Kruk/Kriger-Ruch Family |
|
All the photos below were graciously donated by Amanda Katz Jermyn, the daughter of Ray Kriger and Robert Katz, and the granddaughter of Pesach Svi Kruk (Kriger) and Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger). Amanda has been working on her family history and has graciously agreed to share some of what she has written with us. Click here to read more about the Kruk and Ruch families. Click here to read a fascinating article from the South African Jewish Report, August 3, 2018 about Ray Kriger Katz, a prominent Cape Town attorney and mother of Rokiskis SIG member Amanda Katz Jermyn.  |
|
|
Schneiderman-Ruch wedding:
This photo was taken in 1933 in Rokiskis. The bride, (7) Ahuva (Liebke) Ruch, was the daughter of Rochel Kavalsky Ruch and Reuven Ruch. (8) Chanan (Hennach) Schneiderman is the groom. (11) Yerachmiel Ruch is the bride's brother and (5) Alexander (Sacha) and (4)
Reuven (Rubin) are his sons. Rochel Kavalsky and her husband Reuven Ruch had eleven children. Members of this family moved to Canada, the USA, South Africa, Russia, Israel and Australia.
(Photo courtesy of Mickey Halperin) |
| Lottie Ruch Smith and Leah Ruch Kruger
were the twin daughters of Rochel Kavalsky and Reuven Ruch and moved to South Africa.
(Photo courtesy of Shana Ginzburg and Shirley Ruch Abramson) |
 |
 |
L to r: Sonja Ruch, Ahuva (Liebke) Ruch Schneiderman, Sacha Ruch.
Sonja and Sacha are the children of Yerachmiel and Henye Ruch. Liebke Ruch Schneiderman is Yerachmiel's sister and the children's aunt.
(Photo courtesy of Shana Ginzburg and Shirley Ruch Abramson) |
|
Teddy Ruch, Reuven Ruch and Rochel Ruch:
Rochel Kavalsky Ruch was a sister of Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger). Reuven was her husband and Teddy was their son.
(Photo courtesy of Mickey Halperin) |
 |
 |
Teddy Ruch was the son of Reuven Ruch and Rochel Kavalsky Ruch |
|
Kriger/Kruk House: This house in Rokiskis was built by Pesach Svi Kruk (Kriger) and Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger) shortly before they left Rokiskis for South Africa in 1931. Their daughter, Amanda's mother, Ray Kriger Katz, was born there. The photo was taken in 2003 during a visit to Rokiskis by Thelma and Mark Windisch. |
 |
 |
Pesach Svi Kriger (Kruk) and Riva Kavalsky Kriger (Kruk) are the maternal grandparents of Amanda Katz Jermyn |
|
Alec Poplak, Pesach Svi Kruk (Kriger), Sam Kriger: Alec Poplak's mother, Ethel Kavalsky Poplak, was a sister of Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger) and Rochel Kavalsky Ruch (see photo above). Pesach Svi Kruk was the grandfather of Amanda Jermyn, and Sam Kriger, his son, was her uncle. The family name was changed from Kruk to Kriger on arrival in South Africa. Alec Poplak lived with the Kriger family in Cape Town, after leaving Lithuania. His parents and siblings were all killed in Lithuania during World War II.
|
 |
|
|
On the right is Leah Kriger Todres, of Cape Town, South Africa, the daughter of Pesach Svi Kruk (Kriger) and Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger) and the older sister of Ray Kriger Katz, Amanda Katz Jermyn's mother. On the left is Teddy Ruch, son of Rochel Kavalsky Ruch and Reuven Ruch. Rochel Kavalsky Ruch and Riva Kavalsky Kruk (Kriger) were sisters. Thus Leah and Teddy were cousins. From 2001 to 2010, this photograph was used as the logo for the Annual Yiddish Song Festival in Cape Town. The name of the documentary film about the festival is called Leah, Teddy & the Mandolin, which takes its name from this photograph.
(Photo courtesy of Philip Todres, son of Leah Kriger Todres) |
|
|
