Greetings,
I am researching my paternal grandparents and have hit a roadblock and wanted to see if anyone could provide advice/tips on how best to move forward. My grandparents came to the US via NYC in 1951 as displaced persons from Germany so we do not have very much information on their birthplace, etc.
Details:
Iwan Olijnyk (John Olejnik) b. July 5, 1923 possibly in Zawysznia near Sokal and the Bug River in Ukraine/Poland; died May 26, 2009 in New Jersey
Married Mary Opeida (also spelled Maria Opejda) from Lublin, Poland in Germany (possibly Osterode am Harz) in 1945. My father Peter was born there in 1949 and his sister Lubha in 1946. The story is that Iwan and Mary both taken from Poland to a work camp in Germany which is where they met.
I do not have a birth certificate or any other information. From research on the web Iwan was linked to another family, the Chmara's who were his cousins (there's an Iwan Chmara). That information says his mother was Rushka Chmara and father Paul Olijnyk, with sister Hannah and brother Joseph who died in a butter factory bombing.
Do you have any advice on the best steps for me to take to get more information on Iwan and Mary? I contacted the Lublin, Poland archives but they don't have any information on that family.
Thank you.
