[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Leaving Russian-Poland

[Penny Draper]

Hello List Members,

I've been following the "leaving Volhynia" entries with much interest.  
My grandfather, Emil Pekrul, left Swinary in Russian-Poland when 20 
years old in 1910 to avoid the mandatory conscription into the Russian 
Army at age 21.  He travelled with his younger sister and brother, with 
funds provided by his future father-in-law, Julius Goetz, who had a farm 
in Miechovice, and was a veteran of the Russo-Japanese war.

Emil and his siblings made an illegal departure, with advice to run as 
fast as possible at the border.  They reached Bremen and entered the 
U.S. at Baltimore, immediately boarding a train for Lansing Michigan, 
where they found work, sending funds home for the eventual immigration 
of the rest of the family.

The second group to immigrate to the U.S. were my grandmother, Adelhaide 
Goetz, and her future father-in-law, Heinrich Pekrul.  Adelhaide had 
weak eyes, and Heinrich had a significant limp from an untreated 
childhood injury.  I've often wondered if they were selected next 
because of these physical issues (noted on the immigration records), and 
the possibility of  being sent back.

Adelhaide's brother, Michael Goetz, inherited the family farm, and died 
in prison during WWII for assisting his Jewish neighbors in getting into 
the Warsaw ghetto, thought of as a protectorate at the time.  Michael 
was a fruit farmer, and produce was sent by barge in the evening from 
Miechovice to Warsaw, and available the following morning in the Warsaw 
produce markets.  Michael's family suffered significantly during the 
war, but  were reunited in West Germany, and eventually immigrated to 
British Columbia.

Sincerely,
Penny Draper