Thank you!

 Dear Friends,

I am writing to you to thank you for your help and support so far in commemorating the history of Sokołów Jews. I've been doing this since 2010, and while it seems like a long time, I think there's still a lot to discover.

This year we have completed the translation from Yiddish into Polish of the fifth book about Sokołów - the 815-page Memorial Book https://sokolow.jewish.pl/ksiega-pamieci/ksiega-pamieci/. Together with the other books: two by Simcha Polakiewicz and two by Perec Granatsztejn, it is available online for free for anyone who would like to read it. It has always been important to me that children and young people from schools in Sokołów have access to this history and now it is possible.

I wanted to thank you for a lot of advice, for your help, for sending family photos and documents. All this allowed me to get to know our common history better and learn much more about it. I am very grateful for our personal meetings or e-mail exchanges. Thanks to this, together we changed the world for the better, because we brought back the names of Sokołów Jews to the awareness of the current inhabitants of the town.

They say that a man lives as long as his memory lives on. In Sokołów, the Jews were forgotten for many many years. Now we have turned the tables - their names and stories are known here, local school students read our translation, and researchers quote them in their articles and books.

Of course, there is still a lot to do, but this step was huge and extremely important.

Since I would like to publish books by Simche Polakiewicz and Perec Granatsztejn, I wonder if you have photos of these two writers?

Thank you again for everything we've been able to do together!

Kasia

Sokolow tombstone

Any chance any of you know where this tombstone is? What city, what place?

It's a picture from the Yizkor Book, but there's no caption.

Cyla Fuks

Have you ever heard of Cyla Fuks (?) from Sterdyń near Sokołów, living in Tel Aviv, 227 Dizengoff Street? In 1967 she wrote z letter to her former neighbour in Sterdyń. She wrote there about succeses of the Israeli army - and that is why the letter was confiscated by Polish police (Poland was then controlled by Russia and Russia was against Israel, that is why it was baned to talk/write anything good about Israeli army). 

I wonder if Cyla left any written testimony about her life in Sterdyń before and during the war. Please, let me know if you know anything about her!

Pinchas Ogrodnik #2

Do you remember Pinchas Ogrodnik, whose tombstone we found in Sterdyń? He was a young boy who got involved with the communist movement. He received communist leaflets from a stranger (he said that in the court, I don't know if it's true, probably not). Communism was a serious crime back then, as the Bolsheviks attacked Poland in 1920. The authorities feared treason. Pinchas was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

What is important - there were a few Poles and a few Jews in the group of suspects. It was NOT "Judeo-communism", as anti-Semites sometimes claim about communists.

In the personal questionnaire (written by a policeman) Pinachas stated in the education column "I can sign my name, but not much more". His parents were: Icko-Moszek and Chaja-Sura nee Nejer.

Pinchas spent 349 days in prison before he died (possibly from tuberculosis, but we have no confirmation of this). Officials noted that he still had 381 days to serve.

September 22

Today we commemorated our Jewish neighbours who on September 22, 1942 were murdered by the Germans and their co-perpetrators on the streets of Sokolow. We read testimonies of Aaron Elster, Golda Ryba, Simcha Poliakewicz and Josek Kopyto.

Thank you all who were there today!

A report on war losses

 The Polish government a few days ago presented a report on war losses, demanding reparations from Germany. Imagine, that  (among other things), the Polish government wants compensation from the Germans for the Jedwabne pogrom! In the report they also write about Sokolow.

In the report, Mr. Rafal Dmowski of the University of Siedlce (I don’t know who he is) described on two pages the losses of Sokolow during the war. He was wrong basically on all counts.  

He wrote about the "almost complete destruction of the town center" in September 1939. Well, no. Kupientynska Street was destroyed at the beginning of the war, and that's where the photos of burned-out houses come from. The town center - houses, church, town hall - survived, and later the Germans created a ghetto there. Massive destruction occurred in 1944, when the town was bombed by the Russians, but there is not a word about this in the report (why???).

We further read that during the war "a temporary detention center was established on Magistracka Street." Apparently so, but Magistracka Street was named Magistracka in 1944 already after the end of the war. That's because a magistrate was organized in the building of this "prison" - a pre-war Jewish house of prayer - in connection with the bombing of the town hall at the corner of Siedlecka and Dluga Streets by the Russians.

The author goes on to write that the ghetto was established "in the area of Piękna-Prosta-Mala Streets," placing the ghetto completely outside the town at the time. I have the impression that he is guessing because he doesn't know where the ghetto might have been. And he doesn't know because he doesn't know the sources.

Then we have the information that "before the outbreak of war, there were about 4,000 Jews living in the town." Wrong again! According to statistics from the Central Statistical Office, in 1921 Sokolow had a population of 8055, of which 4430 people declared themselves to be of the Jewish faith. In 1931, out of a total population of 9918, 5027 people declared being Jewish.

In the next sentence we learn that "the Germans proceeded to liquidate the ghetto on September 30, 1942." Another untruth. It was September 22, 1942, a date I learned with certainty, and since 2011 I have been organizing commemorations on that day, as Mr. Dmowski studying in Siedlce should have known. Just as he should have read our translations from Yiddish to Polish of the memorial books - available for free on the internet!

So dear friends this whole report has nothing to do with history, but rather with propaganda.

Pinchas Ogrodnik

Today at the Jewish cemetery in Sterdyn I found this tombstone. It is written in Yiddish, which is unusuall. The reason for that may be that the person here was probably a leftist. I will try to find out more about him but maybe any of you have more information?

The tombstone reads:

Here lies the deceased companion OGRODNIK Pinchas. He died after a long time in prison in Siedlce. He was born on August 1, 1902, died on April 30, 1926.

Rasza Sztutman

 Rasia/Rasza Sztutman passed away in November 1883. Her father was Josef/Josel. Thanks to collective work we were able to connect her tombstone with her death certificate from the Siedlce Archive.

Thank you!

Traces of the past

 There used to be a mikveh (religious bath) in this place. I heard rumors that the Germans killed Jewish policemen in this place during the war, but I have not found confirmation of this information in the archives. Today a new apartment block is being built here. 

Fewer and fewer traces of Sokołów's Jewish past.

Moszko-Symcha Sztutman

 Yesterday I was looking for the death certificate of Rasza - Josef's daughter, who died in 1885. It was her matzeva that someone had brought to the Jewish cemetery in Sokołów, and I wanted to find out what her last name was.

I didn't find her death certificate. But I found such a document. In 1947, Moszko-Symcha Sztutman changed his name to Szymon Sztucki. Moszko-Symcha was born on June 15, 1885. His parents were Abram-Lejb and Jenta nee Wiksman. In Sokołów, Moszko-Symcha lived at 18 Rogowska St.

I guess he wanted a more "Polish" surname after the war, but the name Szymon at the time was typically Jewish (today you will find a lot of non-Jewish boys with that name).

Do any of you know the background of this story?

Another pieces of the tombstones

 A few months ago, I appealed to residents of Sokołów to bring pieces of matzevot they have to the Jewish cemetery. And they did it! 

Another pieces of the tombstones are where they should be. Thank you to those who brought the matzevot! Thank you Joanna for the photos!

If you have this kind of stones at your home - bring them here. Thank you very much!

The board of the Jewish community in Sokolow, Kosow and Sterdyn in 1918

During World War I, the Germans were also stationed in Sokolow. Their rule of occupation was associated with high taxes and a lack of food among the population (food had to be donated to the army). On the other hand, the Germans allowed the founding of both Jewish and non-Jewish social organizations for the first time. In 1918, they organized elections to the board of the Jewish community in Sokolow, Kosow and Sterdyn.

In Sokolow, the following were elected to the board: Mozes Borychowski, Srul Henoch Schwarzwort, Mozes Lustigman, Hersz Towia Ber and their deputies: Alter Kafowy, Jakow Edelsztein, Rochmiel Rybak, Jakow Kiwajko.

In Kosow, the following were elected to the board: Sindel Lehrmann, Abram Zelaniec, Abram Mozesohn, Mozes Flamm and their deputies: Szlama Weisberg, Majer Rowiński, Izak Brzoza and Józef Kiczkowski.

In Sterdyn the following were elected to the board: Abram Wajngart, Chaskiel Srence, Berek Kotlarski, Judko Ceranko and their deputies: Abram Bromberg, Szlama Goldberg, Chune Radzyński, Icek Styczyński.

Merchant's Bank

 In 1925, the Merchant's Bank was established in Sokołów. The bank's Supervisory Board included: Chaim Noech Tuchlender, Hersz Fiszer, Hersz Zalcberg, Jankiel Edelsztajn, Fajwysz Librach, Lajbuś Rozenfeld, Hersz Safirsztejn, Szyja Goldrajch, Moszko Lustygman. Their deputies were: Ajzyk Mendel Sypicki, Abram Mydlarski, Moszko Perelsztejn, Moszko Zarębski, Abram Ajzenberg and Lejzor Hendel. The management board included: Moszko Morgensztern, Chaim Hersz Knorpel, Benjamin Rubinsztejn, Izrael Hersz Kajt, Abram Frejlich.

Janet Yellen in Warsaw

Janet Yellen, US secretary of treasury, visited Warsaw and Polin Museum today.

Sokolow meeting in Tel Aviv

 

Thank you Moshe, Shoshi, Maayan, Noam, Bat-Ami for a great Sokolow meeting! See you next time!

Yom haShoah 2022

 

Izaak Trumper

More than one hundred years ago, just after World War I, a Jewish Elementary School Nr. 2 has been founded in Sokolow Podlaski. The school’s teaching was based upon an innovative Dalton’s educational system which encouraged pupils to seek solutions on their own, or with the help of their peers. The children themselves discovered principles and rules, something which in pre-google times must have been a real challenge. The pupils were successful, and the school was appreciated on national scale.

 Izaak Trumper, the director, born in Narewka, brought up the children in the spirit of assimilation and strongly opposed Zionism. “For many years there was no one to teach Jewish history and religion. Finally, when they hired someone, the new teacher, Mosze Migdal, had nothing to say in the school” - recalled many years later one of the pupils. 

Trumper was a Polish patriot, who spoke Polish, wrote in Polish and, quite obviously, tried hard to become a member of the Polish community which kept rejecting him.  He led the Jewish schoolchildren to take part in patriotic celebrations in Sokolow, and pretended not to hear the abuse heaped upon them by Christian children.  

Trumper’s educational successes displeased the local school inspector who wanted to close the school down. He even succeeded and had the school shut down for several months. Another teacher (a Christian) instigated high school students to beat Trumper up. This teacher was later sentenced to six weeks in prison.  

Later, Trumper moved to Warsaw. He did not survive the war.  Nowadays, there is no one in Sokolow who would remember Trumper. But the building which housed this modern and patriotic school still stands.  Perhaps, inside,  one can still hear the echoes of his teachings?

#YomhaShoah