V3.01 Feb 2024Please report broken links or omissions to me at adam@djament.com or nathalieholberg@gmail.com
See what's new below
Contributors:
Vladimir Drobot (California USA)Frank Drobot (California USA)Eve Drobot (Toronto, Canada)Adam Rutkowski (Sydney, Australia)Alice Kaplun (Sydney, Australia)Nathalie Holberg (Chicago, USA)
Vladimir Drobot (California USA)Frank Drobot (California USA)Eve Drobot (Toronto, Canada)Adam Rutkowski (Sydney, Australia)Alice Kaplun (Sydney, Australia)Nathalie Holberg (Chicago, USA)
With particular thanks to Vladimir Drobot for his translation of various Polish and Russian documents. letters and certificates and Frank Drobot who scanned and organised the documentation.
The Djament family was headed by Itzhak Djament, born in 1883 in Chmielnik, a town east of Krakow towards the city of Lwow, where 80 per cent of the population were Hassidic Jews. His parents were Moses Leiba and Pesla. Itzhak’s brothers and sisters ran small shops in country villages selling largely to the local population. In 1906, at the age of 23, a marriage was arranged by the local matchmaker and Itzhak married Chave Lind, (whose Polish name was Ewa). She was born in 1885 in Tarnow, a city 65 km east of Krakow, with a Jewish population of 25,000, the daughter of Simon and Chaya Sandhaus however went by the name of Lind since, in the eyes of the law, Simon and Chaya were not legally married (marriages conducted by a rabbi were not considered legal). Simon Sandhaus ran a pub in Tarnow and it is thought that Itzhak worked as an accountant for a local brewery. See the Family Trees page for the Djament/Sandhaus section of the tree.
Their first child, Roman, (Romek in Polish) was born in 1907 and the second, Josef in 1909. Israel (also known as Julek) was born in 1911. A year later Itzhak with his young family moved to Krakow where he worked as a salesman in a shop owned by the Wechsler family selling His Master’s Voice gramophones. In all they had five sons. In 1913 Chave gave birth to identical twins, Samuel and Jakub.
They all lived in a one-room apartment, No. 7, on the third floor of 45 Starowislna, a large building on a broad avenue not far from the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz. In 1917 Itzhak came home to announce that the government had ordered all families with young children to evacuate the city because of fear that Russia, in the wake of their Communist revolution and in the midst of the First World War, would invade Krakow. The Djaments packed all their belongings and reported to the train station where the seven of them, as well as their daily housekeeper, boarded a train that took them to Eichwald, a small town in Sudeten in what is now the Czech Republic. Their time there was very pleasant, with plentiful milk and fresh bread and butter, fresh air and peace and quiet, just like an extended holiday in the country. Roman and Jozef were old enough to attend school, so they enrolled at the local primary school and became fluent in German.
After several months they returned to Krakow to discover someone else had moved into their one-room apartment, and for the two years that followed they were forced to share it. Then No. 9, a three-bedroom apartment across the hall, became available, and after handing over a substantial amount in key money, the family moved in and lived in relative luxury until the outbreak of the Second World War. Itzhak went into the timber business and the family became fairly prosperous. At the end of the First World War, there was a building boom in Krakow and Itzhak would travel to the countryside to contract with local lumberjacks for trees to be delivered to a mill for cutting, and then he would sell them to timber yards. Unfortunately, during one of his trips he contracted rheumatic fever from which he survived, however it weakened his heart.
Before 1918, Krakow was not in Poland but was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was known for its tolerance towards Jews. Indeed, the Jews of Krakow were often quite wealthy and, more importantly, integrated into the city’s society. The Djament boys attended school at J. Dietel Primary School, and later high school or gymnasium where their classmates were an equal mixture of Jews and Christians.
Despite their origins, Chave and Itzhak were not very observant, attending synagogue only on the high holidays. Nonetheless, each of the five boys had a bar mitzvah. The family were also not very strict about Jewish dietary laws, although they did not eat pork — but even that went by the wayside when Itzhak came down with rheumatic fever and the doctor advised him to eat as much meat as possible to regain his strength. At the time, the cheapest meat available was ham.
Itzhak succumbed in 1932, at the age of 49, to a fatal heart attack weakened by his rheumatic fever.
Their first child, Roman, (Romek in Polish) was born in 1907 and the second, Josef in 1909. Israel (also known as Julek) was born in 1911. A year later Itzhak with his young family moved to Krakow where he worked as a salesman in a shop owned by the Wechsler family selling His Master’s Voice gramophones. In all they had five sons. In 1913 Chave gave birth to identical twins, Samuel and Jakub.
They all lived in a one-room apartment, No. 7, on the third floor of 45 Starowislna, a large building on a broad avenue not far from the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz. In 1917 Itzhak came home to announce that the government had ordered all families with young children to evacuate the city because of fear that Russia, in the wake of their Communist revolution and in the midst of the First World War, would invade Krakow. The Djaments packed all their belongings and reported to the train station where the seven of them, as well as their daily housekeeper, boarded a train that took them to Eichwald, a small town in Sudeten in what is now the Czech Republic. Their time there was very pleasant, with plentiful milk and fresh bread and butter, fresh air and peace and quiet, just like an extended holiday in the country. Roman and Jozef were old enough to attend school, so they enrolled at the local primary school and became fluent in German.
After several months they returned to Krakow to discover someone else had moved into their one-room apartment, and for the two years that followed they were forced to share it. Then No. 9, a three-bedroom apartment across the hall, became available, and after handing over a substantial amount in key money, the family moved in and lived in relative luxury until the outbreak of the Second World War. Itzhak went into the timber business and the family became fairly prosperous. At the end of the First World War, there was a building boom in Krakow and Itzhak would travel to the countryside to contract with local lumberjacks for trees to be delivered to a mill for cutting, and then he would sell them to timber yards. Unfortunately, during one of his trips he contracted rheumatic fever from which he survived, however it weakened his heart.
Before 1918, Krakow was not in Poland but was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was known for its tolerance towards Jews. Indeed, the Jews of Krakow were often quite wealthy and, more importantly, integrated into the city’s society. The Djament boys attended school at J. Dietel Primary School, and later high school or gymnasium where their classmates were an equal mixture of Jews and Christians.
Despite their origins, Chave and Itzhak were not very observant, attending synagogue only on the high holidays. Nonetheless, each of the five boys had a bar mitzvah. The family were also not very strict about Jewish dietary laws, although they did not eat pork — but even that went by the wayside when Itzhak came down with rheumatic fever and the doctor advised him to eat as much meat as possible to regain his strength. At the time, the cheapest meat available was ham.
Itzhak succumbed in 1932, at the age of 49, to a fatal heart attack weakened by his rheumatic fever.
Your webmaster in front of 45 Starowislna St, the Djament residence in Kazimierz. The family occupied the top floor. (Photo taken in 2006)
l to r Jakub, Chave, Romek, Israel, Jozek, Itzhak and Samuel (Photo taken circa 1918)
l to r Jakub, Chave, Romek, Israel, Jozek, Itzhak and Samuel (Photo taken circa 1918)
So, What's New ?
v2.0 August/September 2020
v2.01 Nov 2020 Minor correctionsV2.02 May 2021 Additions/Corrections to the Education sectionV2.03 Dec 2021 Added Harry Rutkowski McCawe to the family treeV2.04 Mar2022 Added our grandparents' marriage certificate and explained why it shows 1908 whereas they we married in 1906 . Memorabilia,/Ancestors subpage.V2.05 Oct 2022 Added video and photos from the Quebec Reunion
V3.0 Feb 2024 Completed various clips made from video taken by Eve when she and Janel visited Poland in September 2000. They are on the "Janek returns to Poland" page.V3.01 Feb2024 Minor sound improvements to several of the video clips in "Janek returns to Poland" page. Major reorganisation of the "Janek returns to Poland" files.
- Website converted from "Classic Google Sites" to "New Google Sites". The original look and feel has been, to a large extent, maintained although owing to some differences in the new site editing features, some layouts have been changed. A number of new pages have been introduced, Please report any problems to me at adam@djament.com
- Introduced the Ancestors and Spouses sections in the "Memorabilia" page and a number of additional items of interest have been published.
- New introduction to the "Reunions" page.
- New "Janek returns to Poland" page contains videos in which Janek recollects some aspects of his life and experiences
- New "Family trees" page has been created with corresponding link from the home page.
- New "Reconnecting" and "Discovering the past" pages replace the old "Letters" page
v2.01 Nov 2020 Minor correctionsV2.02 May 2021 Additions/Corrections to the Education sectionV2.03 Dec 2021 Added Harry Rutkowski McCawe to the family treeV2.04 Mar2022 Added our grandparents' marriage certificate and explained why it shows 1908 whereas they we married in 1906 . Memorabilia,/Ancestors subpage.V2.05 Oct 2022 Added video and photos from the Quebec Reunion
V3.0 Feb 2024 Completed various clips made from video taken by Eve when she and Janel visited Poland in September 2000. They are on the "Janek returns to Poland" page.V3.01 Feb2024 Minor sound improvements to several of the video clips in "Janek returns to Poland" page. Major reorganisation of the "Janek returns to Poland" files.