Beller Family Ancestors-Jewish Faith
Written by Robert Beller on 19/8/2002
I was interested in Mr. Kalman Beller's mentioning of Ilex Beller. Ilex (Originally Chaim, I believe)
is a cousin of my late father Aron Jehuda Beller. My father immigrated to New York in 1941 from
Portugal, having left Vienna in 1938. He was born in 1907 in Krczeszowice,Galicia, Poland to
Reisa
(Gross) and Simon Beller. Simon Beller, was born in 1885
in Grodzisko, Galicia to Rivkah (Orbach) and Elimelech Beller. Elimelech Beller was a native of
Grodzisko and was the son of Aron Jehuda Beller who is the patriarch of our branch of the
family. Other members of this branch of our family include the children of the late Dr. Aron
Beller of Jerusalem; Lotte (Beller)and the late Bela Horovitz and their descendants in London,
England; the descendants of Isi (Irving) and Johanna Beller of New York; the descendants of Jana
(Beller) and Jacques Schupf
of New York and many cousins in USA, UK, Israel, Belgium and France. Lotte, Isi and Jana are
siblings of my father Aron. Incidentally, a painting and accompanying text in Ilex Beller's book on
Grodzisko actually illustrates the village wedding of my great Aunt Laura (Leiche)Beller Barer.
She was the sister of my Grandfather and the only other member of that generation to survive
the war (as far as I know). Her husband returned to Poland in 1938 from Vienna with their oldest
son Yechiel, a great Talmudist and Rosh Yeshiva in Poland, and they both perished. My Great
Aunt made her way to Marocco with her other children. After the war she settled in New York as
did her son Aron
and daughter Adele; their other brother Edmund settled in France, where he worked for Coty
perfumes.
The Bellers in Galicia were Hasidim; I believe in Grodzisko they may have been Shinover
Hasidim. In Krczescowice, where my father was born, his family were Belzer hasidim.
During the WW I years our branch of the family were sepatated from Grandfather and moved
between Vienna and Poland. After the the war they were reunited and settled in Amsterdam
and later in Vienna. While no longer living strictly within the hasidic community, my grandfather
continued to support various hasidic rebbes and even in
New York was a benefactor to the family of the Belzer.
I would be interested in any information about the Grodzisko Bellers that anyone can provide.