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Sherlock's Genealogical Adventures

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Trip to Oświęcim

Poland Traditions & Interest

Tim Firkowski

Friday, 07 August 2015

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A Typical Polish BreakfastThe day began with what you may find as a typical breakfast, which consisted of coffee or tea, sliced meats & cheese, bread & butter, tomatoes, a vegetable salad,and some eggs (in the photo they are deviled eggs with a dill filling). Normally they will make an open face sandwich with the bread, meat and cheese. Sometimes chopped onions may garnish the tomatoes.

This morning I took a quick trip to Oświęcim, which is the birthplace of my father. I have been to Oświęcim before, but this time I had a special mission to complete. Last year my father passed away and I brought along a copy of his death certificate, so I could have his death recorded in the church books where he was baptized (Parafia Wniebowziecia Matki Bozej). I was greeted warmly and the woman puled the book for his baptizism. I must note that when he was married in the USA, my grandmother informed this church of the details of his marriage and that information was also noted by his batismal information. Now the circle is complete and I have "brought my father home". The woman in the Kancelaria (Church Office) added his death information to his baptism and put the copy ofhis death certificate between the pages of the book to be kept DSC00726a

My father's baptismal record with marriage and death notationsthere forever. I was able to get a photo of the completed record.

Some of you may not know that Auschwitz the camp is in the city of Oświęcim. Actually Auschwitz is the German name for Oświęcim. I have been to Auschwitz two other times, and decided not to go there on this trip to Poland.

After I finished at the church office I went to the cemetery to look for names of my Grandmother's family. As you can see, the cemeteries in Poland look much different than we have in the US. With the help of Łukasz and his father Jan, we were able to find a number of family graves in about an hour.

Cemetery in Oświęcim

I completed my visit to Oświęcim by going to the Civil records office to get two offical copies of my fathers birth record. It was quick and painless. I only had to fill out a request form and pay for my two copies. The woman in the office was quick and helpful.

Dąbrowa Górnicza in the morning

Oświęcim Rynek

Kancelaria at the church

Civil Records Office in Oświęcim

City symbol of Oświęcim

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About the author

Tim Firkowski

I have been doing genealogy research since 2002 & have worked full time as a Professional Genealogist since 2008. I specialize in Polish and American-Canadian Genealogy. As a member of APG, I was the 2010/2011 President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). I have Certificates of Completion for studies in "Foundations of Forensic Genealogy" and "Advanced Forensic Genealogy Techniques". I have been a volunteer librarian at the local Family History Center, and a genealogy research consultant at “Ask the Expert” Ancestry Road Shows. I have traveled to Poland numerous times & researched in churches and archives. At conferences and special events, you may find me dressed up in my Sherlock Holmes outfit, or my Kujawy (the folk costume from the region in Poland where my ancestors came from).

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Comments 1

Guest - Sharon on Friday, 07 August 2015 06:06

What a great thing to add your fathers death to his polish church record. I would not have though to do that. Well done!
Thank you so much for sharing your trip to Poland.

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