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You are here: Home / Genealogy / Tarnow Calling

Tarnow Calling

August 8, 2013 by Edie Jarolim 14 Comments

I’ve gotten used to people contacting me through this blog because they’ve come across the Kornmehl name on it. Now, for the first time, Freud’s Butcher has grabbed the attention of an entire city: Tarnow, Poland.

Or at least the attention of Jerry Bergman, the Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Monuments of Jewish Culture in Tarnow, a committee that I didn’t know existed.

Which makes sense. Up until recently, I had never heard of Tarnow, and I certainly didn’t know that my mother’s entire family originated from there.

Committee Tarnow

Some Tarnow Facts

From JewishGen.org:

Tarnow facts-001

By Coincidence

Bergman, a photojournalist from Tarnow who now lives in Copenhagen, was writing as his committee’s vice-chair to inquire if I had “pictures of my family in Tarnow.” I wrote back that I didn’t know where to begin, that the entire huge Kornmehl family came from Tarnow.

He told me to begin at the beginning but, instead, I decided to begin at the end.

One of my newfound relatives, Flora Selwyn, had grandparents who were born in Tarnow, Doba Schmerling and Elias Kornmehl. Not too long ago, Flora visited Tarnow with her daughter-in-law, Anna — who, by coincidence, was born in Tarnow.  Anna located Doba and Elias’ home as well as Elias’ birth certificate, and they visited various Jewish sites together, including the Jewish cemetery. Here is a picture of the two of them there.

Flora Selwyn and Anna Selwyn in the Tarnow Jewish cemetery
Flora Selwyn and Anna Selwyn in the Tarnow Jewish cemetery

Mothers-in-law often get a bad rap, but not on this blog (see An Inspiring Woman: Frances Kornmehl)

A Mystery and a Promise

Anna Selwyn is not Jewish so it’s no surprise that she was born in Tarnow. Jerry Bergman, on the other hand, is — I’m pretty sure — and he was born in Tarnow after the war; he wrote that he left in 1969. But the fact sheet I posted, above, says that there were only 35 Jews remaining in Tarnow in 1965. Was he one of them?

I asked him, and he promised to tell me the story later, when he wasn’t so busy. I’m going to hold him to it. In turn, I promise to get LOTS of pictures to him.

Bergman also told me that a Polish woman at Berlin University is writing the history of Jews in Tarnow for her Ph.D. dissertation. He said that she was away in August, but that I should contact her when she returns “if you want the story of your family in her work.” You bet I do.

I have mentioned the huge Kornmehl family tree and book that a cousin, Leonard Schneider, put together several years ago and that is now being updated. It is exciting to think that the family will now find a place in yet another work, a scholarly one. Of course, it will probably be in Polish.

Luckily, one of our relatives has a very good relationship with her Polish daughter-in-law.

For more information on Jewish Tarnow, click here. see

Filed Under: Genealogy Tagged With: Committee for the Protection of Monuments of Jewish Culture in Tarnow, Jewish Poland, Tarnow Poland

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elaine schmerling says

    August 8, 2013 at 1:06 pm

    Wow. I had no idea Tarnow had such a huge Jewish population. So many things coming together.

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 8, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      I know — pretty amazing, isn’t it?

      Reply
  2. Shirley Collier says

    August 9, 2013 at 6:32 am

    My Trinkenreich family originated from Tarnow. My great grandfather Menachem Israel Trinkenreich moved to Krakow where he married and had four children before moving to the UK. I would love to visit Tarnow but unfortunately this has not been possible.

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 9, 2013 at 7:28 am

      I have not yet been able to visit Tarnow either but I hope to one of these days. I will give you the contact information of Mr. Bergman in case you also want to be involved in this project.

      Thanks for writing.

      Reply
  3. Jana Last says

    August 9, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Edie,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today’s Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/08/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-august-9.html

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 9, 2013 at 8:54 am

      Jana — I’ve hit the trifecta! Thank you so much for your continuing attention to this blog.

      Have a great weekend yourself!

      Edie

      Reply
  4. Clare says

    August 9, 2013 at 10:00 am

    This is so exciting! Let’s go to Tarnow!!

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 9, 2013 at 10:11 am

      I would love to go to Tarnow! One of these days…

      Reply
  5. Philip Trauring says

    August 9, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Edie,

    Does this committee have a web site? I have a branch from Tarnow and have some photos as well, not all that I’ve been able to identify. I also have copies of telegrams sent to my family there.

    Philip

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 9, 2013 at 10:25 am

      How interesting! No, there is no website — except the Judaica section of the Tarnow museum site, which is mostly in Polish — but I will put you in touch with Jerry Bergman.

      Reply
  6. Sally says

    August 9, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    This is my first visit, and your site is really interesting! I love the graphics 🙂

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      August 9, 2013 at 10:02 pm

      Thank you — and welcome. Hope to see you back!

      Reply

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