Student Profile: H. Baharier

Found name "Chana Baharier" in the JewishGen database. Born in 1927. This indicates that she is born in the correct year-range, and it is quite possible the shortening "CH" could have been mistaken for "H." This mistake may be based in part on the differences in the sounds of letters in comparison to alphabets and spellings.

Pat -- I think you have found a very strong lead here. There, of course, is also a Chawa Bahrjer / Baharier born on May 1, 1928 (a little young for gymnasium/high school) but who is listed as a "student." Nonetheless, I believe that Chana is the stronger candidate based on her age.

It is probable that Ch being translated from Hebrew or Yiddish could be H or Ch. The name Chana could be Hannah or Hanna.

Melissa -- I think it is likely that you are correct. However, we cannot discount Chawa Baharjer / Baharier who was born on May 1, 1928. Her birth date makes her a little young to be in gymnasium or high school. However, she is listed as a "student" for occupation. Still, based on age, I agree with you that Chana is the stronger candidate.

I was able to access microfilm of Worker ID cards from the Lodz ghetto in the USHMM archives. In the Lodz Ghetto Database, Chana Baharier's address is listed as Konigsberger Strasse 14 Flat 1. I believe that this is the same person as in the Lodz Ghetto Worker ID card because the ID card lists Konigsberger 14/(illegible; possibly 11) as her address.

I was especially excited to see that while "Chana Baharier" was printed on the ID Card, she signed her name as "Hanka Baharier." This makes it more likely in my mind that she is the "H. Baharier" who signed the album.

Also, I have listed Hut-Abteilung (Hohensteinerstr. 9-11) as place of location because this was the Labor Department in the ghetto that employed Chana "Hanka" Baharier. On her ID card, she is listed as both an apprentice "lehrling" and student "schuelerin." She is listed as having been employed since 16.12.1942 (December 16, 1942). This is important since it means she survived the mass deportations to Chelmno in 1942.

This is entirely possible. One thing you didn't mention is that the birth date in the ID Card is off by exactly one month from the birth date in the Lodz Ghetto Database. I believe it is probably the same person, but it is still something to note.

Her worker ID card lists her street address as Konigsberger 14. The flat number looks like it might be 11. It is partially illegible.

The back of her ID card says she was a student. She was 17 years old in January 1943. And she began work on December 16, 1942.

What an exciting find! This is a great match with Chana/Hanka. However, until we ascertain that it was she, and not Chawa, who signed the album, we will have to mark this data as "possible."

This confluence of documents strongly suggests that Hanka/Chana did survive the Holocaust--what a remarkable find! However, we still haven't eliminated the possibility that Chawa was the girl who signed the album. Until we do, we have to mark this research as possible.