Sima Berman Research Repo

This repository is the main tracking hub for the genealogy research into the birth family of Sima Berman.

Main Goal

Identify the birth family of:

• Sima Berman
• later official surname: Krakowski
• possible earlier surname:
  • Buxenbaum
  • Buxenboim
  • Nussbaum

Current research focus:

• reconstruct the original family from Kovel / Kowel / Volhynia
• resolve the surname contradiction between Krakowski and Buxenbaum/Nussbaum
• identify siblings and surviving branches
• locate official pre-immigration records from 1935

Current Status

The strongest current findings are:

• official marriage record in Palestine identifies:
  • Sima Krakowski
  • father: Yitzhak-Meir Krakowski
  • mother: Malka
• family evidence strongly supports:
  • Sima Berman (née Buxenbaum)
  • born 24 Dec 1912
  • born in Kovel
  • father: Yerucham Meir Buxenbaum
  • siblings:
    • Frida
    • Sonia
    • Sara
    • Chaim
• JHI has already replied once:
  • no passport found in the first pass
  • a second check is now in progress using Kovel / Kowel as the place-of-birth anchor
• internal Yad Vashem searching has identified a real Boksenbojm family branch in Kowel, but it is not yet proven to be Sima's immediate household

Start Here

If you read only one file after this README, start with:

• RESEARCH_LOG.md

This is the master research log and includes:

• numbered searches
• findings
• dead ends
• archive outreach
• current working hypotheses

Repository Structure

Core research log

• RESEARCH_LOG.md
  • full chronological research log
  • search index
  • evidence summaries
  • outreach history

Action plans and outbound requests

• ARCHIVE_ACTION_PLAN.md

  • archive-by-archive strategy
  • what to ask each archive
  • what result would resolve the surname contradiction

• ARCHIVE_SUBMISSIONS_READY.md

  • ready-to-send archive submissions
  • JRI, JHI, Kovel, Dukla/Zmigrod

• READY_TO_SEND_EMAILS.md

  • the actual email drafts used for outreach

Tracking and operational files

• RESEARCH_TRACKER.md

  • who was contacted
  • when
  • current status
  • follow-up schedule
  • reply log

• HOW_TO_CONTINUE_THIS_RESEARCH.md

  • restart guide for continuing the case later

• HOW_TO_CONTINUE_THIS_RESEARCH.txt

  • text version of the continuation guide

• TODO_ROADMAP.md

  • high-level summary of what was already done
  • open problems
  • practical roadmap for the next year

• FINDINGS_OVERVIEW.md

  • one-page consolidated findings table
  • dates, status, relevance, and links to deeper documentation

Summary / sharing documents

• SIMA_BERMAN_FAMILY_SHARE.md

  • short family-share version in English

• SIMA_BERMAN_FAMILY_SHARE_HE.md

  • short family-share version in Hebrew

• SIMA_PRE_IMMIGRATION_IDENTITY.md

  • focused summary of Sima's identity before immigration

Key Working Problems

1. Surname contradiction

Official records support:

• Krakowski

Family-memory and other evidence support:

• Buxenbaum
• Buxenboim
• Nussbaum

The central unresolved question is:

Did the same woman and family move between these surname lines before immigration?

2. Missing immediate family records

Still not proven directly in records:

• Frida
• Sonia
• Sara
• Chaim
• direct household of Yerucham Meir Buxenbaum

3. Kovel Boksenbojm cluster

The internal Yad Vashem interface surfaced a confirmed Boksenbojm branch in Kowel, including:

• Pinchas Boksenbojm
• Rachel Boksenbojm
• Alter Boksenbojm (1881)
• older Alter Boksenbojm (c.1858)

This is important because:

• it proves a real surname branch in Kowel
• it may represent the wider family network
• but it is not yet proven as Sima's immediate household

Latest Archive Activity

Sent outreach includes:

• Mount Sinai Memorial Parks
  • info@mountsinaiparks.org
• Jewish Historical Institute
  • familyheritage@jhi.pl
  • archiwum@jhi.pl
• JRI-Poland
  • via official contact form

Important current thread:

• JHI completed a second recheck and did not find Sima's passport in their holdings
• JRI-Poland acknowledged the inquiry and a substantive help-desk reply is still pending

Contacted Archives and Websites

Main archive contacts already used

• Mount Sinai Memorial Parks

  • website: https://mountsinaiparks.org/
  • contact page: https://mountsinaiparks.org/contact-us/
  • email: info@mountsinaiparks.org

• Jewish Historical Institute (JHI / ŻIH)

  • website: https://www.jhi.pl/en
  • genealogy contact page: https://www.jhi.pl/en/genealogy/contact-us
  • general contact page: https://www.jhi.pl/en/contact
  • genealogy email: familyheritage@jhi.pl
  • archive email: archiwum@jhi.pl

• JRI-Poland

  • website: https://www.jri-poland.org/
  • contact form: https://www.jri-poland.org/contact-us/
  • Polish Aliyah Passports project: https://www.jri-poland.org/blog/polish-aliyah-passports/
  • passport search page: https://www.jri-poland.org/jri-polish-aliyah-passports/
  • forum thread already posted: https://forum.jri-poland.org/t/genealogy-inquiry-buxenbaum-family-poland-1935-immigration/22104

Kovel-related outreach already used

• kovel.site@gmail.com
• mali2109@gmail.com
• shabo.pearlmuter@gmail.com
• rub@netvision.net.il
• shireshef@gmail.com
• yaki@yaym.co.il
• isr-weis@zahav.net.il
• rachelziv94@gmail.com
• navasag@gmail.com

Best Next Steps

The highest-value next steps are:

1. wait for the second JHI reply
2. process any reply from Mount Sinai
3. continue mining the internal Yad Vashem Boksenbojm cluster
4. identify submitters and surviving branches tied to:
   • Ida Wos
   • the Holon submitter / son-in-law

Repo Use

This repository should be treated as the main tracking location for the entire investigation.

Recommended workflow:

1. log every search and result in RESEARCH_LOG.md
2. log every new reply in RESEARCH_TRACKER.md
3. update the archive plan if the search direction changes
4. keep family-facing summaries separate from the detailed research log

GitHub Pages

This repository now includes a lightweight GitHub Pages site based on the repository documentation.

Expected publish URL

• https://shay-berman.github.io/sima/

Files used by the site

• index.html
• docs.html
• style.css
• script.js
• .github/workflows/pages.yml

The document pages load the Markdown files from this repository directly, so updates to the .md files will appear on the site after a new deployment.

How to enable GitHub Pages in GitHub

1. Open the repository on GitHub.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Open Pages.
4. Under Build and deployment, choose GitHub Actions as the source.
5. Save if GitHub asks you to confirm the source.

After that, every push to main should trigger the Pages workflow and publish the site.

How to update the site later

1. Edit the Markdown files or the site files in the repository.
2. Commit and push to main.
3. GitHub Actions will redeploy the Pages site automatically.

If you want to change the homepage content, edit:

• README.md
• index.html

If you want to change the styling, edit:

• style.css