Dr. Samuel Bezalel Strelinger

Brief Overview of a Few Generations of my Family

I, Dr. Samuel Strelinger, medical doctor, the son of Markusz (called Max by the family) and Katharine (called Katty by the family) nee Glucksthal, was born in Zemanska Ludrova, near Ruzomberek, in Slovakia, on December 8, 1867.

In these pages I want briefly to record the history of a few generations of my family, as far as I Know it. I write, it is true, in German, that is, in the language of the Germans, those educated barbarians. Unfortunately, I have no choice, since in Hungary I appear to be nearly the last surviving male of my generation — the others for the most part either disappeared, that is, died, or emigrated during the Jewish tragedy of the last years. The children of those who have emigrated will speak the language of their new homeland; that is, they will not speak Hungarian, the language of a small people. German [on the other hand] is spoken throughout the world; and since I am only fully proficient in Hungarian and German, I have chosen to use the latter.

The family on my father's side comes from Moravia [Mahren], actually, as I found out later, from Streling, near Olmutz. The following confirms this: when I was a 9-year old boy, I had the

opportunity to ask the youngest brother of my grandfather, Salman Strelinger, about this matter. He revealed to me that his ancestors, and thus mine also, emigrated from Moravia to Svaty Mikulas around 1730. That the place from which they came was Streling. I base on the following: During WWI, about 1916, at a garrison in Bosnia, a first lieutenant reported to a colonel of a regiment - the first lieutenant, an engineer as a civilian, was a descendant of my great-grandfather of the fourth generation. He [the first lieutenant] was received by the colonel's adjutant, who was also called Strelinger and whose family still in those days resided in Streling in Moravia.

A descendant of those of my ancestors who came to reside in Svaty Mikulas was -??- Strelinger. He died in Mikulas and was also buried there — and probably also his wife. They had 2 sons that I know of. The one came to reside in Jassenova Comitat Orava (Slovensko). The other came to reside in Mala Stiavnica, near Ruzomberok. This was my ancestor, and he died young [friihzeitig]. He was named Kalman and was the grandfather of my father, that is my great- grandfather. He was buried in Svaty Mikulas, where the Jews from all of Liptau were buried, since a Jewish community [Gemeinde] did not yet exist in Ruzomberok. He [Kalman] left behind his wife Anna (yiddish: Hindi) with 9 small children — seven boys and two girls. These were, arranged by age: Wolf, Viktor (my grandfather), Saul, Szender, Hars, Salman; then the two girls, Szurl and Jitl. But the eldest of these children was Ferdinand, who later, after he had become a medical doctor, dropped the name Strelinger and adopted the family name Glucksman. And also, as was the custom then, when he was 13 celebrated his bar mitzvah [er wurde zur Thora beim Gottesdienst aufgerufen - called on during the service to read from the Torah] and then was viewed as an employable person [fit for work]. He had to learn a trade or some sort of skill and live independent of his parents. He left his parents' house and disappeared for a great many years.

His family believed him gone forever, until one day he returned as a grown man and as a medical doctor. He resided in Ruzomberok, where he was highly respected as a doctor, and where he also became materially very well off.

The second of these children was Wolf. He lived in Bisterec, near Dolny Kubin in Orava. He had a large family — a son Sami, whom I also knew, and five daughters.

The third son of Kalman Strelinger was my grandfather Viktor, about whose life I will speak last.

The fourth son of Kalman Strelinger was Saul. He lived at first in Ludrova, but then he moved to Nemetzka Lupca, which was also in the Liptau Comitat, where he lived until the end of his life. I did not know him, but I did know his wife, aunt Bela. They bad three sons - Karl, Wilhelm and Ignatz - and two daughters — later to become Mrs. Spitz and Mrs. Schonstein. The latter emigrated to America with her family, and I do not know anything more about them.

The fifth son of Kalman Strelinger, Szender, lived in various places. His sons were Simon and Elias. His daughter, Zindl, died young [zeitlich - transitory - prematurely?]. Simon and Elias lived in Banska Bystrica. I will come back to them.

The sixth son of Kalman Strelinger, Hars, had three sons and two daughters. The eldest son emigrated to America and became, in Detroit, a producer of beer [Bierfabrikant]. The second son became a medical doctor and lived in Budapest. I associated with him too. The third son lived in Ruzomberok, where he also died. The one daughter, Mrs. Roth, emigrated to America. The other Mairathete Hermann Strelinger, from the family in Jassenova, as I discovered [aus der in Jassenova sich niedergelassenen Familie].

The seventh son of Kalman Strelinger, the youngest, lived as an old man with his wife in Banska Bystrica, where he is also buried. He had two sons and two daughters. One son lived in Slovenska Lupca; the other son became a medical doctor and lived in Sarvar, in Hungary, where he is also buried. One daughter married a son of Szender, Simon. She was named Anna. The other daughter was Mrs. Rasovsky.

The two daughters of Kalman Strelinger married two brothers by the name of Immerblum. Surl lived with her family in Turzovka, in Slovakia. Jitl lived in Ruzemberok and is also buried there.

Anna, the wife of my great-grandfather Kalman Strelinger, lived after the early death of her husband in Mala Stiavica, in a long wooden house next lo what was then the distillery, on the path next to the stream. She lived in abject poverty, but she did raise her nine children, which then grew to form an impressive, but also a respected family in Liptau. She died of cholera in 1830 and was buried in the vicinity, up in the valley on the mountain slope, since she died of a contagious disease and thus could not be transported to [the Jewish cemetery in Svaty MikuIas. I had her grave and her headstone fixed up and everything remained well kept. After her burial, this area began to be used as a Jewish cemetery. As a child, I remember seeing there 40-50 Mazewas [gravestones] . The transport of the dead to Svaty Mikulas really was quite a laborious undertaking, because of the distance, and so Jews were buried at this location instead. The headstones began to list after awhile though, since they were set on a slope to begin with, or they began to break because they were made of such cheap material - these pieces then slid down the slope to the wet base and then disappeared into it over the decades. Of all the Mazevas, now only the oldest one stands — that of my great-grandmother, which I had had anchored in the cement mound over the grave. According to my blessed father, in 1851 when this Mazeva fell just as the others had, her children got together and redug the entire gravesite themselves. The traces of this grave can still be seen today.

My father's father, that is, my grandfather was Viktor, the son of Kalman and Anna Strelinger. He purchased the house in Ludrova from his brother, Ferdinand Glucksmann, who had built it, and married Anna Wagner, who was from Velka Stiavnica, a neighbouring area/town [Ort]. Anna Wagner, later to become my grandmother, had brothers and sisters. One of the brothers continued to live in Velka Stiavnica, and also had children. One brother lived with his family in Prjekopa near Rutek - and had a family with whom he later emigrated to America. One brother lived in the Szipser Comitat, from where his descendants also emigrated to America.

The children of Viktor Strelinger and Anna Wagner, arranged by age, were:

Hermann. He married Rosa Koffler from Kremnica. Both are buried in Slovenska Lupca. They had 9 children. These ail died as elderly people [schon bejahrt - or of natural causes; that is, they were not killed during the Holocaust, is what I presume the author means to imply].

Samuel. Lived in Brezno in Slovakia. He married Theres[a?] Friedner from Varin. They raised 2 children, who died as elderly people [schon bejahrt].

Josef. He married Julia Kraut from the Arva. They resided in Banska Bystrica, where they are also buried. They had 7 children, of whom only one, Dr. Viktor Strelinger - a dentist in Budapest – still lives.

Karl. He married Julie Tandlich. They are buried in Banska Bystrica, where they lived. They had 5 children, only one of which still lives — Josefine, in Budapest.

Josefine, later Mrs. Jakob Kohn. Later became my mother-in-law. I will come back to her.

My father Max was the son of Viktor Strelinger and Anna Wagner. He resided in the town of his birth, in Zemanska Ludrova. He was a qualified tanner [educated as/trained as]. At first he also practiced his trade [betrieb auch Handwork?] but he later moved away from it. He worked his fields by himself, drove a cart [fuhhrwerkte] and did a small business in the village buying and selling cattle. He was also an occasional butcher. He married my mother — Katty GIucksthal in 1865 and lived in Ludrova at first at the Zahumnia, but then, upon the death of his father at age 65, on 11 April 1873, he obtained from his siblings, also inheritors, the house and business (building) of his father and lived next to the stream which flowed through the middle of the village. I, and my sisters Anne, Josefin and brother Viktor, were born in the house at the Zahumnia. My brother Leopold and my youngest sister, Gizella, were born in the second house.

The father of my father, Viktor Strelinger - here I would like to note that people only knew him by "Abraham" - is buried in Ruzomberok. His wife, my grandmother, died August 24, 1873 in

Brezno, at her daughter Josefin's house, where she was living at the time - that is 4 months after

the death of her husband.

My mother was Mrs. Markusz Strelinger — born Katarine Glucksthal. Her father was Lebel (Leopold) Glucksthal. Her mother was born Katharina Lang.

The ancestors on the father's side of my mother came from Beskovitz, Moravia. Her ancestor, Jakob (Bezalel) emigrated to Strecno. His son was Leopold (Lebl) and his [Lebl's] son was Jakub (Bezalel). Jakub died young and left a wife with the following children: Leopold (Lebl), Sali (Surl), Sami, Wilhelm, and Betti. The widow later married a man by the name of Linx - Tucansky Svaty Martin. These children grew up and Leopold, as eldest, remained in Strecno and is the father of my mother. His eldest son was again Jakub (Bezalel).

As can be seen from the names of my mother's ancestors, the names of Leopold and Jakub are used alternately, without a break. The grandchild, in fact the eldest, takes the name of his grandfather. In Jewish families, however, it is customary to use the name, only if the grandfather is already deceased. As a result, one can conclude that not one of the grandfathers was still alive when the grandchild was born. That is, they were all short-lived. The father of my mother (Katty) was 48 when he died in 1858, and my mother was only 10 years old at the time. With his eldest son, this continued, because he was only 32 when he died. He had been given at birth the name of his grandfather, who himself had already passed away.

The mother of my mother, Mrs. Leopold Glucksthal, born Katharina Lang, was the daughter of Rudolf (Ruben) Lang and his wife Hendel Kolin. Her father was the famous Jewish scholar Sirnche Leb Kolin. His literary name was: Mchazi Haschekel. He was born in Konopis (Moravia) in 1773 and died in 1813 in Boskovitz in Moravia. His son-in-law, Rudolf (Ruben) Lang, my great grandfather whom his daughter Hendel(my grandmother, married, was born in Konopis in Moravia but then moved to Nezbud Lucky, which in relation to Strecno, lies on the right bank of the Vag river, died of Cholera here in 1834. He had the following children; Pinkus, Blume, Golde (that is my grandmother Katharina) and Abraham. They all lived in Nezbud Lucky, Strecno and the vicinity, and buried in nearby Varin – the nearest Jewish community.

After the death of her husband, Golde (Katharina), that is, the mother of my mother, had to look after the following children: the eldest was Jakub (who, as already mentioned) died so young, during the year of my birth, 1867. I was named Bezalel after him. He left 4 children: Leopold, Milka, Bernath and Cili. They are all dead now.

After Jakob followed Cili - married, Mrs. Ignatz Kohn. The most noble and best relative one could ever possibly have had. My siblings and I looked upon her and her husband as the representatives of our parents. Their house was our second home. Her husband died in Liptauska Kralova Lehota in 1905 at age 68. His wife moved after his death to Varin, where her daughter lived. Her brother, Wilhelm, lived in nearby Strecno. She died here in 1932, 95 years old. Mrs. Ignatz Kohn, my aunt, had the following children: Leopold, Nathan, Rudolf, Rosa and Josef. They are all dead now.

The third child of Leopold Glucksthal and his wife was my mother, whom I shall discuss later.

The fourth child was Wilhelm, who retained the family house in Strecno. He and his wife, born Fani Zeljenka were right lovely and gracious relations and they passed on these qualities to their children. They had the following children: Leopold, who died in America; Ignatz, who has resided in the family home in Strecno since the passing of his parents; Hugo; and Hermin. Roska, the eldest daughter of Mrs. Moritz Szanto [Hermin?] died 3 years ago.

The fifth child was Samuel Glucksthal. He married the sister-in-law of his sister Anna and lived in Hrabova near Velka Bitsa. They had the following children: Leopold, Hermin, Roska, and Gizella.

Only Gizella still lives - in Budapest. Samuel and his wife are buried in Bitsa.

The sixth child was Anna, Mrs. Moritz Stem. She lived in Kottesova in the vicinity of Bitsa. She had the following children: Leopold, Josefin, Jakob, Katharina (Katusa), Gizella, Samuel, Rudolf, Wilhelm and lrma. Only Leopold and Rudolf are still alive - in America. The parents and children hold and held the inherent nobility of their origin.

The seventh child was Philipp. He died at age 21 of cholera, many years before my birth.

My parents, Markusz (Max) Strelinger and my mother Katti (Katarina) Glucksthal married in 1865. They had the following children:

Leopold. Lived approximately one year and died then of diphtheria. He was born one year after the marriage of his parents. Since they married on July 12, 1865, this first child died approximately July 1867.

Samuel was the second child. I was born on December 8, 1867 and am thus now past 80 and live as a medical doctor in Budapest, at 33 Bartok Bela Street, in a house I had built, I will come back to myself.

Anna, my sister, was the third child. When she was grown, she married Adolf Goldstucker. They resided in Komau, then in Cierny Balog near Brezno. When my father died on June 27, 1923, they still lived in Komau. My mother went there; my sister Anna took care of her and she also died here. Anna had 7 children. Only one died as a child, of scarlet fever [Sarlach]. The others grew up. Viktor, who died in Palestine; Bela, Jozef, Ladislaus, Margit, Ilona. Bela and Illona were deported - Bela with wife and child; Josef with wife and child; Illona with husband and child. Bela wrote me two cards from Lublin-Majdanek; Ladislaus, one card from the same place. There was no reply to my letters addressed to them. Margit was seen in Birkenau, where she died of typhus, as was reported to me by one who returned from there. Where Illona and Josef with their families died cannot be determined. I sent them the allowed 30 Mark on a monthly basis for one year. The same to Bela and also to Laci. After one year the sums came back to me with nothing missing. Thus the wonderful and numerous descendants of my sister Anna disappeared without a trace. My sister Anna died before these events in Cierny Balog on June 12, 1938. Her husband died on October 2, 1940. Sister Anna lived 69 years. Both are buried in Brezno.

Josefine was the fourth child of my parents. She married the brother of sister Anna's husband Julius Goldstucker. They last lived in Piarg, from where they were deported in 1942, along with their son Viktor, a grown and married man. Where they were sent could not be determined. I heard that they would have been in Birkenau. The monthly 30 Mark I sent came back after one year, with nothing missing. Their married daughter and husband (und dieser Tochter??? - and her daughter? did Josefine's daughter have a child?] stayed. Nothing has been heard of my sister Josefin, her husband, or son. Sister Josefin was 71 when she was deported in 1942.

Viktor was the fifth child of my parents. He last resided in Piarg, just across from his sister Josefin. He was married twice. His first wife, born Aranka Schwartz, died after giving birth to her first child. This child grew up and had five children. All of them were deported along with her husband and disappeared without a trace. Viktor's second wife was born Fanny Joachimovits. He had three children, a boy and two girls. The boy grew up and is now married, has two children, is a medical doctor in Banska Stiavnica. The eldest daughter was deported but, happily, returned and is now a social worker in Bratislava. The youngest girl emigrated to Palestine, got married and has one child. Viktor died on December 3, 1942, 67 years old and is buried in Banska Stiavnica close by my parents.

Leopold was the sixth child of my parents. He became a medical doctor. He married Rosa Drucker. He had a child Klara. He last resided in Banska Stiavnica and was deported from there in 1942, 65 years old with his wife and his 24 year old daughter. He and his family have disappeared without a trace.

Gizella was the seventh child of my parents. She was born in 1883 and is today 65 years old. She married Alexander Erdos. She first resided with her family in Piarg but then moved to Banska Stiavnica. Her husband was a manufacturer of shoes [Schuhfabrikant], but he is no longer alive, since he along with hundreds of others, was shot by the Germans. He is in a mass grave in Krenmicka near Banska Bystrica. Gisella had two children. Desiderius is now a manufacturer of Shoes. His first wife and their son were shot by the Germans in 1943. He remarried and has a small daughter by this woman. Gizella's second child (Desiderius being the first] is Margit. She has a good husband and a son who is a doctor.

When my parents got old and needed to be looked after, they left their old home and moved to Piarg, where they lived with two of their children, Viktor and Josefin, on a farm. Their third child Gizella lived in the area, in Banska Stiavnica. Their daughter-in-law, Viktor's wife, looked after them and took care of their needs lovingly. My father died here on June 27, 1923, aged 91. His birth certificate mistakenly shows 89. He is buried in Banska Stiavnica. On the day of the funeral my mother was brought to Cierny Balog, where she was to be taken care of by my sister (her daughter), Anna. She lived there for seven months and died on February 20, 1924, aged 86. We transported her to Banska Stiavnica and buried her next to our father.

The undersigned; Dr. Samuel Strelinger, medical doctor. I reside now in Budapest. I completed my schooling under very modest circumstances. My parents had a house, farm [Hof], business building and a modest amount of arable land. My father was really a farmer and labourer, but he did a part-time business with cattle and as a butcher. We children, when we were able, had to help with everything, each according to strength and size. Our income was certainly very modest, and as a result money was always a worry. As long as the children attended the village school and could be taken care of in the parents' house, we were able to get by, because the farm provided enough to eat, albeit in modest quantities. But there was scarcely anything left over for clothes and shoes for the six children. When we children got bigger and the village school no longer sufficed, we marched every day 1-1/2 hours to school in Ruzomberok, whether it was raining or snowing, or whether there was manure up to our ankles (or even above) — with books and our midday meal. And of course at the end of the day, we returned. I finished the Untergymnasium in Ruzomberok, but since there were only 4 classes there, I had to go farther. In Banska Bystrica I did the later 4 classes at the Gymnasium — actually finishing early, because the brothers and sisters of my father who resided here could help me out. Upon completion of the Obergymnasium, since absolutely no resources were available for me to continue my studies and since I was assigned as a one-year volunteer [military] service and I would sooner or later have had to serve a year as a soldier anyway, I decided to serve this year in Budapest in the hope that during this year, spent living at the expense of the state, that is at no cost to myself, I would have the possibility and time to consider how I would cover the necessary costs of university study. Afterwards, I became a medical student; I managed to battle my way through my university years, despite material want and was graduated a medical doctor in May 1894. Three months later I established myself at the place where I still reside and work after 54 years, but which then was called Fehervari ut.

I married on November 2, 1897. My wife, born Gizella Kohn, was born on January 6, 1875. Her father was Jakob Kohn, her mother was born Josefine Strelinger, the sister of my father.

We had three children:

Stefanie (Istvanka). She was born on September 18, 1898 and became the wife of Dr. Katona Balint, a medical doctor, in 1919. She died during the bombings of 1945, on January 8. She left behind two daughters. Julia, married as Mrs, Harold Bowen. The second, Eva Katalin is still with her father.

Alexander became a medical doctor, emigrated to America, and lives there as a medical doctor in Elizabeth. He was born on January 17, 1900. He is married but has no children.

Josef Karl. Born on January 13, 1906. He had technical training. Emigrated in 1932 and lives in New York, in the USA.

My wife's siblings were:

Wilhelm. Died in 1939, aged 73. He is buried in Budapest. His wife died during the siege of Budapest. Their son died earlier.

Emilia. She is 80 today, and she lives with me, since her husband died. Her husband, Dr. Samuel Glasner, was a lawyer and died during the siege of Budapest. They had two children, namely Oskar, who was a doctor of law. He was deported and did not return. Their daughter, Friederika, Mrs. Gusztav Stein was deported with her husband and disappeared with him. Because Emilia does not have relatives who can take care of her, she is now part of my household.

Julius. Businessman by occupation. His wife was born Paula Reifer, from Vienna. He had a son, Josef, who is a building engineer [Bauingenieur]. Julius died in 1945 in Zurich, aged 73.

Viktor. He was the youngest brother of my wife. He was businessman by occupation, then a manufacturer of matches. He married the sister of the wife of his brother Julius, that is Ella Reifer. He had two children. Josefine married Dr. Stefan Kartal and lives now in England. His second child was Rsalia. She was deported in 1942, as a girl, but did not return. As a result, it is most probable that she died.

Viktor died in 1930 in Vienna. His wife lives now with her daughter Josefine in England.

The youngest child of Jakob Kohn and his wife Mrs. Josefine, born Strelinger, was my wife Gizella. She suffered during her last years from a weak heart and was sick for the 5 years prior to her death on October 14, 1945. She spent the last year of her life in bed, and she had to flee during the time of persecution thusly, and she succeeded. She was able to return to her old home, that is, she was brought back; and she lived there in her home and in her bed four months until she died. God grant her peace, for during her life she suffered greatly.

This is in brief the history of my family, as far as is known to me. I am now past 80. Perhaps I will be granted the time to add to what I have written. But if not, then might the members of my family continue on, true to their belief and true to their race.

Budapest, March 15,1948

Samuel Strelinger

Medical Doctor

Budapest 11 Bartok Bela ut 33