Aviva -  Family History  

The family of my grandfather, Avraham Elterman
Shepsel Elterman was the father of my paternal grandfather, Avraham Elterman, in Subat.
Getz Hanan was my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. In Yiddish, he was called Chone, also in Subat. Hanan was married to a woman whose name I don’t know, and they had twins: Fruma and Shlomo. After his wife passed away, he remarried and had additional children about whom we have no information.

Fruma, daughter of Hanan, married Avraham Elterman, son of Shepsel. Avraham and Fruma Elterman's children were my father, Adolf Ze’ev Altman, and four sisters: Hannah (also known as Johanna in German), Sarah, Rosa, and Rivka.

The family name Getz
A story passed down through generations in the family, which I heard from my mother, tells the origin of the family name Getz as follows:
A baron, apparently of German descent, who lived in Jakobstadt — now known as Jēkabpils in Latvia — left his home with his wife for a period due to a revolution, leaving his son in the care of a loyal Jewish servant. When the baron returned to his home, he offered to marry his son to the Jewish servant’s daughter. The baron’s son converted to Judaism, married the daughter, and thus the family name Getz was formed — an abbreviation of Ger Tzedek (a righteous convert). In honor of the couple’s marriage, the baron built a synagogue in Jakobstadt.


The family of my grandfather, Shlomo Getz
Shlomo, son of Hanan, married Raiza Frank (my Vered is named after her). Raiza was born in the city of Dvinsk (today Daugavpils), a very Jewish city not far from Subat. Rabbi Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, came from Dvinsk.

My father’s siblings Ze’ev Altman and Hannah were born in Libau, Latvia (today Liepaja). Three more sisters were born in Germany, in the city of Karlsruhe.

My mother, Mina, eldest daughter of Shlomo and Raiza Getz, had four siblings: Chava, Izak, Herman, and Masha. Chava married and perished in Riga with her husband and children (I don’t know their names). Izak, his wife, and three children also perished.

Herman was married and had two daughters. He fled to the Russian army; his wife and two daughters perished.
After the war, he returned to Riga, did not find his family, met and married Luba, a distant relative who returned to Riga after fleeing to Russia during the war with her son. They had a daughter, Tania, and they immigrated to Israel in the 1960s. Tania married Tzvika, and they had two children, Michal and Eran.

In 1904, Avraham and Fruma Elterman fled from Libau to Germany, to Karlsruhe, to escape conscription into the Russian army due to the Russo-Japanese War, as they spoke German, they moved to Germany. In Germany, Johanna (Hannah) married Henrik Eil, they had three daughters: Fanny, Erika, and Yona; they lived in Baden-Baden. Rosa, my father’s sister, married Sally in Germany, and before the war, they moved to Paris.
Sarah died a natural death and was buried in Karlsruhe; my grandparents, Avraham and Frוma, are also buried there.

My parents, Mina and Ze'ev Wlterman
Mina traveled to visit her sister in Karlsruhe, where she met Ze'ev. They got married, and their son Baruch was born in Karlsruhe. Following an incident with Nazi demonstrators, Ze'ev decided to leave everything behind, and they immigrated to the Land of Israel. I, Aviva, was born in Ra’anana, Israel, followed by our younger brother, Shlomo.

Rest of the family

Rivka stayed in Germany until 1938, took care of her mother and her sick sister Sarah, and at the last moment, fled to England. In England, she met Leo Rosen; they had a son, Avraham Naftali, and later, in Israel, a daughter, Hasida.
Rosa was in the Holocaust in France, fled Paris, but her husband was taken by the Germans and perished.
Johanna (Hannah) and her husband, Henrik Eil, were taken by the Germans and perished in the camps.

Fanny, Erika, and Yona fled with a group of Jewish children and were rescued in Switzerland. The story is documented in the book “The Little Commander”, which tells the story of Fanny’s rescue.

Divided by Topics

 🔷 Elterman Family:
Shepsel Elterman was the father of Avraham Elterman, in Subat.
Fruma, daughter of Hanan Getz, married Avraham Elterman; they are my grandparents.
They had: Adolf Ze’ev (my father), Hannah (Johanna), Sarah, Rosa, Rivka.

🔷 Getz Family:
Getz Hanan (Chone) was married to a woman, and they had Fruma and Shlomo.
Shlomo married Raiza Frank, after whom my Vered is named.

🔷 Escape to Germany:
In 1904, because of the Russo-Japanese War, Avraham and Froma and their two children moved from Libau to Karlsruhe.

🔷 The next generation:
Johanna married Henrik Eil (three daughters: Fanny, Erika, Yona), lived in Baden-Baden.
Rosa moved to Paris with Sally.
Rivka fled to England and married Leo Rosen there (their son Avraham Naftali, their daughter Hasida).

🔷 Family in the Holocaust:
Chava, Izak, Herman — perished in Riga.
Johanna (Hannah) and Henrik perished in the camps.
Fanny, Erika, and Yona were saved by escaping to Switzerland; their story is told in the book “The Little Commander” by Fani.

🔷 Aviva’s Family:
My parents, Ze’ev and Mina, had three children: Baruch married Tzipora, Aviva (me) married Eddie, and Shlomo (Shlomik) married Shulamit.