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This is my page on the Mautner surname.

Belz, L’viv, Ukraine: 1830s to 1900s
London, UK: 1900-1940

There were many Mautners still living in Belz at the start of WWII. All the Jews in Belz were eventually sent to Hrubiezsow ghetto, and most of the Jews in Hrubiezsow were murdered at Sobibor.

Generations, oldest to newest:

1. Moische and Fridya Mautner were from Belz, probably born around 1830. I know almost nothing about them other than the names.

2. There were three children: Betty Mautner who married a Mr. Holzman and had children; Isak Mautner who married a Mercedes and had children; and Ruchel Mautner who married David Zwerling. Ruchel was born around 1878 but her brother and sister are thought to have been much older. Perhaps there were more siblings in between.

3. David and Ruchel’s son Pinkus used the name Mautner until middle age. Pinkus Mautner was born in Belz in 1899. According to family lore, he didn’t move to join his family until after WWI and was raised by his grandparents before that. We don’t know why he was raised by his grandparents. He changed his name to Paul Swerling in the late 1930s.



In the JewishGen Galicia vital records index, there is a Ruchel Mautner born in 1879 in Kolomyya. But Kolomyya is not very close to Belz, so my initial guess is that this is not the right person.

There is a ship manifest record for a Ruchel Mautner going to London in 1904 with two daughters of the right age, but with different names. I guess this is the right person, but I am not sure. They probably Anglicized their names after moving. I don’t know why David and Ruchel were not together on the ship; David returned from Belz to London later in 1904. Anyway, Belz is a small town (no more than 5000 Jews in 1900) so it seems unlikely that there were many Ruchel Mautners.

An Isak Mautner of Belz was murdered in the Holocaust. He was born around 1880 and married Genane Podhorez. This doesn’t agree with the family lore that Isak Mautner married someone named Mercedes, but it could still be the same guy. This Isak was the son of Moshe and Feige.

Stir the pot!


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