BIRTH

The birth record for Sara Faust located in the birth registry for the Jewish community of Rohatyn shows she was born on June 14, 1875 in house number 98 in Rohatyn to Moses Faust and Rosa Leuchtling. Since her parents were not yet civilly married, although presumably religiously married, her birth was marked as being ‘illegitimate’ (unehelich). Thus, the surname applied to Sara was her mother’s maiden name, Leuchtling, instead of her father’s surname, Faust. However, Moses was still given credit for his participation in the family unit as written above his name are the words in German for ‘alleged father’ (angeblich Vater).

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MARRIAGE

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FIRST CHILD – KALMAN

Kalman Kaufman was born on April 3, 1902 in Rohatyn to parents, Mechel and Sara Kaufman, with assistance by midwife, Lea Barban. This birth record maintains the illegitimacy of Sara’s birth by referring to her as Sara Leuchtling, the daughter of Rosa Leuchtling without a mention her father Moses. Kalman’s birth record was deemed legitimate (ślubny) as Mechel and Sara were civilly married in 1900 shown above. Mechel, a ‘worker’ (zarobnik) in Rohatyn, was 28 years old and Sara was 27 years old at the time of Kalman’s birth. The Brit Milah ceremony where Kalman was given his name occurred on April 10, 1902 in Rohatyn with Simcha Todtfeld as the Mohel and grandfather, Moses Faust of Rohatyn, as the godfather (kum). It seems very probable that Kalman was named after musician Kalman Schwarz who died just nine days prior on March 25, 1902. The Faust family were not only close with the Schwarz family but were also related by marriage. A date written in the comment column of the birth record begins with a ‘+’ sign followed by the date, May 24, 1906, which signifies this addendum as Kalman’s date of death. This note also informs us that the death record was located in Volume 4, page 111, item 43 of the Jewish death registry for Rohatyn.

The death record for Kalman confirms that he died on May 24, 1906 in Rohatyn at the age of 4. The record references his date of birth. Dr. Anton Terlecki performed the post-mortem inspection of Kalman’s body on the same day and assigned registration number (Liczba) 73 to this death record. He diagnosed pleurisy (zapalenie opłucnej) as the cause of death. Pleurisy or pleuritis is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, which produces sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, and fever. Death from pleurisy is likely related to underlying pneumonia or empyema. Kalman was buried the following day in the Jewish cemetery in Rohatyn. Mechel and Sara were living in house number 87 in Rohatyn at the time of his death.

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SECOND CHILD – GITTEL

Gittel was born on June 24, 1903 in house number 21 in Gologóry and delivered by midwife, Chaje Siebert. The naming ceremony took place at the same house on June 27th where the blessing was given by Berisch Amarant and Meilach Amarant.

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THIRD CHILD – MALE STILLBORN

Midwife Lea Barban assisted Sara on delivering a male stillbirth (niezywo urodzony płod) on September 25, 1908 in Rohatyn. Dr. Anton Terlecki examined the body the following day and certified the cause of death as premature birth (przedwczesne urodzenie). The stillborn was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Rohatyn the same day as the examination.

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FOURTH CHILD – CHAJE

Chaje Kaufman was born on August 12, 1909 in Rohatyn and the naming ceremony took place at the synagogue on August 16th. Juda Hersch Fried gave the blessing over Chaje.

Chaje married Samuel Bein (1908-?), son of Hersch Bein and Bine Baumgarten of Kałusz, on February 26, 1939 in Rohatyn. The marriage was officiated by Rabbi Markus Lipe Thumin and witnessed by Meier Eiberhaar and Herman Grib(?). A note at the bottom of the marriage certificate refers to a rabbinical report regarding the oral banns and the performed marriage ceremony, as well as the status attachment under No. 118/39 (Sprawozdanie rabin względem ustnych zapowiedzi i dokonanego ślubu małżeńskiego oraz załącznika stanu pod L 118/39).

Samuel Bein was the younger brother of Freida Bein (1906-?) who had married Salomon Ber Brumengraber (1899-?) of Borysław in 1928 (Source: AGAD 300/3300, Page 18, Akt 70). During World War One, the one story brick home of Samuel’s father, Hersch (AKA Herman) Bein, was completely destroyed. The home was located on Dolińska street in Kałusz as house number 358 and included a basement and a metal roof. (Source: GG 686:254/TsDIAL 146/48/5).

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FIFTH CHILD – ANZELM

Anzelm (AKA Anzel) Kaufman was born October 11, 1910 in Rohatyn with the assistance of midwife Lea Barban. The Brit Milah ceremony took place in the apartment (w mieszkaniu) on October 18th with Eisig Brandwein as the godfather and Juda Hersch Todtfeld as the Mohel.

Anzelm would have entered primary (elementary) school at resumption of classes after World War One at the usual age of six years old in 1917. After completion of four years of primary school in 1921, Anzelm would have been able to take an exam to enroll into the newly nationalized secondary school (gymnazium) in Rohatyn named after Rev. Piotr Skarga. However, I don’t find his name in the 1924/1925 report of the Piotr Skarga Gymnazium. I assume he completed primary school til the seventh grade and then matriculated into gymnazium in the fall of 1925. During the 1925 -1926 academic year, Anzelm was a student in the 4th Class. Toward the end of that school year when Anzelm was already 15 years old, he and his classmates signed the Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States. This multi volume tome complete with dedications and signatures from students and faculty throughout Poland was presented to President Calvin Coolidge to commemorate the 150th anniversary of American independence and to acknowledge the aid given to Poland during World War One.

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However, on November 9th, the county administration of Rohatyn reported to the Social-Political Department at the provincial office in Stanisławów on their suspension of activities of the club siting numerous violations of laws and statutes. These included a decision by the board to base the club on Jewish national principles, the presence of non-members on association premises, discrepancies in the number of registered members of the club, and discovery of members playing cards at meetings.

On November 19, 1937, the Rohatyn county administration formally resubmitted the composition of the board of Makkabi to the provinicial office in Stanisławów. This notification listed the board members as those elected in the July 4th election and the party affiliated with members of the organization as Zion Revisionists. Anzelm Kaufman, along with Attorney Ludwik Katz, were responsible for the vitality of the organization, and had rated their social and moral value as average.

Another notification of the composition of the board of Makkabi was sent to the provincial office in Stanisławów on November 27, 1937. This notification listed the board members who were elected on August 28, 1937. However, Anzelm was not mentioned in this notice and shows he failed to be elected to the audit committee which was comprised of Juda Scharer and Mozes Gold. On December 7th, a letter was sent from the county administration to the provincial office notifying them of the decision by members of Makkabi to liquidate the organization and vacate the premises of Leib Kirschenbaum.

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SIXTH CHILD – GOLDE CIRL

Golde Cirl Kaufman was born on May 16, 1912 in Rohatyn with the assistance of midwife Lea Barban. Seven days later, she was named after Sara’s paternal grandmother, Golda Cyrl Faust née Zucker, who had died in 1910. The blessing was given by Juda Hersch Fried. Sadly, Golde barely lived two months. She died on July 5, 1912 and was buried two days later in Rohatyn. Dr. Anton Terlecki provided the cause of death as intestinal infection. Mechel and Sara Kaufman were living in house number 338 at the time of her death.

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SEVENTH CHILD – SOSIE

According to the death record, Sosie Kaufman was one year old when she died on August 9, 1913 in Rohatyn. In the comments section, it is noted that a record of her birth was not entered (nie wpisana) in the Jewish birth register of Rohatyn. If we take the one year at face value, this would mean that Sosie was born in August of 1912 which is 3 months after the documented birth of Golde Cirl. Since this does not account for 9 months of pregnancy after Golde’s birth, it is more likely that Sosie was born after March of 1913. The cause of death diagnosed by Dr. Terlecki was measles (odra). She was buried on August 11th in Rohatyn.

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A LETTER FROM ESTHER TO DAVID ABOUT SARA

In 1939, Sara’s sister, Esther, who was living in the United States, wrote a letter to her brother, David, in Rohatyn. The letter was written in response to a letter she had received from David who had relayed some distressing news about Sara’s husband, Mechel. Esther fears that Mechel will kill Sara as he is ‘crazy’ which implies that Sara is being physically abused by her husband. However, being far way in the United States, there is little Esther can offer except to encourage Sara and Anzelm to move out the house and make their own life without him.

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A LETTER FROM ESTHER TO SARA

Esther wrote a letter directly to Sara on August 27, 1939 not knowing that in just four days from then, Germany would invade Poland and World War Two would begin. Esther wrote of her disappointment at not receiving a response after sending money to Sara and clothes to Gittel’s children, her joy over Anzelm’s photo and Chaya’s recent marriage to Samuel Bein, her disapproval with Anzelm’s girlfriend and Sara’s husband, Mechel, and her encouragement to Sara to leave Mechel and live separately with Anzelm after having received news of their marital strife in the letter from David. Esther also revealed her frustration with Sara as Esther felt she did everything for herself her whole life without Sara’s help and that in no way does this even the score. However, Esther was still hopeful that Sara and Anzelm would soon be able to leave Poland and join her in the United States. It ends with Esther confirming that she forwarded Sara’s papers to Jacob and was including photos of the family taken by her son, Moses, in this letter. Despite tense words, its a letter written with love, disagreement, and concern for her older sister and her children with perhaps a Faust trait of giving honest opinion and direction even when unsolicited. The front of the envelope was addressed to Sara’s brother Markós Samel Faust at ulica Ivana Franka 10, Rohatyn, Poland while on the back of the envelope, a return address was written. It was stampd at the post office in Ozone Park, New York the day after the letter was written on August 28th and then again stamped as foreign post from New York the same day. The letter made its way to Europe but it was never received. The letter returns to New York over five years later on May 17, 1945 where a note was attached to the envelope reading “Post Office, New York. Returned to Sender. This article was held in France during the German occupation and has now been released by the French authorities. Albert Goldman, master.” The envelope is then stamped again at Ozone Park on May 29, 1945.

Below is a transcription of Esther’s letter written in Transliterated Yiddish (AKA Romanized Yiddish) and translated to English using Google’s Gemini 3 Thinking mode.

The front of the envelope was addressed to Sara’s brother Markós Samel Faust at ulica Ivana Franka 10, Rohatyn, Poland while on the back of the envelope, a return address was written. It was stampd at the post office in Ozone Park, New York the day after the letter was written on August 28th and then again stamped as foreign post from New York the same day. The letter made its way to Europe but it was never received. The letter returns to New York over five years later on May 17, 1945 where a note was attached to the envelope reading “Post Office, New York. Returned to Sender. This article was held in France during the German occupation and has now been released by the French authorities. Albert Goldman, master.” The envelope is then stamped again at Ozone Park on May 29, 1945.

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THE FATE OF THE KAUFMAN FAMILY

Social Insurance Registration forms were used by the Nazis to keep track of their forced human labor and to give the appearance to the workers of a viable insurance plan in case of sickness, disability or work injury. These forms are currently stored in the Central State Archive of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk and were imaged by the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum (Source: USHMM RG-31.130M/DAFO Fond R57). After beginning work as a construction worker for the city of Kalusz on May 14, 1942, Anzelm filled out this workers insurance form. He completed the required fields noting his name as Antschel Kaufman and his date and place of birth as October 11, 1910 in Rohatyn. At the time, he was one of 5,500 remaining Jews living in Kalusz where he resided at Ringplatz 9, single and terrified. In the month prior, 800 Jews in Kalusz who were deemed unfit for labor were arrested by the Security Police detachment from Stanisławow and shot. Anzelm brought the form to his employer, the city construction office of Kalusz, on Kirelgasse to sign and date on June 10th. He submitted the form to the local employment office in Kalusz on June 15th. It appears the form was sent to the main office in Stanisławow where it was received and stamped on June 27th. The application was reviewed on July 9th and Anzelm was assigned an employment ID number 38886771. The insurance application was approved on July 18, 1942. In reality, no insurance was provided. If a worker was unable to perform their duties, he/she was usually severely beaten or shot. Life in the Kalusz ghetto was bad enough. Lack of food led to starvation and death on a daily basis as people died from hunger on the streets. Food shortage only worsened as the population in the ghetto grew in August of 1942 as Jews from neighboring towns were resettled in Kalusz. That Fall, the Security Police from Stanisławow came to Kalusz to commit a series of Aktions where Jews were rounded up and sent to Stanislawow to be murdered or forced onto train cars headed for the extermination camp, Belzec. A second form the Social Insurance Office titled Notification of Termination of Employment noted the end date of Anzelm’s work as a construction worker for the city as October 15, 1942. The cause of termination given was “change in position”. This date likely corresponds to the final Aktion in Kalusz implemented by the Gestapo and Ukrainian police. This Aktion, which lasted 36 hours, raided homes and hidings spots ultimately capturing over 1200 Jews including members of the Jewish police and the Judenrat. They were brought to the railway station where they were forced onto freight trains and transported to Belzec. Those that survived that Aktion in the ghetto were soon taken to Stanisławow under false pretenses and were murdered. By the end of October 1942, the Germans officially declared Kalusz as Judenrein (free of Jews).

It seems likely that Anzelm was murdered in Belzec as a result of the final Aktion in Kalusz in mid-October. Even if he did survive, he most likely did not escape being murdered in Stanisławow in the final round up of Jews. Despite the documentation noting Anzelm’s residence in Kalusz, a couple testimonies place him in Rohatyn at the time of his death. The page of martyrs written in the Yizkor book for Rohatyn lists Anzelm along with members of his family. A page of testimony written by Holocaust survivor Sabina Wind-Fuchs noted Anczelm was living in the Rohatyn Ghetto during the German occupation and had perished there in 1942. Records of the Extraordinary Soviet Commission note Anzelm had perished in Rohatyn/Stanisławow.

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Mechel and Sara Kaufman are listed with Anzelm, and Gittel and her family among the martyrs killed in Rohatyn during the Holocaust. There is not a seperate listing for Chaje Bein and her family. Holocaust survivor, Rosette Halpern, completed a page of testimony for her Aunt Sara noting that Sara was beaten and shot during the first Aktion in Rohatyn, and buried in a mass grave on March 20, 1942. The Soviet Extraordinary Commission recorded the death of Mechel and a total of 12 members of his family during the Holocaust. This would include Mechel, Sara, Anzelm, Gittel, her husband, three children, Chaje, her husband Samuel Bein, and their two children.

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Remaining Questions.

• Where was the Kaufman family during WW1?
• Where did Anzelm Kaufman receive his master’s degree?
• What happened to Chaje Bein and her family?
• What were names of Gittel’s husband and children?
• Do photographs of the Kaufman family still exist among Esther’s descendants?