I think that rule about not conscripting only sons was only valid in some countries (perhaps just Russia). My grandfather was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army as a teen and he had no brothers. A

#holocaust #poland #names

I'm also greedy. One of my grandparents was Litvak. The other three were Galitzianer. I use both on latkes, though if I had to pick one, it would be sour cream. Pierogi and blintzes are sour cream onl

#galicia #lithuania

It's my understanding that it is very common for multiple family members to be named for the same ancestor. My mother has 3 cousins on her mother's side all named Michael for their grandmother. My gre

#germany

This became oddly contentious. Like many others, I'd heard to stories about Ellis Island name changes and later learned that this would not have happened. My own tree shows numerous name changes, both

#names

I think every family has a few legends. I've been told that my grandfather's aunts were anarchists in the late 19th century, putting us on the tsar's bad side, but there's no way to prove or disprove

#belarus