Help needed with Polish names
I have a list of 800 Holocaust survivors from Kolomea and surrounding villages that was prepared in Kolomea shortly after the war ended. It is almost ready for posting but I need some assistance dealing with Polish names. The list is of the form:
Wald Mojzesz Chaima i Ruchli
which I interpret as indicating Mojzesz Wald, the son of Chaim and Ruchel, was a survivor. The key is that Mojzesz is in the nominative form while Chaima and Ruchli are in the genitive case. This indicates Mojzesz “of” Chaim and Ruchel, i.e., that Mojzesz is the son of Chaim and Ruchel.
But, a record might be of the form
Wald Chaima
which I interpret as indicating a survivor named Wald was the son or daughter of Chaim, and the survivor’s given name is not known.
Essentially, a group of survivors in Kolomea assembled whatever information they could. Someone may have said “I heard that what’s-his-name, Chaim Wald’s kid, survived.” To make things worse, there are typos in the list and the format is not consistent throughout.
In preparing the database, I am keeping the declensions as in the original document but also giving the nominative forms of the parents’ names as these are more familiar to people. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Polish so I’m having some trouble specifying the nominative forms for about 35 names, listed below. If someone would be so kind as to provide the nominative cases (and check what I assume are genitive cases are really the genitive cases) I could finish the database quickly. I’d be happy to speak by email, text or phone with any interested parties.
This is a small but important database because in many cases it provides additional information like maiden name, address or town, profession, and town of origin. I would greatly appreciate some assistance in making this available.
John Hoenig
Williamsburg, VA
Specific needs: in the lists below, please
1) Confirm that the name listed as being in the genitive case is, in fact, the genitive case. Then,
2) Check the column for nominative cases and either provide the nominative case or check whether my supposition about the nominative case is correct.
male nom. case male genit. case comment/question
Mechel? Mechla
Pinkas Menaszy is Menaszy nom. Case? (Is the survivor’s
given name Pinkas or Pinkas Menaszy?)
Gedalia? Gedalie
? Zisia
Nuchym? Nuchyma
? Noego
? Seidy
Elo? Ela? Record says “Lindauer Aron Ela”. Is survivor’s given
name Aron or Aron Ela?
Jidl? Jidla
Berl? Berla
Ber? Bera
Wiktor? Wiktoria
? Wolf record says “Weintraub Wolf i Fridy” Who is the
survivor and who is (are) the parent(s). It seems
Wolf is in the nominative case. So why does the word
i (and) appear?
Nysen? Nysena
Borten? Bortena Is Borten a surname? Record is “Schifter Solomon Berla
Bortena”
female nom. case female genit. case comment/question
Dwora? Dwojry
? Etki
Sara? Sari
? Miny
? Feige
? Cyli
? Mani
Gitel? Gitli
Lea? Lei
Helen? Helena record is “Nosikowa Helena Mojzsesza Goldfeld”. Does
this mean Helen Nosikowa was daughter of Mojzsesz
Goldfeld?
Chane? Chany
Rebeka? Rebecki
Klara? Klary
? Heni
Ester? Estery record is “Weitz Lea Fischla i Estery. Why isn’t it Estera?
Frida? Fridy
Other questions:
1) the name Chaim Menaszego appears. Is Chaim Menaszego the given name or does this indicate Chaim was the son of Menaszy?
2) The name Majer Juda appears. Is Majer Juda the given name or does this indicate Majer was the son of Juda?
3) Is the name Berka in the genitive form? If so, what is the nominative case, and is this man's name or a woman's name?
4) in the record "Zinder Rubin Noego i Ester", what is the nominative case of Noego and why isn't the mother specified as Estera? (typo?)
