Uncategorized - Identifinders International, LLC

Who Am I? What is My Name? Part VI – Our Search for Gertrude Spiro

By Austin Bethell|2023-01-12T23:44:11-08:00January 2nd, 2015|

Gertrude Spiro and Charlotte Rebhun, circa 1942. Gertrude Spiro must have been well-connected. She was the proprietor of a liquor and cigarette shop at 2 Nowiniarksa St. in Warsaw in 1941-1942. The shop undoubtedly generated a lot of income for whoever owned it; liquor and cigarettes are two of the most in-demand commodities during wartime. Moreover, Gertrude's shop was the only cigarette shop in Warsaw, and it also sold liquor. In her position she must have had many friends and many enemies. Gertrude Piss-Spiro and her daughter Sonia were arrested in Warsaw and put into Pawiak Prison in 1943. They are listed among 141 women on a prison [...]

Who Am I? What is My Name? Part V – Gertrude and Sonia’s Escape

By Austin Bethell|2022-07-06T01:27:48-07:00March 7th, 2014|

Pawiak Prison Gertrude and Sonia Preiss-Spiro's names are listed on the transport to Auschwitz of 141 women from Pawiak prison in Warsaw on 24 August 1943. Pawiak prison was originally used by the Polish judicial to incarcerate criminals, but after the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, it was converted into a Berman Gestapo prison. Approximately 100,000 men and 200,000 women passed through the prison, mostly members of the Armia Krajowa, political prisoners and civilians taken as hostages in street round-ups. An estimate 37, 000 were executed and 60,000 sent to German death and concentration camps. There were few known escape attempts. Even if Gertrude survived Auschwitz, she would [...]

Who Am I? What is My Name? Part IV – Wolfgang and Adele’s Eyewitness Account

By Austin Bethell|2022-07-06T01:24:59-07:00October 26th, 2013|

Margarete & Emil Schoessow Family (c 1922). Left to right: Erna, Herbert, Margarete (mother), Margarete (daughter), Charlotte. Emil was killed in 1917 during World War I. Charlotte Schössow Rebhun was the oldest of four children of Emil and Margarete Schössow from Berlin. Charlotte, like her friend Gertrude Spiro, was a Christian woman who had married a Jew. Charlotte's husband Max Rebhun had moved from Poland to Germany and settled in Berlin, probably right after WWI. Max was arrested on Kristalnacht in 1938, and sent to Poland. His wife Charlotte followed him in 1939 with their two children Wolfgang and Adele, where, after the outbreak of the War, the family lived in the Warsaw Ghetto. On August 20, 1942, [...]

Who Am I, What is My Name? Part III – Gertrude and Sonia Spyra

By Austin Bethell|2022-07-06T09:23:41-07:00October 17th, 2013|

Gertrude Spiro and Charlotte Rebhun, Warsaw, c 1942 A mystery within the mystery of Pnina's identity is the fate of Gertrude Spyra and her daughter Sonia. As the parties responsible for smuggling Pnina from the Warsaw Ghetto, Gertrude and Sonia may have left behind clues about Pnina's parents. Perhaps the Spyras wrote letters to their family members, as did their friend Charlotte Rebhun. Perhaps a co-worker overheard something they said about how they saved a baby during the last days before the Ghetto Uprising. According to "the story", Pnina's parents approached a German soldier about smuggling their daughter out of the Warsaw Ghetto in late 1942-early 1943. The soldier [...]

Benjaman Kyle – Close Calls, Conclusion?

By Austin Bethell|2010-12-30T13:26:11-08:00December 30th, 2010|

All anyone knew about him was that he was born Robert Lee King in March 1949. To find Jennie King's remaining son was going to be tough with so little information to go on. Benjaman Kyle claims his birthdate is August 29, 1948 because he remembers that he was born exactly ten years before Michael Jackson. But memory is a funny thing. Carl Litel, Jennie's second known son, was adopted the day he was born, February 5, 1946. Jennie held him only once before he was taken away. Carl's adoptive parents Joseph and Cecelia Litel provided a wonderful home for Carl and his adopted brother James. The couple also had two natural [...]

Benjaman Kyle – Close Calls, Part III

By Austin Bethell|2010-12-23T01:34:52-08:00December 23rd, 2010|

From 1938 through 1953, Jennie Lee King gave birth to four boys, putting the older three up for adoption or in foster homes. She was born Barnett Rudio in Louisville, KY on December 20, 1918 the daughter of Wallace Rudio and Lillian Barbara Winkler. Jennie may have been born out of wedlock as, soon after she was born, Lillian married Walter L. King who supposedly adopted her and renamed her Jennie Lee King. Jennie moved with her family to Indianapolis, IN in the 1920s. Soon after graduating from Technical High School, she became pregnant and gave birth to her oldest son Michael Lee King on March 23, 1938 at St. [...]

Benjaman Kyle – Close Calls, Part II

By Austin Bethell|2010-12-14T13:24:36-08:00December 14th, 2010|

Since I have been involved in trying to identify the amnesiac Benjaman Kyle, I've seen many leads come in, ranging from the casual to the very serious. Many people have contacted me that they are related to Powells or Davidsons (or both). Many people have written to direct me to websites describing missing persons who they believe might be Benjaman. Many others have sent in pictures of their relatives, friends and acquaintances who they believe resemble Benjaman, in a sincere desire to assist in his identification. One example of a Benjaman look-alike is this picture sent to me by Mary Beth Pierson who believed her former neighbor resembled him. I agreed, although the neighbor had been a pilot [...]

Benjaman Kyle – Close Calls, Part I

By Austin Bethell|2010-12-12T02:00:05-08:00December 12th, 2010|

Hi Colleen: I read the article about you in the June 2010 issue of More Magazine, and am curious about one thing. Are you the same person who competed on Wheel of Fortune in 1991? If so, I was one of your competitors. Just curious! Margot Theresa Cox In fact, I was on Wheel of Fortune in 1991. (I lost. I was the third contestant in line, and the other two women, including Margot, mopped up on the puzzles before I could get a letter in edgewise.) When I wrote her back, identifying myself as her competitor, Margot answered: When I got your response I had to [...]

Benjaman's 23 and Me Matches

By Austin Bethell|2010-12-09T22:36:13-08:00December 9th, 2010|

Benjaman Kyle is the adopted name of an amnesiac who was found near Savannah, GA in August 2004. (See his Wikipedia page for more details.) Since recovering from a severe beating that left him unconscious, he cannot remember who he is. Benjaman took a 23andMe autosomal DNA test earlier this year, hoping to discover close relatives, or at least possible names in his family and the geographical locations where they could be found. As of December 9, 2010, Benjaman's list of 23andMe matches includes a total of 411 matches ranging from 3rd to 10th cousins. Benjaman's top 23andMe match is a third cousin named Thomas Perry whose family has lived in the area around Saluda, [...]

Jeni's Family Reunion

By Austin Bethell|2010-08-13T01:26:51-07:00August 13th, 2010|

Jeni Reed was raised by her maternal grandmother and knew almost nothing about her dad Thomas McKay. Yet we were able to find him! I surprised Jeni with the news on June 16. To add to the excitement, we discovered that Jeni has three sisters and a brother she had never met, plus a new aunt and two new uncles. She was in shock when she contacted her dad. He was delighted to hear from her! In July, Jeni got to meet many family members for the first time. As she describes the reunion: Well, the big meeting was this past weekend and it was so fun. I met my dad, one sister and [...]

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