POST 111: TRACES OF MY GREAT-UNCLE ROBERT SAMUEL BRUCK

 

 “And somewhere between the time you arrive

And the time you go

May lie a reason you were alive

That you’ll never know”

 

In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone

 

Words from “For a Dancer” by Jackson Browne

 

Note: This post is about my great-uncle Robert Samuel Bruck, one of the younger brothers of my grandfather Felix Bruck; he died at sixteen years of age. Not surprisingly, little is known about him, though mention on one family tree suggests he suffered from a mental disability.

 

Related Posts:

POST 44: A TROVE OF FAMILY HISTORY FROM THE “PINKUS COLLECTION” AT THE LEO BAECK INSTITUTE

POST 99: THE ASTONISHING DISCOVERY OF SOME OF DR. WALTER WOLFGANG BRUCK’S PERSONAL EFFECTS

 

My paternal grandfather, Felix Bruck (1864-1927) (Figure 1), whom I never knew, had seven siblings. These were the eight children of my great-grandparents, Fedor Bruck (1834-1892) (Figure 2) and Friederike Bruck née Mockrauer (1836-1924). (Figure 3) Because my father almost never spoke about his family, I was able to figure out all the names only after scrolling through one of the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Jewish Microfilms (LDS Microfilm Roll 1184449) for the town where all were born, Ratibor, Germany [today: Racibórz, Poland]. Here I found the birth register listings for my grandfather and only six of his seven siblings. I knew of the seventh because my father used to refer to her somewhat derisively in French as “la Communiste,” because she was a high-ranking member of East Germany’s post-WWII Communist government. In time I came to learn her name was Elisabeth “Elsbeth” Bruck. (Figure 4)

 

Figure 1. My grandfather Felix Bruck (1864-1927)

 

Figure 2. My great-grandfather Fedor Bruck (1834-1892)
Figure 3. My great-grandmother Friederike Bruck née Mockrauer (1836-1924)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. My great-aunt Elisabeth “Elsbeth” Bruck (1874-1970) in Berlin on March 15, 1967

 

Because of events surrounding what is called the Kulturkampf, vital records such as births, marriages, and deaths, that used to be maintained and recorded by the various religious denominations, came to be registered as civil events. The Kulturkampf was a conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 (dates vary) between the government of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastical appointments. Because of the Kulturkampf Elsbeth Bruck’s birth which occurred in 1874 was entered into the civil records and found at the Archiwum Państwowe W Katowicach Oddzial W Raciborzu (“State Archives in Katowice Branch in Racibórz”) rather than among the Jewish vital records. (Figure 5)

 

Figure 5. My great-aunt Elisabeth “Elsbeth” Bruck 1874 birth certificate found among Ratibor’s civil records at the “State Archives in Katowice Branch in Racibórz”

 

 

Regardless, after discovering the names of my grandfather’s siblings, naturally, I became curious what had happened to them. I quickly learned that in addition to my grandfather, five of his siblings had survived to adulthood, and been productive or accomplished members of society. The two siblings whose fate I was initially unable to uncover were Elise Bruck (born 1868) and Robert Samuel Bruck (born 1871). (Figure 6) Then, as I discussed in Post 44, I uncovered a family tree in the “Pinkus Family Collection,” archived and available online through the Leo Baeck Institute, that provided the death dates for these two ancestors. (Figure 7) Elise Bruck died at less than four years of age of unknown causes, while Robert Samuel Bruck died in Braunschweig, Germany, otherwise known as Brunswick, Germany, in 1887, also for untold reasons.

 

Figure 6. Birth register listing for my great-uncle Robert Samuel Bruck from LDS Microfilm 1184449, recording Jewish births in Ratibor, indicating he was born there on the 1st of September 1871

 

Figure 7. Page from the Pinkus Family Collection showing Fedor and Friederike Bruck’s eight children, including birth and death dates for my great-aunt Elise and my great-uncle Robert

 

Figure 8. My friend Peter Hanke, the “Wizard of Wolfsburg,” in May 2020 with his grandson Tom

Following publication of Post 44, my friend Peter Hanke (Figure 8) offered to help me learn more about Robert Samuel Bruck. I affectionately dub Peter the “Wizard of Wolfsburg” because of his genealogical prowess and the fact he once worked at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. In reading Post 44, Peter noticed that Robert had passed away in Braunschweig (Brunswick), which just so happens to be only 20 miles southwest of Wolfsburg near where he lives. (Figure 9) By contrast, Braunschweig is 444 miles west-northwest of Ratibor, (Figure 10) where Robert was born. It is a persistent mystery why Robert died so far from home. Naturally, I accepted Peter’s gracious offer to learn what might have happened to Robert; given that he was a teenager when he prematurely died, I thought he might have suffered an accident while serving as an apprentice in some unknown specialty.

 

Figure 9. Map showing the distance from Wolfsburg, Germany, near where Peter Hanke lives, to Braunschweig (Brunswick), where my great-uncle Robert Samuel Bruck died in 1887

 

Figure 10. Map showing the distance from Braunschweig, Germany to Ratibor where my great-uncle Robert Samuel Bruck was born in 1871

 

Peter submitted an inquiry to the Staatsarchiv Wolfenbüttel, the State Archive in Wolfenbüttel, eight miles south of Braunschweig (Brunswick), which forwarded the request to the Stadtarchiv Braunschweig, the City Archive in Braunschweig. Ultimately, despite Peter’s efforts, the archive was unable to uncover any evidence that Robert either lived or died in Braunschweig. Thus, without Robert’s death certificate his cause of death remains a mystery.

Naturally, I assumed this would be the last I would learn of my distant ancestor. And this is mostly true. However, among the personal papers from my esteemed ancestor, Dr. Walter Wolfgang Bruck (1872-1937), given to me by Dr, Tilo Wahl, which I discussed in Post 99, is another family tree. Amazingly, in capitalized letters is written “ROBERT IDIOT.” (Figure 11) Setting aside the obviously inappropriately crass and vulgar reference to a person with a disability, it strongly implies Robert suffered a mental or possibly physical impairment that dramatically shortened his life. What this may have been remains unknown. Also, why he wound up in Braunschweig can only be guessed at, but possibly he was sent to a sanatorium there for medical treatment of a chronic illness.

 

Figure 11. Family tree found among Dr. Walter Bruck’s personal papers mentioning Robert Bruck

 

Given the many accomplished and interesting characters that populate my family tree, I feel compelled at times to remember the less fortunate ones who were unable to lead normal lives or achieve greatness. Which naturally gives rise to questions of one’s mortality or the reason we’re born. So perhaps this post says more about me than it does about Robert Samuel Bruck?

 

 

BIRTH & DEATH DATES FOR FEDOR & FRIEDERIKE BRUCK’S EIGHT CHILDREN

  

NAME EVENT DATE PLACE
Felix Bruck Birth 28 March 1864

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 23 June 1927 Berlin, Germany
Charlotte Mockrauer, née Bruck Birth 8 December 1865

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 1965 Stockholm, Sweden
Franziska Bruck Birth 29 December 1866

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 2 January 1942 Berlin, Germany
Elise Bruck Birth 20 August 1868

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 19 June 1872 Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Hedwig Löwenstein, née Bruck Birth 22 March 1870

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 15 January 1949 Nice, France
Robert Samuel Bruck Birth 1 December 1871 Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 30 December 1887

 

Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany
Wilhelm Bruck Birth 24 October 1872

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 29 April 1952 Barcelona, Spain
Elsbeth Bruck Birth 17 November 1874

 

Ratibor, Germany (today: Racibórz, Poland)
Death 20 February 1970 Berlin, Germany

 

4 thoughts on “POST 111: TRACES OF MY GREAT-UNCLE ROBERT SAMUEL BRUCK”

  1. Hi Rich,
    I always try to find some humor in bad situations. Your last comment about the reason for life
    brought me back to what I love “American Musical Theater” ie Broadway “Little Shop of Horrors
    Seymour had such a question:
    [SEYMOUR]
    Poor! All my life I’ve always been poor.
    I keep asking God what I’m for,
    and he tells me “Gee, I’m not sure
    sweep that floor, kid.”
    Oh, I started life as an orphan,
    a child of the street
    Here on skid row.
    He took me in, gave me shelter, a bed,
    Crust of bread and a job
    Treats me like dirt, calls me a slob,
    Which I am.
    So I live

    1. Hi Phil,

      Family research has an inevitable way of drawing us to this question and finds us quoting people who have more articulately framed it. Death just has a way of leveling the playing field, so to speak.

      Stay well,

      Richard

  2. Richard, hope all is well, as always I read your blog, mesmerized at all the stories involving our ancestors.
    Keep up the great work, receive a virtual hug from your relative in the Caribbean.
    Till Brauer Mongil

    1. Greetings Til,

      Indeed, our extended family provides for an endless number of fascinating and, often, sad tales. Given the divided state of the world these days, I hope our descendants won’t be relating equally tragic stories in the future.

      Richard

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