Poland — Summer 2005

The Polish National Emblem

In July-August 2005, my family traveled to Poland to celebrate a second marriage ceremony for my son David and his Polish-born wife Emilia. Since my paternal grandparents emigrated from Lodz in Poland more than 90 years ago, I decided to pursue some leads in the hope of locating and visiting places where they lived. Fortunately, I had some success. And in the process I also cleared up some old family mysteries about the Lipsman and Goldberg families (Goldberg was my grandmother's maiden name). To those who are interested, there are three paths that you can follow:

• Poland The highlights of our trip and some general impressions of Poland.

• Goldberg What I learned about the Goldberg family.

• Lipsman What I learned about the Lipsman family.

I imagine that Goldbergs will be primarily interested in the second path, and similarly Lipsmans will want to explore the third path. But all are invited to examine any parts of the material, especially the photographs. Your comments and questions are welcome. To email me, click the link: rlipsman@umd.edu

My Grandparents: Izzy Lipsman and Lily Goldberg, around the time of their marriage in 1918.

Acknowledgment. What I learned about the two families—modest though it might be—could not have happened at all without the extraordinary assistance I received from three people:

• Teresa Skobel of the Lodz City Office. My original contact with Teresa was via a blind phone call from the United States. I was fortunate to find someone who spoke English well and who took an interest in my quest. During the months prior to my visit, Teresa acted as intermediary and translator between me and several Polish State offices. She went way beyond the responsibilities of her job to help me and I will forever be grateful to her.

• Lidia Bosek, a life long friend of Emilia and English teacher. Lidia was my translator during a long and eventful day in Lodz. In fact, although she teaches English in Lukow (Emilia's home town), Lidia studies it in Lodz. So one more trip from Lukow to Warsaw to Lodz was not a big deal for her. But the enthusiasm she brought to the task and the interest she showed in my family's history was exceptional. She is a delightful young lady and I enjoyed her company immensely.

• Andrzej Pietrych, my machatain, that is my daughter-in-law's father. Andrzej is a high-level police official, a part-time professor of tax law and a medieval knight enthusiast. He cuts a mean rug on the dance floor too. He opened a few doors for me in Lodz. It was a privilege to make his acquaintance and I am pleased to call him my friend.