Reich Family History

Chana Spira is from Southern Poland from a small town called Ulanow (pronounced Ulanov), which is a 3 hours drive East-North from Krakow (the nearest biggest town is Stalowa Wola) and 134 mi SSE of Warsaw. In 2006 it had about 500 houses, that all used to be inhabited by Jews. Ulanov is a pastoral place where the San river splits off into the Tanew river. Lumber trade was the local Jewish business [See info on Ulanov at shetlinks.jewishgen.org]. where the Jews would cut down the trees, float them down the river and sell the lumber to the Germans.

But it wasn't all roses. The talmud says that a divorce document, a Get, should be given at the mouth of three rivers (San splits into Tanew River and San keeps going so it's as if there are 3 rivers.) As a result, many people from all over the region would come to Ulanov to get divorced. Today, at the nexus of the rivers, stands a huge cross approximately 30 meters high. There is currently a lumberyard at the entrance to the village.

Menachem Mendel Weinreb (b. in Baranow, Poland, circa 1854, d. in Berlin, Germany Dec. 1919) married Edith Reich (b. 1855, d. before 1905) in about 1873. (Menachem's father was Yaakov Weinrib. Edith's parents were Yakov Reich and mother was Yached Birnbaum.) Sheindel, to the right, was Menachem's sister. Click here (opens the file in a new tab) to get all the family information.

1. Pessel Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov circa 1875, d. circa 1900) married Yehuda Leib Nussbuam circa 1892.

2. Chaya Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov, Poland circa 1876, d. in Tel Aviv, 1950) married Dovid Brod in Poland in 1900. No children.

3. Gittel Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov, Poland on May 14, 1878, D. Providence, RI, February 27, 1947) married Yisroel Mordechai Oelbaum circa 1896. They had a son Moshe Oelbaum, who lives in Florida.

4. Sima Rochel Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov, Poland, circa 1879, d. in Tel Aviv, March 30, 1953) married Chaim Rottenberg circa 1900 and had:

• Menachem Rottenberg,
• Jack (aka Yankela) Rottenberg,
• Hersz Leib Rottenberg,
• Lotte (aka sheindel) Lunder,
• Freidel (aka freida) Herszovitz (lives in Tel Aviv / Bnei Brak, and had a daughter, Sari Rosenberg) and
• Yehudit (aka edith, Eda, Yideth) who married Abraham Windholz (b. January 05, 1901 in Oczwicim, Poland; m. August 1926 in Berlin, Germany; d. May 29, 1998 in Queens, New York) and had a daughter Miriam (who married Schlam) who had daughter Sally and a son Izzy (aka Yisrael) Isidore (Izzy) Windholz b: February 24, 1928 in Berlin, Germany d: August 09, 1993 in Brooklyn, New York.

5. Hersz Leib Reich (He took his mother's maiden name as his last.)

(Male b. Domostow November 21, 1881, d. in Tel Aviv 1935/6.) Hersz Leib Rich married Chana Spira in 1903 in Ulanov, Poland and had a daughter Iwana (b. August 28, 1904). They then moved to Kiel on April 23, 1907 and there their sons were born: Jakob (June 1, 1909), Bernard (October 25, 1910) and Willi (October 2, 1912). They moved to Palestine in 1934 and after Chana died (????), he remarried Miriam Sudovitch. Hersz Lieb's father's last name was Weinrib but for some unknown reason Hersz Leib took his mother's last name, Reich, possibly something to do with avoiding being drafted into the army (perhaps the authorities had on-record a boy was born to Weinrib family and when they came looking to draft him into the army at age 18 he was listed as Reich).

Hersz Leib Weinrib was born in Domostowa Poland [call municipality and get birth certificate] November 21, 1881) and had 7 sisters (listed above). He was religious sporting a beard and yarmulke. Hersz was a merchant.

6. Sheindel Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov Sept. 1884; d. in Brooklyn Oct 13, 1940) married Solomon Laufer in 1905 in Poland.

7. Esther Weinreb (b. in Ulanov, Poland April 11, 1888; d. in Brooklyn, December 4, 1967) married Hirsch Weinberg in Ulanov, 1911. Esther Weinrib married Hersz (aka Yitzchak Zvi) Weinberg, they lived in Berlin at 217 Leinenstrasse (on the corner with Ruickerstrause), moved to NY from Germany in 1938.

• In germany they had a Turkish bath at 21 Granadiere Strausse and he had a business of supplying traveling salesman with things, clothes, fittings, etc.
• They went to shul at 36 Granadierre Strausse.
• Hersz's father was Nachman Dovd (a Cohen) and mother was Rachel.
• Esther and Hersz had a Son David.
• Lives in Flushing, Queens.
• Dovid had Alan and Rhonda.
• Son Alan b. 1951 Lawyer Lawrence.
• Daughter Rhonda b. 1954 Cedarhurst and she works for Jewish Memorial Foundation.
• Bernard.
• Edith married to Irvin Silverman.
• Jack

8. Frimmet Weinreb (Female b. Ulanov circa 1889, d. Berlin, 1919) married Heschel Oelbaum.

[NOTE: All of the information gathered above about the 8 children might not be correct. Elaine Laufer Nussbaum massive effort to collect family date in her family tree records Hersz Leib as being born in Ulanov in August 1880. But the documents for Hersz Leib's naturalization in Palestine he writes he was born in Domostowa, and in November, so its possible she got other things wrong as well. But she deserves an incredible amount of credit for all the work she did.]

Hersz Leib married Chana Spira from Ulanov (Polish Passport) and they moved to Strasbourg (which was then part of Germany (today it is part of France) where Ida and ? were born. [Did they move to Strasberg first or to Keil first?] The family then moved to Keil at a time when there were only about 500 Jews living there. [Description of Keil can be found at bottom of this page.] It was in Keil where Yunni, Bernard and William were born.

At some point in the teens or twenties, the Reich family moved to Berlin and lived in [WHAT IS Brolise] Alte Schounhauser Str 3, a corner building at the intersection of Lienen Strasse. It is not far from Alexandes Platz C-55 [or C-75 district]

During the time they lived there, just a few blocks away from their house, firefights broke out between the local authorities and the communists killing scores of people. When the National Socialists, led by Hitler, were appointed by Chancellor Hindenburg the Reich family wisely moved to Palestine in 1933. I imagine they moved because they were not so poor that they could not afford the voyage and the visas and they were not too rich that they felt they were locked into staying in Germany.

After all the kids were born in Europe, Hersz Lieb eventually took the family to Palestine. Family members claim that the motive was that Chana had heart problems and the doctor in Germany told him that she would not get good care in Germany because they were Jews. But it could have been as a result of Zionism (Bernard and Willie went to Zionist Youth Summer camps to practice being Chalutzim.) It could also be given the tumultuous times in Germany post WWI, and the Spartacist uprising (opens in a new tab) of January 1919 in Berlin where right wing militias (opens in a new tab) defending the Weimar Republic (opens in a new tab) captured, manhandled and shot without trial hundreds of Communists such as the Jew, Rosa Luxemburg, that Hersz Leib felt the time was ripe to leave Berlin and Germany.

They moved to Palestine where Hersz Leib, along with Bernhard, eventually became a naturalized Palestinian citizen (opens the file in a new tab) in 1938. When Chana died (what year?), Hersz Leib married Shifra Miriam, called by everyone Aunt Miriam.

In 1934, Hersch Leib opened a Chocolate Store (it was really an Elite outlet because his wife was related to Fromchenko who founded Elite) on 57 Allenby Street in Tel Aviv.

Bernard had Store on 47 Allenby (Chocolate or something else- need to check picture). Yosef Shpira (perhaps first cousin of Chana Shpira had a chocolate store on Allenby street and then when his son entered the business he changed it into a bag store. When he applied for citizenship in 1939 his wife's name is listed as Szyfra-Marja Sudowitz b. 1888 (she was the daughter of Cohen) Widowed and he is listed as a Polish citizen.

Irena Reich (b. Strasbourg 1900??; d. 1937/8?), who was also known by her Hebrew name Dina, married Moshe Zev Wachselbaum while still in Germany and they had their own house in Berlin under her name as listed in the 1931 registry of Jews (opens the file in a new tab). She had 2 daughters. First daughter was: Judith (b. Berlin, Aug 9, 1927) who married to Menachem Rotenberg (b. Berlin, Aug 19th, 1923) in 1949 in New York. They knew each other from Berlin, when they were little kids. Judith has 4 children Yossi, Dina Feldman, Aaron and Simmy (female, aka Sima) Lonner. Interestingly enough Judith married Menachem who was first cousin to his mother. Judith's grandfather, Hersz Leib had a sister Sima Rochel, and Sima Rochel was Menachem mother.

Second daughter was Miriam (b. Berlin, Jan 5, 1933) who emigrated to Palestine in 1935 and then left Palestine in 1938 and moved to Brooklyn NY where she married Gert Arnstein in 1956. She thinks she lived in 11 Lotringerstrasse in Berlin. Miriam had 2 sons and 2 daughters: Chaim Avraham (aka Daniel Avraham) (b. Oct 27, 1957), Dina Janowsky (b. Jan 27, 1959), Binyamin Yehosha (b. July 29, 1960), Debbie (Dvorah Chava) Barber (b. Oct 19, 1966) and all Ultra-Orthodox.

Dena died in October of 1937 or 38 of infection resulting from gall bladder surgery, when Judith was 11. Moshe Zev remarried while in Palestine and then took the family to Boroughpark, Brooklyn.

Judith and Miriam had a dog Mookie that they had to leave behind in Palestine with Hersz Leib. Reich family was afraid the dog's barking was going to give Hersz Leib another heart attack so they brought Mookie to a kibbutz way up North and let him go. Three weeks later the dog had made his way back home and hid under Hersz Leib's bed and promised never to bark again.

Ida Reich (b. Aug 8, 1906 Strasburg; d. Oct 22, 1983) married Yechezekl (his name was Oscar in Germany) Silberman in Germany in 1928, they moved to Sendichov (Poland) and then to Katowitz (Poland) and then to Palestine in 1938.

In Palestine after Yechezkel died, Ida married her 2nd Husband Pinchas Strum. They had a Perfume shop on 53 Allenby street.

Ida and Yechezkel had 3 daughters. The first two were twins (b. 4/12/1029 in Berlin) Geula and Fella (in Yiddish Freida, pronounced Fry Da, in Hebrew her name was Simcha). When they moved to Palestine, Fella changed her name to Rina. The last daughter was Chana (b. 1/3/1939 in Tel Aviv.) who married Avinoam Barner (b. 25/3/1939; d. 28/6/2002) and they had Ofer (b. 19/6/1964) Anat (b. 8/2/1967) and Yael (b. 28/1/1971).

Ida possessed three citizenships throughout her life, Polish (opens the file in a new tab), British (opens the file in a new tab), and Israeli (opens the file in a new tab). She was buried in Kiryat Shaul in Gush 2, Ezor 2, Chelkah 33, Number 9.

Bernhard Reich (b. Keil, Germany, Oct 25, 1910 d. Sept. 2, 2000 (opens the file in a new tab)) married Esther (Sfira I guess was her Yiddish name) Fonarow (b. 1910, she was from Gulay-Pole, Ukraina, Russia). Moved to Palestine in August 13, 1934. Bernard wore multiple winter coats he brought from Germany while shlepping 2 pieces of luggage to walk in the dead heat of humid Tel Aviv during the summer from the port up to a hostel. He collapsed and slept for three days. He only brings evidence he was a Polish citizen (and not German). Oct 18, 1938 he becomes a naturalized Palestinian citizen.

Bernhard and Esther lived in 23b Herzel Street in Tel Aviv. Bernhard became a naturalized citizen (opens the file in a new tab) of Mandated Palestine in 1938. Bernhard was working for Jewish agency and was given fake passports to travel throughout Europe to help people get their money out of Europe. After watching the Nazis march into Prague into the Venzel Platz, in March 1939, he returned to Palestine and quit his job. Bernard moved to Providence Rhode Island in 1947, worked for Hasbro in charge of shipping and storing materials, then moved back to Israel in 1973 with wife Esther. They had no children. Esther died and Bernard married Sonja Krieger (b. Memel, Germany, July 9, 1911; d. Oct 2, 2008), they lived on 13 Ezel Street, one flight up, left hand door. Bernard died in 2000 and Sonja moved to Toronto to be with her daughter where she passed away in 2008.

Yunni Reich (b. 1/6/1909, Keil, Germany) married Margot (Rosenberg) (b. ) met in Israel and died while working for Electric Company, electrocuted and fell from electric pole. They had two children, a son Chanan, and a daughter Dinas (b. 1/1/1944) who married Chaim Redeleman 16/8/1949. Dina (a lawyer) and Chaim (accountant) had two daughters: Yael (b. 2/9/1978, married to Gil Sidi and has two children. Tamara - 21.1.2008 and Uriel - 23.3.2010) and Noa (B. 3/6/1981). Noa is an aspiring singer in Tel Aviv.

William Reich (b. Keil, October 2, 1912; d. Dec 30, 1995) was born in Germany (opens the file in a new tab) and buried in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv (Gush 23, Ezor 1, Row 44, Grave 36) moved from Berlin to Palestine in 1933 where he worked in construction and in a bakery. He married his cousin as a formality in order to either get her out of Germany or to get her into Palestine. He moved to America in 1939 and married Helen Charolotte Oelbaum (b. Sept 19, 1919; d. Oct 23, 1964) in Providence, Rhode Island on March 17 1939 or 1940??.

They had two daughters: Hannah (married Arnie Berman) and Paula (married Charlie Thaler). William worked for Hasbro toys as foreman of the sewing department. He remarried to Irene Rosenthal (her married name from a previous marriage) in 1966 (b. 1915; d. 1976). He moved to Israel in 1979 and married Ida Lapidot. Willie died in 1995 a few weeks after Prime Minister Rabin was murdered.

The original site also linked Willie's birth certificate and William and Helen's marriage certificate, but those two files are no longer on the old server.

Kiel is a city in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. In the 17th century, Jews went to Kiel for the annual fair (Kieler Umschlag). Permission to settle in the city was given in 1690 to the Sephardi Court Jew Jacob Musaphia, followed in 1728 by Samson Lewin, another Court Jew. Together they laid the foundations for the small Jewish community. In 1766, Kiel had six Jewish families engaged in small businesses and moneylending. Although Schleswig-Holstein was annexed by Denmark in 1733, the legal status of the Jews in the duchy was not ameliorated. The community had a prayer hall and buried their dead at Rendsburg. In 1803 Jewish students were admitted to the University of Kiel. There were then 29 Jews in the city; the numbers grew to 75 in 1845 and 156 in 1855. A cemetery was consecrated in 1852; the community was officially organized in 1867 and two years later a synagogue was erected, to be replaced by a new one in 1910. In 1900, the community numbered 338 persons, 526 in 1910, 600 in 1925, and 522 in 1933. Kiel rabbis included Emil Cohn (1907–12) and A. Posner (1912–33).

On the Nazi rise to power, the community was exposed to severe repression and persecution: Jewish professors were dismissed from the university and the works of 28 Jewish authors – mainly lecturers in Kiel University – were removed from the library of the university. Anti-Jewish boycott meetings were held all over the city. As all Jewish children were removed from the city's public school system, the community opened its own grade school. A total of 586 Jews left the city during the Nazi era. Of those who remained 85 were deportees and 12 committed suicide. On Nov. 10, 1938, the synagogue was burned down and Jewish homes and stores were looted. After the war 11 Jews returned to Kiel; the bombed Jewish cemetery was later restored.

1. Israel Government Archives: michals@int.gov.il, 568-0612, 0662, 35 Mekor Hayim, Talpiyot, 8-4pm
2. Municipality of Domostawa, Poland ?
3. Municipality of Ulanov Poland ?
4. shetlinks.jewishgen.org