My interest in the name, "Moni," and variations is inspired by what I've been reading in the recently published
Memorial Book of Skalat.The stories in the book were recounted and recorded by survivors who gave their testimonies over time. I had read parts of the book online, previously, because Skalat is one of my ancestral homes, and I've been wondering about "Moni Lempert," "M. Lempert" (and other names for this man, who was a member of the Judenrat.) He, along with other "delegates, Nirler, Schoenberg," and "Zimmer: (aka "pillars of the Skalat Judenrat" met with "Muller," whom I believe was head of the Gestapo stationed in nearby Tarnopol.
My concern is... is this "Lempert" a relative of mine (even a distant one)? In 1942, when he was "responsible for the Labor office," he was instructed by the Gestapo to round up a certain number of Jews, and he "received a cash payment from the Judenrat for being the first to bring in all the people on his list: 100%.
My immediate family - maternal great grandparents, their 6 children - including my grandmother - all had left Galicia by the end of the 19th century. Their name, "Lempert," was soon changed to "Lambert."
I have visited my great grandparents' graves in the "Skalater Section" of Mt. Zion cemetery in Maspeth, New York, and have confirmed that other Lemperts (and Lamberts) are buried there, too. But none has a name that begins with "M."
M. Lempert had been responsible for the deaths of other Jews, even though it's likely that he did not have a choice. He and other Judenrat members had been leaders in the ghetto, and in various testimonies, they are remembered as ones who "gained infamy by their evil acts."
What happened to him? Did he die in a camp? Did he survive the Holocaust and come to the US?...
How do we, as researchers and chroniclers of our families' pasts, handle this? Have other Jewish Genners run into this problem?
Thanks, already, for so many great responses.
Susan Gordon
PS: you can read about my search for Muller online, in "'Hunting a Dead Nazi,' Susan J. Gordon."
sjgwed@...www.becauseofeva.comLEMPERT, SCHOENHAUT - Skalat, Lvov
BIALAZURKER - Zbaraz, Budapest
