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This project is designed to record and display the Jewish families and individuals with a connection to the town of Birnbaum an der Warthe (now Miedzychod) in the district of Posen (Poznan).
Jewish Records Index for Poland (JRI-Poland) offers some data on this town here: http://jri-poland.org/town/miedzychod.htm
Additional details of the Jewish population of Birnbaum may be found here, including some rare photographs:
http://www.xn--jdische-gemeinden-22b.de/index.php/gemeinden/a-b/408...
There is one microfilm identified with the birth marriage and death records in the LDS files as number 1194061.
The Virtual Sztetl describes the town here: http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/miedzychod/5,history/
Wikipedia has a small section on this town here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreis_Birnbaum
The lands around the Greater Polish town of Międzychód had been part of the Poznań Voivodeship since the 14th century, they were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Second Partition of Poland in 1793. Part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw from 1807, they again fell to Prussia according to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The district's borders were finally determined by resolution of 1818. The administrative seat from 1833 was at Sieraków (Zirke), from 1867 in Międzychód (Birnbaum).
With the Province of Posen, Kreis Birnbaum became part of the German Empire in 1871. With effect of 1 October 1887, its westernmost part, including Skwierzyna (Schwerin an der Warthe) and Bledzew (Blesen) was split off as Kreis Schwerin in Posen. In the aftermath of the German defeat in World War I, a Greater Polish Uprising broke out in December 1918, which brought most of the Province of Posen under Polish control. According to the Treaty of Versailles, the German Weimar Republic had to cede most of the province, including Kreis Birnbaum, to Poland. The handover was executed by between 17 January and 4 February 1920.
Two Rabbis were listed as coming from Birnbaum in the Steinheim Institute list of Rabbi. They were Herman Tietz and Salman Tiktin.
The Naturalized Jews of the Grand Duchy of Posen in 1834 and 1835, published in 2004 by Avotaynu, written by Edward David Luft, lists 77 Jewish individuals living in Birnbaum who were made citizens. Luft classified Birnbaum as being in the County of Birnbaum along with the towns of Schwerin (153 citizens), Kähme (1), Zirke (44)and Blesen (26). Some of the last names of people in Birnbaum include Arnold, Bach, Baumann, Berlin, Brandt, Braun, Cohn, Ephraim, Friedeberg, Graupe, Hauer and Itzigsohn. (Many more after the I's.)
Yad Vashem lists 284 people with a connection to the town who were victims of the Holocaust. Most were living in Berlin at the time. A detailed search for victims records submitted by a Page of Testimony resulted in no records substantiated by a Page of Testimony. This suggests no one survived to write a PT.
From the International Jewish Cemetery Project:
Alternate names: Międzychód [Pol], Birnbaum [Ger]. 52°36' N, 15°54' E, 47 miles WNW of Poznań (Posen). Jewish population: 403 (in 1881). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), VI, pp. 371-373: "Międzychód" #1.
Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities: Poland [Nov 2011] US Commission No. POCE000354
Miedzychod is located in Gorzow Wielkopolski at 52º36 15º54, 60 km from Poznan. Cemetery location: ul. Sorzycka. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 without Jews.
Town: Urzad Miasta i Gminy w Miedzychodzie. Local: mgr Wladyslan Chrostowski, Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 65-413 Gorzow wlkp, ul. Jagielloziczyka 8, tel. 75-295. Regional: Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, addziar w Sorzwie wlkp, mgr Jwona Brzewiecka. The Jewish cemetery was established late 18th century. The community of Kamionna, 5 km away, used this cemetery. The isolated suburban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all without wall or gate. The size of the cemetery before WWII and now is 0.26 hectares. There are no gravestones or structures. Municipality owns site now used for agriculture. Properties adjacent are residential. Local residents frequently visit the cemetery. The cemetery was vandalized during WWII. No maintenance or care. Incompatible development is a serious threat to the cemetery.
mz. Henryk Grecki, 70-534 Szczecin, ul. Soltysia 3/73, tel. 377-47 completed survey 14 Aug 1991. The site was not visited and no interviews conducted.
From Wikipedia accessed December 11. 2020:Warta River in Poland The river Warta rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About 808.2 kilometres long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, and third-longest in total length. Wikipedia Length: 502 mi Discharge: 6,886 ft³/s Mouth: Oder Cities: Poznań, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Międzychód, Warta, Sieradz, MORE Sources: Zawiercie, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland Bridges: Saint Roch Bridge, Przemysł I bridge in Poznań, MORE