Henry Gronow in German occupied Radziejow, Poldand.

Further from the previous post another interesting site well worth a read is Scott Neuman's trail of his family in War torn Poland during the German occupation.

The following excerpt describes Henry Gronow & his thoughts on returning to Radziejow, Poland.

"Survivor Henry Gronow was one of several Jewish soldiers from Radziejow.  He was drafted into the Polish Army in 1934.  He served in a Polish cavalry unit. In 1937 he was discharged.  After Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Hitler turned his megalomaniac thoughts  towards peaceful Czechoslovakia.  Soon thereafter,  after purporting that Germans living there were in some sort of danger, the German army occupied the Sudetenland, located in Western Czechoslovakia. It became clear to the government of Poland that Hitler's megalomania was focused on their country. As a result,  Gronow was recalled to active duty.  Within a few months he was again discharged from service.  On the day of the German invasion of Poland he was recalled yet again to serve in the reserves.  After three weeks of combat he was captured by the Germans.  He spent six months at the POW Camp Stalag 2A  that was located near Brandenburg, Germany.  In March 1940 he was taken to Lublin, Poland and released. When he made his way back to Radziejow he first learned that the beloved long serving mayor was removed from office and replaced by a German Burgermeister.  He remembered his first impression of the town after arriving.  He aptly described the town as “dead”. He observed that his fellow Jews who many were his relatives were fearful and fearfully awaited the unspoken inevitable.

 "Even more surprising, despite the dangers involved, Jews were still getting married.  For example, Ms. Kazin Fox and Radziejow Survivor Henry Gronow courted during the occupation. Fox then insisted on the marriage because the courting period was over.  So an informal ceremony was performed by Meir Levine, who was a religious Jew but he was not an ordained rabbi.  Unfortunately their marriage was short lived for within four years Fox was murdered at the extermination camp infamously known as Auschwitz."

To read more about "The Holocaust Effect - The Saga of a Survivor and His Influence On His Descendants" by  Scott Neuman do please visit his blog at POLAND INJUSTICE

Happily Henry survived the war and emigrated to Florida USA. In his obituary  published in Sun-Sentinel on Jan. 4, 2004 it stated:

 "Gronow, Henry, "Henik", 91, of Margate, Florida, formerly of Chicago, Illinois, left us on January 2, 2004. He was a Holocaust survivor. Beloved husband of the late Sylvia (nee Green); devoted son of the late Barish and Chiyah Grojnowski; loving brother of the late Leo (the late Helen) Green, Moishe Aaron, Rebecca, Leah, Liebe Grojnowski; and devoted uncle of Belle (Robert) Kaye and great uncle of many nieces and nephews and loved by all who knew him. Chapel services will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2004 at 11:45 AM at the Star of David Memorial Chapel & Gardens, 7701 Bailey Rd., N. Lauderdale, Florida."

August 31, 1994
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation is established in Los Angeles. Its mission is to videotape, before it is too late, the first-person accounts of 50,000 Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

USC Shoah Foundation Institute testimony of Henry Gronow:
Record Type:    Oral History
Interviewee:    Henry Gronow
Gender:    M
Birth Year:    1912
Birth City:    Radziejów (Warsaw/ Poland)
Birth Country:    Russia/Soviet Russia
Prewar Religious Identity:    orthodox Judaism
Postwar Religious Identity:    conservative Judaism
Camps:
    Zwierzyniec (Poland : Concentration Camp)
    Auschwitz (Poland : Concentration Camp)(generic)
    Gleiwitz (Germany : Concentration Camp)(generic)
    STALAG II A (Neubrandenburg/ Germany : POW Camp)
    Auschwitz III-Monowitz (Poland : Concentration Camp)
    Auschwitz III-Monowitz (Poland : Concentration Camp)
Hiding or False Identity Location:    Czechoslovakia
Location of Liberation:    Czechoslovakia
Liberated By:    armed forces/ United States
Other Experiences:    displaced persons camps
Interview Date:     29th May 1996
Interview Location:    Florida U.S.A.
Interview Length:    1:33:19
VHA Interview Code:    15607
Experience Group:    Jewish Survivor 

Johann Friederich Heinrich GRONOW (1810 - 1897) Coming to America

Jessica Scofield, has kindly allowed me to share her excellent Blog post about part of her Gronow family from Germany.

Johan and Johannah's marriage record. "Gronow" and "Fischer" are underlined.
From microfilm #0069316, page 384, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah

     In the 1840s, about 100,000 German emigrants arrived in America each year. In 1848, “when it seemed that Germany might be at last a place worth living in,” that number was cut in half. But hopes were dashed, and emigration swelled. Throughout the 1850s, more than 250,000 Germans arrived annually on US shores.¹ “By 1900, almost one third of people born in Mecklenburg lived outside of the state.”² “These emigrants were the best of their race – the adventurous, the independent, the men who might have made Germany a free and civilized county. They brought to the United States a contribution on inestimable value, but they were lost to Germany.”³

Among the waves of immigrants came several of my ancestors, including Johann Friederich Heinrich Gronow, his wife, Johannah Maria (Fischer) Gronow, and some of their children. But why emigrate?

 To read the full post please visit her Blog and enjoy the rest of this fascinating story Johann Friederich Heinrich Gronow