Welcome to Rohatyn!
This page was created in loving memory of those who lived and died there, of those who ventured out, and all who left a legacy for future generations.
Where is Rohatyn?
Rogatin is today a major town in the Ukraine, located 69 kilometers SE of L'viv
at longitude 49° 25´ and latitude 24° 37´. From 1792 until 1919
it was known as Rohatyn, in the Austrian province of Galicia , ....from 1919 until 1945 it was part of Poland .....and then it became part of the Ukraine.
Nearby towns with Jewish Populations include (alphabetically),
Berezhany (14mi E), Bobrka (20 mi NW),
Burshtyn (10 mi S) (click for town info),
Bukachevtsy (13 mi SSW- with its own shtetlinks site),
Kulhynicze (1900: 1670/680)
Knyaginichi (7mi W),
Narajow (10mi NE),
Peremyshlyany (17 mi N),
Podkamien (6 mi WNW, 1900: 1439/118)),
Podgrodzie (1900: 1058/60),
Stratin (5 mi NE, 1900: 694/113),
Novyye Strzelishcha (12miNW) and Zuravno (19mi SW) .
For more information on these towns click here
great grandmother Dora EICHEL was born in Rohatyn in
1862. Dora married Reuven LINDNER (photo circa 1893). Dora's father, Anschel EICHEL
was a tailor who specialized in making uniforms for the Pravoslav priests and monks. We can trace the Eichels back to Yitzhak Eichel, who lived in Hamburg at the end of the 18th century; he was a scholar who published a textbook of the Yiddish language and was a pupil of the German philosopher Kant.
Two New Projects are coming in 2009! First,
we are collecting original vital records and pertinent documents...to make them
available to our fellow researchers. We are seeking an interested researcher who is willing
to undertake the indexing, cataloging and mailing of requested documents; our hope is to find someone
in 2009, so that you can order some
of these original documents directly from this website....and next,
we have hired a researcher to inventory Rohatyn documents in the Lviv Archive;
targets include Cadastral Maps, which link places to names and school records.
Although many records were destroyed over the course of two world wars, researchers have
found much that remains. The entire 1870 tax rolls are available.
Search our Index of Vital Records.
And check out the wonderful vital record indexes from the 1800s from the Polish Archives
which are available on-line (see JRIP below).
I hope you will find this page interesting and helpful. Click on my name below
to contact me if you have any questions or information to add. As with any genealogical research, this is an
evolving project!
Signed,
Phyllis Kramer,
New York, NY & Palm Beach Gdns, Fla.
V.P., Education, JewishGen, Inc.
Copyright © 1999.
Page updated November 2009.
Since April 2001 you are visitor #
. . . . .
Table of Contents: Rohatyn: Genealogy and Photographs
- History and Photographs
- A Brief History of Rohatyn
- Surrounding Towns Maps of the area are plentiful and important, as the boundaries changed with each conquering government. If your family came from the Rohatyn area, keep in mind that the spellings of all names and places often changed along with the governments and official languages.
- Rohatyn Street Map dated 1943 donated by Howard Steinmetz, translated from the Ukrainian by Donia Shwarzstein (very detailed)
- Photographs of Rohatyn....Past and Present - including the cemetery and the holocaust memorial donated by Joan Krotenberg, Linda Cantor, Phyllis Kramer, Herman Skolnik, Howard Steinmetz & Kuba Glotzer.
- Over 20 Current Digital Photographs of Rohatyn taken by a native Rohatyner and the cemetery photos are translated...fascinating!!
-
The Latest Travelogue March 2008 by the Osborns with wonderful photos and maps
3/08
- Rohatyn today website created by Ukrainian student Roman Zakharri
- Rohatyn Families and Genealogy
- Rohatyn
Google Discussion Group This is a fascinating group; I would suggest anyone seriously interested
in Rohatyn Jewish Genealogy join this informative, active group. Click here and apply
for membership in the group 6/09
- The Eichel, Lindner & Mauer families with Photographs by Phyllis Kramer
- Rohatyn's Kahal in 1938 with Photographs by Howard Steinmetz
- The Faust Family Kappella (photograph, 1912) by Alexander Feller
- Jack Glotzer's Familyby Bea Glotzer
- !!!There's room for your family photographs and ancestral information here!!
- Rohatyn
Google Discussion Group This is a fascinating group; I would suggest anyone seriously interested
in Rohatyn Jewish Genealogy join this informative, active group. Click here and apply
for membership in the group
- Rohatyn Vital Records:
- Search our Index of Vital Records:
over 1200 listings from the 1800s! updated 10/08
- Rohatyn
Vital Records The JRIP (Jewish Records Indexing- Poland) Project at the Warsaw Archives has unearthed thousands of Rohatyn Records from 1859-1898...and the Index is available on the Internet! Just key in your surname and Rohatyn!
- Summary of Records Available
- Search our Index of Vital Records:
over 1200 listings from the 1800s! updated 10/08
- Rohatyn Business Directories and Other Records
- The 1891 Business Directory
- The 1923 Business Directory
- List of Businesses around the Marketplace before WWII.
- School Records from 1926.
- War Refugees From the Area 1914from
Logan Kleinwak's Business Directories, compiled by Nancy Siegel
- Rohatyn and Other Wonderful Treasures of JewishGen:
- Basic Information about the Shtetl.....There's a lot to offer on JewishGen...once you see the town, just click on the purple icon and you'll find links to yizkor books, maps, nearby towns, researchers and more.....
- Find Other Researchers looking for your Surnames & Towns!! . Do you have roots in Rohatyn? Would you like to connect with others researching the same community? Click here to search the JewishGen Family Finder database (JGFF). Use the current town name of Rogatin, Ukraine. You may need to register, but i promise you, its painless, and by registerring, others will find you…so it’s worth the few minutes!!
- A Special Group for People with Roots in Galicia -- Gesher Galicia
- Want Information on Other Shtetls? --just click to go to the directory of Shtetlinks at JewishGen
- Basic Information about the Shtetl.....There's a lot to offer on JewishGen...once you see the town, just click on the purple icon and you'll find links to yizkor books, maps, nearby towns, researchers and more.....
- Rohatyn Immigrants to New York 1892-1924. Abstracted from the Ellis Island site....
or go to the Stephen Morse pages to find the manifests for your family.
- Landsmanshaften: Four New York City Landsmanshaften and one in Israel
- The Rohatyn Landsmanshaften NY/NJ Cemetery Database: a compilation of over 1500 names...from 4 cemetery plots. Click here to email me to request the Rohatyn Landsmanshaften list Phyllis Kramer
- Landsmanshaften Update for New York City by Marissa Brostoff Aug 2008
- Teach your Children about Rohatyn with this Lovely Book about memories of Rohatyn
- The Rohatyn Yizkor Book The cover page at right.
Note that reprints of the yizkor book can be purchased from the National Yiddish Book Center at http://yiddishbookcenter.org/+10151.
- The Table of Names from the Rohatyn Yizkor Book
- Yad Vashem to view over 2 million Pages of Testimony
This site exists because of your Jewish Gen-erosity. Your tax deductible donation to JewishGen makes these services possible. We spent a lot of time organizing this information so that your genealogical search might be more rewarding....and you can reward us -- just click on
Jewish Gen-erosity.
. .
A Brief History of Rohatyn
Rohatyn was a wonderful town. It was located 60 kilometers from Ivano-Frankovsk and 69 kilometers from Lvov. There was a Jewish community in Rohatyn as far back as the 16th Century.
The following is a brief Timeline of the political scene over time and which country ruled Rohatyn
| from | to | country | Comment |
| early 1200s | Kievan Rus | union of Ruthenian principalities with capital in Kiev; collapsed with invasion of Tartars | |
| early 1200s | 1349 | Autonomous Principality | most powerful state in the area; war with Poland over the Cherven lands of Lublin area |
| 1349 | 1772 | Poland (Ruskie) | Galician/Polish war won by King Kasimir; Principality incorporated into Poland |
| 1772 | 1919 | Austria (Galicia) | Poland divided by Germany, Russia, Austria. Area named Galicia and ceded to Austria. |
| 1919 | 1939 | Poland | Poland reconstituted after World War I |
| 1939 | 1941 | Russia | Occupied during WW II: Germany and Russian had a secret pact on how they would divide Poland prior to the invasion on Sept 1, 1939; Russia occupied Rohatyn those first few years 1939-1941 until Germany broke the pact and invaded Russia as well. |
| 1941 | 1944 | Germany | Overrun in WW II |
| 1944 | 1991 | Russia | part of Ukrainian S.S.R., USSR (in province Ivano-Frankovskaya) |
| 1991 | present | Ukraine | Soviet Union dissolved, Ukraine independence declared |
Most of us associate Rohatyn with Galicia, 1772 through 1918; Galicia was then a province of the Austrian Hungarian Empire. The map below shows Galicia, and Rohatyn's place in it.
Some interesting facts on the population in Rohatyn follow.
- In 1867 the Jews received all rights of citizens of Austria-Hungary.
- In the Census of 1900 Rohatyn appeared with a population of 7201, including 3217 Jews (Israelisch), 2073 Griech. Katholisch and 1274 Rom. Katholisch. Later, the
- Business Directory of 1923 shows that Rohatyner Jews were not illiterate farmers, but included many tradesmen and well-educated professionals. In 1939 there were 2233 jews in the Ukrainian Rogatin.
- And finally, the Yizkor Book (see below) shows that Rohatyn was a small but modern and vibrant town; the avenues were wide and tree-lined, the businesses were flourishing and there were museums, libraries and a movie theater.
The following paragraph was adapted from a note by Ukrainian Roman Zakharii:
Galicia was occupied by Poland in 1349. Before that it was an independent Ruthenian (what we call now Ukrainian) principality. A century before that it was part of Kievan Rus, union of Ruthenian principalities with capital in Kiev. Kievan Rus collapsed in early 13 th century with the invasion of Tatars and Galician principality existed as independent and the most powerful state in the area. In 1340 s, there was a war between Galicia and Poland over the Cherven lands of the Lublin area, and Polish king Kasimir won it and conquered all Galician lands, incorporating them into the Polish kingdom; Galicia was formed into so called Wojewostwo Ruskie (in English Rus/Ruthenian voivodship). The name Galicia was applied after these lands were incorporated into Austria in 1772. Rogatin is the Russian name for Rohatyn, which is not used anymore. It was used only on Soviet maps after World War II until 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. In Ukrainian it is Rohatyn, just like in Polish, German and Yiddish.
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Towns Around Rohatyn
I have discovered that many of the towns around Rohatyn have multiple (and often confusing) names.
The following list contains
But even better...the JewishGen Communities Database lists towns with significant Jewish populations. If you click
here or go to
http://data.jewishgen.org/wconnect/wc.dll?jg~jgsys~shtetlmaster~ROHATYN_f18%20GALICIA_f19~ZZ~MILES~~~~~SE~~
you will see the towns around Rohatyn in 1900 with all their information
What does this mean to you? It means that if you are searching for family origins, then you need to search the towns surrounding Rohatyn as well as Rohatyn itself. In the 1800s and early 1900s, most marriages were arranged with adolescents from nearby towns. Thus, even tho you might know your great grandfather came from Rohatyn, there may be family information for you in nearby towns.
Do you have roots in Rohatyn? Would you like to connect with others researching the same
community? View the hundreds of folks who are researching their ancestral town of rohatyn.
Maybe some are looking for the same surnames as you are!
If you are not
already registerred with JewishGen, please do so. It's free and painless! and that way you can
add the surnames you are researching to the list, so that others can find you!!
If the button does not work for you, just go to this web address:
www.jewishgen.org/jgff.
. .
JewishGen Family Finder
Researchers Interested in Rohatyn/Rogatin:
Click the button to search the JewishGen Family Finder database.
. . . .
NYC Rohatyn Landsmanshaften:
Past and Present
The Jews from Rohatyn must have been an organized and fervent group. I have located four separate Landsmanshaften organizations, founded in the late 1800s in New York City and one in Israel. The following are the details and the founding officers.
- The Independent Rohatyner Young Mens Benevolent Association . On the Certificate of Incorporation, dated 1903, in Manhattan, the purpose is stated: to voluntarily aid and assist the distressed and needy members of the said corporation and their families. To advance the social intercourse among its members, morally, intellectually and physically".
I believe that this society is the same as The Independent Rohatyner Sick and Benevolent Society which was founded June 18, 1896. The founding
certificate was signed - Max Leichtling,
- Wolf Bernstein
- Sam Bernstein
- Tewel Nirenberg
- Adolph Gutharz,
- George Klein, 307 East 4th St.,
- Jacob Gutharz, 154 Norfolk Street,
- Jacob Gottlieb, 91 Willet Street,
- Jake Sheriff, 231 Broome Street and
- Isaac Brumberg, 139 Delancy Street.
Last year I visited with the President, Herman Skolnick, who was born in Roahtyn. A lovely man who has since passed on. His wife still lives in Brooklyn, and his son Michael Skolnick, is still active in the Society, along with Yossi Benjamin, the Recording Sec. About 35 members still pay dues. This society maintains gravesites at Beth Israel, in Woodbridge New Jersey and "Old" Montefiore, in St. Albans, New York. Thanks to Herman Skolnick, all the names in these landsmanshaften plots are in a database you can query on-line. There is another landsmanshaften plot for the Independent Rohatyners Young Mens Benevelent Society at Mt Hebron. This plot is not included in the database.
The following names were contained in the Golden Jubilee Fiftieth Anniversary Banquet of the IRYA in 1953 at the Broadway Central Hotel, in various sections, including a memorial.
- Alter, Max; Alter, Emil; Anderman, S; Apfelberg or Appelberg, Dr. Isidor; Appleby, Dr S.M.; Appleton, Steve; Axelrad, Joseph and Axelrad, Louis and Axelrad, H
- Bader, A. and S. and H. and Z.; Barban, O; Bender, J; Benjamin, J and M; Berg, S; Bergstein, David and Jos. and Sylvia; Bergman, H; Bradus, I; Berman, Joseph and Mrs. J; Blau, S; Birnbaum, H; Braverman, H; Brief, M; Braver, Harry and Mrs. A.
- Cohen, A. O. and Cohen, Nathan; Cohen, Mrs R. Hochman
- Danzig, Harry; Dickler, I. And Mrs. R.; Drooks, C
- Eichel, I and Dr. B. and Harry; Eichler, Mrs. S
- Falk, Carl; Farkas, David; Faust, Max and Jac and Joseph (Chr Banquet Committee); Fishman, Jack (chr Cemetery, 1953); Frede, D; Freewald, I; Fried, Jacob; Friedman, Hyman (Trustee 1953); Fuchs, A.
- Gerstler, S; Gilbert, Max; Gire, I; Glansburg, I. And Mrs. Pepi; Glasser, Sam; Goodman, S; Goldmark, Joseph; Granowitter, Max and J. and M.; Greenberg, A; Gross, S and Sol; Grunstein, A.E.; Guttstein, H
- Hader, David (Trustee 1953); Hader, Irving and George and J.; Hammer, Morris and Martin and Max and Mrs. Morris; Handsman, P.; Hass, J. and P.and Dr. N; Hertz, Dr. A.; Hirsh, A. and L. and Mrs. L.; Hochman, Harry; Hochwald, Louis (Trustee, 1953) and G.; Hochdorf, G; Honig, Sam; Honig, Becky; Hulkower, Rabbi and Isack
- Katz, Ben (VP, 1953); Katz, Seymour (Finl Secr, 1953); Kessler, Mrs. A; Kissilow, Mrs Rose; Kisilof, Harry; Kupersmidt, B. and J.; Kupersmith, Mrs P.
- Latterman, L; Levenson, H; Levinter, L; Lewenter, Dr. I.; Lieber, A; Laufer, L; Lichtenbaum, N; Loew, D
- Mark, J and M; Markfield, Alfred and Charles and H. and Max and S; Margolies, Max; Martin, H; Milstein, D and I; Mittman, R and Joseph; Meyer, Max; Moscowitz, H; Mostel M and L
- Nachwalter, Morris (President, 1953); Nacht, Leo; Nashofer, J
- Pantzer, C; Parnes, M
- Reidlich, Ph.; Reiner, S.; Reiter, L and Sol; Roller, Irving (treas. 1953); Rosdol, S; Rosen, A; Rosenberg, H; Rothberg, S
- Saltz, David (Hospitaler, 1953); Saltz, Max and Sual and D. and Eli and Iz and Irving; Schechner, Dr. S. H.; Schier, H; Schine, Louis; Schildkraut, M; Schnapp, S; Schpeichler, Louis; Schwartz, Sol and Louis and Marcus H and Joe and Albert; Schwartz, Morris (Rec.Secry 1953); Sholler, Louis; Shmarak, L.; Stander, P; Suslak, J; Stern, Frank; Sussman,S. and Mrs. C.
- Teichler, Harry; Teichler, D; Totfeld, S; Turkish, H
- Weinstock, A. and H; Weintraub, W; West B.; Willig, J; Windkler, H
- Zahler, H.; Zucker, H; Zweibel, J
The minutes of this Landsmanshaften are at YIVO in New York City (Record Group 1082). They cover the years 1953 to 1977, and I believe they are written in Yiddish.
- The second landsmanshaften is the Rohatyner Young Mens' Society, established in 1894.. Another organization chartered in N.Y by our immigrant ancestors, primarily for social reasons but also for mutual assistance in a new land. The RYMS also
functioned as a burial society (all the gravesites have been sold). Again, there is a database which you can access; it lists the names of the folks buried in the landsmanshaften's plot in Mt. Hebron, as well
as those plots which were purchased and reserved. The source of information is Alvin Edelstein, the Cemetery Chairman of the Rohatyner Young Men's Society. Alvin inherited this position from his late father-in-law, who held it for over fifty years.
Second and third generation Rohatyners still meet annually in New York City. I'm proud to say that I am a member and have attended some meetings. I have not gotton the incorporation papers, but I do have some photographs. Pictured at the left is Mt. Hebron plot, and at the right, Mt Zion plot; both cemeteries are in Queens (New York).
The following lists members of the Rohatyner Young Men's Society, from a number of documents from their 50th Anniversary Banquet, held at the Central Plaza Hotel in NYC on December 20, 1947, a 1946 meeting, a 1950 request for contributions for the UJA Israel housing campaign, 1 1953 Installation of Officers, and a 1999 memorandum.
- Albert, Martin W.Bernstein, H. and Abraham J. and Ch.;
- Berlin, J.; Bernstein, A.J.and Charles and Harry (Trustee 1950); Bookspan, H; Bochner, Larry;
- Davidson, Sam (Trustee 1950, President 1956) and J. and Sidney;
- Edelstein, Alvin (Cemetery Chair 1999), Eichel, Ch and H and Jack;
- Goldworm, Max; Gross, Morris;
- Hader, Abraham and Sara and Moses and Elcia; Halpern, N.; Hammer, I.; Handsman, L; Hass, Wm (Vice Pres 1950,1956) and Nathan H (Physician 1950); Hirschenfang Alex (President 1950) and Benj; Hulkower, M.A. and Isaac (President 1950), and Julius and Wm M. and Sam B;
- Kanfer, Charles (Cashier 1950, 1956); Kimmel, Benj; Klinger, Ch. A.; Kimmel, Benj; Klinger, Ch A;
- Leichtling, Henry M (President 1953); Lindner, Ch; Leichtling, Henry; Lewenter, Dr. I (Physician -1950);
- Marks, J; Meadow, L; Nachwalter, Shirley; Niedel; Nierenberg, J and N;
- Packer, Anne; Printz, Max J.(Hospitaler 1956); Passweg, Ch;
- Rittenband, M. J.; Rosenzweig, Chas (Cemetery Chair 1950) and Stanley (Recg Secry 1999);
- Schaffer, S; Schor, Mrs. ; Shere, S; Spiegler,Beatrice (VP 1999), Springer D and J and M;
- Tabak, Max (Recording Secry 1950), David (Trustee, 1950, Treas-1999); Thaler, M and Jerome and Mrs S. J.; Teitelbaum, Mrs;
- Waldstreicher, Abr; Weber, Abe (inner guard 1950); Weiss, Saul and Nat; Wiederkehr, Louis S.(financial secry 1950,1956) and Ph. And Gertrude (Finl Secry -1999); Willig, H; Winston, I;
- Zweibel, Wm (VP 1950);
All the minutes of Rohatyner meetings of the first 50 years, or so, were meticulously hand written (in Yiddish) and preserved, and were given to YIVO in New York, for their use and further preservation. You can locate these records (1928-1964) and the memorial book at YIVO (Record Group 1016).
To get a list of over 1500 names from the two Rohatyn Landsmanshaften plots in the New York City area, just send me an email with the subject "Rohatyn Landsmanshaften"; to send your email, click here. Another option for you is to search the full list of Rohatyners buried in Mt. Hebron cemetery online. Go to http://www.mounthebroncemetery.com/search.asp , click on Search, and then just key Rohatyn in the town name field.
- The Chebra Tiferas Israel Anshei Rohatyn Benevolent Association, founded February 1, 1895, was organized for social and benevolent purposes. The following were the nine original trustees:
- Louis Fidelbaum, President
- Godel Birben, Vice President
- Sice Warten, Financial Secr
- Israel Warner, Treas.
- Kassiel Lang, trustee
- Harry Taback, trustee
- Samual Wald, trustee
- Abraham Fuchs, Sgt at Arms
- Pinkus Wald, Marshal.
- The First United Rohatyner & Sokolover Society was founded July 7, 1897. The office purposes listed were "worshipping and assisting the members and their families in case of sickness and distress while in good standing". The founding officers were:
- Elias Gutherz of 138 Pitt Street
- Aaron Gruker of 144 Clinton Street
- Tobias Senders of 93 Attorney Street
- Joseph I. Gottlieb of 91 Willet Street, and
- Juda Gottlieb of 30 Clinton Street.
- Israel Landsmanshaft: Israel has the Association of Rohatyn Jewry, which has 200 active members. In 1998 this last society wrote to the Mayor of Rogatin to request permission to place a monument in the town. They also wanted to clean up and fence in the old and "new" cemetery sites and the two areas of mass graves (from the Aktions of 1942). These areas are all neglected. The mayor responded positively. By 1999 the Israeli society collected enough money to erect the monument. If you are interested, questions and/or checks can be sent to Israel % Fishel Kirshen, 34 Yonathan Street, Zahala, Tel Aviv 69081. The Israel society is also adding names to the memorial of war dead at the Mt. Hebron cemetery.