Events that affected my family

A Few Events That Affected My Family

1918 Flu Epidemic

Paul Sanetra’s mother, Rosalie Wandzel, died in October 1918. Paul became separated from all of his family, except for his brother Ervin. Paul wrote more than 100 letters, looking for his father and siblings. When Paul was able to reconnect with his family, they all asked him if he had found their siblings Bronisława or Stanisław. They all looked for their family, their whole lives.

Photo credit: St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps on duty Oct. 1918 Influenza epidemic. Library of Congress.

Akcja Żywiec

German spelling: Aktion Saybusch , Polish spelling: Akcja Żywiec

Saybusch was the German name for Żywiec. About 50,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes in the Żywiec region between 1940-1944 as part of Lebensraum. They were not able to take any valuables with them. Some people were sent to prison camps, others to work camps. Children were separated from their families. Some children that could speak German were sent to German homes in other countries. I assume something affecting so many people having to leave their homes, had an enormous impact on families trying to find each other after the war. Present day descendants may still have challenges finding where their ancestors lived, and where their records are today, if those records survived the war.

Some links with more information

Archive of the Second World War of the Western Institute, Polish language, has pictures of Żywiec during occupation.
Institute of National Remembrance, translated into English, about a 2011 exhibit.
Institute of National Remembrance Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, Website in Polish: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu. A book about Aktion Saybusch.
Żywiec tourism website, written in Polish
wiki, Action Saybusch, written in English

1961 Mail Restrictions from Poland to USA lifted.

The Red Cross and the International Tracing Service helped people find their families after World War II. Józef Sanetra asked for help and was given the address of his brother Paul Sanetra, and Paul was able to reconnect with his family through letters. Paul had not seen his brothers or knew where they were, for 43 years.

Photo credit, heading on this page: National Library of Poland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo date 1935.