Student Profile: Bronia Chmiel

I ran a DM Soundex search for "Bronia Chmiel" and found two results. Both results had the same spelling, and were born the same year (Brajna Chmiel, 1930), and were born on the same date (the 21st), but one's birthdate was in April, and the other in June. Both results shared a street address (BIER 53), but each also had another street address. The "Brajna Chmiel" born 21 April 1930 had addresses BIER 53 13 and LITZMAN 88 listed, while Brajna Chmiel born 21 June 1930 had addresses SPERLING 8 5 and BIER 53.

The fact that both of these entries shared a number of details leads me to believe that they are perhaps the same person, Bronia Chmiel, and the discrepancies may stem from, for example, illegibility of the handwriting.

I also noted that she was deported on 10 September 1942, most likely to Chelmno. She would have been 12 years old.

I agree that you have found the person who signed this name in the album. Thank you for your excellent note on your research and thought process. I also think that both Brajnas are the same person. Please enter both dates of birth (21/04/1930 and 21/06/1930) into separate date of birth fields, and enter all three addresses into separate ghetto address fields.

I also agree that the deportation date suggests she would have been deported to Chelmno in the Gehsperre-Aktion of early September 1942. Please enter the date into the appropriate field on the next stages. Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful research.

In an effort to find potential family members, I ran an exact search for the last name "Chmiel". Upon looking through the results, I found four in total (aside from Brajna) that shared the same addresses. These addresses, along with their birth dates, led me to believe that Dawid and Rojza were Brajna's parents, and Henoch Ber and Hadase Milkele her siblings.

Brajna shares the deportation date of 10 September 1942 with her father and baby sister. This deportation was most likely to Chelmno.

Thank you for your thorough note on your process. I agree that these are Brajna's family members.

September 5-12, 1942 was known as the Gehsperre-Aktion, in which 20,000 Jews from Lodz, mostly very young or very old, were deported to Chelmno and murdered. I agree that the deportation date from Brajna's record falls within this time, and we can say based on the secondary sources that Brajna was likely deported to Chelmno, where she was murdered. You may add Chelmno as her "camp deported to" and "place of death." Thank you for helping to complete Brajna's record.