Sunday, February 14, 2016

Sheva Baitch's Post-WWII Movements

My only paternal great-grandparent who survived the Holocaust was my great grandmother, Sheva Fine Baitch.  After the war, she was reunited with her one surviving daughter (my grandmother Sonia), and they were together in Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Germany before heading to the United States.  Records of the International Tracing Service (ITS) are available at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, and they had some information on my great grandmother.
Sheva Baitch, DP Registration, 1946

The first registration record they had was from January 26, 1946 in the Leipheim DP Camp.  She was listed as Sewa Bajcz, born May 12, 1895 in Luck, Poland (now Lutsk, Ukraine)--which was actually the large city nearby.  Her parents are listed as "Fein Mojse" (my great-great grandfather Moshe Dovid Fine) and "Garber Dwojre" (my great-great grandmother Devorah Garber Fine).  At this point, her desired destination was "Palestine," and she spoke Polish and Yiddish.  While there's a signature, it seems to be the same handwriting as the registrar's.


Sheva Baich DP Registration, 1947
Almost exactly a year later, there was another DP registration.  Here her name is spelled "Szewa," and her birth town is correctly given as "Szklin, Russia" or today's Shklyn, Volhynia, Ukraine.  In addition to her fluency in Yiddish and Polish mentioned earlier, she is also noted as speaking Ukrainian.  She now requests to emigrate to the USA rather than Palestine.  And finally, she seems to have signed this personally, struggling to create each letter of her surname.
Sheva Baitch Medical Clearance Certificate
She also seemingly passed her medical clearance certificate.
Sheva Baitch Location Service
She also registered her location with the American Joint Distribution Committee in case any survivors were trying to locate her.  Here her name is spelled "Szejwa," and it noted that she left to the US in 1947 and at the time (1948) was residing on Eutaw Place in Baltimore.
Sheva Baitch
And there was one final address location from likely 1946, noting that Sewa Baitsch/Bajcz was from Luck, Poland and was living in Block 28 in Leipheim DP Camp.

Unfortunately they did not have any records from her time in the Senkevychivka Ghetto (or any records from that ghetto at all).

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4 comments:

  1. my maiden name was 'fine'. any relation?

    ReplyDelete
  2. my maiden name was 'fine'. any relation?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am thrilled that you have these documents! Your determination and skill at reseach inspires me!

    ReplyDelete