Israeli Prime Minister Begin's Connection to Drohobycz

 

Menachem Begin was Israel's prime minister between 1977 and 1983. As prime minister, Begin helped move Israel from a socialist government to an almost free market capitalist economy.

Menachem Begin was not from Galica, but appears in a Galician record. Menachem Begin was married to Alicya Arnold, a Drohobycz resident, in Drohobycz. Recently, Drohobycz marriage records from the year of their marriage became available. We were able to locate the record of their marriage in hopes of finding out more about her life and family in Drohobycz. Since we have ancestors from Drohobycz, we wondered if we were connected to such an important and prominent person in Jewish history. 

Drohobycz is currently in Ukraine, between World War I and World War II it was part of Poland, and before World War I it was part of the Austrian territory of Galicia. 15,313 Jews lived in Drohobycz in 1910. The city was known for the nearby oil fields.

According to the Begin Drohobycz marriage record, Menachem Begin married Alicya Arnold on 29 May 1939 in Truskawiec. Truskawiec is a small town near Drohobycz. It was a popular vacation town and must have been a popular place to get married. Alicya Arnold was born and living in Drohobycz, and was the daughter of Herman Arnold and Freida Egert. 

All record images courtesy of AGAD Archive, Warsaw, Poland.

Since Menachem Begin's wife Alicya Arnold was born in Drohobycz, according to their marriage record, we wondered how far back her family could be traced in Drohobycz and whether or not she was related to our Drohobycz relatives.

Based on the information in the Begin Arnold marriage record, we searched for Alicya Arnold's Drohobycz birth record. We found a record for the birth of Alicya Arnold in Drohobycz. According to the record she had a twin sister Leonia. Both Alicya Arnold and her twin Leonia were born in 1920 to Herman Arnold and Freida Egert. 

All record images courtesy of AGAD Archive, Warsaw, Poland.

Next, we searched for the marriage of Alicya Arnold Begin's parents Herman Arnold and Freida Egert. Their marriage record says that Herman Arnold and Freida Egert were married in Boryslaw, a town near Drohobycz. According to the record, Herman Arnold was born in Żurawno (more than 20 miles from Drohobycz) and Freida Egert was born in Boryslaw. Since Frieda Egert was born close to Drohobycz, according to this record, we decided to research her parents Josef and Lea Egert.

All record images courtesy of AGAD Archive, Warsaw, Poland.

We were able to locate the Boryslaw marriage of Josef Egert and Lea Forst, Alicya Arnold Begin's maternal grandparents. According to this record, both were born in Mościska. Mościska is more than 30 miles from Drohobycz. 

All record images courtesy of AGAD Archive, Warsaw, Poland.

After researching Menachem Begin's wife Alicya Arnold's family in Galicia, we were able to find extensive information about her ancestry but unable to connect her to our own Drohobycz family. Records show that Alicya Arnold's family was only in Drohobycz briefly. Regardless, it is exciting to find that such an important figure in Israel history was born in Drohobycz.

Image courtesy of https://www.begincenter.org.il

All record images courtesy of AGAD Archive, Warsaw, Poland.

Jacobson and Jacobson Genealogy Researchers  https://www.bocafengshui.com/genealogy.html expert Jewish Galician Genealogy Researchers.