The SAFIER Family of Tarnobrzeg, Poland
Safiers are recorded in the town of Tarnobrzeg, in the Galician province of Poland for over 200 years. Descendants of these families now live in England, the USA, Israel and Australia. My father Oscar Gewurz was born in Krakow and was interned in three work/concentration camps. He emigrated from Poland to Australia in 1949 and took his mother Chaya (Klara) Safier's surname not long after arriving in Melbourne.  He moved to Brisbane, Queensland and worked as a waiter and then settled on the Gold Coast 50 miles south of Brisbane in the mid 1950s initially working as a waiter and then purchasing a tanning oil business on the Surfers Paradise beach before starting work as a masseur. Some years later his cousin Ruth Nathanson (nee Safier) emigrated to Sydney with her mother Jose, husband Michael and two children. Many of my father's family including his parents and only sister disappeared in the concentration camps including the infamous Treblinka and Auschwitz. His step-grandmother Malka Safier and several uncles survived the war by fleeing to Russia.

Galicia in Eastern Poland originally was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The town was also known by the name of Dzikow in the 18th century and Tarnobrzeg was founded in 1593 as residence for the family of Count Tarnowscy.  It is situated about 170kms from Krakow. On 17 September 1939 the German army occupied Tarnobrzeg. In October of that year the Jews were robbed and expelled. The final liquidation of the Jewish community took place in July 1942.

After the war my father's uncle Paul Safier eventually settled in Holon, Israel where he lived for many years and he is survived by his wife Ruth and daughter Sylvi.  His uncle Simon Safier emigrated to New York and is survived by his children and grandchildren. Cousins Barbara Welner the only survivor from her family (nee Safier) and Sonia Kerzner also settled in America and have raised families there. Through the internet I have discovered distant cousin's including Emil Safier who lives in L.A. (whose aunty Carola is the last blood related Safier of her generation) and also Edward Gelles in London and Judith Ritter of the USA whose Safier ancestors were also from Tarnobrzeg.

 

My great grandfather Chaim Safier
My great grandfather's second wife Malka with four of her sons,
Efroim is on the left and Paul is in front

My grandmother Klara with her brothers Paul (left) and Eisik c.1937		  
FAMILY TREE

1. Mojzesz Ehrlach SAFIER, b. 1843, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 29 Sep 1905, Tarnobrzeg, Poland (son of Rywa b. 1815, Krakow).  He married Szyfra ENGELBERG b. 1845, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    Children:
    2. i Malka Blima SAFIER b. 1866, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 1942, Debicy ghetto, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    3. ii Chaim Samuel SAFIER b. 30 SEP 1869, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    4. iii Majlech SAFIER b. 1872, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  
    5. iv Chaya SAFIER b. 1875, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, possibly died 3 Apr 1905, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
        v Rachel SAFIER b. 1880, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  

Second Generation

2. Malka/Malcia Blima SAFIER b. 1866, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 1942, Debicy ghetto, Tarnobrzeg, Poland. She married Josef HAUSER.
    Children:
    i Leib Dawid HAUSER b. 29 May 1896, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
 
3. Chaim Samuel SAFIER, b. 30 Sep 1869, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. c.1938 in Poland.  He married (1) Brucha/Bracha (Eve) GOLDMANN (daughter of Noe & Beila GOLDMANN).  He married (2) Zlata Malka STEIN, (daughter of Pinchas & Estera STEIN).  
    Children of Chaim Samuel SAFIER and Brucha/Bracha (Eve) GOLDMAN:  
    6. i Eisig (Isaac) SAFIER b. 18 Nov 1890, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  
    7. ii Chaya (Klara) SAFIER b. 8 Oct 1891, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  
     Children of Brucha/Bracha (Eve) GOLDMAN (father not stated):  
    iii Abraham GOLDMANN b. 20 Mar 1889, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    iv Herch GOLDMANN b. 21 Sep 1895, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    Children of Chaim Samuel SAFIER and Zlata Malka STEIN:  
     v Rywa SAFIER b. 21 Mar 1899 SAFIER
    8. vi Regene SAFIER.  
    9. vii Doneck (David) Leib SAFIER b. 12 Aug 1900, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  
    10. viii Simon A. (Shimek) SAFIER b. 15 Sep 1903, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  
    11. ix Bianka SAFIER.  
     x  Aron SAFIER, b. 25 Nov 1907, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, transported 16 Oct 1941 to Aushwitz, Oświęcim, Poland (no. 21550).  
     xi Frydeck (Efroim) SAFIER, d. 1967/8 in Holon, Israel.  He married Dora VAGNER.  
    12. xii Paul (Pinek) SAFIER b. 9 Dec 1916, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  

4. Majlech/Milech SAFIER.  He married Gitale/Gitla.  
    Children:
     i Leib David SAFIER b. 13 MAY 1896, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    13. ii Eisig (Isaac) SAFIER b. 1902.
    14. iii Carola SAFIER.
      iv Aron SAFIER b. 1908..
      v Moshe SAFIER.
      vi Efraim SAFIER.  He married Natka.
 
5. Chaya SAFIER b. 1875, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, possibly died 3 Apr 1905, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, She married Jozef ZELNER/ZELLNER.
    Children:
    i Eisig Dawid ZELNER b. 7 Jan 1899, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    ii Jakob Josef ZELNER b. 14 Jun 1900, Tarnobrzeg, Poland.
    iii Malka Feige ZELNER b. 1903, Nowy Sacz, Krakow, Poland.  

Third Generation

6. Eisik (Isaac) SAFIER, b. 18 Nov 1890 in Tarnobrzeg, Poland.  He married ?
    Children:
    15. i Barbara (Sydzia) SAFIER.
      ii Roza SAFIER b. c.1920, d. 1941.
      iii unknown female SAFIER.

7. Chaya (Klara) SAFIER, b. 8 OCT 1891 or 1892 in Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 1942, Treblinka, Poland.  She married c. 1915, MOSES GEWURZ, b. c. 1897 in Borek Fałęcki, Poland, d. 1942, Treblinka, Poland (son of ELLI GEWURZ and TOBCIA Unknown).
    Children:
      i BRONYA GEWURZ, b. 12 DEC 1919 in Poland, d. c. 1943.
    16. ii OSCAR (YOHOSHUA) GEWURZ b. 11 OCT 1925.

8. REGENE SAFIER b. c.1898.  She married DONECK or MOISHE ASCHEIM.
    Children:
      i HENICH/HENRY ASCHEIM, d. 1944.

9. DONECK (DAVID) LEIB SAFIER, b. 12 AUG 1900 in  Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 31 DEC 1953 in Johannesburg, South Africa.  He married JOSE SHERON, d. 28 JUN 1996.
    Children:
    17. i RUTH SAFIER.
    18. ii SONIA SAFIER.

10. SIMON A. (SHIMEK) SAFIER, b. 15 SEP 1903 in Poland, d. OCT 1984 in New York, USA.  He married SHEVA (SABINA) HAMFLING, b. 30 MAR 1909, Rudnik, Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. JUN 1994 in New York, USA (daughter of SHRAGA FEIVEL HAMFLING and ESTHER FREISER).
    Children:
    19. i HENRY L. SAFIER.
    20. ii FELICIA SAFIER.

11. BIANKA SAFIER, b. in Poland.  She married SANDI.
    Children:
      i SHIFRA unknown.

12. PAUL (PINEK) SAFIER, b. 9 DEC 1916, d. 8 MAR 1995 in Holon, Israel.  He married RUTH HORN, b. 15 FEB 1924.
    Children:
    21. i SYLVI MALKA SAFIER.

13. EISIG (ISAAC) SAFIER, b. 1902 in Tarnobrzeg, Poland, d. 1978.  He married <private>
    Children:
     i <private>

14. CAROLA SAFIER.  She married <private>
    Children:
    i <private>

Fourth Generation

15. BARBARA (SYDZIA) SAFIER.  She married NICK (NIKODEM) WELNER b. Birmingham, England, d. 6 JUL 1996, New Haven, CT, buried 8 JUL 1996, Betty Rosenberg/Parkway Jewish Center Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA..
    Children:
      i ALAN WELNER.
      ii SANDRA L. WELNER, d. 20 OCT 2001, buried 23 OCT 2001, Betty Rosenberg/Parkway Jewish Center Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA.
      iii SARAH BELL WELNER.
      iv MICHAEL MARK WELNER.

16. OSCAR (YOHOSHUA) GEWURZ, b. 11 OCT 1925 in Krakou, Poland, d. AUG 1993 in Bellevue Park, Queensland, Australia, buried in Allambe Gardnes Cemetery, Nerang, Queensland.  He married (1) RUTH.  He married (2) 24 NOV 1958 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, RUTH MARGARET PERRY, (daughter of HUBERT ANDREWS PERRY and ELIZABETH WATSON McMORRAN).
    Children by RUTH MARGARET PERRY:
    22. i SIMON PAUL MOSES SAFIER.
      ii SHANE OSCAR EREN SAFIER.
      iii MARCEL GLEN SAFIER.
      iv KLARA LEE SAFIER.
      v YVETTE MIA SAFIER.

17. RUTH SAFIER. She married 1966, MICHAEL NATHANSON.
    Children:
      i DAVID NATHANSON.
      ii DANIA NATHANSON.

18. SONIA SAFIER.  She married BENNY KERZNER.
    Children:
      i JUDITH KERZNER.
      ii SAUL KERZNER.

19. HENRY L. SAFIER.  He married MIRIAM.
    Children:
      i ELAINE SAFIER.
    22. ii BARRY SAFIER.

20. FELICIA SAFIER.  She married MARVIN R. DAVIS.
    Children:
      i HOWARD STEVEN DAVIS.
      ii PHILIP IRA DAVIS.
      iii SUSAN BETH DAVIS.

21. SYLVI MALKA SAFIER.  She married EYAL SIMHONY.
    Children:
      i MICHAL SIMHONY.

Fifth Generation

22. SIMON PAUL MOSES SAFIER, b. 24 SEP 1959 in Southport, Queensland, d. 17 JAN 1994 in Southport, Queensland.  He married ARLENE DOHINOG, b. in Negros, Phillipines.
    Children:
      i MIA SAFIER.

23. BARRY SAFIER, He married JANET BYRNE.
    Children:
      i JOSHUA BYRNE SAFIER.
      ii EMILY LEAH SAFIER.

† Sandra Welner (15ii) - my second cousin and eminent doctor sadly succumbed on October 20, 2001 to severe injuries suffered in a fire at her Maryland home. † A website covering the gynaecological exam bed for people with disabilities that Sandie designed is at http://www.welnerenabled.com/index.html and it includes a bio sketch by her brother Michael.

The JewishGen website on Tarnobrzeg contains the following information:

Jewish Graduates of the High School for Science and the High School (Gimnazjum) in Tarnobrzeg from the years 1909-1939: Aaron Safier, Karolin Safier, Efroim Safier, Eisig Safier, Szymon Safier and Dawid Safier. (from http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Tarnobrzeg/html/2nd%20level/class%20list%201.htm)

Josef Safier appears in the inventory of Jews in the city of Tarnobrzeg from 1791.

Jacok Safir appears in lists of Tarnobrzeg alcohol sellers from 1816 and 1822.

Moses Safir appears in the 1891 Galicia Business Directory operating a hotel in Tarnobrzeg.

Feiga Safier died on 4 Aug 1910 in Tarnobrzeg.

Ozyasr Abach Safier died 21 Nov 1915 somewhere outside Tarnobrzeg.

Efroim Safier died 15 Dec 1916 in Tarnobrzeg.

Beila Safier died 26 Jul 1918 in Tarnobrzeg.

Abraham Chaim Szafier died 23 Jun 1923 in Tarnobrzeg.

M. Safier appears in the 1923, 1929, 1930 and 1933 Directories of Tarnobrzeg with the business of matériaux de construction (construction materials). This would be Milech Safier as with his brother he ran a lumbar mill and they owned a tract of forest near Tarnobrzeg.

Another M. Safier appears in the 1933 Directory of Tarnobrzeg with the business of produits en béton.

G. Safier appears in the 1929, 1930 and 1933 Directories of Tarnobrzeg with the business of articles divers (presumably a mixed or general business)

Meilech Safier is listed as living at 51a Kolejowa in Tarnobrzeg.

Tarnobrzeg Genealogical Researchers List on Yahoo.

I have set up a site SAFIER HISTORY for anyone interested in the SAFIER surname. This will be an expanding Safier internet resource so please check it out.

Created 18 May 1997 and last updated 27 November 2009.   Maintained by Marcel Safier, P.O. Box 239, Holland Park, Brisbane, Queensland, 4121, Australia. Contact, corrections, comments  and additional information welcomed!  E-mail:  msafier@ozemail.com.au