Where are our roots

Searching for the origins of the name Rhenisch, we came across a first mention of the name in the history of Wrocław City Preachers. In the further course of our search process we found David Rhenisch the Elder 1536-1585. He was the eldest son of the baker (Becker) Mathes Rhenisch 1480-1568 and his wife Anne. Then found another David Rhenisch 1572-1634 and David 1603-1624 the Younger. The funeral sermon intended for him is shown on the left. They were all Protestant preachers and followers of Martin Luther. It is remarkable that - as far as possible and traceable - the center of life of our branch was the Rhenisch Breslau-Neustadt-Brieg in Silesia. Like Mathes Rhenisch, there was also a great-great-great-great grandfather of ours, headmaster of the baker's and confectioner's guild in Brieg, as there was always a baker in the family, most recently Fritz Rhenisch, Burckhard's father. There are academically educated Rhenish in Germany and in North America today, and it is possible that this branch of the Rhenish, the line of David, continued in the 16th century. It is also conceivable that other descendants found the craft profession better than that of an academic. On the other hand, a look at the presumed great-great-great-great-ancestor Mathes Rhenisch is not absurd.

These are all speculations, of course! Some relatives of the name have already disputed the possible family relationships or have rejected them by far. Thus, only a DNA test could provide additional information. Nobody thinks that this makes sense and is also afraid of the costs. So, we are content with the fact that the name Rhenish has existed for over 500 years and is still rare.

In the order of priority, names appearing in Germany - according to a research "www.myheritage.com" - the frequency of the name Rhenish ranks at 14984 places.

Genealogy operated in the so-called "Third Reich" by all families who - regarding purity of the breed - had to show their pedigree.

This Aryan proof was the key for the rise, the advancement or the fall in the National Socialist society. Heinz Rhenisch, my father's brother, had started to complete the remaining fragments of his genealogical research in 1955 after his return from what was then still a Soviet prisoner of war. He had given it to me shortly before his death in the expectation that I would carry it on. There remained fragments, which unfortunately I picked up again late and now tried to create a family tree using "www.myheritage.de". Meanwhile, important contemporary witnesses had long since died, whom I could have asked and who possibly could also have handed over documents, photos or memories. So, it stays with the meager leftovers. Even so, he still documents a little of family history.

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This is followed by a political map with the coat of arms of Silesia, as it still belonged to the German Empire and was structured before 1945, with the original German and now Polish place or district names.