Searching for family roots in Europe

   Ed Clemon lived in Glendale and worked with me at Gimbels for many years. We have remained friends since his return to Boston.

   He recently traveled to Europe with his wife Judy to determine the origin of his family. I asked him why he went on this journey.

   He said it started as a trip to Sweden to visit a lifelong friend from Boston (62 years) who has lived in Sweden for the last 43 years. He said when Judy and he were planning the trip to Sweden they started to discuss where else they would like to go.

   His friend’s ancestors came from Lithuania and his from Latvia, so they decided that since both countries where close to Sweden they would visit them.

   “I always wanted to see where my ancestors came from,” Clemon said, “but I did not have any knowledge as to what the original family name was. Like most Jews, I wanted to know my family’s history.”

   He knew little about his father’s father and nothing about his mother’s family. The only information he had was that his grandfathers were both rabbis, but all Kohanim (descendants of the Temple priests) were considered to be rabbis.

   His father’s father spoke mostly Hebrew and Yiddish. He died when Ed was seven. Ed never met his mother’s family as they died long before he was born. He had one cousin (his father’s sister’s son) on his father’s side that was 86 and had very good memories of their grandfather.

   I asked Ed what the family name was. He replied that when his grandfather said it, it sounded something like “Cleaman, Klaman, Kliman”— so no one was really sure.

   His father had a brother who went by the name of Kliman. His father was the first born in the USA and the name on the birth certificate was Clemon. His grandmother did not speak any English so they don’t know how Clemon was chosen.

   His mother’s family came to the USA on purchased documents like birth certificates and passports, so there is no way of ever tracing the line back. This was not unusual as people did whatever that had to do to get out of Eastern Europe and escape the tyranny of the Czar.

   After visiting Sweden for a few days, they traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania. Clemon said you realize how young America is when you travel to Europe and see buildings from the 12th century.

   The real history of Vilnius is in the Old City that unfortunately is in terrible disrepair. Clemons said he felt overwhelmed with sadness upon walking the streets and seeing the living quarters, churches and schools.

   There is only one synagogue from the 1800s left in the old city and how it was spared was anyone’s guess. There are less than 2,000 Jews left in Lithuania today.

   They looked at a building that stood abandoned and were told that the Soviets had built it to be a sports arena. One of his most powerful feelings came when learned that they had destroyed the Jewish cemetery to build this arena.

   He was informed the Lithuanians now have no idea what to do with the building or the land. He still feels anger and sadness when he thinks of this senseless destruction of this sacred land.

   His friend visited the Jewish archives in Vilnius and they are going to try and find information for him regarding his family.

   Their journey continued by bus from Vilnius to Riga in Latvia. “I cannot begin to describe the feeling I had upon entering the country,” Clemons said. He became emotional almost immediately as they looked upon the countryside and wondered if his family had been in this area.

   It turns out that the family was in Riga, but anything close to that city was considered to be Riga. Riga like Vilnius is a mixture of old and new with the difference being that it has been restored a lot better than Vilnius.

   Upon traveling in Riga they went to the Jewish ghetto. The barbed wire fence was still standing; and the buildings Jews were kept in (like cattle) are still there.

   Clemon told me that he will never be able to describe that feeling he had when he stood behind the barbed wire fence. The horror that he felt was debilitating.

   He found a list of all the known names of the Jews who were murdered in this ghetto by the Nazis. He saw the name Kleimann and he thought that may be his family name.

   He is going to continue his research now that he has a name to go on. Upon seeing this name, he was thrilled and devastated at the same time. The realization that he was reading the name of the dead was horrible.

   After leaving the ghetto, they went to the Jewish museum in Riga’s old city. Unfortunately, after spending two hours at the ghetto and being so overwhelmed with emotion, they couldn’t spend but a half-hour in the museum. They just couldn’t handle anymore grief.

    “I would say to people who are thinking about making this journey that they do as much research as they can before they go,” Clemon told me. “Whether it is to the countries I visited or all the others that our people came from you need to have as much information as possible.

   “If you are lucky enough to have relatives alive, I encourage you to talk to them about your ancestors. By all means talk and then listen carefully. Their memories are priceless. This is your history and must be treasured.”

   Cary Silverstein lives in Milwaukee.