Witnesses to Polish-Jewish History

72 Pages·2016·6.26 MB·English

The Stories of Holocaust
Survivors, Former Prisoners
of Nazi German Concentration
Camps and Righteous Among
the Nations
h
s
o
Witnesses
i
t
w

s
e
Poelish-Jewish
J
s

y
s-
r
hHistory
e
o
n
s
t
i
t
ls
i
o
i
W
H
P

The Stories of Holocaust
Survivors, Former Prisoners
of Nazi German Concentration
Camps and Righteous Among
the Nations
h
s
o
i
t
w

s
e
e
J
s

y
s-
r
h
e
o
n
s
t
i
t
ls
i
o
i
W
H
P
Publisher:
Fundacja Galicia Jewish Heritage Institute
Galicia Jewish Museum
ul. Dajwór 18, 31-052 Kraków
www.galiciajewishmuseum.org
Editing: Monika Stępień
Translation: Gina Kuhn-Deutscher
Development of the biographies:
Larysa Michalska
Photographs: Chris Schwarz, Jason Francisco,
Ada Kopeć-Pawlikowska, Sobiesław
Pawlikowski, archival photographs
Cooperation: Ada Kopeć-Pawlikowska,
Katarzyna Kotula, Anna Janeczko
Layout and graphic design:
Studio graficzne Papercut, www.papercut.pl
Print: Know-How
ISBN: 978-83-940542-3-6
The publication Witnesses to Polish-Jewish
This project was co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign History. The Stories of Holocaust Survivors,
Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Former Prisoners of Nazi German Concentration
Camps and Righteous Among the Nations is
available under the 3.0 Poland Attribution of
Creative Commons License. Some rights reserved
for the Fundacja Galicia Jewish Heritage
Ministry Institute, Alina Skibińska, Anna Wencel, Gina
of Foreign Aff airs
Republic of Poland Kuhn-Deutscher and Konstanty Gebert. The work
was created as part of the Cooperation in the Field
This publication expresses only the views of the author of Public Diplomacy 2016 competition. Use of the
and is not related to the official stance of the Ministry above work is permitted under the conditions that
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. appropriate information is provided about license
holders, copyright holders and the Cooperation in
Kraków 2016 the Field of Public Diplomacy 2016 competition.
Introduction
Stories of the War Years 06 Tadeusz
Anna Wencel Jakubowicz 40
Context
Lidia
Maksymowicz 44
The Extent and Aftermath
of the Holocaust in Poland12
Alina Skibińska
Maria Nowak 48
Remembering the Righteous 18
Konstanty Gebert
Witnesses to History Lech
Rościszewski 52
Emanuel
Elbinger 24
Tadeusz
Smreczyński 56
Marcel
Goldman 28
Józef Rosołowski.
Monika In memoriam 60
Goldwasser 32 Gina Kuhn-Deutscher
Biographies
Mirosława of Memory 64
Gruszczyńska 36 Anna Wencel
Anna Wencel
One of the most important elements in his-
tory education, particularly in the context
of the Second World War and the Holocaust,
are personal accounts – this statement to-
day seems indisputable, and even sounds
like a cliché. The Galicia Jewish Museum has
worked with survivors and witnesses almost
from the very beginning of its existence. We
have tried to spread their stories and dis-
seminate their message among visitors from
e
around the world. Our work with Holocaust
survivors, former prisoners of Nazi German
h
concentration camps and Polish Righteous
has taken on different forms: from exhibi-
tions, publications and educational materials
t
s based on their stories, family photographs
and documents to organising meetings at the
fr Museum with young people and adults from
Poland and abroad, giving the opportunity for
o
a direct contact and asking questions. In 2015,
approximately 10,000 people took part in such
meetings. The biographical materials and per-
e
s sonal documents collected for various projects
are extremely valuable and we have tried to
eY preserve them as much as possible, knowing
that they are the voice of a fading generation.
i

The Galicia Jewish Museum’s goal is to pre-
rr
serve traces of memory – remnants of a
world that no longer exists – but also to re-
oa
store memory and actively participate in the
revival of Jewish communities. This world in
W Poland did not disappear with the Holocaust.
t
Although Jewish life was not revived and re-
S born on such a scale as it was before the war,
Polish Jews are present. That is why we do not
6
concentrate exclusively on the Holocaust, de- dying of starvation and disease remain in the
struction and loss – we must also talk about memory of listeners forever. But they also con-
life, about duration and continuity. In this tain scenes full of hope and faith in humanity
context, survivors play an extremely impor- depicting mutual help and solidarity among
tant role – their stories are a reminder of the the prisoners.
tragedy of the Holocaust, but they themselves
are living proof of the endurance of the Jewish In particular groups of stories, we can isolate
community in Poland. many common points. Survivors most often
begin their stories by sketching a general
On the other hand, accounts of the Righteous picture of life in pre-war Poland, describing
– those who risked so much to save people who the situation and the diversity of the Jewish
were sometimes strangers – particularly en- community during this period. They speak of
rich the discourse on Polish-Jewish relations the atmosphere of the first days of the war, of
in the past and today. Of course, overexposing life under the German occupation, also indi-
the role of the Righteous would be to falsify cating to some extent the successive stages
the picture of the diverse attitudes of Polish of the implementation of German policy to-
society during the Holocaust. Saviours were wards Polish Jews – from armbands with the
a minority, and the differences in responses Star of David, to the confiscation of property
to the tragedy of Polish Jews mentioned pre- and forced labour, relocation, to imprisonment
n
viously clearly show in the stories of the Right- in the ghettos and deportation to the death o
eous and survivors. In some family stories we camps or mass executions, as well as the di- ucti
d
can see the scale of attitudes – from the mi- versity of the attitudes of ethnic Poles towards ro
nt
nority actively providing aid, to the silence of the persecution and annihilation of Jews. Sim- I
the majority, to that minority that co-operated ilar elements presented, of course, from a dif-
with the Germans in various ways. The stories ferent perspective can be found in the stories
of the Righteous also provide a picture of how of the Righteous. Of course, former prisoner
Polish society functioned under the German focus in their stories on the conditions in the
occupation: constraints and difficulties in labour and concentration camps, relations be-
everyday life (incessant inspections, rationing tween the prisoners and methods of survival;
of food), attempts to deal with the realities of they also describe their return from the camps,
the occupation and resist despite the constant attempts to find their relatives, return to nor-
threat. malcy and coping with trauma.
The stories of prisoners of German concen- One can, of course, wonder whether young
tration camps are an entrance to a totally people are properly prepared for direct meet-
different world – a descent into an abyss, to ings with witnesses to history, if the stories of
hell on earth, beyond the comprehension of the witnesses are not “a look into the abyss”
those who were not there. The terrible images which can leave deep scars on the psyche of
of people in striped uniforms, beaten, down- the audience. The story of Holocaust survivors,
trodden, hungry, forced to work beyond endur- people who survived the hell of the camps,
ance and, in the end, murdered en masse or abound in extremely gory details. Participants
7
in meeting with witnesses to history are thus vidual character and experiences of the teller.
confronted with the unimaginable: with the Some have been able to work out an outline
scale of the evil, brutality and contempt be- that they keep to consistently – their story is
yond their ability to comprehend. This issue usually ordered chronologically or themati-
should definitely not be underestimated – the cally, and they always follow this order, even
weight of these stories is difficult for an adult repeating the same wording. Others have not
to carry, much less a vulnerable teenager. We developed such a narrative – the confusion
should also not compare this with watching and directness of their statements are also
brutal films or playing computer games which very important. We must note, however, that
supposedly have “desensitised” them – this ar- behind an “arranged” narrative lie the same
The Galicia Jewish Museum has worked with survivors and witnesses almost
from the very beginning of its existence. (.…..) The biographical materials
and personal documents collected for various projects are extremely valuable
and we have tried to preserve them as much as possible, knowing that they
are the voice of a fading generation.
gument is often made, but it is fundamentally
false. Whilst watching films or playing games,
we are always aware that this is fiction, a vir-
tual world – even if they are to some extent
built on facts. We can turn off the television
or computer any time we want. Here, we sit
face-to-face with a real person who is telling
his or her personal story. About how he or she
escaped a horrific death. This sweet old lady
miraculously survived Auschwitz-Birkenau,
where she was a victim of pseudo-medical
experiments. The Germans killed almost the
entire family of this charming, elderly gentle-
man. It really happened. Not so long ago.
It is of great importance, of course, to prop-
erly prepare young people for what they are
going to hear. But the way of transmission is
also important, and this depends on the indi-
8
things as in a “chaotic” one: pain and fear. An ified later and checked against the findings by
outline allows one to avoid the most dramat- professional historians.
ic details – it is a defence mechanism. As the
wife of a former prisoner of Sachsenhausen In the stories of witnesses, the most important
once told us: “He doesn’t tell you even half of thing is the universal message, the universal
what he went through...” dimension of what they experienced in their
lives. When each of them repeats the famous
We must, of course, remember that personal
stories show only a fraction of the realities
Meetings with survivors and witnesses
of war and the occupation, and should be
embedded in the broader historical context. are – as seen above – unique history
They do not replace textbook knowledge, but
lessons. By showing the fates of real
rather augment it, making the dates and num-
bers cease to be abstractions. The emotion- people and their experiences makes the
al character of these meetings is not always
facts and figures from textbooks closer
conducive to remembering. The personal ex-
and more real.
perience of tragedies, even the deepest, are
not in any way identical to knowledge, but
certainly – and this is no less important – has phrase “Never Again”, can we seriously won-
n
a strong influence on one’s attitudes towards der if the Second World War and the Holocaust o
and perceptions of the world. One must also have taught us anything? Referring to the ucti
d
take into account that the factual level of current political situation in meetings, to the ro
nt
some stories is up for discussion. There are not conflicts and humanitarian crises in different I
the stories of professional historians. Retired parts of the world, some witnesses sadly ask
engineers, economists, doctors, midwives this question.
and technicians are the ones today telling
the story of their survival. Another issue is Often, important questions about the univer-
the mechanisms of human memory, which are sal human experience are raised by the audi-
sometimes incomprehensible and surprising: ence – Holocaust survivors and former prison-
their personal memories have superimposed ers of German concentration camps are asked
on them images seen later in photographs or many times about the possibility of forgive-
films, information from books and conversa- ness. Some answer conclusively: “No, I don’t
tions, which are woven into these personal forgive them”, while others say: “I forgive. But
stories as an integral part. Inaccurate dates forgiveness does not mean forgetting.” Here
or numbers given by survivors and witnesses we touch on the most difficult moral and eth-
as well as those that are not part of their own ical questions: “Can I forgive those who mur-
experiences are of secondary importance in dered my mother and sister? Do I have that
our opinion; what counts the most is contact right?” asked one Holocaust survivor.
with a living person who is speaking about
their own, personal experiences. Certainly The heroes awarded the Righteous Among the
some elements of their stories should be ver- Nations medal are usually asked about their
9
motivations – what guided them? Why did they spect for others are of particular importance.
decide to take the risk and help? Were they A sunny disposition and remarkable sense of
not afraid? If they could do it all over, would humour don’t seem to fit the image of a person
they have done the same thing? The responses who survived such dramatic circumstances,
are as numerous as the stories, but a pattern i.e. of someone who lost their entire family
is certainly clear. In the case of rescuers and or went through the hell of the concentration
rescued who knew each other beforehand, camps during the war. All of them, naturally,
the answer lies in their mutual relationship – agreed that the trauma has remained with
friendship or even sympathy and compassion, them throughout their lives.
inasmuch as the selfless rescue of a stranger
induces one towards deeper reflection. Some Most of them began talking about their experi-
devout Christians refer in their answers to ences later on, when they reached adulthood.
their religion and the teaching of Christ about Earlier, it was too painful, too fresh. In some
loving others, which in their lives has become cases, their silence was also due to the polit-
something tangible, real and not an empty ical situation: in the past, it was safer not to
word. Others point to the patriotic dimension reveal your Jewish roots, involvement in rescu-
of their actions – they were saving Polish cit- ing Jews or associations with the Home Army;
izens from a common enemy, and giving help this fear still impacts some people to this day.
was also an act of opposition to the policies of Each of these stories is shocking. Each of them
the German occupiers. contain dramatic choices, fear, pain and often
also helplessness and loneliness. But witness-
Over the years, listening to the accounts of wit- es to history return to these experiences, tell-
nesses to history, we have seen many common ing about them over and over again, because
characteristics and patterns. Their unusually that is their mission, their obligation. As they
positive attitude, optimism, openness and re- themselves say, in giving their testimonies
10