Leah Feinberg Kizell who died in Ottawa in 1941). The chapter is still active to this day.

Norman Kizell passed away in October 1973 (12 Heshvan).

Never one to leave all his eggs in one basket,

he left funds for ten yeshivas to say Kaddish for him.

He had lived to enjoy the birth of his nine grandchildren.

Norman's widow Sonia still lives in Ottawa. July 1998

Norman's descendants are:

3 daughters, 9 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

Norman and Sonia's children are

Gita (m. Gerald Pearl) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada,

Dorothy (m. George Rosenberg) of Haifa, Israel, and

Rachel (m. Gerald Schneiderman) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Gita and Jerry's children and grandchildren (all born within 5 years) are:

Gina (m. Michael Gotleb) - Sigal, Erez and Einav,

Sandy (m. Susan Marcovitch) - Dana, Remi and Marlin,

Lizzy (m. Stewart Katz) - Zoey, Samson and Jasmin,

Elliott.

Dorothy and George's children are Ari, Jordan and Daphna.

Rachel and Jerry's children are Jed and Liza.

(1913 Sudarg, Lithuania - Oct. 22, 1996 Montreal, Canada)

Gershon and his older brother Leib (Aryeh) lived in Kaunas (Kovno) before the war. Leib just got married to Tzilia when the war broke out. On the first day of the war it was Tzilia who said to both brothers - we' ve got to catch the first train out. Nazi planes were all over the city when they ran to the train station. They caught the last train, but did not get far. The train was bombed repeatedly until it was forced to stop in Latvia. Many passengers continued the journey by foot. They ran through fields and forests, hungry, scared and desperate. They met local peasants on the way, who told them that German planes returned home and it was safe to go back to Kaunas. Leib,Gershon and Tzilia turned around to go back. They met Jewish families on the way and were told not to go back to Kaunas. Leib, Gershon and Tzilia managed to hop on another train, then they were forced to get off. They ran again through fields and forests. They were onthe go for two long and hungry weeks until they finally reached the Tatar Republic of Uzbekistan.

They registered with local authorities and were sent to live on a collective farm. There was hunger, lice, anti-Semitism and other plagues, but the Germans were far away.

Soon both brothers were called to serve to the 16th Lithuanian Division. All the soldiers in the 16th division were Jewish. May be that's why the soldiers were poorly armed, yet sent to fight the toughest battles. The fatal battle took place near a Russian town Oryol. Both Leib and Gershon were in the front lines. Gershon was seriously wounded. Leib, ran to help his brother, he wanted to carry Gershon out of the battle zone. While running towards Gershon, Leib he was hit by a sniper. He was dying in front of Gershon, and Gershon could not move to help his beloved brother. Gershon lost consciousness and when he came to he was in a military hospital. There was no burial, no funeral for Leib. Gershon stayed in the Military hospital for half a year overwhelmed by grief and guilt which he would carry for the rest of his life.

Tzilia did not know the fate of the two brothers. One morning, as she was walking in the village street, a Jewish woman told her - "your husband died in the battle near Oryol". " Where is Gershon?" Tzilia asked. Nobody knew.

After his release from the hospital Gershon went back to Tatar republic, to his brother's widow. As it goes in Jewish tradition, he married his older brother's widow .

My father never spoke about this and never told us, his twins, the story. My mother did when we were 22 years old.

So this is the sad story.

Fania

Sample Pedigree Charts

In this section sample pedigree charts, or charts that show the lineage for an individual, inotherwords, the parents, grandparents, etc. They are provided as a sample of the type of information that can be obtained as output from the genealogical software that can be obtained. See Chapter 7 for more information. Having obtained the software and having access to either a Macintosh or IBM PC or clone, one can add the information that missing on one's individual chart, and then send the new information to the author for incorporation into the master data base. Information can be sent directly to the author to be included in the data base. You are urged to please help and send in corrections or missing information.

Who was he? We know precious little about the earliest ancestor whom we can name. His name was given to us by Harry Ellis (Hillel Eliashevitz), his grandson, who was named after him, as were many of his grrandsons and great grandsons. The name might be spelled Naiwidel. We do not know much about him other than that he and the whole family lived in Yurberik ( also Jurborg, Yurburg, Jurbarkas) on Neman ( or Nemunas) River. It is located about 60 km. to the west of Kaunus (or Kovno) , which is about 75 km. to the west of Vilnus (or Vilna), Lithuania. In his time the river was the border between Lithuania to the North and Prussia to the South. His great -great-grandson Joel Alpert recalls a story by his mother Lee Ellis Alpert, that Harry Ellis's grandfather, who would likely be Hillel Naividel, had come alone to New York in his time, probably some time around the American Civil War, had made money, and sent for his family. His wife did not find life here satisfactory, consequently, the whole family moved back to Europe. This story has been confirmed by Hillel’s great grandson, Sanford Loceff. We should also check immigration records at Ellis Island or somewhere in New York, or other ports of entry such as Boston or Baltimore. We do not know his profession, his first wife's name, nor his birth or death dates. His death occurred prior to 1886, when his grandson Hersel Eliashevitz or Harry Ellis as he was known in America, was born. Projecting back two generations, or about 50 years, gives us an approximate birth in the 1830s. If there is any chance that official records of the period have survived, someone should try to search for them in Yurberik,Jurbarkas or Jurborg, Lithuania. It is possible that earlier ancestors can be found from these records.

Who was Hillel's father? A curious fact becomes apparent: in each of the families of Hillel's children that we know of, there is a grandson with the name Meyer (or sometimes the author has spelled it: Mayer - same name); Meyer Krelitz, Meyer Eliashevitz, Mayerelie Naividel, Meyer Rosen and at least one great grandson of Hillel Naividel (Meyer Ellis). From this might we guess that they were all named after some common person, such as Hillel's father? Might we then guess that Hillel Naividel's father was Mayerelia Naividel?? An intriguing thought, to be solved someday if we can find the records of Hillel's birth. It has also been discovered that the oldest known ancestor of the Bankman and Lippman families was Mayerelie Naividel (Naividel became Lippman upon entering the United States according to Pearl Bankman Sakol), who was approximately in the same generation as the children of Hillel Naividel, yet he never appeared as a child of Hillel Naividel. Mayerelia Lippman-Naividel (who came to this country, and died in Virginia, Minnesota in 1916; his death certificate was located by David Ellis - it lists Myer Lippman’s parents as Yacov and Olga) and possibly was the nephew of our Hillel Naividel!! Julius Bankman was known to be a distant cousin (read: not a first cousin) of Harry Ellis, therefore it is assumed that he was a nephew of Hillel Naividel. This then fits into the theory that Meyerelie was the name of Hillel Naividel's father. A further partial confirmation that the Lippman’s were related further back than Hillel Naividel is a note from Bernard Laden which said: "My recollection is quite clear that Ethel Bankman, a sister of Ben and Henry Lippman, were cousins of my mother. I cannot identify the exact relationship but I am quite sure that the relationship was not first cousins."

Another question: Note also two daughters each of Beyleh Naividel Rose and Leah Naividel Krelitz have the names Masha and Chareva. Could these women been named after Hillel's wife, or his mother, or his wife's mother? Intriguing also! Regina Naividel has suggested that possibly the first wife of Hillel Naividel was Chaia. She is Hillel Naividel's first wife, mother to Shmuel, Sholom, Mary, Leaha, Beylah and Chana Rochel.

Regina Naividel suggests that her name was Chaia because several of her granddaughters were named Chaia or Chareva. This is only a GUESS!! Specifically, three of her five children had daughters named Chaya Rivka (slightly different spellings came down to us, tho, this is unimportant): Shalom Naividel's daughter Chaya Riva married a Lippman; Sarah Beyleh Rosen's daughter Chaya Rivka married a cousin Meir Eliashevitz; and Chana Rochel's daughter Chaia Rivka married a cousin Bass. Furthermore, among her great-granddaughters are Elka Krelitz Zarnitsky's daughter Chai Rivka married a Shachor, immigrated to Israel and had a daughter Ruth, Masha Krelitz Abramson's daughter Chaia Riva married Dr Bruskin and died in the Holocaust, and Meir Krelitz's daughter Rivka who married Shmuel Guttman and immigrated to Mexico City. We also note that Chaia is the daughter of Shmuel Naividel, but this may or may not be relevent because the name Chaia (life-female form is often given after a serious illness).

What was the name of was Cecil's and Avraham Mordechai's father; what was their sister's name (she married Chaim Meyer Feinberg and was the mother of Alta, Ethel, Harry, Moshe, Raisha, Henka, and Lepka Feinberg), was it Sarah? Were there other siblings of Cecil and Mordechai? It is continually mentioned by descendents of Cecil Krelitz, Mordecai Krelitz and of their unnamed sister that the Craines are relatives, but no one can be specific as to how they are related. Ann Craine Feinberg mentioned in the 1927 Craine film that Bill Krelitz was a cousin of both her mother and her father! Was David Craine or Dovid Kried (Ben Craine, the photographer's father) married to another Krelitz sister? Ben Craine was born in about 1890, so his father David was born about 1860, which would make him a contemporary of the hypothetical Krelitz sister. Or was David Craine's mother a Krelitz, possibly an aunt of Cecil and Mordecai and the unnamed sister? Anyone know the answer?

When Sam and Rae(Krelitz) Ellis traveled in 1928, they kept a diary of their European trip in Yiddish. Rosalin Ellis Krelitz recalls that there already was tension in Lithuania for Jews, so they didn't stay long there. Rosalin says that Lillian Borgin inherited the diary and its whereabouts today are unknown. This would be very interesting to locate and translate. Likely Gordan, Lillian's son has it today. Update: Rosalin wrote to her nephew Gordon, who located the diary among his mother's possessions and sent to Rosalin, who then sent it to Joel Alpert on March 31, 1993. Joel was hoping that his father William, who was fluent in Yiddish, would be able to translate it. Unfortunately William died on March 1, 1993. Another translator will be sought. Along with the diary were photos of Max Zarnitsky in Israel in 1927, Max and George's parents, Leb and Elka (Krelitz) Zarnitsky and of the wooden synagogue in Yurburg.

The Rediscovery of the Missing Krelitz Branch

As the author was making contacts with various members of the family, he kept getting sketchy information about what would turn out to be the Avraham Mordecai Kreletz branch of the family tree (that branch spelled it Kreletz not Krelitz). It started with Rosalin Ellis Krelitz mentioning that when she was in college in Boston in 1928, that she made the acquaintance of cousins who lived there. She could remember the names of two sisters Bessie and Leah, who lived next door to each other, and Bessie's 7 year old daughter, Honey Garfinkle. She knew they were cousins because he father Sam Ellis, married to Rae Krelitz, would try to contact relatives as he traveled around the country for business, and he had found these sisters, who were Rae's first cousins. Many years lapsed, until the early 1950's when Rosalin sent a letter to Boston to reestablish contact. She never received and answer.

Leona Krelitz Freshman in Los Angeles was asked about this missing branch of the family. She related that when in college at Carnegy Tech in Pittsburgh, she had met and become a roommate of a Helen Rosenbloom, who was also a cousin and a member of this Krelitz family. Another chance meeting of the descendents occurred when Leona's son Sam was in college registering he wrote out his full name, including his middle name, Krelitz. His roommate Jack Fine remarked that his mother's maiden name was also Krelitz, and as it turned out was also a cousin and member of this family. Leona also related that she had heard that someone had studied that branch of the family and had created a 14 page genealogical tree; she'd try to get it.

After many months and numerous attempts to obtain the tree, Leona finally succeeded. She called me very excited to tell me that the tree was in the mail, but also that the author of the tree is close to me in the Boston area. It turned out that the author Henry Friedman lived less than 20 miles awayfrom me. His grandfather's sister married Cecil Krelitz's brother, Mordechai Kreletz. Hence Henry was not related directly to the Krelitz family, yet this branch of the Krelitz family is also in the Friedman family. I asked Henry what happened to Honey Garfinkle. He replied that she had married a Myron Cohen and now lived in Lexington, Massachusetts. I work in Lexington, so I immediately looked up the address and found that I pass within two blocks from her home on my way to work. So I had received help from Los Angeles, a distance of 3000 miles, to find a cousin two blocks off my route to work!

I called Honey, now 70 years old and met her. I told her of the letter from Rosalin in the 1950s. She recalled the letter, which had arrived just after her mother had passed away, and never got around to responding. I gave her Rosalin's phone number. A tearful, happy phone reunion resulted; they had last spoken over 60 years ago.

Honey gave me the phone number of Helen Rosenbloom Ross Irwin in New York City. Eventually Helen and Leona also spoke together.

There is a photo from Europe from George Ellis of the Abramson family with Joesph, Elka, three sons and two daughters. The oldest son appears to be Aron, with the rest unidentified, with one likely being Dovid Leb. There also is a photo from Europe with the label of "Pes(h)e Rachele's son Abramson" with Yiddish on the back, originally from Rosalin Krelitz's collection; actual connection unknown because Pese Rachele was an unknown name, but assumed to be part of this Abramson family. Only in 1994, after Ben Naividel was found in Tel Aviv and his wife went about reconstructing the family in Israel, did she actually find Abramson Bereznisky whose mother was a Naividel. Gita was shocked to find the photo of her brother Leib. She identified Pesha Rachel as her mother. Leib drowned in the Neiman River in 1935. Gita’s father, Natan Abramson was the town photographer and is not (yet?) known to be related to Joseph Abramson.

There was information that Rivka Krelitz, daughter of Meir Krelitz, immigrated to Mexico City with her husband Israel Guttman in 1927. They raised three son, Mottel, Akiva and Elias. There had been contacts with the family as late as the 1960s, however letters sent in 1994 and 1996 were never answered. This information was included on the Yurburg home page of Shtetlinks of JewishGen genealogical bulletin board created by Joel Alpert. < http://www.jewishgen.org/shtetlinks/yurburg/yurburg.html>. On December 23, 1996, the following message was received:

 

Dear Joel:

My father found the following on the Internet yesterday:

 

> RIVKA KRELITZ GUTTMAN

>

> Born in Yurburg, Lithuania

>

> Rivka Krelitz was born in Yurburg, Lithuania. She married Yisrael

> Guttman also from Yurburg. They immigrated to Mexico City in 1927.

> They raised three sons. Unfortunately all contact has been lost with

> them. Anyone knowing of their whereabouts, please contact

> alpert@ll.mit.edu.

> --------------------------------------------------------------------

> Return to Yurburg Home Page | ShtetLinks Home Page | JewishGen Home

> Page

> --------------------------------------------------------------------

 

My name is Abraham Sherman and I am a nephew of Rivka Krelitz. I am originally from Mexico City but I am living in Houston, TX.

 

My father is Max (Meyer) Sherman Krelitz, son of Leah Krelitz who was Rivka's sister. She went to Mexico City on vacation to see Rivka and was told not go back because of the holocaust. Unfortunately, my grandmother died a couple of years ago but my aunt Rivka is still alive, she is 95 years old. My father has a sister Esther Sherman Krelitz who also lives in Mexico City. We have pictures of thewhole family and even the letters in Yiddish when my grandmother was told not to go back to Europe and they are pretty dramatic.

 

The 3 children you mentioned Rivka had were Elias, Motel and Akiba who passed away a couple of years ago. Motel and Elias are alive and well and I think my father talks with Elias once in a while.

 

I have no idea why my grandmother does not appear in the list of the Krelitz familybut I can tell you my father was totally overcome by emotion to find out he has other living relatives as he was told everybody died in the holocaust.

 

Please reply to my e-mail at your earliest convenience and if you do not mind please an additional copy to my home e-mail address at asherman@pacs.com since I will probably be taking a couple of days off.

 

My phone numbers are the following:

 

Office: (713) 657-8078

Home: (713) 729-8713

 

My fathers numbers in Mexico City are (011) (525) 596-0870 and (011) (525) 596-5128. He is also fluent in English and both of us are sincerely looking forward to hearing from you.

Abraham Sherman

December 26, 1996

 

Dear Family:

 

It is so exciting for us to find out we have a lot family as we were under the impression everyone had died during the holocaust. As Joel mentioned during a phone conversation we had with him, it is better late than never. As you have probably read in a previous message, My father is Max Sherman Krelitz a son of Leah Krelitz who was a daughter of Meir Krelitz.

 

My grandmother Leah and her sister Rivka arrived in Mexico from Yurburg and lived ever since in Rivka's case and my grandmother until she passed away in 1986. Aunt Rivka is 95 years old and I am sure will be thrilled to hear the news.

 

My father has 3 children of which I am the oldest. I am 32 years old and work as an International Tax Manager with Coopers & Lybrand after spending 11 years with Price Waterhouse. I am married and have a 4 year old daughter Alexis whose name in Hebrew is Leah after my grandmother. My next brother is Frank who works for Andersen Consulting in Mexico and is 26 years old. The last brother is Jacob who just emigrated to Israel and is 24 years old.

 

My father owns a factory in Mexico City that manufactures beds and kitchen cabinets. He is 56 years old and is also a CPA like myself.

 

My father has a sister, Esther who is probably 50 years old and also lives in Mexico City. She has 2 daughters Susie and Vivian who are 31 and 27 years old respectively.

 

We are all looking forward to hearing from you soon and also to meeting you soon.

 

We can be contacted at the following addresses:

 

Home:

Abraham and Adriana Sherman

5406 Queensloch Dr.

Houston, TX 77096

(713) 729-8713

 

Office:

Coopers @ Lybrand, L.L.P.

1100 Louisiana, Suite 4100

Houston, TX 77002

(713) 657-8078

 

E-Mail: Office: asherm01@colybrand.com Home:asherman@pacs.com

 

 

Max and Rosy Sherman

Bosque de Framboyanes #359

11700 Mexico, D.F. MEXICO

(011) (525) 596-0870

(011) (525) 596-5128

 

We would like to specially thank Joel for making this happening and sincerely look forward to meeting you soon.

 

G'd Bless you,

Abe

Subsequent to this communication, there were many discussions both by phone and by email between the Mexico and the American Krelitzs. These families will clearly maintain their connection now. Among the items that were discussed were that Abraham Sherman’s daughter Alexis Leah Sherman had inherited the hip problem that is carried by the Krelitz family (see the Medical Alert in the from of this book). He stated it in a phone conversation by saying that he had both good and bad news: "I am sure that we are in the same family (the good news) , but it is confirmed because my daughter has inherited the Krelitz hip problem."

In other conversations with Max Sherman, Leah Krelitz Sherman’s son, he told of finding in his mother’s home, after she had died, a collection of about forty letters written in Yurburg between 1937 and 1941 by Moshe and Leib Krelitz and other relatives. Max and his wife Rosi have just (Feburary 1997) started to translate the letters. First indications are that the letters started out discussing the conditions in Yurburg, and then documented how they got worse, with some hopeful signs when the Russians took over, but then finally were pleading for any help to get out and predicting that they would not survive! These have been very difficult to work through, considering the emotional power of the letters. The letters have just been sent to Jack Cossid, who reports that they are very easy for him to decipher,(though they must be very difficult for him to read, considering that Moshe Krelitz was a very good friend) and he will work on translating and recording the translations. As the translations become available, they will be included in this book. As of April 1997, most of the letters have been translated and are powerful testimony of what our flesh and blood were going through before the war, and they were all murdered.

THE KRELITZ REUNION

From: ALPERT@LL.MIT.EDU (Joel Alpert)

Subject: The report on the Mexican visitation - the complete report to date Status:

We had a great weekend in Chicago and Milwaukee. We met our Mexican cousins, Abraham Sherman Gordon (son, 33 years old) and Max Sherman Krelitz (father, 57 years old), wonderful people, in Chicago, took them to see Jack Cossid in Chicago. Max's mother was Leah Krelitz, neice of Celia Krelitz Ellis and Ben Krelitz. Max's grandfather was Meyer Krelitz, Celia and Ben'soldest brother, he never left Europe. Max and Abraham really enjoyed meeting him. Jack, of course, knew Max's uncles, Moishe and Leib Krelitzin Yurburg and was able to tell stories about them and paint pictures ofYurburg so we could close our eyes and see them and the town. He describedthe family bakery and how they operated it. He told of the characters inthe town. He knew Dora, whom Moishe eventually married, and of whom we now have pictures. He was able to identify people in the pictures that Max had from his mother Leah (died in about 1983). One photo is of three people in swimming suits in the Neman river. One was Leah, Max's mother and the man in the middle was Jack's brother Feivel. It was very strange and erie. It showed that these families were close even in Yurburg. It was very exciting. Max told us that in Mexico that the sons always carry the mother's maiden name after the father's family name so he showed us his credit cards that say "Max Sherman Krelitz", so he truly is a Krelitz even in name.

Max, Abe Nancy and I then drove to Milwaukee, had a good visit in the car and stayed at the Sheraton on Brown Deer road, where Dean had gotten us a good rate thru his friend Howard, the owner, whose wife is from Mexico City. Barry Krelitz from Minneapolis was also staying there. So we met in Abe & Max's room with Barry and Dean also came over, so they got to meet more Krelitz's one on one.

We learned that the Mexican Jewish community is very close and they go to a day school, where they learn Hebrew and all the Jewish customs. Max and Avraham and I were able to converse in Hebrew. I was very impressed. Max and Abraham are also fluent in Yiddish. Nancy and I were very impressed.

Sunday morning Abe and Max, and Nancy and I met with Barry and his son Steve, wife Bridget, and their children, Lily (the cutest 2 year old, with marvelous blond hair and the sweetest personality) and Ben (one month old). Barry, me, and Max are second cousins (our mothers being first cousins), that makes Steve Krelitz and Abraham Sherman third cousins, but everyone agrees that they look like brothers!!!! It was very erie. So they met more Krelitz's one-on-one.

We then took Max and Abraham to Shim and Phyllis's new home in Mequon. Beautiful, spacious home and Shim and Phyllis were able to meet them. Shimmy was very excited and emotional.

 

We then drove down Lake Drive to Steven and Wendy's home. Max was absolutely amazed at the beauty of the drive. I told him of course that I'd only show him Milwaukee's best! Avraham (Abraham) slept. I showed them Pa's house, they were impressed. Avraham woke up and expressed his amazement at the house. Max told him he missed a drive thru a neighborhood of 10 miles of gorgeous homes.

At 12:30 we arrived at Steven and Wendy's home. They had just (hours before) completed moving back in after remodelling their kitchen and adding a bathroom on the first floor. Terrific improvement, and very pretty.

People who came were Max (Mexico City) and Abraham Sherman(Houston Texas), Nancy Lefkowitz (Boston), Joel Alpert(Boston), Les and Florence Bern, Jimmy and Harriet Bern, Steven and Wendy and Elissa Koppel, Shim and Phyllis Ellis, Dean and Wendy Ellis, Barry, Steve, Bridget, Ben and Lilly Krelitz (Minneapolis), Judy and Rosalin Krelitz, Jack and Linda Cossid (Chicago).

We introduced Max and Abraham and Jack and Linda around to everyone they had not met. They were all thrilled to meet their new cousins. We showed the 1927 Ben Craine film of Yurburg, with Jack narrating. Jack pointed out Meyer and Leib Krelitz, Max's grandfather and uncle whom he had never met. Meyer died before the war and Lieb and the rest of the familywere among those of Yurburg who where murdered by the Lithuanians. As we replayed that segment, Max came up to me and showed me the goose bumps on his arm, showing how it affected him. It was an outstanding showing, because Jack knew many of the people there. He had witnessed the filming of this when he was 10 years old. Jack even identified his brother and sister who were among those murdered.

Right before we showed the film, Barry Krelitz took the floor and gave a most heart felt speech, in which he thanked all who had come, both near and far, and all the efforts everyone had made to make this family reunion come together. He said that he spoke for all us there and all those now gone. He had tears in his eyes as did many of us.

We discussed the Yurburg letters, which are letters sent from Max's uncles and aunts from Yurburg in 1937-1941 to Max's mother and aunt in Mexico City. Jack had spend about 100 hours translating them, with Linda writing what Jack said. These were letters from dear friends of Jack, who had all been murdered in fall of 1941. Jack could read the Yiddish script and then interpret the letters and fill in the blanks because he knew all the people involved. Jack even found out 55 years later, why his cousin had died. Again an erie circumstance. The letters are now all translated and typed up and we are trying to figure out how to make this information public. We feel it is a unique look into the lives of those relatives of ours shortly before the war. It is clear from the letters that they knew what their fate was to be. They were looking to get out, but their efforts failed.

It must be understood that Max and Abraham never knew that they had a large family in the US. They only knew of Velvel Krelitz (Bill Krelitz). They thought all their other relatives had died during the war, so that their finding us was monumental to them. Max described how he found the Yurburg home page and how he could not believe his eyes when the screen showed him and described the huge family in the US. He said that his modem was slow and as a result he almost died until it displayed the photo of the family. Max said that he knew this was a big event for the American cousins to reestablish contact with the Mexican cousins, but it is a tremendous event for them, because they now have a big and warm family.

Max took video as did Steven Koppel. Many took photos, especially group photos of everyone in front of the house. The day was a perfectly clear day with very blue sky, showing off Milwaukee's best! Photos are to be shared.

At 6 pm we left for Chicago and had a fun drive back to Chicago, when we joked around alot. When we were about ready to part, we all found it very difficult to part, having had such a good time and feeling so very close.

On Monday Max and Jack got back together to revisit Yurburg together. Jack, Linda, Max and Abraham were planning to have dinner together. I spoke to Jack on Monday from Boston, and he said that he felt a part of the Krelitz family, with all our warmth. It was a very significant event for him.

That is my report.

I encourage those of you who were there to send me your impressions and other things that went on during the day so that those not there can get a full picture.

I beg apologies if I left anything out. We will add to this report to correct it.

 

 

Joel

Subsequent to this mini-reunion in May, Joel and his wife Nancy took a trip to Mexico city and had a wonderfully warm with Max and Rosi and Frank Sherman-Krelitz, Esther (Max’s sister) and Beno Behar and Elias and Rebeca Guttman. It is clear that this branch of the family wants to be reconnected to us.

In the early part of the century Ben Craine immigrated to this country from Yurburg Lithuania. He eventually became a successful photographer and owner of the Craine Studio in Detroit. It should be mentioned here that many of the photos in the families' collections were taken in the Craine Studios, and hence are the source of many of the fine portraits that appear in the Photo Section of this book. Many relatives have recalled that any trip to Detroit included a mandatory session at the Craine Studio. In 1927 he returned home to Yurburg to visit and on the trip took along films of the family in America to show; he also took several reels of 16mm. film of the family in Yurburg. Upon his return to Detroit, he developed that film and showed it to family. It was then stored away in a cabinet in the studio. In the early 1940s Ben married. His wife Brina became pregnant, but Ben died in 1943 before the birth of his son, who was also named Ben. Over the years there was little communication between the Ben's father's family and Ben, so that he knew little about the Craine family.

In the mid 1980s Ben was cleaning the studio, and opened the long locked cabinet containing the 16mm. films of 1927. He viewed them, but of course, they were meaningless to him. He did however recognize their potential value and age, so he transferred them to video tape. Some time later, he ran across some people with the same last name, only to discover that these people were relatives. He mentioned the tapes, and a meeting was arranged with some family members who had immigrated from Yurburg. At that meeting as Ben started the video tape, he fortunately plugged in a microphone, which then dubbed in the conversation, mainly of Ann Craine Feinberg, who knew well all the people in the film, as she had left as a young lady. As a result Ben got to meet his paternal grandparents, David Craine (Dovid Kreid) and his wife Fruma, on film, and numerous family members in Detroit, Milwaukee and Hallidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

Diana Tobin relates that she knew of the films for years and had tried unsuccessfully to obtain a copy of the films from Brina Craine. They were precious to her because the film contains footage of her whole family in a garden. The whole family, other than her sister Miriam were all murdered during the Holocaust. One day one of her daughters, who was working on her high school year book came home and related that there was a very nice man she had encountered who was the photographer for the year book. Diana asked what his name was and found out that it was Ben Craine. Diana told her daughter that he was in fact a cousin and had this film. Diana then obtained a video copy of the film. Esther Ressler then made a copy of that tape. The tape somehow made its way to Florida where Sanford Loceff and William Alpert then made copies of Esther's copy.

This is still a mystery. Here are the facts that are currently known. Many members of the fourth generation, George Ellis, Shim Ellis and Helen Ellis Koppel, relate that Ben Craine is related and is a first cousin of their mother, Celia Krelitz or their father, Harry Ellis. In the Craine film Ann Craine Feinberg states that the Krelitz family is related on both her father's side and her mother's side. Ann Garfinkle Cohen, her mother was Bessie Krelitz, a daughter of Cecil Krelitz's brother, relates that her mother had told her of Ben Craine, a cousin, who was a photographer in Detriot. This also confirms that the Craine family was related to the Krelitz side of the family (August 1991). Joe Ellis relates that he is named after Ben Craine’s brother Yossi. Therefore it should be deduced that the Craines are somehow related here too. Since Joe's grandmother Sarah (unsure of the name) was a Krelitz, so it might be postulated that Ben Craine's mother was also a Krelitz, and possibly a sister to Sarah, Avraham Mordecai and Cecil. This would make Celia Krelitz and Ben Craine first cousins. In the 1920 Census Hinda (listed as "Hilda") Kriletz, (another child of Cecil and Leaha Krelitz) is listed as living with Louis Craine in Blair County Pennsylvania. This gives further evidence that the Craine and the Krelitz families were very closelyrelated. Another possibility is that the Craines are instead related at the level of Hillel Naividel or his wife. This remains a mystery, so anyone with any insight or knowledge is encouraged to contact the author. The Craines are distant cousins (blood relatives) on the Krelitz side of the family according to Olga Zapolsky Gans (July 29, 1991). The information that Ben Craine a first cousin to Celia Krelitz might be confirmed by obtaining a copy of Ben Craine's death certificate, (either in Detriot or Rochester, MN.) and finding that his mother's maiden name is Krelitz.

How was the name spelled in Europe? Eliashevitz? Elijaschewitz? Who was Shalom Eliashevitz? Can we find out anything about his parents? The name is spelled "Eliashevitz" in a letter by Helen Beiles to Joel Alpert in February 1992.

We know the following: that the oldest child of Shalom Eliashevitz and Miriam Naividel, Meyer Eliashevitz and his wife Chareva Rosen, had a large family; they were all lost in Holocaust. This was told to Joel Alpert by his grandfather Harry Ellis in 1968. Based upon a picture obtained from Leslie Bern, who says that his mother Fanny Eliashevitz, (sister of Meyer), identified those pictured as the Meyer Eliashevitz family, there were at least three sons and three daughters. This identification has been confirmed in 1991 by Olga Gans. When she received a copy of this photo, she related that she had not seen it in over 60 years and she cried. It brought back memories of Yurburg that she had left in 1920. She also was able to supply the names of the two oldest daughters: Shalyma, and Golda Leah. She also identified the older woman in the photo as Beyleh Naividel Rosen. Meyer and Chareva were first cousins; Chareva Rosen was Beyleh Naividel Rosen's daughter, who was Miriam's sister. Another interesting fact has been discovered: a Fruma Elijaschewitz from Kovno is listed as a survivor "found in Germany" in the March 1945 edition of "Lithuanian Jews." This was found on page 469 of the 1991 book "Lithuanian Jewish Communities by Nancy and Stuart Schoenburg, Garland Publishing Inc. New York and London. ISBN-0-8240-4698-6. Many of the family were in the Kovno Ghetto during the war and all of Meyers grandchildren’s names are yet unknown to us. This book was published in 1991 and is an English translation of "Yehudat Lita" in Hebrew. Is she possibly related? Since we do not know the names of all of the children of this family or their possible descendents, it is entirely possible that Fruma is related. This lead should be followed up as suggested in the section below called Further Research.

What happened to the Rose branch of the family? Joel Alpert was told by Rosalin Krelitz on 8/2/91 that Meyer Rose was in Duluth, Minnesota. She said that Meyer had married a widow who had a son and a daughter, both kept their own names and both were married. The son was an attorney. Joel Alpert has a picture of Meyer Rose with his daughter copied from Leslie Bern. Following the lead in Duluth, Joel seached at the National Archive in Duluth when the 1920 Census was released in the spring of 1992 for the Meyer Rose family. He found the following entry in the 1920 Census: "Myer Rose 38, is listed as born in Russia, immigrated in 1904, naturalized in 1911, Living at 1019 E 2nd St in Duluth, MN., with wife Fannie, 40, born in Russia. Living with them were his step children, Benjamin Pass, 18, and Edna Pass, 14, and their children, Florence 9, Milton, 7, Evelyn 4, and Irwin, 3, all born in Minnesota." Then in January 1992 David Ellis contacted Joel to obtain information about the Ellis family, having been directed to Joel by David's great uncle Joe Ellis. Upon receiving the family descendants chart, he recognized the Rose name as friends of this parents, all living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. He established contact with Irwin Rose, and passed on the connection to Joel, who then contacted Irwin Rose. During the phone conversation Joel told Irwin that his great-grandmother was Beyleh Naividel Rose. Irwin had never heard the name Naividel, but finally asked about the name Newburg, which he was told was the name chosen to replace Naividel in America. Hence there is yet another branch, the Newburg branch that may be found. Irwin knows of these people. Later Joel wrote Irwin that Irwin's grandfather was Isaac Rosen, and suggested that Irwin was named after him. Irwin Rose wrote in response on Jan. 28, 1993, "Now I do know for the first time about my Grandfather Yitzhak, which is my name in Hebrew, Yitzhak Ben Mayer." Irwin also related that his father Meyer ran a clothing store "Kris and Rose" in Duluth, and was a mild mannered man. Meyer was a very good friend of Joel's grandfather Harry Ellis, Meyer's first cousin.

Joel wrote to Regina Naividel on January 23, 1996: "I found more family in Dallas Texas (think of cowboys). I was told by Rosalin Krelitz that a cousin Frank Rosen lived in Dallas. His father was Beril, (Berchik), who was the son of Unknown Rosen and Elka (who was the second wife of Hillel Naividel). We had no trace of him or his family. So I sent out a message on the JEWISHGEN on the internet and asked for help in finding out about him. A woman, Jackie Ziff,answered my call for help and looked up in the City Directory and found him in the 1930 and 1940 book. I confirmed with Rosalin that this was him. End of story, or so I thought. Then about two weeks later, I got an e-mail message from Jackie. She had been having Shabas dinner with friends who had lived in Dallas a long time. So for some reason she asked if they had heard of Frank Rosen. Not only did they know of him, but the hostess turned out to be his niece. So now I have spoken to the granddaughter of Frank Rosen, Loyce Gender Weitz. Frank’s daughter, Sylvia Rosen Gender is 82. Turns out that Frank had a brother Morris Rosen, who became very wealthy and owned the 3G Suit company in Manhattan. His son is Lincoln Rosen who has three children. All of these people are related to our Rosens, Bilha Bass Lerental, the Kapshuds, and so on. Rather exciting."

On April 27, 1996,the following e-mail was sent to several cousins:

Joel

Kybartia, (Kibart, Kibarti) Pop. 1253 at end of WW I , 82 km SW of Kovno, (54 deg 39' / 22deg 45') . 50 km (31 miles) South of Yurburg, Lithuania.

(Note added: I have since met Professor Levin at the 1996 International Genealogy Conference in Boston on July 16, 1996. He was impressed that I sought him out in my attempts to contact Joseph Rosin. He also stated that it is important that the personal histories of the war, and the stories of the now vanished town of Jews, like Yurburg, be written and available in English because English now reaches such a large portion of the world population).