Dear members of Beit Rozhyszcze,
I discovered your existence in the few last weeks after to see a short movie
in youtube about a ceremony in Yad
Vashem in honor of Rozhyszcze. It was a big surprize.
I read in the last days the english part of the Yitzkor Bich I found through
Jewish Gen. I saw this Book first time
in Luts’k, when the rabbi of the jewish house told it to me.
I am doing a research about members of my family who was coming from
Rozhyszcze and I am writing to you because
after to find some letters in an old pack of family’s papers, I understand
they died during 1941-1943 in Ukrainia, in
Rozhyszcze or in escaping into the East.
My grand father Ber Shtitelman came from Rozhyszcze and Yanoushpol, near
Berdichev. He was borned in 1891 and came
into Switzerland in 1908 and builded a family in this new country where I
was borned in 1953. We thought we are
probably the only survivals of the Shtitelman family of Rozhyszcze.
I did a trip in July 2008 to visit the Shtetl, it was first time that one of
the family went back there. I saw the
village, I saw the old cemetery, and also the memorial where same of my
relatives had been killing. I did this trip
with my daughter and we felt a lot of emotions.
Now, I very would like to speak with Rozhyszczers who maybe knew my family
or can speak to me about the conditions
of the Shoah in the Shtetl.
This was Sossia Shtitelman, borned around 1875, borned Weintraub, widowed
from Petakhia Shtitelman (probably murdered
around 1905 in Janoushpol / Berdichev) ; her children, borned around
1891-1901 : Ber Shtitelman, my grand father, was
probably short in Rozhyszcze around 1901-1908 ; Haim Shtitelman who was
1920-1940 the owner of Tkalnia weawing factury
in Rozhyszcze and his wife Hannah borned Litvak from Rovno, and their
daughter Sarah, borned around 1925-1930 ; Zeilig
Shtitelman who was working with his brother and also, I think, as a
photographer ; Ida Shtitelman who joined my grand
father in 1930 in Geneva and went after into New-York; Esther Shtitelman,
and her sun Paul or Pessah Beker, borned
around 1925-1930 ; Esther married in a second mariage Meir Lewinger, from
Rozhyszcze, in 1940.
It was also Zina Hochman, sister of Sossia, widowed from Haim Hochman who
create Tkalnia Factory probably around 1890-
1900, they didn’t had children and they welcomed Sossia and her children
around 1901-1910 after Petakhia died in a
Pogrom around Berdichev or Odessa.
They all was living in number 63, street of the 3 of May.
They was friends with family David Firrer, in Church’s street and with
family Ella or Elie Fefer.
In my trip in Rozhyszcze last July I saw the street of the 3 of May, but the
house didn’t exist. I also visited a
factory which can be the one of my relatives, guided by Miss Abramova, one
of the few actual jewish residents in
Rozhyszcze.
In visiting the Memorial, near the entry of the village, I discover
something which froozed my blood. I don’t know if
you know it, but 10 meters on the back side of the Memorial, I saw an
exercice gunshoting’s place where actually people
(police, army, adults for leisure ?) plays war games and gunshooting. I took
pictures of it.
So, do you know if somebody of the comitee knew my relatives and can speak
to me about ?
Do you have addresses and names of Rozhyszczers who actually are in
Switzerland or in France ?
It where so wonderfull, because, like many peopls of second generation after
Shoah, I listened very not much about
the life before, because my parents and grand parents was too hurted by the
experience. I am trying to knot the cutted
rope of the memory. It where also wonderfull for my father Pierre, 82 years
old, who wroted letters with his cousin
Paul in the 30ies.
Dear members of Beit Rozhyszcze, I please you to receive my best and warm
salutations. Shalom.
Jacques Stitelmann
Jacques Stitelmann – 24, avenue du Mail, 1205 GENEVE
j.stitelmann@bluewin.ch
