Home Town Views Visitors & Cemeteries Religious Holocaust Family Other Contacts    Kežmarok, Slovakia Old Family Photos

GOLDMAN Family photograph, circa 1908, taken either in Kezmarok, or in Straszky, about four kilometers away. Son, Ben GOLDMAN, was not there for the photograph, but so wanted to be included, that he "inserted himself" into the picture by inserting a photo of himself and rephotographing the result. The legend of who is in the photo, is as typed by Ben and stuck on the back of the original photo that hung in his home. Note that Berta-Arthur are the married couple Berta (née STOTTER) and Arthur GOLDMAN and Giza-Leopold are the married couple Giza GOLDMAN and Leopold GOLDSTEIN.

Aranka (aka Aurelia) ROSENZWEIG, 1931

Mayer (aka Maximilan) ROSENZWEIG, 1931.

Edit and Saul ROSENZWEIG, 1924.

ROSENZWEIG FAMILYThese ROSENZWEIG photos were contributed by Henrietta (née ROSENZWEIG) KESTENBAUM, who was born in Kezmarok. Aranka (née GLUCK), b. 1909, in Chust (now in the Ukraine) and d. Jan 1942 of TB in Kezmarok, was married to Mayer ROSENZWEIG (b. 1908, d. 1945, in Ravensbruck) and her sister Edith (b. 1906, d. 2000 in Toronto) was married to Mayer's brother Saul/Alexander ROSENZWEIG (b. 1900, d. 1954 in Montreal).

Technical School Class Photo, Kezmarok, 1934. Photo: Courtesy of Amos Israel ZEZMER, France   In January, 2010, Amos Israel ZEZMER, of France wrote, "My uncle, Sandor SPIEGEL, is wearing the striped sport coat. The orthography of the names on the back of the image seem to be: Jenö SAMUEL Rosa STOREL Zoltan SCHALAMON Ludwig FRINDT (or FRIUDT) Johann UHRIK Janka FÄRBER Ewa FEUERMANN Further, Amos writes, "If you go to Google Earth and paste this in exactly into the 'Fly to' box, it will take you directly to the front of the building as it is today: 49° 8'21.16"N 20°26'1.12"E "

The BRODY & GROSSMAN families, Kezmarok, 1930. Photo: Courtesy of Helen (née BRODY) GROSSMAN, Toronto, Canada, and with thanks to Zeev RAPHAEL, husband of the late Alice (née BRODY) RAPHAEL, Haifa, Israel Front Row, L to R: Albert "Buza" BRODY aunt Ilonka GROSSMAN (mother of Alice FRIEDMAN) Alice (née GROSSMAN) FRIEDMAN Alice (née BRODY) RAPHAEL Stella GROSSMAN (sister of Alice FRIEDMAN) Helen "Hella" (née BRODY) GROSSMAN mother Dora (née GROSSMAN) BRODY Joseph "Yossi" BRODY Alice RAPHAEL w. granddaughter Naama, 1992.  Alice died in 2008, in Haifa, Israel Standing, L to R: Uncle Solomon GROSSMAN (mother's brother and father of Alice FRIEDMAN), and next to uncle, a third cousin, related to my grandmother, visiting from the USA. Note 1:  Zeev Raphael is himself a Holocaust survivor.  His story can be found at the US Holocaust Museum's website, for Heinz Raphael. Note 2: For those interested in reading about Hella's experiences as a young woman in Auschwitz, her return to Kezmarok, and eventual emigration to Canada, her story is among those published in the book, "Secretaries of Death," written by Lore Shelly, published by Sheingold Publishers, Inc., 1986. Her account is found on pp. 184-196.

Family Seder (22 April 1959) at the home Leo and Hermina Kovacs in Kezmarok. From Jana TESSER Seated L to R are: Grandmother Jolana (née HERZ) KOVACS (b. 12 September 1884), Jana (herself), her mother Regina (née SCHLOSS), her uncle (mother's brother) Heinrich SCHLOSS (b. 1908, Holocaust survivor), his wife, Gizela (née KRAUS) SCHLOSS (b. 8/25/1911, survived Ravensbruck), Jana's brother Ivan, father Leo KOVAC (b. 3/3/1910) standing, cousin, Viera SCHLOSS-FISCHER (survived Ravensbruck).   Jana's mother, Regina (née SCHLOSS) KOVAC, b. 14 April 1919.        Leo and Regina KOVAC Dr. Alex MANDEL, born post World War II in Spisska Nova Ves, now living in Sharon, MA, contributed the following items: A wedding invitation for his aunt Margit (Malka née MANDEL) SCHOR to Ernst (Ephraim) SCHOR, that took place in 1938, and a family photo that included Alex's parents Ernst Israel MANDEL and Rozalia (Shoshana, née SCHOR), as well as the paternal grandparents Herman (Zvi) MANDEL and Fanny (née KLEIN). As often happened, there were double relationships in families, where a sister married her brother-in-law's brother or a brother married his sister-in-law's sister. So the description of who is who in the family photo may prove a little confusing.      Wedding invitation of Margit (née Malka MANDEL) and Ernst (Ephraim) SCHOR, 3 April 1938, Kezmarok and MANDEL family photograph, ca. Late summer 1940. Standing L to R Ernst (Israel) MANDEL Serena (née INDICH), wife of Alexander ("Sandor") MANDEL Rozalia (Shoshana, née SCHOR), wife of Ernst MANDEL, possibly pregnant Ernst (Ephraim) SCHOR, Rozalia's brother Raisie MANDEL, Ernst's sister Alexander ("Sandor") MANDEL, Ernst's brother Seated L to R Margita (Malka née MANDEL) SCHOR, Ernst's sister and Ernst (Ephraim) SCHOR's wife Fanny (née KLEIN) MANDEL, Ernst's mother, wife of Herman MANDEL baby Salomon "Shancy" SCHOR, son of Margit and Ernst SCHOR, b. 30 October 1939 Herman (Zvi) MANDEL, shoemaker Berta (née HERBST) INDICH, mother of Serena Hermina MANDEL, Ernst's sister An unusual and maybe rare observation, noted by the webmaster on this photograph, is the reflection in the mirror on the wall. You can see the profiles of both Ernst and his brother Sandor in it! Grouping of Alex MANDEL’s family for the wedding of Ephraim SCHOR to Margit MANDEL, 1938. (Bride and Groom, missing!) 1st Row Seated L to R:   Uncle David ERNST (holding the wine bottle), Aunt Serene INDICH MANDEL (holding the wine glass), Aunt Rivka SCHOR PUCINKA, Cousin Julia FROELICH, Uncle Mordechai SCHOR. 2nd Row Seated L to R:   Uncle Alexander MANDEL, Aunt Hermine MANDEL ROSENBERG, Great-grandfather Josef MANDEL,  Mother Shoshana SCHOR MANDEL, Cousin Agnes SCHOR, (daughter of Shimon and Malvina FRISCHMAN SCHOR), Aunt Ester SCHOR LUSTIG, Aunt Miriam SCHOR ERNST, Rachel FRISCHMAN (Malvina's mother). 3rd Row Standing L to R:  Cousin Samuel FROELICH, Aunt Malvina FRISCHMAN SCHOR, Grandmother Chana KLEIN MANDEL, Great-aunt Hermina MANDEL FROELICH, Great-grandmother Miriam MANDEL Alis FRISCHMAN (Malvina's sister). 4th Row Standing L to R:   Uncle Shimon SCHOR, Father Ernest MANDEL, Aunt Roza MANDEL, Great-uncle Abraham FROELICH, Grandmother Batya RAUCHER SCHOR, Grandfather Kehat SCHOR. Absent from the photograph are: Grandfather Herman MANDEL, Uncle Ephraim (Groom) and Aunt Margit MANDEL SCHOR (Bride), Uncle Ya’akov and Aunt Cilla SCHOR SHAPIRA FRISCHMAN. Madeleine and Jerrold ISENBERG met Alex MANDEL and his wife Shari and we were photographed together, 3 April 2016. The couple is in the middle. Perhaps you can see the resemblance between Alex, and his father Ernst. (Ironically, or perhaps sadly, this date would have been the 78th anniversary of the wedding of his aunt and uncle, noted above!) L to R, Jerrold ISENBERG, Alex and Shari MANDEL, Madeleine Isenberg Alex INDICH's Marriage Certificate, Post World War II, Kezmarok, translated into English. Mira (née BERGER) and Alex INDICH, with Madeleine ISENBERG, 10 April 2016. Alex MANDEL and Alex INDICH have been in touch and Alex Indich confirmed that he knew the MANDELs who were manufacturers of shoes.  And the INDICHs who appear in the MANDEL photo above were his cousins. Alex INDICH even had shoes that were bought from their shop. Alex INDICH's family who lived in what is now Hniezdne, Slovakia, were suppliers of leather -- to the MANDELs -- among others! Alex Indich, Chaim Zecharia ben Reuven z”l, (of Beverly Hills, California) beloved husband of Mira, and beloved father of Hilda (Dan) Bergher, passed away 4 September 2017 The following page is from the book by Shmuel Dov Gvaryahu-Gottesman. It is amazing that on this one page (p.22), references are made to people or families already noted above. The names are outlined in red and translated in green lettering. (Note: not all of the names have been translated.) This page is in a section covering certain professions or businesses: The first being, Shoemaking and Leather and the second Building Materials and Tools. Translation of Building Materials and Tools: Lazar GROSSMAN and his son, Salomon Eliah and son-in-law, Abraham BRODY, set up in their home and yard a business with all kinds or iron, paint, tools, plumbing, cement, and plaster and a large factory for sewer piping.  Similarly, even the STERN family (Eternit) had a warehouse of building materials, and also the GLÜCKSMAN family had a big store for iron products.                    Advertisement of Isaak Stern's Eternit, in Karpathen Post, 15 Dec 1928 Thomas VOGELMANN, of New York, revieved this photo of a group of young men and women of Kezmarok, from his uncle, Alexander VOGELMANN, who was living in Santiago, Chile.  Perhaps someone will recognize their friends or family members.  But the identity of Esther née GOLDSTEIN HALLE,  was identified by her daughter, as the woman seated on the extreme right, and the possibiliity that the young woman at the top was Esther's younger sister Alice (or Leah) GOLDSTEIN.  Leah perished in Auschwitz, while Esther and another older sister, Blanka (Beili) survived more than three years suffering in Auschwitz. Thomas received an e-mail around November 2016, from Gita Eckhaus, who had read about the Kezmarok Memorial (on home page) and saw the name and photo of Thomas. She lives in Presov and e-mailed him that her aunt, Ester ZWERLING had been married to his uncle Gyula (Julius, also Isaiah) VOGELMANN, and that they  had had a son, Ernst.  The three did not survive the Holocaust.  But Ms. Eckhaus surprised Thomas with a photo of his grandfather, Mor (or Moritz, and Moshe, in Hebrew) VOGELMANN, who was born in 1875 in Munkacs, but had lived in Kezmarok. He was killed in the Holocaust.

Vogelmann's shop next to the Freyer Hotel in Kezmarok. According to Thomas VOGELMANN's cousin, Libu MOSKOWITZ (née LORBER), the store supplied the hotels in the nearby Tatra Mountains with fruits, vegetables and fish imported from Italy. Thomas VOGELMANN has compiled a history of his family which can be read in PDf format: family history

Dedication of Torah as a Memorial, "Hachnosas Sefer Torah" In June 2022, Tommy (Yehuda Arye) and his wife Rivke, traveled to Israel, to dedicate the Torah scroll on June 14, that they had commissioned as a memorial to Tommy's parents, Holocaust survivors, Avraham Shmuel and Frimet VOGELMANN, of blessed memory. The Torah would be dedicated with a welcome celebration that included finishing off final letters and a procession to bring the Torah scroll to the synagogue, "Beis Knesses Mishkan Yechiel," in Jerusalem. This was followed by a reception and included singing and dancing. Tommy also read a speech that covers the VOGELMANN family history, and rather than repeat the content, the above "family history" describes and explains all that he covered, and maybe a bit more. Attached are a couple of photographs including the mantel of the Torah that is embroidered with the names of not only his parents, but also all the family members who were killed in the Holocaust. (Right mouse click on the photos to open image in a new tab.)

The three GOTTESMAN brothers attended Rabbi GRÜNBERG's Yeshiva in Kezmarok. This photo is dated, 26 April 1938. The young man in the middle, Shmuel Dov, later changed his name to GVARYAHU-GOTTESMAN. It is thanks to him and his amazing memory that he wrote the book in Hebrew, of The History of Kezmarok and its Surroundings (Toldot Yehudei Kezmarok v'Hasviva), published in 1992. The section above about the interaction of the INDICH family and the MANDEL family was from his book.

Youngest GOTTESMAN brother, Yakov Yosef, attended Rabbi GRÜNBERG's Yeshiva in Kezmarok. This photo is dated, 17 June 1938, and sent to his beloved brothers.

Jack FRIEDMAN received a copy of a school photograph of students at Kezmarok's yeshiva, and dated 1938. With the photos from the GOTTESMAN family above, two, (see the red cicles) or maybe all three brothers (the third in yellow) can be recognized in it. Kezmarok Yeshiva, Class Photo, Summer 1938 The GASSNER family has identified the man sitting next to Shmuel Dov GVARYAHU-GOTTESMAN in the above photo, the one sitting on his left as Shaul GASSNER. But they have shared yet another photo from the Kezmarok Yeshiva from the year before (1937). They identified their father, Shaul GASSNER as the person outlined in red here. Shmuel Dov GVARYAHU-GOTTESMAN, is hightlighted in green this time. Two brothers, seated on the ground with matching clothes are presumably the BRODY brothers, Albert and Joseph. Which is which? Are they also seated on the ground in the 1938 photo? Perhaps we will yet learn! Kezmarok Yeshiva, Class Photo, Summer 1937

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Compiled by Madeleine ISENBERG Updated 14 November 2024 Copyright © 2010-2024 Madeleine R. Isenberg All rights reserved.

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