Week 32: Reunion #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 This week's post is late because I was waiting on my husband Martin getting back from a ...REUNION! 

This is the second time he has travelled abroad to meet up with 'cousins' from his paternal side, many of whom he had never met before. A few years ago, it was Martin himself who decided it would be a good idea to make contact with the various descendants of his Polish side of the family. Martin already had a photograph from 1905 of his grandmother as a young child alongside her parents and all eight of her siblings. Thanks to the internet, he was quickly able to connect with relatives from across the world, all of whom were descendants of his grandmother and those siblings.

The first reunion was held in Poland in 2019, in Krosno and Haczow. Haczow was the birthplace of his grandfather and where his grandfather met his grandmother and Krosno was where his great grandparents lived for some years. Descendants of five of the siblings in the photograph attended - around 20 people in total, many of whom had never met before. They chatted and exchanged stories over dinners and one of the 'cousins' gave a presentation, explaining some of the history of that branch of the family.

Martin was able to meet the Parish priest who showed him the original church records of many of his ancestors going back to the 1700s. The priest also invited the group to a private church service in commemoration of Martin's grandfather, Wladyslaw, and others who had died in the Polish Resistance during WW2. Martin gave a 'thank you' talk in the church - the first talk in English in the church's 600 year old history. 

One of the cousin's knew where there were ruins of a brick factory once owned by his great grandparents and they went there.

This first reunion was so successful that they decided to do it every few years. Unfortunately the second one had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

So, the second reunion took place last week, this time in the South of France, where one of the 'cousins' lived. Stan played host to about 20 adults and 10 children over the course of a week, many of whom had not been at the first reunion. 

This was a more informal get together, but still allowed for the sharing of many documents and photographs. One of the highlights was finding out how one branch of the family ended up in France. One of Martin's father's cousins had escaped from three German POW camps, managing to cross the border to neutral Switzerland, then to France where he settled. 

Martin has found both reunions helpful in understanding the life experiences, both tragic and uplifting, of his father's cousins and their children. A third reunion is already under discussion.