I am looking for information regarding the ancestry and place of birth of
Aladar LEIMDOERFER (also spelled LEIMDOERFFER) with O Umlaut, and for
information regarding his family. Aladar was born about 1880; he died in
1936 in Susine-Durdenovac, Slavonia, Croatia (in the 18th and 19th century
the Kingdom of Slavonia was a province of the Habsburg Monarchy.) Aladar was
the Generaldirektor of the "Nasitzer Dampfsaege und Tanninfabriken" with
head office in Nasice and branch offices in Austria and Hungary; he was also
mayor of Susine. He was married to my relative Ella Bryk, born 1888 in
Vienna. They had three sons: Hans b. 1913, Gustav b. 1916, and Franz b.
1921. Gustav and Franz perished in the Ustashe's infamous Jadovno Camp
(www.jadovno.org). Ella and Hans were hidden and saved by Dr. Boris Roic', a
Righteous Gentile. They died in Zagreb after the war.
I shall appreciate any leads or suggestions.

Oliver Bryk, San Francisco, California

MODERATOR NOTE: Because this search has numerous links outside of the
Austria-Czech geographical area, you should also try inquiring on the
Hungarian SIG discussion list.

results by inquiring on the Hungarian SIG list, so you should

I am looking for information regarding the ancestry and place of birth of
Aladar LEIMDOERFER (also spelled LEIMDOERFFER) with O Umlaut, and for
information regarding his family. Aladar was born about 1880; he died in
1936 in Susine-Durdenovac, Slavonia, Croatia (in the 18th and 19th century
the Kingdom of Slavonia was a province of the Habsburg Monarchy.) Aladar was
the Generaldirektor of the "Nasitzer Dampfsaege und Tanninfabriken" with
head office in Nasice and branch offices in Austria and Hungary; he was also
mayor of Susine. He was married to my relative Ella Bryk, born 1888 in
Vienna. They had three sons: Hans b. 1913, Gustav b. 1916, and Franz b.
1921. Gustav and Franz perished in the Ustashe's infamous Jadovno Camp
(www.jadovno.org). Ella and Hans were hidden and saved by Dr. Boris Roic', a
Righteous Gentile. They died in Zagreb after the war.
I shall appreciate any leads or suggestions.

Oliver Bryk, San Francisco, California

MODERATOR NOTE: Because this search has numerous links outside of the
Austria-Czech geographical area, you should also try inquiring on the
Hungarian SIG discussion list.

results by inquiring on the Hungarian SIG list, so you should

Dear Genners: I have just come into possession of a copy of my late
father's passport, showing his arrival date >from Danzig, Germany to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada.

Would anybody have knowledge how I might be able to find out the name of the
ship that my father travelled on.

Thank you in advance.

Ruthie Zaionz
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

rzaionz@rogers.com

Dear Genners: I have just come into possession of a copy of my late
father's passport, showing his arrival date >from Danzig, Germany to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada.

Would anybody have knowledge how I might be able to find out the name of the
ship that my father travelled on.

Thank you in advance.

Ruthie Zaionz
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

rzaionz@rogers.com

Dear Judi and other Genners,

You know, in Queens [and possibly Brooklyn] our
addresses are written as 98-01 67th Ave, 71-11
Yellowstone Blvd, 63-10 108th St and even 99-12 136th
Ave or 99-12 136th St. It's true that currently
neither of your potential addresses exists but the
addresses tell us their locations, nonetheless.

The first number before the hyphen refers to the
cross-street and the second part numbers the specific
building on the block.

99th St and 136th Ave would have been by Pitkin Ave at
the back of Aqueduct Race Track. I believe this is
Ozone Park or South Ozone Park, although the address
of the race track uses Jamaica, [which might be the
case at the front end of the track].

Alternately, 99th Ave and 136th St would have been
under the Van Wyck Expressway between Libery and
Atlantic Avenues. I think this might be Richmond Hill
although there seems to be a neighborhood between
Richmond Hill and Jamaica called Morris Park, of which
I have never heard.

For streets that have changed names, we can check out
the work of Steve Morse & friends at:
http://www.stevemorse.org/census/changes/QueensChanges1_121to160.htm
It seems that most all of the streets of South Ozone
Park and Richmond Hill was renamed in the 1920s.

I have tried to find an older Queens map today but
haven't had any luck. A city directory would be very
useful as would the 1930 census. Queens was sparsely
populated and it would be a quick look-up.

In the 1920 Census there were 41 Shapiros in Queens.
There's 1 Abraham Shapiro, a 55 yr old tinsmith from
Russia, with a family including daughter Celia, age 24
in 1920. They live in Corona at West Burnside Ave.
(which I believe became 32nd Ave). Not 136th
unfortunately, but I did see things written in the
margins of the street addresses like 'Walker Ave OR
94th St' and 'Freedom Ave (102nd St)' indicating that
street names changes were common at the time.

In South Ozone Park, there are records for individuals
living on Pressberger Avenue - later to become 134th
(Ave, I suppose) and Brinkmeyer Avenue - later to
become 140th. I think the 136th Ave was a short lived
address - renamed >from Priscilla or Georgia sometime
after 1920 and probably gone by 1950. I could not
find either street, though I did page through 50-60
census sheets for South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill
Circle and Jamaica.

I would also like to point out that the address you
seek could have been a business address and not a
residence.

You are in NY and should fare better than I did. It
is quite possible that expansion of the race track
grounds in 1941 or the construction of the Van Wyck
Expressway through eminent domain destroyed the
property which you are seeking. I couldn't use ACRIS
to any avail - the records are too recent, 1960s
forward.

Best of luck with your research,
Shellie Wiener
San Francisco, CA (a resident of Queens for 29 yrs)

---
Subject: Help with possible NYC/LI address needed
From: Judith27@aol.com
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 15:37:47 EDT
X-Message-Number: 12

Dear JewishGendom,
I recently was told that in the HIAS fond at
the State Lithuanian Archvies there is a record that a
Celia Shapiro sent money in 1925 to a Sura Zurnamer
living in Siauliai.
Neither of these women is known to me, and
trying to find the right Celia Shapiro in America is
proving to be quite challenging...

Dear Judi and other Genners,

You know, in Queens [and possibly Brooklyn] our
addresses are written as 98-01 67th Ave, 71-11
Yellowstone Blvd, 63-10 108th St and even 99-12 136th
Ave or 99-12 136th St. It's true that currently
neither of your potential addresses exists but the
addresses tell us their locations, nonetheless.

The first number before the hyphen refers to the
cross-street and the second part numbers the specific
building on the block.

99th St and 136th Ave would have been by Pitkin Ave at
the back of Aqueduct Race Track. I believe this is
Ozone Park or South Ozone Park, although the address
of the race track uses Jamaica, [which might be the
case at the front end of the track].

Alternately, 99th Ave and 136th St would have been
under the Van Wyck Expressway between Libery and
Atlantic Avenues. I think this might be Richmond Hill
although there seems to be a neighborhood between
Richmond Hill and Jamaica called Morris Park, of which
I have never heard.

For streets that have changed names, we can check out
the work of Steve Morse & friends at:
http://www.stevemorse.org/census/changes/QueensChanges1_121to160.htm
It seems that most all of the streets of South Ozone
Park and Richmond Hill was renamed in the 1920s.

I have tried to find an older Queens map today but
haven't had any luck. A city directory would be very
useful as would the 1930 census. Queens was sparsely
populated and it would be a quick look-up.

In the 1920 Census there were 41 Shapiros in Queens.
There's 1 Abraham Shapiro, a 55 yr old tinsmith from
Russia, with a family including daughter Celia, age 24
in 1920. They live in Corona at West Burnside Ave.
(which I believe became 32nd Ave). Not 136th
unfortunately, but I did see things written in the
margins of the street addresses like 'Walker Ave OR
94th St' and 'Freedom Ave (102nd St)' indicating that
street names changes were common at the time.

In South Ozone Park, there are records for individuals
living on Pressberger Avenue - later to become 134th
(Ave, I suppose) and Brinkmeyer Avenue - later to
become 140th. I think the 136th Ave was a short lived
address - renamed >from Priscilla or Georgia sometime
after 1920 and probably gone by 1950. I could not
find either street, though I did page through 50-60
census sheets for South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill
Circle and Jamaica.

I would also like to point out that the address you
seek could have been a business address and not a
residence.

You are in NY and should fare better than I did. It
is quite possible that expansion of the race track
grounds in 1941 or the construction of the Van Wyck
Expressway through eminent domain destroyed the
property which you are seeking. I couldn't use ACRIS
to any avail - the records are too recent, 1960s
forward.

Best of luck with your research,
Shellie Wiener
San Francisco, CA (a resident of Queens for 29 yrs)

---
Subject: Help with possible NYC/LI address needed
From: Judith27@aol.com
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 15:37:47 EDT
X-Message-Number: 12

Dear JewishGendom,
I recently was told that in the HIAS fond at
the State Lithuanian Archvies there is a record that a
Celia Shapiro sent money in 1925 to a Sura Zurnamer
living in Siauliai.
Neither of these women is known to me, and
trying to find the right Celia Shapiro in America is
proving to be quite challenging...

Steve Orlen" wrote

Dear Cousins,

A man died in Slonim during the Shoa. His first name is given as Jasza.
Does anyone know the etymology?

Steve,

Jasza, Polish, pron. [yah shah].
Yasha is a very popular Russian diminutive form for names Yakov (Jacov,
Jakub) and Yankel (Jankiel).
BTW, there also in existence a diminutive form of the diminutive form, used
exclusively by the girfriends ans Yiddishe mothers - Yashen'ka.

Alexander Sharon
Calgary, Ab

On Sat, 8 Jul 2006 22:11:35 UTC, sorlen@email.arizona.edu (Steve Orlen)
opined:

Dear Cousins,

A man died in Slonim during the Shoa. His first name is given as
Jasza. Does anyone know the etymology?

Very easy, if you will recall that "SZ" in Polish orthography would be
rendered as "SH" in English spelling and "SCH" in German. The "J", of
course, sounds like English "Y". That will remind you of the name of the
violinist Jascha Heifetz. The name is a nickname for Hebrew "Ya'aqov", i.e.
Jacob.

--
Stan Goodman, Qiryat Tiv'on, Israel

Searching:
NEACHOWICZ/NOACHOWICZ, NEJMAN/NAJMAN, SURALSKI: Lomza Gubernia
ISMACH: Lomza Gubernia, Galicia, and Ukraina
HERTANU, ABRAMOVICI, LAUER: Dorohoi District, Romania
GRISARU, VATARU: Iasi, Dorohoi, and Mileanca, Romania

See my interactive family tree (requires Java 1.1.6 or better). the URL is:
http://www.hashkedim.com

For reasons connected with anti-spam/junk security, the return address is
not valid. To communicate with me, please visit my website (see the URL
above -- no Java required for this purpose) and fill in the email form
there.

Steve Orlen" wrote

Dear Cousins,

A man died in Slonim during the Shoa. His first name is given as Jasza.
Does anyone know the etymology?

Steve,

Jasza, Polish, pron. [yah shah].
Yasha is a very popular Russian diminutive form for names Yakov (Jacov,
Jakub) and Yankel (Jankiel).
BTW, there also in existence a diminutive form of the diminutive form, used
exclusively by the girfriends ans Yiddishe mothers - Yashen'ka.

Alexander Sharon
Calgary, Ab

On Sat, 8 Jul 2006 22:11:35 UTC, sorlen@email.arizona.edu (Steve Orlen)
opined:

Dear Cousins,

A man died in Slonim during the Shoa. His first name is given as
Jasza. Does anyone know the etymology?

Very easy, if you will recall that "SZ" in Polish orthography would be
rendered as "SH" in English spelling and "SCH" in German. The "J", of
course, sounds like English "Y". That will remind you of the name of the
violinist Jascha Heifetz. The name is a nickname for Hebrew "Ya'aqov", i.e.
Jacob.

--
Stan Goodman, Qiryat Tiv'on, Israel

Searching:
NEACHOWICZ/NOACHOWICZ, NEJMAN/NAJMAN, SURALSKI: Lomza Gubernia
ISMACH: Lomza Gubernia, Galicia, and Ukraina
HERTANU, ABRAMOVICI, LAUER: Dorohoi District, Romania
GRISARU, VATARU: Iasi, Dorohoi, and Mileanca, Romania

See my interactive family tree (requires Java 1.1.6 or better). the URL is:
http://www.hashkedim.com

For reasons connected with anti-spam/junk security, the return address is
not valid. To communicate with me, please visit my website (see the URL
above -- no Java required for this purpose) and fill in the email form
there.

To the best of my knowledge it is a variant of Yaakov.

Benzy Shani

"Steve Orlen" <sorlen@email.arizona.edu> wrote

To the best of my knowledge it is a variant of Yaakov.

Benzy Shani

"Steve Orlen" <sorlen@email.arizona.edu> wrote

My husband's great-aunt Wilhelmina KORN was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery on
July 30, 1922. NYC has not found her death registered in any borough in
1922. NYS has not found her death registered in 1921-23. I have tried the
NYC death index using wild cards and every misspelling I can think of. The
cemetery people believe she must have died in NYC, because their records
normally state when a body is transferred >from elsewhere. Does anyone have
any suggestions as to how I can find her death certificate? The cause of
her death at age 21 is a mystery in the family, as different cousins were
told different stories by her siblings, all of whom are now deceased. There
are a couple of pretty obvious reasons for a cover-up, but we still think
there must have been a death certificate. Is it possible for a NYC death
certificate to be sealed?

Sharon Korn
San Diego, CA

My husband's great-aunt Wilhelmina KORN was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery on
July 30, 1922. NYC has not found her death registered in any borough in
1922. NYS has not found her death registered in 1921-23. I have tried the
NYC death index using wild cards and every misspelling I can think of. The
cemetery people believe she must have died in NYC, because their records
normally state when a body is transferred >from elsewhere. Does anyone have
any suggestions as to how I can find her death certificate? The cause of
her death at age 21 is a mystery in the family, as different cousins were
told different stories by her siblings, all of whom are now deceased. There
are a couple of pretty obvious reasons for a cover-up, but we still think
there must have been a death certificate. Is it possible for a NYC death
certificate to be sealed?

Sharon Korn
San Diego, CA

Roots-Key, the Journal of the JGSLA, will be publishing a special Summer
issue on Napoleon's 1812 Campaign in Russia in August. Although we do not
offer anything new to Napoleon scholars, we do track his campaign- shtetl by
shtetl->from June 1812 through January 1813. If your ancestral village lay in
the path of his march, our collected "They Saw Napoleon" stories makes a
connection between genealogy and history. We also have given researchers
some hints as to where the records are and where they are not.
If you are interested in ordering a copy, reserve it now before we
go to the printer. Email nholden@interserv.com
Send your check for $5.00 to cover printing and mailing to
JGSLA
P.O. Box 55443
Sherman Oaks CA 91413-5544

MODERATOR NOTE: This is the permitted one-time sales mention of
a new book of genealogical interest.

Roots-Key, the Journal of the JGSLA, will be publishing a special Summer
issue on Napoleon's 1812 Campaign in Russia in August. Although we do not
offer anything new to Napoleon scholars, we do track his campaign- shtetl by
shtetl->from June 1812 through January 1813. If your ancestral village lay in
the path of his march, our collected "They Saw Napoleon" stories makes a
connection between genealogy and history. We also have given researchers
some hints as to where the records are and where they are not.
If you are interested in ordering a copy, reserve it now before we
go to the printer. Email nholden@interserv.com
Send your check for $5.00 to cover printing and mailing to
JGSLA
P.O. Box 55443
Sherman Oaks CA 91413-5544

MODERATOR NOTE: This is the permitted one-time sales mention of
a new book of genealogical interest.

A large number of Holocaust-themed lectures will be presented at the 26th
Annual Conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical
Societies to give attendees the latest and best information for what many
regard as holy work.

* Peter Lande will discuss the new resources available at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum archives and library. The USHMM's database of 3 million
records, usually available only at the museum, will be accessible for use in
the Conference Resource Room. Lande's lecture is scheduled early in the
Conference so that he can be available to help conference attendees access
the database.

* James Connelly, of the USHMM Registry of Holocaust Survivors, and Marian
Smith, Senior Historian at US Citizenship and Immigration Services,
(formerly the INS), will introduce the new INS Foreign Address and
Occupation Index, a new set of records recently acquired by the Registry of
Holocaust Survivors at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The index relates
to immigrants who arrived in the United States in the decades after World
War II.

* A searchable database of Jews in the Russian army killed and missing in
action during WWII will also be available in the Resource Room.

* A representative of the Shoah Foundation will be present at the Conference
providing computer access to the videotaped testimonies of Holocaust
survivors.

There will be over three dozen Holocaust-related lectures, including the
following:

* A History of Anti-Semitism as It Laid the Foundation for the Holocaust
* Lost Identity of a Child Survivor of the Holocaust
* Ordinary Exile: The Fate of Austrian Jewish Refugees in Belgium and
France, 1938-1945
* What's the Next Step After Finding a Testimony for Someone in the Yad
Vashem Database?
* Looking for the Only Unaccompanied Children Rescued >from the Holocaust by
America: Who They Are and How We Found Them
* Cyberspace Memorials for Ancestral Towns: Creating a Shtetl Page
* Another Source for World War II-Era Genealogy: The National Catholic
Welfare Conference Bureau of Immigration New York Port Office Records
* Theresienstadt: The Town Hitler Gave to the Jews
* Project to Reconstitute the Destroyed Shtetls of Europe
* In the Crosshairs: Operation Rescue: HIAS, Marseille (1939-1944)
* Greek Jews and the Holocaust
* China: Unusual Resources for Family Research
* Genealogical Information in Memorial Books >from Germany and Austria
* Memory of the Holocaust in Latvia: A Contemporary Debate
* Records of Eastern European Jews in the Archives of Central Asia
* Introduction to the Arolsen Files: Their Origins and Practical Usage
* Recreating Ariogala, a Lithuanian Shtetl
* Murderous Medicine: How to Trace Some Victims of the Holocaust
* Holocaust Tracing, Family Searches, and Wartime Documentation Free Through
the Red Cross
* Ancestral Shtetl Remembrance: How to Organize a Shtetl Project
* The Documentation, Protection and Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in
Central and Eastern Europe
* Yizkor Books: Two Complementary Projects
* Computer lab: Using the Pages of Testimony and Consolidated Surname Index

For more information about the Conference and Conference registration, visit
the Conference website at www.jgsny2006.org.

"The Jewish Week" has just published two interesting articles related to the
Conference.

"Connecting the Ancestral Dots"
(www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12688)
gives an overview of the lectures, computer labs, and tours that will be
offered.

"Father of 'Mother' DNA Study"
(www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12689), an interview with
Dr. Doron Behar, the geneticist who discovered that 40 percent of Ashkenazi
Jews can trace their ancestry to just four women and who will be speaking at
the Conference about the study and his future research.

Gloria Berkenstat Freund
26th Annual IAJGS Conference Program Committee Chair

A large number of Holocaust-themed lectures will be presented at the 26th
Annual Conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical
Societies to give attendees the latest and best information for what many
regard as holy work.

* Peter Lande will discuss the new resources available at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum archives and library. The USHMM's database of 3 million
records, usually available only at the museum, will be accessible for use in
the Conference Resource Room. Lande's lecture is scheduled early in the
Conference so that he can be available to help conference attendees access
the database.

* James Connelly, of the USHMM Registry of Holocaust Survivors, and Marian
Smith, Senior Historian at US Citizenship and Immigration Services,
(formerly the INS), will introduce the new INS Foreign Address and
Occupation Index, a new set of records recently acquired by the Registry of
Holocaust Survivors at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The index relates
to immigrants who arrived in the United States in the decades after World
War II.

* A searchable database of Jews in the Russian army killed and missing in
action during WWII will also be available in the Resource Room.

* A representative of the Shoah Foundation will be present at the Conference
providing computer access to the videotaped testimonies of Holocaust
survivors.

There will be over three dozen Holocaust-related lectures, including the
following:

* A History of Anti-Semitism as It Laid the Foundation for the Holocaust
* Lost Identity of a Child Survivor of the Holocaust
* Ordinary Exile: The Fate of Austrian Jewish Refugees in Belgium and
France, 1938-1945
* What's the Next Step After Finding a Testimony for Someone in the Yad
Vashem Database?
* Looking for the Only Unaccompanied Children Rescued >from the Holocaust by
America: Who They Are and How We Found Them
* Cyberspace Memorials for Ancestral Towns: Creating a Shtetl Page
* Another Source for World War II-Era Genealogy: The National Catholic
Welfare Conference Bureau of Immigration New York Port Office Records
* Theresienstadt: The Town Hitler Gave to the Jews
* Project to Reconstitute the Destroyed Shtetls of Europe
* In the Crosshairs: Operation Rescue: HIAS, Marseille (1939-1944)
* Greek Jews and the Holocaust
* China: Unusual Resources for Family Research
* Genealogical Information in Memorial Books >from Germany and Austria
* Memory of the Holocaust in Latvia: A Contemporary Debate
* Records of Eastern European Jews in the Archives of Central Asia
* Introduction to the Arolsen Files: Their Origins and Practical Usage
* Recreating Ariogala, a Lithuanian Shtetl
* Murderous Medicine: How to Trace Some Victims of the Holocaust
* Holocaust Tracing, Family Searches, and Wartime Documentation Free Through
the Red Cross
* Ancestral Shtetl Remembrance: How to Organize a Shtetl Project
* The Documentation, Protection and Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in
Central and Eastern Europe
* Yizkor Books: Two Complementary Projects
* Computer lab: Using the Pages of Testimony and Consolidated Surname Index

For more information about the Conference and Conference registration, visit
the Conference website at www.jgsny2006.org.

"The Jewish Week" has just published two interesting articles related to the
Conference.

"Connecting the Ancestral Dots"
(www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12688)
gives an overview of the lectures, computer labs, and tours that will be
offered.

"Father of 'Mother' DNA Study"
(www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12689), an interview with
Dr. Doron Behar, the geneticist who discovered that 40 percent of Ashkenazi
Jews can trace their ancestry to just four women and who will be speaking at
the Conference about the study and his future research.

Gloria Berkenstat Freund
26th Annual IAJGS Conference Program Committee Chair

For the record, I wish to mention my relative Eliahu GOLDENBERG, Yiddish and
Hebrew actor. Eliahu son of Michel GOLDENBERG and Edith/Yehudit FISHMAN was
my father's first cousin. He was born in an agricultural village, Sosnivka,
Ukraine, on Sept. 9, 1909, grew up in Bielozerka, both near Kremenets, and
as a very young boy was apprenticed to a grave carver. He was self-taught,
as far as I know.
He later lived in Krakow, then Warsaw, where he acted and taught drama,
before coming to Israel in about 1938. Eliahu also worked a couple of years
in London, England, in the early 1950s; and appeared in Cincinati and
Cleveland, Ohio, where I first met him, in the winter of 1967-8. Eliahu
mostly performed readings of classical Yiddish writers, including Shalom
Aleichem, usually with two other actors. He also read these writers' works
in translation to English and Hebrew. In his readings, he would often act
out several roles, injecting them with a good measure of humor. His
best-known program was entitled "Der Kleine Menshelach" (The Little People).
He was the director of the Palestine British Army entertainment group during
WWII, and taught many Israelis dramatic and radio reading.
He appeared before many schools in Israel, gratis.
Eliahu died on November 4, 1976. He was very well known in Israel in his own
right. Later he became known by many as the father of Dudu Topaz, a popular
Israeli entertainer.
Eliahu told me that he was a distant cousin of Edward G. Robinson (Emanuel
GOLDENBERG), but we don't know the connection.
Ellen Stepak
Ramat Gan, Israel

For the record, I wish to mention my relative Eliahu GOLDENBERG, Yiddish and
Hebrew actor. Eliahu son of Michel GOLDENBERG and Edith/Yehudit FISHMAN was
my father's first cousin. He was born in an agricultural village, Sosnivka,
Ukraine, on Sept. 9, 1909, grew up in Bielozerka, both near Kremenets, and
as a very young boy was apprenticed to a grave carver. He was self-taught,
as far as I know.
He later lived in Krakow, then Warsaw, where he acted and taught drama,
before coming to Israel in about 1938. Eliahu also worked a couple of years
in London, England, in the early 1950s; and appeared in Cincinati and
Cleveland, Ohio, where I first met him, in the winter of 1967-8. Eliahu
mostly performed readings of classical Yiddish writers, including Shalom
Aleichem, usually with two other actors. He also read these writers' works
in translation to English and Hebrew. In his readings, he would often act
out several roles, injecting them with a good measure of humor. His
best-known program was entitled "Der Kleine Menshelach" (The Little People).
He was the director of the Palestine British Army entertainment group during
WWII, and taught many Israelis dramatic and radio reading.
He appeared before many schools in Israel, gratis.
Eliahu died on November 4, 1976. He was very well known in Israel in his own
right. Later he became known by many as the father of Dudu Topaz, a popular
Israeli entertainer.
Eliahu told me that he was a distant cousin of Edward G. Robinson (Emanuel
GOLDENBERG), but we don't know the connection.
Ellen Stepak
Ramat Gan, Israel