User Comments:
I initially searched the database for the exact last name Rachwalski, and returned approximately 9 different individuals with that last name. I then looked at the dates of birth and sex of each individual to narrow down my search for the student that signed the album. After looking at both of those factors, I stumbled across Szaja Rachwalski. According to the USHMM database, he has a year of birth listed as 1928. I also double-checked on the spreadsheet version at jewishgen.org and found a more precise d.o.b. of 15.01.1927. These dates of birth are both listed, but the years are so close that it could really be either one. I then went through all of the other databases listed at jewishgen ( Lodz Hospital Records, Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen records, and survivor lists) and found Szaja's name spelled similarly as Shaja. I believe this to be the same person because they do, in fact, share the same date of birth. I also believe that this is the student that we are looking for because his occupation is that of a Schueler, and that his date of birth falls within the range of School #12A students that would have signed the album.
