The Paternal Side
The Catzel Side
There are four
Catzel
branches in South Africa stemming
from
Wolfie Bernard Catzel's children
who emigrated from Riga and Dvinsk in
Latvia.
* YANKEL * ROCHEL-LEAH * DAVID * JOSEPH *
My grandfather Joseph and his brother David settled in
Johannesburg
but shortly after, grandfather Joseph moved to
Cape Town.
Their sister Rochel-Leah (married
Shmeryl Blacher) remained in
Latvia and she and most of
her family were murdered by the Nazis
in WW2. Her one son, Benny Blacher, emigrated to South Africa and that may be the only surviving branch of Rochel-Leah's family.
The Skop Side
HIRSCH SKOP
Hirsch Skop was born in Latvia in 1854 and died in Denmark in 1933. He was a bookbinder.
His first wife (no information) died young after giving birth to Sarah and Dora, and he remarried to Malta - (born 1862 died 1946).
Sarah-Rachel (married Joseph Catzel) emigrated to South Africa whilst Dora (married Israel Etin) settled in Denmark. The Etins were also on their way to South Africa, but Dora's husband was offered a job in Copenhagen and decided to stay there.
During World War II, Dora and her husband were
captured by the Nazi's and interned in
a concentration camp - Terezin - in
Czechoslavia. They
survived and returned to Denmark.
Their children had fled to Sweden
thereby avoiding capture.
Today we have more than 30 cousins in
Denmark originating from the
family of Dora and Israel Etin.
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