The Family of Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft

The Family of Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft

May 11, 2019

Szmul Zajnwel Cwajghaft was born in 1841 in Poland (likely Gostynin) to parents Jakob and Estera.  He was the older brother of Simon (b. 1845, Gostynin, Poland). His brother Morris (b. abt. 1860, Poland) was a generation younger.  Szmul probably had at least one more sibling, Lajzar (b. abt. 1849, d. 23 Mar 1881, Krakow).  Szmul married Laia Wasserman (aka Leah, Lia, b. 1842; marriage date unknown) and it appears they had four children together, possibly five or more.  Szmul died in Lublin, Poland in 1927.  It is unknown when Laia died.

It is not known when and why Szmul and Laia moved from Gostynin to the Lublin area, a significant distance to cover in the 19^th century.  Gostynin is about 80 miles northwest of Warsaw and Lublin is 110 miles southeast of Warsaw.  Transportation to Lublin was made considerably easier from Warsaw in 1877 and Lublin’s population was expanding rapidly, so a move for increased economic opportunity is likely.  Wikipedia states, “At the beginning of the 19th century new squares, streets and public buildings were built. In 1877 a railway connection to Warsaw and Kovel and Lublin Station were constructed, spurring industrial development. Lublin's population grew from 28,900 in 1873 to 50,150 in 1897 (including 24,000 Jews).”     In any event, the family appears to have been living in Lublin by the time of Sura’s marriage in 1900. 

Simon Zweighaft clearly maintained contact with his older brother, Szmul, as he bequeathed an annuity to him in his 1911 will, ordering this payment:

The sum of Two jundred Rubles per annum, payable in equal semi-annual instalments (sic) on the Frist day of April and October in each year, unto my brother, SAMUEL ZANWEL ZWEIGHAFT, of Nalentchow, near Lublin, Poland, Russia for and during all the term of his natural life, and from and after his decease, I direct that said annuity of Two hundred Rubles per annum shall be likewise paid to his wife, LEAH ZWEIGHAFT, for and during all the term of her natural life.

Simon traveled abroad at least 4 times after arriving in the U.S. in 1867 – 1877, 1891, 1896 and 1910.  It is likely that he visited his brother Szmul on some of these trips.

Szmul and Laia’s Children

Sura Jochweta Cwajghaft

Szmul and Laia’s eldest daughter was Sura Jochweta Cwajghaft, born about 1872 in Gostynin, Poland.  By 1900 when Sura married Mendel Rafjman, she had moved to Lublin.  It is not known whether Sura and Mendel had any children.  Sura died in the Lublin ghetto in January, 1942, likely of disease or starvation.  She was preceded in death by her husband.  While the “Lublin Death Incidents Register” on JewishGen.org lists Sura’s age at the time of her death as 84, that would have meant her birth date was 1858 rather than 1872.  Sura’s 1900 marriage record in the Polish State Archives states she was born in 1872.  As that record is closer to her birth date, it is presumed that 1872 is her correct birth date making her 70 years old, rather than the recorded 84, at the time of her death. 

Just months after Sura died the Lublin ghetto in January 1942, more than 34,000 Jews from the ghetto were sent to their deaths at Nazi extermination camps.

Mendel Cwajghaft

On his 1906 Polish marriage record, Mendel Cwajghaft stated that he was born in Gostynin in 1874. He married Sura Bajla Zylberman (aka Liberman) in Lublin in 1906 and they had at least one son, Gersz Cwajghaft, who was born in 1907 and died in infancy the following year.

Rywka Cwajghaft

Rywka Cwajghaft was born in 1886 in Gostynin.  In 1907 when she was 30, Rywka married Josef Erlich in Lublin.  Rywka and Josef had at least two children – Mojsze Erlich (b. 27 Dec 1907, Lublin) and Jakow Isaak (b. 1909, Lublin).  In 1940, Rywka was 54 and among the 163,000 Jews who were living in the Łodz ghetto.  Conditions were brutally harsh in the ghetto and within two years, according to Łodz hospital records, Rywka was dead of starvation.

Gitla Cwajghaft

There is not yet definitive evidence that Gitla Cwajghaft is the daughter of Szmul Zanjnwel and Laia, but fairly convincing circumstantial evidence exists.  The only other Cwajghafts listed in JRI-Poland Lublin indices are the children and grandchildren of Szmul and Laia.  Gitla, born around 1890, would have been four years younger than Szmul’s youngest documented daughter, Rywka.  Gitla Cwajghaft married Falik Ajnsztajn and gave birth to two children in Lublin in 1912 and 1914, a girl,  Liba Raca Ajnsztajn and a boy, Abraham Jehuda Ajnsztajn. 

Szmul and Laia’s Grandchildren

Gersz Cwajghaft (b. 1907, d. 1908, Lublin) was the son of Mendel Cwajghaft and Sura Bajla Zylbernam.  Gersz died in infancy.

Mojsze Erlich (b. 27 Dec 1907) was the son of Josef Erlich and Rywka Cwajgchaft.  There is evidence that Mojsze Erlich survived the Holocaust.  The JewishGen collection, “Jewish Holocaust Register of survivors printed in Pinkas HaNitzolim I & II” lists a Mojsze Erlich born to Rywka.  A second source is the JewishGen database, “The 1948 Warsaw Survivors List”.  In that index entry, Mojsze Erhlich (note variant spelling of surname) is listed as living at Zamenjofa 17, Lublin in 1939 and in Gauting, Germany in 1948. This index entry lists his parents as Josef Erhlich and Rywka Cwajghaft. 

Gauting, Germany was the location of a WWII displaced persons camp, housed in a former tuberculosis hospital.

No further information about Moysze Erlich’s fate has yet been discovered.

Jakow Isaak Erlich (b. 1909, Lublin) was the younger son of Josef Erlich and Rywka Cwajghaft.  His fate during the Holocaust is unknown.

Liba Raca Ajnsztajn (b. 1912, Lublin) was the first-born child of Falik Ajnsztajz and Gitla Cwajghaft.  Her fate during the Holocaust is unknown.

Abraham Jehuda Ajnsztajn (b. 1914, Lublin) was the second-born child of Falik Ajnsztajz and Gitla Cwajghaft. His fate during the Holocaust is unknown.