Albert Karol HermanDetails of his life, places of residence and employment
- assembled from old documents
Based on the surviving reminiscences and preserved documents, we were able to reconstruct more details concerning Albert's
life and places of residence and work. The major documents include: a Passport issued in Zyrardow on November 5, 1909 by
the occupying Russian Authorities (for a fee of 15 kopeck), Personal Identification Document for a Citizen of the Polish Republic (resurrected after WWI - see [http://www.kasprzyk.demon.co.uk/www/Revolution.html]), issued in Hrubieszow on February 4, 1922, Military Identification Document issued in 1923(?) and a German-issued Kennkarte (ID) from the time of the German
occupation during WWII. The remainder include various certificates of employment and of professional training. These documents reveal that he completed High School education - graduated in 1905 in Zyrardow. The entry in his Personal ID document indicates that he knew three languages, i.e. polish, russian and german, but a later entry in the Military ID document
mentions only polish and russian. It is also mentioned there that he had no military training and did not participate in any wars.
It is of interest that, in the german language documents, his name is spelled as "Hermann", with double "nn" at the end. The russian documents from the same time period, as well as later polish documents, use only one "n". No definitive clues can be derived from
his signatures! In a Passport #535, issued by the Russian Authorities in Zyrardow on November 5, 1909, there are among others, entries (in russian) concerning his call to the military service in 1909 when he was assigned category II; his marriage to Aniela Buraczynska, age 19, on February 1, 1909 in a Roman-Catholic church in Riga (the actual passport entry is dated - town of Riga, 9 of November, 1909), other entries concerning his adresses in Riga (military training district): 16/18, Mostowa Street - 10.VI.1909; 3, Simionowska Street -3.II.1910; No.5, ? Str., Apt.(?)32 - 19.VI. 19??(13?); and then - No.?, Carycynska Street in Kharkov - 11.X.1918?. There is an illegible entry under the date of 11.?.1915?. The next entry is already in polish language, in a liberated Poland - 23.XI.1918, "registered in the Bialopole parish". Entry in the Polish ID document (below) testifies to the fact that the Polish citizenship was established and awarded to Albert (and his family) after the war based on the finding that his family had already had a permanent residence in Zyrardow at the time of the national census in 1878 ("excerpt from the registry of permanent residents of Żyrardów"). Other entries describe initially his profession as a book-keeper, accountant and later as an accountant, government employee - in the Military Document.
Below - copies of pages of the Military ID Document, with hand-written entries.
Places of residence Albert lived until 1905 in Zyrardow (see map), then the family moved to Chelm Lubelski. Soon afterwards, after the death of his mother in 1907, he moved to Riga (presently - Latvia) and started work there in 1908. We are not sure, whether he moved in 1915 from Riga to Kharkov (presently - Ukraine). A certificate concerning Albert's history of employment was issued by the same company, but this time with its address in Kharkov; the letterhead in the German version of this document "([Riga], currently Kharkov") suggests that the company might have moved from Riga to Kharkov and Albert and family moved along. (This was a version of events mentioned long ago by the family in Siedlce). Immediately after the end of the war, Albert and his family returned to the area of his wife's birthplace (village of Rogatka n/Dubienka) - on November 23, 1918 he was already registered (and lived) in the Bialopole Parish. Later on (in 1924) he lived and worked in Hrubieszow, on January 31, 1927 he was registered in the Dziekanow Parish (near Hrubieszow) and on April 18, 1928 the family was registered in the Starawies Parish (suburbs of Siedlce), as their permanent place of residence. From there they moved out on September 8, 1928 to a new address in Siedlce at 18, Brzeska Street, where they were formally registered on January 14, 1929. From there they moved a few years later to their own new home on Rawicza Street, in the so-called "New Siedlce" suburban housing development, sponsored by the Government for their employees. After the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939 and arrived in Siedlce, they expelled all Poles from that section of town and took over the housing for their German administrative employees and for the Military. Albert and family were given a small apartment downtown. He died there in January of 1944 (The town of Siedlce was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944). During the Russian advance, going west in July 1944, the heavy fighting in Siedlce lasted for a whole week - during the hostilities their temporary apartment as well as their own house burned to the ground along with the whole content. The family took refuge in the nearby village of Kisielany, hiding in the fields in the underground dugouts covered with plankwood and straw. The apartment of daughter Wanda and her family survived and Aniela moved in with them.
History of employment
Copies of various certificates, as shown below, allowed to reconstruct the history of work, employment, duties and professional cereer of Albert Herman. Starting in October 1903, until November 1905 he worked in the Joint Stock Company of the Zyrardow Manufactures (Spółka Akcyjna Żyrardowskich Manufaktur). We do not know anything about his employment between 1905 (the year of graduation and moving to Chelm Lubelski) and 1908, when he assumed a position in the finance office (kantor) of the Velocyped and Automobil Factory "Rossija" (Fabryka Welocypedow i Automobili "Rossija") - initially in Riga and then (the last few years before 1918) in Kharkov. 12.X.1903 - 17.XI.1905 (#1 - below)
"Akcjonernoje Obszczestwo Zirardowskich Manufaktur - Gille i Ditricha, No. 184" - Certificate - Żyrardów, 26 January 1906 roku - ("scribe" - clerk) |
8.VIII.1908 - 30.IV.1918 (2 - 4, - above)
"Fabrika Welocipedow i Awtomobilej" - "ROSSIJA", A. Leutner & Co. (Riga), Charków - ("Kantorbeamter", "kantorszczik, mladszyj szczetowod" - finance division officer ). [Albert's sister, Helena writes in her biography that, at the time of her visit in Riga in 1908 at Albert's invitation, he held a position of the Deputy Director of the Factory (?)]. |
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Immediately after the end of war, Albert and family returned to Poland (in November? 1918). We do not know about his employment between 1918 and 1920. Documents show that he worked from December (and perhaps already since July 1) 1920 until January 1922 in the Treasury Office (Kasa Skarbowa) branch in Hrubieszow (reporting to the Treasury Office in Lublin) - in the capacity of an assistant to the book-keeper.
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27.XII.1920 - 15.I.1922 (#1 and 2 above)
Kasa Skarbowa (Treasury Office) in Hrubieszow - junior clerk, assistant to the book-keeper |
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Released at his request, he assumed a book-keeper's position (with a much higher pay) in the Joint Stock Company for the Trade in Agricultural Products (Spółka Akcyjna Handlu Ziemiopłodami) - Hrubieszow Branch, where he also held temporarily a position of a deputy manager. The Company had several agencies abroad.
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15.I.1922 - 15.VI. 1923 (#1 above)
Spółka Akcyjna Handlu Ziemiopłodami, Hrubieszow Branch - book-keeper 15.VI.1923 - 1.IV.1924 (#2 above)
Spółka Akcyjna Handlu Ziemiopłodami, Agency in Hrubieszow - deputy manager and book-keeper |
After closure of the Branch and then of the Agency in Hrubieszow, he returned to work at the Treasury Office in Hrubieszow.
A certificate from the year 1925 states that already in 1924, he was employed as a cashier. At the beginning of his employment at the Treasury Office, he was paid "according to the XI grade of the official scale". As a consequence of promotions after periodic "State Qualifying Examinations", at the time of his trasfer to Siedlce in 1928 and of assuming there a new position in the Treasury Office, he achieved a level of "the third category in the civil administrative, treasury and accounting-receipt service". Before his transfer - while still in Hrubieszow and after the transfer - while at the Treasiury Office in Siedlce, he held a rank of "Adiunkt Kancelaryjny" (Office Adjunct). 1924 - 1928 (#1 and 2 above)
Kasa Skarbowa (Treasury Office) in Hrubieszow - cashier, office adjunct 16 marca 1928 (#2 above)
transferred to the Treasury Office in Siedlce - office adjunct |
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 In 1935, Albert passed a practical examination for a position in the II category of government employees (see #4 above). Probably because of his age, he was not drafted before the onset of the war (September 1, 1939) and did not participate in the hostilities. During the German occupation, he was again employed since December 13, 1939 at the Treasury (Tax) Office in Siedlce as a clerk.
Because of his partially German ancestry and German-sounding last name, he was under pressure
by the occupants to sign a "Volksliste" (application for German citizenship) - he was consistently refusing, he considered himself a Pole.
Albert died in January 1944 and is buried in a family grave in Siedlce. (https://www.wajszczuk.pl/cmentarze/siedlce_e.htm)
Prepared by: Waldemar J Wajszczuk & Paweł Stefaniuk 2004
e-mail: drzewo.rodziny.wajszczuk@gmail.com |
16-05-2004
15-04-2004
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