PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Our Ancestors in Old Photos from Poland

Matt — Wed Oct 23, 2024 2:28 pm

Author: Matt

Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2024 2:28 pm

Hello. This is the only photo I have of my grandfather as a child. It would've been taken sometime in the late 1910s or early 1920s, probably in Średnia Wieś in far southeastern Poland. Pictured is my great-grandfather Szymon Hańczaryk, his wife Katarzyna Segien, and two of their children, Dymitr and my barefoot grandfather John. There was a middle brother as well, named Jurko (Gregor), and a daughter named Mary.

Brides and Grooms - Old Photos of Poland Weddings

brianbertrand — Thu Jan 11, 2024 3:00 am

Author: brianbertrand

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 3:00 am

This is the wedding of my friend's Grandmother's mother.

Dziedzic family from Skurowa, Przeczyca, Krakow. Poland

BarbOslo — Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:03 am

Author: BarbOslo

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2023 7:03 am

Sophia wrote:

BarbOslo wrote:

Sophia, this site you were talking about? https://przeczyca.pl/
I only see one picture and a short text. ???

Regards,
-Barb

Hi Barb,
This conversation was from 2016, so I think the link is not valid anymore.
Best regards,
Sophia

Oh yes. Was surprised by the quick response, but did not check the date of calls. Haha. Isn't date the most important thing in genealogy?
-Barb

Ancestor's participation in World War I

iwomi — Sat Sep 02, 2023 10:12 am

Author: iwomi

Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2023 10:12 am

Sophia, I don't know if you know the Polish site genealodzy.pl, where parishes are indexed, there is a lot of different information there. It's hard to work with churches. If you give me the name you're interested in, I'll try to find something, greetings

Please help

iwomi — Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:41 am

Author: iwomi

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:41 am

Bardzo Ci dziękuję Jim, mam nekrolog Jamesa i zdjęcie nagrobku również. Nie udało mi się odnaleźć więcej informacji na temat jego dzieci, szukałam kontaktu, pozdrawiam serdecznie Iwona

Old Photos of Pomorskie and Wielkopolskie, Poland

shecallsmemister — Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:35 pm

Author: shecallsmemister

Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:35 pm

mm_88 wrote:

Hello,
I have found this article with old pictures of Gniezno: https://gniezno.naszemiasto.pl/niezwykle-gniezno-sprzed-nawet-kilkuset-lat-widoki-miasta/ar/c1-7800988 and part 2: https://gniezno.naszemiasto.pl/dawne-gniezno-galeria-widokow-miasta-z-lat-1505-1939-cz-ii/ar/c1-7822640 . You can also find some here https://www.facebook.com/gnieznostoria.gniezno/photos

About Nowa Cerkiew: the village is located in Kociewie - it is an ethnographic and cultural region of Pomorze Gdańskie. There is a facebook group called Kociewie na starej fotografii (old photos of Kociewie) where you can find some pictures of Nowa Cerkiew https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064655336807/search?q=cerkiew

Good luck

jozef siek world war 2 photo

Henryk — Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:21 pm

Author: Henryk

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:21 pm

Record at INSTYTUT PAMIĘCI NARODOWEJ
from search:
https://indeksrepresjonowanych.pl/int/wyszukiwanie/94,Wyszukiwanie.html

Unknown Photo

KaminskiJL — Mon Aug 29, 2022 6:43 pm

Author: KaminskiJL

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 6:43 pm

Dave and Sophia, Thank you both for all of your help! I have submitted my request to the Suwalki archive and am waiting for their reply.

Regards,
Joe Kaminski

My Parents Wedding Photo

Henry Soszynski — Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:58 pm

Author: Henry Soszynski

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:58 pm

TedMack wrote:

ziggy53 wrote:

Taken on their wedding day, not sure of exact day. Jozef and Zofia Filipiak, sometime between 1945 and 1947 in a Polish labor camp in Germany.

G'day Ziggy

I spent many months writing to various Parishes in Germany trying to obtain a copy of my Parents Marriage Certificate with no luck - they all advised there was no record. I was able to obtain a copy of the German Civil Marriage record which happened some 18 months later. I ended up finding a copy of the Church marriage certificate at my Brothers in documents he had stored away. My Father and his Brothers were in the same Camps and married just after the war ended.

This is my Aunt's recollection as told to my cousin (just before she passed away late last year) of the marriages in the DP Camps: "The young Polish couples in the displaced camp were all married as a big large wedding group in a chapel near where their labour camp was. Mum said there were 200 people married at the same time because priests were rare and did not frequent their village. The priest that married them was an army chaplain and he had a motorbike and he was travelling from one place to another hence the multiple weddings. She can’t remember the priest’s name.
Each couple had to say their vows to the priest independently, Mum said that the priest must have lost his voice repeating vows over and over for so many couples. The priest just said the one Mass for the large group, but each pair had to perform their vows with him independently. Their wedding rings were fabricated from tin sheeting, probably food cans. The second civil wedding was performed in another town, and they did this because the immigration officers did not recognise the church wedding and hence, they had to marry again at an official registry office in order to validate their wedding certificate."

Thought you may wish to know some background.

Greetings,
Thanks for posting this, as it explains why my parents had two weddings, one in 1945 and the second in 1949 prior to their emigration. Regretfully I don't think I've got a photo of either wedding, though I'm not certain of this, since they may have been in 'civvies' and not in bridal clothes. A closer look is warranted.

Cheers,
Henry

WWI: Russian POWs in barracks with Polish POWs

summ1 — Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:26 am

Author: summ1

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:26 am

Has anyone heard of the Russische Polnische Zivil Arbeit Abteilung? Or can you tell what type of uniforms these men are wearing?

My grandfather served in the Russian Army in WWI. He was a translator and so likely an officer. He was injured and sent to a hospital in Danzig (now Gdansk). Then he was sent to a POW camp, possibly in Austria. After the war he went to Ostrog, Poland (now in Ukraine), where he met his future wife. Both families were Jewish.

I have a photo of him in a group of POWs (see below) standing in front of a building holding several signs. One says "R.P.Z.A.A. 28" I've had the sign identified as German and as an abbreviation for: Russische Polnische Zivil Arbeit Abteilung. Google translate says is: Russian Polish Civil Labor Department. I don't know what the number 28 means.

There are also several small signs with numbers: "10" and "48"

Does anyone know about this Department? Or what the numbers mean?

Also, can you tell what type of uniforms the men are wearing? Their hats and coats are not all the same. I don't think anyone is wearing insignia but its hard to tell since the photo is so worn.

I've also attached another photo of 3 men who I think are POWs since they have no insignia on their uniforms. Any ideas on where the uniforms might be from?

Last, but not least: How/why would these guys have had personal photos taken in the middle of the war as POWs? They apparently were given copies to keep. I also have a solo pic of my grandfather, which was inscribed on the back "To Yakov Ropman". I don't know who he was, but somehow the pic was with my gf when he came to the US.

Thank you for any info at all!

PS: this is my first post, so please forgive any boo-boos...

Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe - pictures 'Life in Poland'

Agnieszka Pawlus — Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:28 pm

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:28 pm

For the occasion of the upcoming holidays I have browsed the National Digital Archive and I have found some pictures showing how people celebrated Easter in Poland.

There is a blessing of food on Great Saturday, palm sellers on the streets, women decorating Easter eggs and the traditional Easter breakfast table.

Enjoy!

uniform and ribbon with medal, dress with brooch

Sophia — Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:01 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:01 am

starshadow wrote:

Thank you very much for your insight Sophia. I didn't know about the colorization of photos. That's fascinating. I think you're right about all three colorizations probably being based on the same original photo. I will ask my relatives if they have the original.

I'm wondering if maybe the reason Konstanty's medal doesn't look like a typical Polish medal is because he was serving in the Russian Army at the time. His home town of Mankowo Poland was in Russian annexed territory, and he fought on the Russian side of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5). He was stationed at Port Arthur on the Pacific Ocean, all the way on the other side of the Russian Empire. Could it be a Russian medal? Maybe that's why it's a different shape, and he's wearing it in the middle, not on the left.

I think you have it exactly right. The medal could very well be a Russian medal - - there are images online of Russian medals which commemorate soldiers who participated in the Russo-Japanese war and these are indeed round medals. The coloring of the ribbon does not seem to match, but that may be a small matter given that the photo-coloring artist might not have been given the information about the correct ribbon color.
Again, thanks for sharing these great pictures!
Sophia

Identifying Medals from WWII

Henry Soszynski — Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:43 pm

Author: Henry Soszynski

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:43 pm

Hi Kim, thanks for the response and the link. Regretfully, only people who have wikipedia bios are listed and that leaves out my uncle. At least it would appear that there is a full list somewhere.

Cheers,
Henry

some old military photos

sirdan — Tue Jul 28, 2020 1:13 am

Author: sirdan

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 1:13 am

starshadow wrote:

I was able to get a little more info about Stanley from my relatives. It seems after his platoon scattered at the start of the war, he was captured, and spent some time in a POW or concentration camp. But after they found out he was born in America (his mother took him back to Poland when he was 5), they released him into American custody. His sister Lola wasn't as fortunate, and spent 5 years in a concentration camp.

Here's a photo of Stanley's sister Lola (Leokadia). She too appears to be in military uniform. But I haven't been able to find out if this was taken before or after the war. The scan is sadly poor resolution and hard to make out. But one thing she appears to have that Stanley doesn't is a stripe on her shoulder below her Poland/ Polska patch. What might that stripe be?

Hi again,
while looking on that nice photo, I noticed Leokadia's "Poland" patch has different colour than Stanisław's patch. And its more rectangular on edges. Its like white letters on some dark material. I looked over internet for clues. I found that patch and attached to the post.

This patch is british Royal Air Force Insignia, and was worn by polish soldiers. What could it be under the patch, then? Most probably its part of the eagle feather from RAF Shoulder Flash. This is official name of the patch, more here http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/britainraf/britainrafinsignia.shtml Do You notice that black rectangular shape on Leokadia shoulder under Poland patch? Its hard to see cause of monochromatic picture.
As found on pictures (link below), military rank was attached in the middle of the shoulder.

RAF Shoulder Flash was used by polish Women's Auxiliary Service in Britiain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Auxiliary_Service_(Poland) More info in polish language as well some nice pictures is here https://www.polishairforce.pl/waaf.html Polish name for this unit is Pomocnicza Lotnicza Służba Kobiet. We can guess then, the photo is from 1941–1946(1949) period.

Mystery soldier (Wilhelm Struś) family photos near Przemyśl

sirdan — Wed Jun 24, 2020 8:33 am

Author: sirdan

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 8:33 am

piotrskp wrote:

Hi Sirdan,

Tomasz was the brother of my grandma. Is it possible to access the city census that was mentioned in your earlier post? I am interested in any additional information about Tomasz and Jozefa (e.g. day of birth, address, etc)

sirdan wrote:

I think You might be right. Description of the photo says, Wilhelm is the one before the last man. Previously, I had approached counting from the top to the bottom of the picture. But when starting counting from the front row of people to the back row, we have person that looks like Wilhelm!
People on your photos, looks like family for the Wilhelm? I found Tomasz Wawro (and Wawro Józefa, wife?) on the Rzeszów city Census in 1949. What if thats the brother in law he visited in 30-ties? That is just a hard guess, i didnt see actual documents.

Hello Piotr.

If Rzeszów is the direction You look for, then You may look here into the archive unit https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/19709279 Its the list of the citizens of Dąbrowskiego street in Rzeszów. Date 1949. There is no info in the description there about relations between the people. Unit may be accesible in place or via mail order of file scan.

Our ancestors in old documentary movies

Piotr Zelny — Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:49 am

Author: Piotr Zelny

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:49 am

From the end of the 19th c. till 1939 Polish cinematography produced many short documentary movies. Some of them were to record improtent historical events while others to show just everyday life in particular regions. At the beginning such production was called the living photography. So it'd fit into this place of forum. I hope it may interest you, aspecially the living photography of everyday life of our ancestors.

Some of the movies are available to see on the web of digital repository
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/search/doc/&fnadvanced=1&is_year=%5B%2A%20TO%201939%5D

I past the links to few of them from interwar provinces of Krakow, Lwow and Stanislawow, that is terrains of former Galicia.

Highlanders (Zakopane and vicinity, former western Galicia)
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/10122

Piligrims to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (former western Galicia)
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/10030

Sanok land (Sanok, Krosno, Biecz and vicinity, former central Galicia)
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/10128

Eastern Carpathians (The Hutsuls region, Kolomyja, former eastern Galicia)
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/10076

Podole (Zaleszczyki, the valley of Dniestr river, former eastern Galicia)
http://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/10908

Best regards
Piotrek

Military Portraits

kirrman — Sat Mar 28, 2020 1:31 pm

Author: kirrman

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 1:31 pm

my grandfather

Translate - picture of Wieliczka Salt Mine

Almacwik — Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:38 pm

Author: Almacwik

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:38 pm

Thank you so much. That’s about what I was thinking.

Photos of Machow

fsadrak — Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:23 am

Author: fsadrak

Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:23 am

Would love to see photographs of Machow, now Lake Tarnobrzeg. My grandmother, Anna Glaz was born there 6 December 1896. Many thanks. Fred

Wedding picture of Kazimiera and Stefan

alexho — Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:53 am

Author: alexho

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:53 am

My grandfather's sister Kazimiera Ciesielska was born 1908 in Janów Great Poland and her husband Stefan was born 1907 in Zlotniki, Poland.Both migrated to France 1924 and they got married 1934 in May-en-Multien,France.