* * * * * * * * * G E N     D O B R Y ! * * * * * * * * *

Volume IV, No. 8. 31 August 2003.
Copyright (c) 2003, PolishRoots(R), Inc.
Editor: William F. Fred Hoffman, E-mail: <WFHoffman@prodigy.net>

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CONTENTS

   Welcome
   A Polish "Alphabet"
  Letters to the Editor
   Book on Life in Galicia
   Genealogy Forum Chats
   A Mailing List on Chicago's Poles
   Review: Portraits on Stone -- Holy Rosary Cemetery [Baltimore]
   Upcoming Events
   More Useful Web Addresses
   You May Reprint Articles...

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*** WELCOME! ***

to the latest issue of _Gen Dobry!_, the e-zine of PolishRoots(R). If you missed previous issues, you can find them at

   http://polishroots.org/gendobry/gendobry_index.htm.

Don't forget to visit PolishRoots.org, the sponsor of _Gen Dobry!_, and take advantage of the many resources offered there. For instance, there is a page devoted completely to links with information on ships and immigration:

   http://www.polishroots.org/immigration.htm

If you have suggestions of other links people might enjoy, don't hesitate to let Webmaster Don Szumowski know about them: <Webmaster@PolishRoots.org>.

***************************************

*** A POLISH "ALPHABET" ***

by Tomasz Wisniewski <tomy@ld.euro-net.pl>

   [Editor: This article was written in Polish by Tomasz Wisniewski, or "Tomek," as his friends call him. Tomek speaks English quite decently, but felt he could express himself better in Polish. I have translated his Polish original into English, and I hope I have done justice to it -- it is eloquent.
   [This is the introduction and first installment in a series he hopes to do about places prominent in Polish history, based on a kind of new "alphabet," in the sense "A is for apple, B is for boy," etc. He begins with an introduction, then an entry for the letter L: Lida, now in Belarus....]

With our eyes fixed on the future, fascinated with new technologies and filled with emotion as we enter the European Union, we often forget about our most basic lesson: the study of Poland.

I would like to suggest that we do a search -- for Poland! I propose reconstructing its complicated alphabet, a Poland as it was for centuries: with all the diversity of the Tower of Babel and abounding in various cuisines, astonishing and surprising for foreigners but comprehensible to those who were born in it.

In our pilgrimage to the past we will often reach back to a Poland that no longer exists, but we believe that we will rediscover the distinguishing characteristics of our Homeland, of which we should be proud: a foundation of tolerance and respect for others, of loyalty to and pride in our own tradition.

For Poland back then was where all those splendid peoples lived who had much to thank Poland for, but whom Poland also has much to thank for: Ukrainians and Jews, Belarusians and Lithuanians, Lemkos and Germans, Tatars and Russians, Karaites and Gypsies -- the diamonds of our national and culture property, of our thinking, cuisine and language, indispensable colors in the portrait of Poland.

Our "Polish alphabet" will not have rules, as there is no simple way to designate Poland's borders over the course of centuries, or to codify its language (everyone speaks and writes differently). We will seek Poland not only within the borders of the Polish nation as it now exists, but also in the expanses of what are now Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus. We will seek it in old chests, in old photographs and prewar postcards.

Our pilgrimage to the past has as its goal the rediscovery of sign-posts for building our future, for preserving our national and cultural identity. For each of us the definition of Poland differs, and we are not concerned with defining our "Alphabet" precisely, but rather in a way that will be both memorable and remembered.

* L as in … Lida, Full of Herring *

I will begin with Lida -- and why not? The name alone arouses curiosity. In our Polish alphabet there are no precise rules, and plenty of exceptions.

How to describe Lida? There's not enough space here to do so, and yet I know that thousands of Poles have never even heard of Lida. I surely would not know about it if one day an unusual photograph hadn't come into my hands. A cyclist was posing for his picture in front of an extraordinary monument to independence with four bears. Bears? Here's a quiz for you: do you know what bears were doing in Lida? ... They were the symbol of Lida's aviators between the World Wars!

Lida is not forgotten: thousands of people trace their origins to it. Surely somewhere there are living descendants of Henryk Bogatkowski (the starosta of Lida as of 1928), or of the famous doctor Hipolit Harniewicz. Its memory is kept alive by organizations of Siberians and in the Kresy [Editor's note: _Kresy_ is a term for the eastern borderlands of the former Commonwealth, covering much of what are now Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine]. In Holon, Israel I saw a monument to Lida's Jews. For many people on our globe Lida is the navel of the world, a memory of the oldest root in their family's genealogical tree.

Lida has in it a piece of Poland, but also of the history of Israel and Russia, even though today it is located in Belarus. It is a small town, not even noted in American atlases, but I know that if a local historian were to write a book on Lida, half a thousand pages wouldn't be enough to hold it all, even if he wrote only about Lida's aerial regiment.

* 15,000 Carts *

It has existed as a settlement since 1180. Later it was ruled by Giedymin and his successors [rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania], and finally for centuries as part of the Commonwealth. Burned by the Teutonic Knights and looted by the Swedes, Lida was always brave, and during the dark night of the Czar's partition Lida produced the valiant rebel Ludwik Narbutt.

During the period between the World Wars it found itself once more within the borders of the Republic. It was a county seat in Nowogrod province. The mayor at the time, Rudolf Bergman, had his troubles: on market days 15,000 carts arrived in town. The marketplace in Lida must have been huge!

During the period between the wars it blossomed as a typical small town of the Kresy. It was full of shops, so that as best I can tell, 70 years ago there were 10 times more than there are today. Each shop had its facade on the street, made of brick or wood. These were not salons with cubby-holes and furniture; they were popular so-called _blawatne sklepy__, with herring from barrels, mushrooms in cabbage, nails, you name it. These shops were popular. Since no one closed them, that was a sign they were making some profit.

Today Lida is in Hrodna district of Belarus and has about 150,000 inhabitants. There is a castle and two active churches (one parochial, another of the Piarist Fathers).

* Lida On Yahoo *

In its library another Lida emerges from the shelves: the Memorial Book to Lida's Jews, also with several hundred pages and a multitude of photographs. And there is something here that should be remembered. During World War II Lida's Jewish community, numbering several thousands, was murdered.

On the Internet I found an interesting site on Lida: http://www.pawet.narod.ru/page1.html (it's in Polish, English, and Belarusian). One should also subscribe to a discussion list of Lida natives on the Yahoo portal at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LidaRoots/. It's a concentration of Poles, Jews, and Belarusians researching their roots.

It's also essential to read Aleksander Jurewicz's _Lida_, praised by Czeslaw Milosz himself; as one critic wrote, it is "a great mourning and lamentation for a lost paradise of innocence."

What about Poles? They still live today in Lida; they have their own organizations, go to church, and stay in contact with their motherland. But the Jewish synagogue, the _blawatne_ shops, and the "Officers Training Corps Sports Field at the Castle of Giedymin" are, sadly, gone.

With Lida it's as with undiscovered stars. Many of you, in Rzeszow, London, Warsaw, and Lublin never heard of it. But maybe some of you have roots in Lida?

Today you know that there was a small piece of Poland here, a fragment of its alphabet. We will remember Lida, and we will drop in there again.

Next time we will visit Pinsk. Why Pinsk? Well, why not?

(Quiz: What exactly were _blawatne sklepy_? Submit your answers by e-mail to <tomy@ld.euro-net.pl>. There'll be a modest prize for the author of the most interesting explanation.)

   [Editor: see Tomek's photo albums at http://www.aforgottenodyssey.com/gallery/albums.php, especially the one entitled "'Alfabet Polski' - Poland photos pre-1945" with images for Lida and other places in what are now Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine. Tomek hopes to build up the biggest Pre-War Photo Gallery in the World. Take a look at his work, and help him if you can!]

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*** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ***

Subject: Praise for _Gen Dobry!_

The current issue of _Gen Dobry!_ is very interesting and helpful. Thanks for all the work that went into putting it together.

   Joni Wasilewski <Lynnjoni@aol.com>

   [Editor: I appreciate your writing. I don't get all that much feedback from readers, so I pay attention to every note I get. It's the only way I can know whether I'm 1) doing any good or 2) just contributing to the flood of worthless crud on the Internet. I'm glad your vote would be for option number 1!]

-----

Subject: The Forgotten Holocaust and the Forgotten Odyssey

Dear Editor,

I have just finished reading the above article in the July edition of _Gen Dobry!_ and thought your readers may be interested in hearing about the following linked item. There is a very excellent documentary video available to buy called "The Forgotten Odyssey."

It tells the story of the 1.7 million Poles who were deported to Siberia from Eastern Poland in 1939. Some of whom survived and made their way to Persia to join "Anders' Army." It examines the massacre and mass grave of an estimated 25,000 Polish Army officers and intelligentsia found in a forest. It also examines the politics surrounding the "cover up" of this episode and the deportations by the Allies and the Soviets in the years after the war ended.

My father and his family endured this ordeal and so I found the documentary harrowing, informative and moving. I never appreciated the scale of the episode until I came across the Website and watched the film.

It is a professionally-made documentary which has appeared on British TV and satellite history channels. The story is told by survivors and uses original footage. It lasts 52 minutes and is in English and Polish with English subtitles.

The website is at http://www.aforgottenodyssey.com/ and the film can be ordered from there.

I'm sure many of your readers would be interested to hear, or be reminded, about the availability of this video. It is an excellent piece of work.

   Ken Fedzin, England <ken.fedzin@ntlworld.com>

P.S. My thanks to Paul for his help and advice.

   [Editor: We've mentioned "The Forgotten Odyssey" before in _Gen Dobry!_, but I'm pleased that your note gives us the opportunity to do so again.]

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Subject: Prof. Thompson's Paper on _The Forgotten Holocaust_

Thanks for including my note and the condensed version of Prof. Thompson's paper. I really expected one or the other. I'm grateful to see both in your publication. I sent a copy to Prof. Thompson and her response follows:

   Bill Rutkowski <ImogeneRut@aol.com>

> Dear Mr. Rutkowski:
>
> Thank you for sending this to me. I appreciate what you are doing. It
> sometimes seems that we engage in Sisyphean toil, but ultimately
> our voices will count in the dialectics of history.
>
> All best,
>
> Ewa Thompson

   [Editor -- It's all about truth. Whatever the truth was, let's find it and preserve it!]

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Subject: More on "The Pianist"

Thanks for putting my question in the newsletter. In reading the newsletter you mentioned the movie "The Pianist." I saw the movie and liked it a lot. I also have and read the book _The Forgotten Holocaust_. I found the book very interesting and think all people should read it.

I do a lot of reading and came across some good books about the Holocaust and Pope Pius XII. In my reading of Poland at the start of World War II, the Polish people of all walks of life took a beating from the Nazis. Then the Jewish question came about and that is when the Nazis started to go after the Jews in all of Europe. Many Polish citizens helped Jews escape and many were hidden. If the Nazis found out that any Pole helped any Jew, they were executed along with their family.

Ewa Noyszewska, Mother Superior of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, was executed by the Nazis for helping Jews escape. A Dr. Janusz Korczak, who was a famous doctor in the Warsaw ghetto, could have gotten out but stayed with the children. He went to the gas chamber with the children he took care of. A Pole by the name of Zofia Szczucka Kossak Zofia did not like Jews, but when she found out what the Nazi were doing to the Jews, she helped as many as she could to escape. She lived thru the war but when the communists came to power she was exiled.

Good or bad, we should learn from history and hope to make things better for the future.

   Cathy Duprey <rcduprey@peganet.com>

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Subject: Family Tree DNA

I had all my "men" tested at the Family Tree DNA Houston lab. Leo Baca got a group rate for "Czech" research. It got the price down to $101 for a 12 marker test. They keep the samples, so you can later upgrade the test to a 25 marker one if you want to get more specific. So if someone is willing to be the go-between, they can contact Bennett Greenspan <bcg@familytreedna.com>. All orders go through that person to Family Tree DNA. However, the billing and shipping of the kits goes directly to the person testing. 

For example, I e-mail Leo and tell him I want one 12 marker test. I have to give him the man's name, but I use my address because I am the one paying for the kit. The lab sends the kit to me, billing me the reduced rate of $101. It is up to me to get with my man, test him, put the money in the envelope, and mail it back. You can have the kit sent directly to the man being tested and your payment can be sent separately to the lab. They won't start work until the money is there.

However, since I was doing quite a few elderly men, I didn't want to risk them messing the test up, so I personally tested them. I sent kits to those living too far away. I enclosed postage-paid envelopes for them to mail the kits to the lab.

I worked lots of overtime to pay for this, and I had all my known paternal lines tested. Two have roots in Poland. The Matzkes are from Viking stock. The Neumans are from Kurgan stock. I also had the mitochondrial DNA testing done on my maternal lines. That is a much more expensive test, and Leo could get no break on it from Oxford ancestors or Family Tree DNA. (At Oxford, if you send in 2 or 6 tests, you get breaks). Oxford destroys the test after it gets the results so you can't go back and perform further tests. (None are available yet.) You do get this cool certificate matching your DNA to one of the "Seven Daughters of Eve." I had only one Polish mother I could test. The other one died out. The Matzke maternal line goes back to the tribe of Velda, in the mountains between Spain and France. 

   Marie Neuman Gottfried <mngottfried@academicplanet.com>

   [Editor: Marie also forwarded a copy of Family Tree DNA's newsletter, _Facts & Genes_. If you'd like to take a look, it's available here:

      http://www.familytreeDNA.com/facts_genes.asp

   [This company also offers a video presentation about DNA testing and genealogy -- info is available here:

      http://www.FamilyTreeDNA.com/surname_video.asp

   [Of course, as always, we're not promoting this or any company. We merely pass on information you should evaluate for yourself.]

-----

Subject: Polish Refugees in Africa

I was born in Kenya in 1950 and adopted into an English family. I have now been able to get my original birth certificate and I find that my mother's name was Josepha Maria Samelka and that she lists her nationality as Polish. I have been back to Africa to try and find her but have not been successful.

I am guessing that she was a war refugee who went to Africa. I have tried on many websites and shipping lists to find the surname Samelka but have not been successful. One Polish family suggested to me that the name might have been changed from its origin and spelt to represent how it sounded.

I would be so grateful if you can offer any suggestions. I would like to come to Poland next year and do some more searching and would contact anyone you suggested that could be helpful.

I would also be most interested if you could suggest anyone who has information on Polish refugees that went to East Africa.

   Isobel Suter, Hamilton New Zealand <apugh@ihug.co.nz>

   [Editor: I told Isobel I couldn't help her, but would be glad to print her note in _Gen Dobry!_ and see if any of our readers has some ideas. There's no way to tell just by looking whether the surname SAMELKA has or has not been modified -- only solid research uncovering hard facts is likely to help her. If any of you have suggestions on how she can proceed, please contact her.]

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Subject: Elementary Polish Book

Enjoy your newsletter very much. Am trying to find information on how to acquire the Elementarz book used in first grade to teach Polish -- has the ears, eyes, etc. both in English and Polish. Can anyone please help me? Also would like information on the Papczynski or Grochowalski families.

   [Editor: Somehow I forgot to copy down the name and e-mail address of the person who sent me this note. I'm sure I'll hear from the writer when this appears. So if anyone out there can help, write me and I'll pass the info along.]

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*** BOOK ON LIFE IN GALICIA ***

   [Editor: On the Polish-Border-Surnames mailing list Tom Lassek <grandpa@vfw-online.com> wrote to ask if anyone could recommend a book with info on Polish family life circa 1850. Bob Postula <robertp@bignet.net> posted the following answer, which I thought others might wish to know about:]

I belong to the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan.  Earlier this year (March 15, 2003) we invited a speaker to one of our meetings to share information on just what you ask.

Dr. Keely Stauter-Halsted, Assistant Professor of History at Michigan State University, came to speak to us on what life in Galicia was like. We had over 75 people who came to hear her at the Canton, Michigan library.

You may be interested in her book, _The Nation in the Village: The Genesis of Peasant National Identity in Austrian Poland 1848-1914_. Cornell University Press, www.cornellpress.cornell.edu, ISBN 0-8014-3844-6, copyright 2001.

   [Editor: Bob later posted a review of this book, written by Jann Soltis, on the same list. If you wish, you can read it in the list archives at this address:

   http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PolandBorderSurnames/2003-08/1062087792

   [Please note, that whole thing has to be one unbroken line; so if your browser breaks it into two lines, you need to copy and paste it so that the break is removed.]

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*** GENEALOGY FORUM CHATS ***

   [Editor: Jan Birkner <janbirkner@charter.net> posted a note on the Poland Border Surnames list that may interest our readers:]

I am forwarding some exciting news!  This is the announcement for a NEW Internet Chat service, on Genealogyforum.org. This will be valuable for researchers, because it's an Internet chat, no need for IRC, anyone is invited.  The possibilities are endless.  The chatrooms are HUGE, and there is an auditorium for guest speakers, in which folks from other countries can come and give lectures or talks about genealogy resources in their own countries, and the BEST part is, they don't have to speak English!!! These chat rooms will automatically translate from English to Polish, Danish, German, etc, and back to English, in real time!!!! 

This is something special, folks, come see for yourself at:

    genealogyforum.org/chats.html

Look for me in uniform, my name tag says GFSJAN!!!!

   [Editor: some folks had trouble connecting to that URL, so Kathy Szczesny <kathy@eisnet.com> was kind enough to post the following full addresses, which may work better: http://www.genealogyforum.org/chats.htm and http://www.genealogyforum.org/scheduleday.htm.]

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*** A MAILING LIST ON CHICAGO'S POLES ***

   [Editor: Marie <polandgenweb@comcast.net> posted the following note on the Poland list.]

For those of you who don't subscribe to the _RootsWeb Review_, a new mailing list has been created: CHICAGO-POLISH-L.

  http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Polish/CHICAGO-POLISH.html

And for those of you who aren't aware of the number of mailing lists available "out there" for researching our Polish ancestors, take a look at http://www.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/maillists.html

***************************************

*** REVIEW: Portraits on Stone -- Holy Rosary Cemetery [Baltimore] ***

reviewed by Dottie Aleshire <daleshir@bcpl.net>

_Portraits on Stone -- Holy Rosary Cemetery_
Photographs by Thomas L. Hollowak
Historyk Press -- 2003

This is the second in a series of _Portraits on Stone_ by Tom Hollowak, a follow-up to the _Portraits on Stone of  St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland_ that he released in 2002.  Both of these CD's are a welcome complement to the two books of tombstone inscriptions produced by the Eastern European Interest Group of the Baltimore County Genealogical Society. 

The introduction to this CD gives a good background on the practice of adding portraits to cemetery tombstones. He states that this practice dates back to antiquity and has taken many forms, including statues, bas-reliefs, mosaics, paintings, photographs and laser etchings.

The use of photographs to memorialize an individual began in Europe about 1855 and spread to America in the 1870s. There are many statues and some laser etchings on tombstones in Holy Rosary Cemetery, but there are also many photographs placed on porcelain disks that are affixed to the tombstones. Tom has digitally recorded about 172 of these and produced them on the CD as a flip-type album, both in color and black and white photographs that can also be viewed as a slide show. He also has an index of all of their names on his website at http://www.historykpress.com/photoindex.htm.

Many of these photographs are very old and some are beginning to deteriorate through damage by wind, rain, snow and apparent vandalism. They almost tell a story of the individual's life by their pose, facial expression and clothing. On some you can see the weariness in their faces that tells of a life of faith and struggle so common to the life of those in this early Polish community. Others show the happiness and gaiety of individuals in wedding dresses, tuxedos, flapper attire and military uniforms. 

This is certainly a worthwhile addition to anyone's computer library, especially if you have Polish heritage and are looking for pictures of your immediate and extended families. This CD can be read with MS Word and can be ordered through the Historyk Press website for $11.99 plus postage, or through Historyk Press, 7 Dendron Ct., Baltimore, Maryland 21234. When ordering please specify your operating system and which version of MS Word you're using.

   [Editor: As long as we're talking about Historyk Press, Ray Marshall <raymarsh@mninter.net> wrote to me and praised this link: http://www.historykpress.com/passindex.htm. It "features a list of passenger arrivals between 1880 and 1884. The web page lists all the names. The book can be purchased for $7.95. In addition, there is a goodly number of historical and genealogical publications relating to the Poles of the Baltimore area: http://www.historykpress.com/."
   [In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention Tom Hollowak is my wife's cousin. I don't think that inclines me to show him any favoritism -- his work documenting Baltimore's Polish community speaks for itself. But I thought I'd mention it, just to keep everything above board.]

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*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

September 3 - 6, 2003

Federation of Genealogical Societies 2003 Conference

Orlando, FL

For more information: http://www.fgs.org/2003conf/FGS-2003.htm

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September 5 - 6, 2003

St. Louis Polish Festival

Behind Falcon Hall - 20th and St. Louis Avenue

St. Louis, Missouri

Music, crafts, games and authentic Polish food and pastries.

For more information: 314-421-9614

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September 14, 2003

Polish Genealogical Society of America Meeting

At 2:00 p.m. in the Social Hall of the Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Karl Moore, Supervisor, Illinois Regional Archives and Illinois State Archives, will speak on "Where Have All the Records Gone? State, Local and Federal Records at the Illinois State Archives."

-----

September 27, 2003

Polish Genealogical Society of California Meeting

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. research assistance
1 p.m. - Class
2:30 p.m. - general Meeting

LA-FHC, 10741 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, California

-----

September 28, 2003

Eastern European Festival

Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Routes 5 & 10, Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Annual festival features ethnic foods, a variety of ethnic music, speakers, local and regional vendors of crafts from or about Poland and Ukraine. PGS-Massachusetts will be on hand to answer questions about family history, and our collection of books and maps will be available for browsing.

-----

October 3 - 5, 2003

Polish Genealogical Society of America

* 25th Anniversary Fall Conference *

Ramada Hotel O'Hare, Rosemont, Illinois

For details check the PGSA Website at http://www.pgsa.org

Or contact the Conference Chairperson, Linda Ulanski: LUlanski@aol.com

-----

October 15 - 18, 2003

9th CGSI Genealogical Conference

Houston, Texas

The Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, together with the host organization, the Texas Czech Genealogical Society <http://www.txczgs.org/>, will hold the 9th CGSI Genealogical Conference at the Omni Houston Hotel Westside in Houston, Texas, October 15-18, 2003.

-----

October 18, 2003

Family History Open House
at the Newberry Library, Chicago

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Talks on genealogical research, including "The Old Chicago Neighborhood: Life in Chicago in the 1940s," talk and book signing by Neal Samors

The Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
312-943-9090

www.Newberry.org

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October 23, 2003


Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts Meeting

6:30 p.m.

Details to be announced <www.rootsweb.com/~mapgsm/>

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October 25, 2003

Polish Genealogical Group of Arizona Meeting

For meeting location information contact Carole Buskin <cfbuskin@srpnet.com> or (480) 839-8215

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November 6 - 9, 2003

New England Regional Genealogical Conference

Sea Crest Resort, North Falmouth, Massachusetts

New England -- America's Melting Pot

For more details: http://www.rootsweb.com/~manergc 

***************************************

*** MORE USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES ***

http://www.dcs.uwaterloo.ca/~marj/genealogy/thevoyage.html
   Paul Valasek wrote to recommend this site, which offers an enormous amount of information on immigrants to Canada and the ships they came on.
______________________________

http://www.behindthename.com/nm/a.html
   Paul also recommended this site for the information it offers on first names.
______________________________

http://www.cpcug.org/user/jlacombe/terms.html
   Rosemary Wenzerul posted a note on soc.genealogy.jewish, saying, "This is an excellent site for looking up old occupations ... I bet you didn't know that a Belly Builder built and fitted the interiors of pianos!! There are some really fascinating names. If you download it there are 51 pages!"
______________________________

http://www.cmentarze.de/
   On the Poland-Roots list Julia <wisniowka@ozemail.com.au> mentioned finding this site with information on Poland's 1 Dywizja Pancerna [1st Armored Division]. Click on "Wejscie" to enter. I looked on the page devoted to searches <http://www.cmentarze.de/poszukiwania.htm> and it said it's a "list of fallen soldiers of the 1st Armored Division buried in the territory of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Great Britain who came from Eastern Poland." So the site is apparently devoted to finding information on Polish soldiers of that Division who disappeared during World War II, and to helping their relatives learn what happened to them. The first searchable lists posted cover Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, and areas in Poland -- and the Webmaster says that's just a start.
______________________________

http://www.home.zonnet.nl/ben_nieborg/
   On the Poland-Roots list <TexasTrz@aol.com> posted a note on this site, put together by Ben Nieborg of the Netherlands. It is devoted to Polish stamps but has links to Web directories on famous Poles and Poland's history and geography. (Actually, the original URL posted was off by one letter, but Diana Grzelak Needham <carsonneedham@adelphia.net> found the right one and posted it. The one given above is correct.)
______________________________

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
   On the Lithuania list Gregory <vmcg@teaser.fr> posted this site with important information on U.S. Copyright Law and the "fair use" doctrine, which allows one to quote written works for readers' information and/or criticism, within reason. As an editor and publisher I have particular reason to care about this -- but in these days of content splattered all over the Internet and easily copied, it's an issue we all need to become better informed on. I'm convinced most of us are honest and won't steal others' intellectual property if we know better. So let's learn to know better!
______________________________

http://stevemorse.org
   We could cite Steve Morse's site every issue for something -- it has that many good features. On the soc.genealogy.jewish list Diane Jacobs mentioned that this site now has an improved birthday search form, a front end to http://anybirthday.com. So now as you search, you can specify birthday as well as name and zip code, which you can't do directly on the Anybirthday site. Go to the Morse site mentioned above and click on the link for birthdays in the Births/Deaths section.
______________________________

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~koby/political/toc.html
   I happened across this site, which offers links to essays on Poland's history. For those who could stand to learn a little about Poland's history -- and that's probably everybody reading this, including me! -- it might be a painless way to pick up some facts that will aid you enormously in your research.
______________________________

http://www.karta.org.pl/
   Tomek Wisniewski <tomy@ld.euro-net.pl> recommended this as a very valuable website for the recent history of Poland and Eastern Europe. If you don't read Polish, there is a little Union Jack icon near the top right you can click on to get the English version.
______________________________

http://www.vitalrec.com/
   On soc.genealogy.jewish Eleanor Gordon said you can go to this address to find the address in each state of the United States where its vital records may be obtained. "Some notes: Ignore all the 'fill in' boxes. These will take you to one or more commercial sites. Instead, on the first screen click on the name of the state you are interested in. On the second screen, again ignore the 'fill in' boxes, unless of course you wish to use the commercial site. The information for the states' addresses and methods of contact (email, fax, phone, snail mail) seems quite complete on the pages I checked.”
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http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/eceurope/haxpoland.html
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/haindex.html
http://home.wanadoo.nl/gerard.vonhebel/index.htm
http://www.euratlas.com/atlag.htm
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/maplinks.htm#eeur

   On the PolandBorderSurnames list Jan Cesarczyk <jan_cesarczyk@yahoo.co.uk> listed these sites in response to a question about where to find Websites with maps of Europe over history. Several of them were new to me, and you might find them interesting.
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www.poloniatoday.com/news.htm#Publish....
   James Conroyd Martin, the author of the book _Push Not the River_, posted on many lists an article from _Polonia Today_ with the good news that his book, originally self-published, has been picked up by St. Martin's Press. You can read about it at the site quoted, and you can get more information on the author and his plans at http://www.PushNotTheRiver.com. Congratulations to Mr. Martin!

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