Today is Yom HaShoah–Holocaust Memorial Day. My grandmother was descended, on her mother’s side, from a prominent and prosperous family line in Western Poland named Tetenbaum. Her closest Tetenbaum relatives (other than her mother’s sister, who married a man named Bogusz, moved to Germany, had two sons, and were all murdered), the seven sons of her grandfather and his second wife, left for the U.S. after the patriarch’s death in 1902. Among other things, they opened a successful department store in New York, the Fortunoff’s of its time. I’ve been told that all Tetenbaums in the U.S. descend from the grandfather and his two brothers; a quick Google search shows that many Tetenbaums have done quite well for themselves in the U.S.
My grandmother’s own father died in a horse and buggy accident in 1905, leaving her mother with five daughters, all of whom left for the U.S. over time (my grandmother’s fascinating account of her childhood in Poland can be found here).
Unfortunately, not all of the Tetenbaums got out in time. The names of the murdered victims can be found here.
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