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Bernadette

Joined: 06 Jul 2010
Replies: 12

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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:58 pm Post subject: Polish and Jewish?

I'd like to know if anyone can help with this one. My Dad was born in 1912 so I would suppose his parents married around 1900 or thereabouts. I don't know much about either of my grandparents as they were both long since passed away by the time I was born. My Dad was raised as a Catholic and said his father was Polish and a Catholic but we've heard rumour that his Mother may have been Jewish. He never spoke much about his Mother at all and it seems that she just 'disappeared' from the family when my Dad was about 8 years of age. We don't know if she died or whether something else occurred. I was always under the impression that Jews tended to marry within their own faith as indeed did Catholics, but that if Jews married out then the children had to be brought up in the Jewish faith. So I can't imagine in those days a Jew marrying a Catholic without there being cause for consternation. Can anyone comment as to whether they have any ideas on this situation? Smile

kith

Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Replies: 13
Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 6:51 pm Post subject:

Well, according to Jewish law, the womb is what's considered. If you're father's Jewish, you're not considered Jewish unless you go through a ceremony after birth. If you mother's Jewish, you're automatically considered Jewish by the Jewish community. Now, what does the Catholic community consider you? Well, they might also consider you Jewish or they may consider you Catholic as you were born of a Catholic (mother or father).

Yes, in 'olden days,' people mostly married within their faiths. That's true today, too, but not there's more intermarriage these days of course.

Your father's mother disappeared when he was eight. Well, that's tragic, but it doesn't mean anything about religion. Is there any other source for the question of religion? I'll be Zenon can do a geneological search for you. Who knows what will come up????

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