In this section, I will put items that contain personal information about myself or my family, past and present.  As I have indicated before, I start with several of the oldest relics in the history of my family on my father's side. They include two pictures taken between 1904 and 1907, I believe. The man with the moustache is Aaron Trebitsch, one of my father's brothers, the one for whom I am named.  He is standing, as can be plainly seen, in chains and does not seem to give a damn about that fact. The location is somewhere in White Russia in the province of Mogilov. The other fellow is Mota Gorodetsky. He is the one who apparently arranged to have the photographer, S. Deanena, come to the local jail and take the pictures. Mota wrote on the back of his picture: "For a remembrance (or souvenir) to comrade A.T. Arrested in the year of 1904, tried (or sentenced) in 1907 the 14th of June to 8 years 'hard labor.' "

I do not know the crime for which they were convicted and sentenced. My cousin Milton once told me that these two young revolutionaries attempted to shoot the governor of the province but missed. If true I assume that they could be considered political prisoners by some standards.

I do know that Aaron was later sent to Siberia like so many Russians before and since his time. According to my father, Morris, it turned out, surpisingly enough, that he liked Siberia. As a young Jewish boy in a rigid society his contacts with ordinary Russians were limited and he spoke mainly Yiddish. While in Siberia he met many intellectuals who had been sent there for political crimes and as a result his education was greatly improved. Apparently he met his future wife there, married, and went into the fur business among other occupations.

Aaron stayed in Siberia for some time beyond his sentence. The letter, set out in the original Russian and in an English translation, is the oldest letter in my family's archives to my knowledge. It is an ordinary communication about family matters but also contains some comments about historic events.

I would be appreciative of any further information about these photos and the letter that kind visitors to this site might be able to provide. My information is mainly based on family memories. I hope that no one comes up with evidence that Aaron and Mota were horse thieves.