Noteworthy Brazilian Ostrowiec descendants

Brazil

Noteworthy Brazilian Ostrowiec Descendants

Complete data is unavailable to accurately define the number of Jews who emigrated from Poland to Brazil. Estimates are that in 1938 there were almost 20,000 Polish Jews, most of whom were divided between Rio and São Paulo.  Many of these Jews came from or were descendants  of Ostrowiec.

Some noteworthy Ostrowiec residents and descendants emigrated/living in Brazil are:

Minc3
Moysés na sua sala na VIDECOM

Carlos Minc Baumfeld  (1951~)- former Minister of the Environment. Minc is grandson of Isidoro Baumfeld, of Ostrowiec. He usually signs his demonstrations with "Eco-Socialist and Libertarian Greetings", proud of his role in the Ministry of the Environment fighting deforestation in the Amazon. He is currently State Representative for Rio de Janeiro. As a member of the Green Party, he never lost an election.

Moysés Baumstein (1931~1991) -from São Paulo, son of Ezechiel and grandson of Abraham Baumstein, from Ostrowiec, was an economist and sociologist with an important role in other fields: in the publishing sector (Perspective and Symbol publishing houses), in the visual arts (participating in Biennials and exhibitions), in Super 8 cinema and video. But he had greater prominence in holography, as one of the most important creators and directors in this field in Brazil.

Geiger

Anna Bella Geiger - Sculptor, painter, engraver, draftsman, intermedia artist and teacher. Her parents lived in Ostrowiec. At 84, she is one of the most recognized Brazilian artists in the world. In April 2017, the Razem Pamoja Foundation of Cracow organized the first exhibition of Anna Bella Geiger in Poland. Her father was a handbag craftsman for women. She still have some of the bags, depicted at the Cracow exhibition.

Goldberg

Jacob Pinheiro Goldberg (1933~), renowned psychologist and lawyer, born in 1933 in Juiz de Fora - MG. In the poetry of Goldberg, personal experiences give way to curiosity for the land of his ancestors. Ostrowiec sometimes appears as a magical city. Jacob published the book The Magic of Exile / Magic wygnania, translated from Polish by Prof. Henryk Siewierski, University of Brasilia – UnB.

Niskier

 

Arnaldo Niskier (1935~)- former president of the prestigious Brazilian Literature Academy, where he occupies Chair # 18, the so called "Immortals."  His father Mordko Majer Niskier immigrated from Ostrowiec in the 1920s. Arnaldo was Education Secretary of Rio de Janeiro State and also the first Secretary of Science and Technology also of Rio de Janeiro State.

Ostrowiecki

Israel Menachim Ostrowiecki (1947~2003) -  Founder of Multilaser.  His parents Sabja and Rachele emigrated from Ostrowiec to Brazil.  After a diving accident, Israel's son Alexander took the helm of the company, turning it into  a multi-billion dollar electronics company.

Wagner 2

Jaques Wagner  (1951~)- Politician, was Federal Deputy and Minister of Defense. His father left Ostrowiec shortly before the invasion of Poland, only obtaining a visa for Trinidad & Tobago, where he spent the war interned.

Source: From Shtetl to the Tropics: The Relevant Contribution of Polish Jewish Immigration to Brazil by Israel Blajberg with credit to Alberto Baumstein for additional information on this page.