Tuesday's Tip: Discuss Conflicting Info with Relatives

Paula Schwartz

This photo sent shivers up my spine and I had to share why.

Five years ago, I found my maternal grandfather's sister Paula Schwartz listed in the Yad Vashem central database of Holocaust victims, names submitted by relatives or neighbors so that victims would be remembered.

The "testimony" page, below, shows that Paula was the daughter of Herman and Hana (Simonowitz) Schwartz. The person who submitted the testimony in 1996 is Viola Schwartz W____r--Paula's daughter. (See my Schwartz ancestor landing page for more info.)

My newfound cousin from Philly questioned me about Viola W___. Why? Because on cards and photos sent to my grandpa, Paula Schwartz's daughter is named Ibolyka, which is often translated as Violet. I thought we were looking for a survivor named Violet W___, even though the testimony is signed by Viola ___.

My Philly Cuz urged me to rethink the Violet/Viola discrepancy. I went back to the testimony page to see whether any more info had been added since I last looked in 2008. The answer is yes.

Now there's a photo uploaded next to the testimony--the photo I show in this post. You can compare with the two ladies in hats at the center top of my blog's masthead. It's undoubtedly OUR family's Paula Schwartz!

This photo wasn't available online in 2008. And not long afterward, we found this survivor. Sadly, she confirmed that many Schwartz ancestors who remained in Ungvar did not survive the Holocaust.