George Zechanowitsch papers, 1867-1994

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Summary

Creators:
Zechanowitsch, George, 1918-1994
Abstract:
Identification, school, military, and legal documents, as well as photographs, relating to Russian Γ©migrΓ© life in Poland and Germany, and to displaced persons following World War II. Includes documents of other family members of George Zechanowitsch, primarily relating to pre-Revolutionary Russia and inter-war Vilnius.
Extent:
1 manuscript box (0.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
Russian, Polish, German, English, and Lithuanian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], George Zechanowitsch papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of George Zechanowitsch include identification, school, military, and legal documents relating to Russian Γ©migrΓ© life in Vilnius in the inter-war years, Austria during WWII, and to displaced persons following the war. Included are photographs; identification, military or Russian Imperial government service records; Russian Orthodox birth and death records; and property documents of other family members. The collection reflects the legal circumstances of an upper class man, of multi-ethnic heritage, coming of age in shifting geopolitical circumstances.

In addition to the materials documenting George Zechanowitsch's life in Petrograd, Vilnius and Austria in the first half of the 20th century, there are materials of his ancestors, mostly related to Russia and inter-war Vilnius. These are largely from his maternal grandmother, Anna Savitskaia (Анна Бавицкая, Anna Sawicka, Ona Savickiene), nΓ©e Geisler (ГСйслСр, Geysler, HΓ€usler) and her family. There are a few documents relating to his mother, Olga Alekseevna Savitskaia (Ольга АлСксССвна Бавицкая), and father, Peter Stanislaus Ciechanowicz (Petr Stanislav Adolfovich Tsekhanovich, ΠŸΠ΅Ρ‚Ρ€ Бтанислав ΠΠ΄ΠΎΠ»ΡŒΡ„ΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ‡ Π¦Π΅Ρ…Π°Π½ΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ‡).

The names appearing in the other family documents and photographs include: Egor Geisler (EΠ³ΠΎΡ€ ГСйслСр), Aleksei Iakovlevich Savitskii (АлСксСй Π―ΠΊΠΎΠ²Π»Π΅Π²ΠΈΡ‡ Π‘Π°Π²ΠΈΡ†ΠΊΠΈΠΉ), Mikhail Georgievich Geisler (ΠœΠΈΡ…Π°ΠΈΠ» Π“Π΅ΠΎΡ€Π³ΠΈΠ΅Π²ΠΈΡ‡ ГСйслСр), Vladimir Savitskii (Π’Π»Π°Π΄ΠΈΠΌΠΈΡ€ Π‘Π°Π²ΠΈΡ†ΠΊΠΈΠΉ), Zinaida Savitskaia (Π—ΠΈΠ½Π°ΠΈΠ΄Π° Бавицкая), and Boris Bliss.

The exact connection of each family member to George Zechanowitsch can be found in a 24-page biography, located in the first folder, which was written by his wife, Aimi Zechanowitsch. Her order of, and titles for, the materials have been maintained for the most part.

Biographical / historical:

George Zechanowitsch (Georgii Stanislavovich TSekhanovich, Π“Π΅ΠΎΡ€Π³ΠΈΠΉ Бтаниславович Π¦Π΅Ρ…Π°Π½ΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ‡, Georgij Ciechanowicz, Jurgis Ciechanovic), a Russian Γ©migrΓ© in Poland, Austria, and subsequently Canada, was born in Petrograd in 1918 into a Polish-Russian family. His father, Peter Stanislaus Ciechanowicz, served in the Imperial Russian army and then later General Pilsudki's forces. He owned an estate in Piaski, near Lublin, and died in Auschwitz in 1941 without ever having met his only son.

His mother, Olga Sawicki (Savitzky), was born to a Russified Polish father, Aleksei Iakovlevich Savitskii, who has an Imperial military service record included in this collection covering the years 1885-1902. Her mother, Anna Sawicki (born Geysler/Hausler), was of Baltic German origins and the daughter of Egor Geisler, who has an Imperial service record included in this collection covering the years 1856-1869.

Zechanowitsch grew up in inter-war Vilnius, his maternal grandmother's family home, attending a Russian school there after which he attended the Polish university in Vilnius before World War II. He was raised largely by his maternal grandmother and the two of them were able to resettle in Austria after the Molotov-Ribentropp pact. His grandmother lived in Linz while Zechanowitsch was able to continue his studies in Vienna and Graz before ending up in a displaced persons (DP) camp on the American side of the Danube in Linz after the war. He emigrated to Canada in 1948.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1998.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], George Zechanowitsch papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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