I have great respect for the research and knowledge of Alexander Sharon. I
do not basically disagree with anything he has said. I beg to disagree with
the conclusion that Gesher Galicia (GG) should be defined by the
administrative divisions put in place during the interwar by Poland.

Less than a year ago I established a Research Group under GG with the
objective of gathering together people with a common interest in the Town of
Kolomea (Austria name; now Kolomyya Ukrainian name, and Kolomyja interim
Polish name). Kolomea was the name of the town when my father, MHRIP, was
born there in 1903. Kolomea was the spelling of the town when Jews,
relatively speaking in my opinion, were much better off then under the
Polish and Ukrainian rulers. Lastly, by its name Gesher Galicia, GG is
focused on the geographic region that only existed until around 1918. It
seems to me to be illogical to draw geographic and political boundaries for
a region that is not Galicia.

For all these reasons; in memory of my father and all those others that were
born in Galicia; the well-being afforded by the Austrian Government, and the
geographic accuracy of the times, I strongly recommend that Gesher Galicia
maintain the administration divisions as established during the existence of
Galicia and use these divisions to establish borders for Research Groups.
For example my Kolomea Research Group covers the Kolomea Administrative
District.

Now Mr. Sharon has provided me with specific information, which will be
posted soon on the Kolomea Administrative District Shtetlinks web site, that
will aid in locating vital and other records now stored in Warsaw archives
and local Ukrainian State archives. This information includes a listing of
all towns, parishes, and shtetls that comprised the Kolomyja District
established by Poland. So for record searching purposes, I support Mr.
Sharon's recommendation to use the Polish administrative divisions to search
for records of interest to the Kolomea Research Group and to other Research
Groups and SIGs.

Alan Weiser, Coordinator
Kolomea Research Group & Web Site
Silver Spring, MD
alanboy@...