Welcome to Strzyzow

Strzyzow (also known as Strizev in Yiddish and Strezow in German) is today a major town in southern Poland (It was in Galicia, an Imperial Province of Austria Hungary, from 1776 to 1919). The earliest known Jewish community appeared in the 16th century, but it was not until the 18th century that the synagogue was built. Strzyzow is located in the Rzeszow region at latitude 49 52', longitude 21 48', 40 km south of Rzeszow, 75 km west of Przemysl. Today there are no Jews in Strzyzow. Map of Galicia

My great grandmother Frieda Necha KANDEL was born in Strzyzow in 1860 (the photo is from 1913). Frieda married Josef SCHEINER, a schochet from the nearby town of Dubetsk. They emigrated to the United States in the late 1890s. Frieda Necha Kandel Scheiner In loving memory of those who lived and died there, and of those who ventured out, I have created this web page, for they left us a wonderful legacy. I have collected all the data sent to me on Strzyzow and will continue to build this page as photographs, stories and records are made available.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the fate of the Jews of Strzyzow in 1942.....almost the entire Jewish population were killed. Much of the history of Strzyzow was told in the Yizkor Book, Sefer Strzizhuv, which was published in Tel Aviv in 1969; excerpts are now available on the web (thanks to JewishGen and a dedicated band of Jewish genealogists). Below you will find a link to this book which tells of a Strzyzow that was a small but vibrant.

If you are visiting this page because your family came from Strzyzow or one of the surrounding communities ....(within 10 miles was .... Map of GaliciaBlazowa, Czudec, Frystak, Kamienic, Krasna, Niebylec, and Tyczyn) .....look carefully, as the spellings of all towns and even the surnames changed along with the governments and the official languages.

I hope you will find this page interesting and helpful. Please contact me if you have photographs or information to add, or any questions. As with any genealogical research, this is an evolving project.

Phyllis Kramer, Wilton, Conn & Savannah, Georgia

Page created July 2000. You are visitor to this page today and visitor since .

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Table of Contents: Genealogy and Photographs

Yesterday: Photos of the Town and Synagogues, Stories of Life in Strzyzow

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Photographs from Strzyzow: Past and Present

We've collected a number of photographs of Strzyzow and we hope you enjoy viewing them. If you have one that's especially pertinent, please feel free to send it along (either as a photo or in jpeg format). Please email Phyllis Kramer.

First, some photographs taken from the Yizkor Book, and sent to us from the Library of Congress: 

Can anyone read the Yiddish that is on the sign??

 

Recognize anyone??

 

 

 

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The Synagogue Today

The late 18th Century Synagogue The Strzyzow Synagogue is being used as a library today.

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Memories from Residents of Strzyzow

Let me introduce you to a wonderful woman. Her name is Chanale Kraut Kislowicz. She is pictured here at 92 in (where else?) Miami Beach, with her friend of many years, Lillian Scheiner Kramer. Chanale was born in 1902 in New York City. Her mother, Tessie Seidman, had married but was not happy here; so in 1910, Tessie packed up her 3 children and returned to her parents in Stzyzow, where her father was Dayan (Judge, Assistant Rabbi), and her mother, the daughter of Reb Avrohom Itzhok, ran the family's Bar and Grill. They lived in a large solid house, with many rooms.

Tessie's father was Alter Ezra "Yicheal" Seidman. Whoever was alive knew him. Life was easier, more familiar in Strzyzow.

Chanale told us the story of her wedding to Itcher Kislowicz: "all of Strzyzow's Jewish population came. We had a Chuppa near the shul, in the open air. Then everyone returned to the house for a party. The in-laws came and stayed for a week to celebrate the wedding. Music played a whole week, Klezmer music". The newly weds moved to Rzeszow, (pronounced "Cheshiv" in Yiddish). It wasn't until 1932, when, at the age of 30, she returned to ensure her citizenship, as Itcher was not a US citizen.

Chanale's daughter, Sally, grew up in Strzyzow; and she remembers 3 synagogues. Sally attended public school in Strzyzow; she told us ... I was a little girl; extremely sensitive; I was from special family but I wasn't treated that way. I hated the poles with a passion. We learned to read and write Polish, but I always felt anti-Semitism from the teacher. During the prayer, at the start of the school day, the teacher would look to see who bowed and who did not. Even today that is probably why I am so against in-school prayer. The teachers cautioned girls not to go to Hebrew School, that they would fail in public school. But I went anyway and even starred in a Purim play. My teacher found out and everyone went to look at my report card to see if I would fail, but I received As. Return to Table of Contents

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The Cemeteries in Strzyzow

In 1992 the US Commission reported on all the cemeteries in Poland. The report included the following information on Strzyzow's 3 Jewish cemeteries:

The first cemetery was/is located on Przeckawczyka Street, across from the synagogue. It was established in the 16th-17th Century. The cemetery is located in an urban area, isolated, without a sign or marker, but it is surrounded by a continuous fence. Before WWII the cemetery was about 500 square meters, but it does not exist now. It is currently owned by the municipality, and is used as a park.

The second cemetery report is on ul. Daszynskiego. The cemetery location is urban, isolated with no sign or marker. The cemetery is reached by turning directly off a public road; it has a piece of broken fence and no gate. This cemetery was 1,000 sq. meters pre-WWII. No stones are visible. There are no known mass graves. The municipality owns the property. The cemetery property is now used only for recreational purposes.

The third cemetery is on ul. Wschodnia. The last known burial was during WWII. It was established in 1850. The cemetery location: rural, on a hillside, isolated with no sign or plaque. The cemetery has a piece of broken masonry wall and no gate. The cemetery was 500 sq. meters before and after WWII. 1-20 stones are visible with none in their original location and less than 25% broken. The oldest known gravestone is from the 19th century. The municipality owns the property. The cemetery property is now used only for Jewish cemetery purposes..

Anyone have any photographs or memories of these cemeteries??

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NYC Strzyyzower Landsmanshaften

In NYC we located the incorporation papers of the Strzyzower Sick Mutual Aid Society, founded February 17, 1909. The following are the details of incorporation and the founding officers:
"The object of the society was for voluntary mutual benefit and aid ...voluntarily aiding the members and family financially in case of necessity or illness, medicine and attention in case of illness, ...and assistance from time to time in case of need". The seven directors of the society, who signed the incorporation papers were:
I do not believe that this society is still in existance. Moreover, we are searching for a common cemetery plot they may have owned, which was common for Landsmanshaften. If you have any information about the society or a cemetery plot, please contact Phyllis Kramer.

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Historical and Genealogical Sources

The Census of 1900 showed Strzyzow with a total population of 2008, composed of 992 Jews (Israelisch), 7 Griech. Katholisch and 1007 Rom. Katholisch. Neighboring towns with a large Jewish population included Czudec with a total population of 1214 (410 Jews), Niebylec 687 (343 Jews).

The following list of current Galician records was taken from "Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories" by Miriam Weiner:

Has anyone ever gotton anything relating to these records from Poland ???

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Strzyzow 1891 Business Directory:

The 1891 Galician Business Directory contains only a few listings for Strzyzow. They are:

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Phyllis Kramer: Genealogy

Abe Scheiner

Great Grandfather Josef Scheiner was born in Dubetsk in 1858. Josef married Frieda Necha Kandel circa Josef Scheiner 1880 and settled in her shtetl, Strzyzow.

When the shittach was made, Jack Kandel promised his future son-in-law that he would make him the Schochet in Strzyzow. Something went wrong. I never found out what, but the story came down that another son-in-law became the Schochet. A few years later, Josef took his wife and son and emigrated to the United States.

Descendancy Chart of Jack Kandel, of Strzyzow:

Jack1 Kandel, b. between 1830 and 1842 Strzyzow, Galicia
+Sara1 Kandel, b. circa 1840 Strzyzow, Galicia