[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Polish seaports

[Robin]

 My German ggrandparents left Polish/Russia from around Lublin. My
ggrandfather (who I believe must have received a visa- though I haven't
proved it yet), left from Rotterdam to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then took the
Canadian Railway to Michigan.
  My ggrandmother left the same area a couple of months later with her five
children (and pregnant). She could not get a visa from the government, so
(according to my Uncle Bill) they made their way to Vienna on foot or
hitching rides after sneaking across the border into Austria-Hungary.  They
then took the train from Vienna to Bremen, the ship took them to
Philadelphia where they took a train to Michigan.  This was in 1910
  The reason I think my ggrandfather had a visa is that he left from
Rotterdam.  You have to remember the political situation before WWI.  Russia
and Germany were not on good terms.  Russia, Britain, and France were
aligned against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.  Russia may not have
readily granted visas to leave Polish Russia to enter German territory.
However, Holland and Russia were on friendly terms.

 Robin D. Dombrowsky
Sommerfeld/Jeske