5

My grandmother Dora Grünberg b. Danzig 11-Mar-1920 d. Perth 31-Jul-2016 came from Danzig to Australia when she was 16 and has very little knowledge of her families names or locations.

Where is the first place I can start searching, she knows her father came from Russia, and her mothers family was from Danzig.

Her parents are Moses Grünberg (also known as other varients) born 1893 (approx) in Russia and Gertrude Rosenbaum born 1894 (approx) in Danzig.

  • Moses had 6 brothers and 1 sister.

  • Gertrude had 3 brothers, Herman, Leo and Theodore and 3 sisters Ella, Meta and Paula.

    • Meta married a Mr Zielonka and had 2 children.

    • Theodore had 2 children.

I believe that some of these people went to America, but I don't know which ones.

And that's about all I had been able to find after a couple of years of research.

My Grandmother arrived in Australia in 1939. I did find the boat details on Trove a while ago but I've misplaced it at the moment.

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Welcome to G&FH SE! Something that would be very useful for us to know is when your grandmother was born, and if possible, when her parents were born too. I am hoping that your great grandparents will have been born more than 100 years ago because then we will be able to use their names freely to assist in searching. For people born less than 100 years ago we have to be careful about privacy and so we'll ask you not to mention names initially. To add the birth years to your question click the edit button beneath your question. Also include when your grandmother arrived in Australia.
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 3:28
  • 1
    My grandmother was born in Danzig in 1920, her parents are Moses Grünberg (also known as other varients) born 1893 (approx) in Russia and Gertrude Rosenbaum born 1894 (approx) in Danzig. Moses had 6 brothers and 1 sister. Gertrude had 3 brothers, Herman, Leo and Theodore and 3 sisters Ella, Meta and Paula. Meta married a Mr Zielonka and had 2 children. Theodore had 2 children. I believe that some of these people went to America, but I don't know which ones. And that's about all I had been able to find after a couple of years of research.
    – Jason Pascoe
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 4:21
  • 1
    My Grandmother arrived in Australia in 1939. I did find the boat details on Trove a while ago but I've misplaced it at the moment.
    – Jason Pascoe
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 4:22
  • I'll transfer that excellent info into your question. Please note that you can always use the edit button beneath it to do it yourself. The ages mean that we can use the names and birth details of Moses and Gertrude and their siblings freely but need to take care with privacy on the later generation so I have deleted their names from your comment and question. If you know that any of those children were born more than 100 years ago then just edit them back in with their birth date/year.
    – PolyGeo ♦
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 4:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

First, look at records in Australia. The Australian National Archives would be the first place to try and track down some record of your grandmother entering the country - they are likely to have made some inquiries at the time.

There are two sets of records relating to two persons who arrived on the Orama in 1939. One is a young woman born 1920 (presumably your grandmother), the other is a Gertrud (note spelling) b. 17 Jan 1894. One set gives them as German nationality, the other as stateless. The sort of information you would expect on these forms:

The information collected includes the passengers names, date and place of birth, personal description, nationality, their place of resident in country of origin and intended place of residence whilst in Australia and the intended duration of their stay. The application also records details of any family that was accompanying the applicant.

These records are "open" but not yet digitised; this means you can request a copy (for a fee).

Presuming your family were Jewish, you should have a look at the Danzig/Gdańsk Special Interest Group at JewishGen for assistance with finding where records for your family may now be held.

Also, sadly but necessarily, we should look at Yad Vashem to see whether any of these names are listed among those murdered during the holocaust. Meta Zielonka, nee Rosenbaum, I'm sorry to inform you, was among those victims.

Improve this answer
1
  • Yes that was her on the Orama. She arrived with her mother. Both were of German nationality I think, but her father refused to become German so remained stateless. He came earlier to Australia while they waited for financial support to fund their passage.
    – Jason Pascoe
    Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 11:55

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.