Remembrance, Rescue, and Recovery: Going Home to Poland

REMEMBRANCE, RESCUE, & RECOVERY:

Going Home to Poland

By Warren J. Blumenfeld

[email protected]

Simon (Szymon) Mahler

Maternal grandfather

Krosno, Poland.

13 siblings.

Wolf & Bascha Mahler.

Butcher shop.

Simon left Krosno for U.S.,

1912

2

Szymon & sister

Fannie

Ashkenazi Jewish Tradition

Child named in honor

of deceased relative.

Great-Grandfather

Wolf Mahler

Hebrew name Ze'ev,

means “wolf."

3

Identity

5 years old

I learned from

Szymon our family

history

Direct relationship

to German

Holocaust

4

Szymon returned to

Krosno 1932 with

grandmother, Eva

(Schoenwetter)

Mahler

Brought early home

movie camera

5

Szymon Mahler & Eva

(Schoenwetter) Mahler, Wedding

Picture, New York City, 1921

Simon & Eva’s 1932 Film

Muzeum Podkarpackie (Subcarpathian) w

Krosnie

6

Wolf, Szymon, Bascha Mahler, 1932

A BRIEF HISTORY

OF KROSNO

Poland

Krosno

Southeastern Poland

River Wislok

Carpathian Mountain

region

Galicia

8

*KROSNO

* *Krosno

Krosno, Poland

Founded in 1324.

Developed on weaving industry.

“Krosno” means “loom” in Polish.

Early Krosno behind heavily fortified stone &

mortar walls.

Krosno, Poland

January 1, 1900, Galicia governor granted Krosno

Jews right to organize their community (kehillah).

Jewish stores opened: butcher shops, fish stores,

and bakeries.

1906, two baking families: Selig Findling and

Chaim Oling.

Three Jewish slaughterhouses owned by Fulka

Breitowitz, Moses Breitowicz, and Wolf Mahler.”

William Leibner, http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/holocaust/0030_KrosnoCompilation.htm

Wolf Mahler & Family,

Butcher Shop

Population Growth in Krosno

YEAR POPULATION CATHOLIC JEW ORTH CATHOLIC

1870 2132 2100 26 6

1880 2461 2318 113 (127) 30

1890 2839 2454 327 (567) 58

1900 3276 2664 567 (961) 45

1910 4353 3329 961 (1559) 63

1914 5521 3893 1558 70

1921 6287 4490 1725 72

•Rapid growth of Jewish population

•1870 (26); 1921 (1725)

•Outpaced overall growth

•Oil discovered in the area

•1884, railway linked Krosno with Europe

•Industries developed

•Especially weaving & glass making

•Jews kept moving to Krosno. William Leibner, http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/holocaust/0030_KrosnoCompilation.htm

Synagogue

Rabbi Shmuel Fuehrer of Krosno

1904, Kehillah hired Shmuel Fuehrer first and only Rabbi.

Fuehrer earlier served as rabbi in Milowka and Krakow.

Also head of Jewish judicial council, Krosno.

Consecrated Krosno’s Jewish Cemetery.

Filmed by Szymon Mahler in 1932

Photo by Alexander White

Nazis in Krosno

German troops invaded Poland

1 September 1939

Bombed Krosno same day

Small military airport & railway station

Entered Krosno, 9 September 1939

Krosno strategic target

Oil fields for Germany.

German troops fortified area.

Trenches around town.

Fortified rock houses as

machine-gun stations.

Barricaded streets with stone &

logs from demolished buildings.

Mined other stone buildings and

city approaches. Bill Tarkulich

http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/military__carpatho.htm

Nazis in Krosno

Adolph Hitler &

Benito Mussolini met

in Krosno

Planned strategy for

war on eastern front.

Nazis in Krosno

Nazi proclamation, 1939

Jews must leave Krosno

Many Jews hid in city or countryside

Others crossed river to area German army left free

Slowly Jews reappeared in Krosno

Ordered to wear white arm band with blue star

Forbidden to enter parks or public institutions

Nazis in Krosno

http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~alb/ugly/naziSoldiersBrutalizeJewInPoland.jpg

NAZI “RACIAL” PHILOSOPHY

“Racial” arguments cornerstone of persecution of Jews (as well as most people of color and people with disabilities).

Jews and others descendants from inferior “racial stands.”

NAZI “RACIAL” PHILOSOPHY

Nazis asserted Jews

polluting “Aryan

race.”

Jews forced to wear

Yellow Star of

David patches, sign

of “race pollution.”

Nazis in Krosno

Nazis occupied center of

Jewish Quarter

Krosno’s Market Square,

troops referred to as

“Horse Square”

Merchants brought goods

to open-air markets on

Square in horse-drawn

carts

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Market Square, Krosno, Poland

Simon & Eva Mahler’s 1932 film

Nazis in Krosno

June 1941, Nazis ordered creation of list of Jewish population of Krosno.

Contained 2072 names.


Nazis in Krosno

9 August 1942, Nazis hung posters

Jews to appear next day, 9:00 a.m. Targowa railway station.

Limited to 10 kilo suitcase

Assembled, 12 August 1942

Selection held:

Young and able bodied spared

2100 taken to forest and shot

600 placed in Krosno ghetto


Nazis in Krosno

Nazis searched city for hidden Jews.

Shot Jews on the spot

Nazis created small ghetto, 600 Jews

Kept until 1 December 1942

All shipped to Rzeszow or Reishe ghettos

Eventually to Auschwitz & Belzec

Some Jews remained in area in labor camps

Krosno clear of Jews, except for few who hid in

Polish homes. William Leibner, http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/holocaust/0030_KrosnoCompilation.htm

Nazis in Krosno

127 Jews rounded up

Shot in mass grave

Photo by Warren J. Blumenfeld

Nazis in Krosno

Nazis converted

Krosno

Synagogue

Leveled between

1945 & 1946

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Krosno_synagogue.jpg

Nazis in Krosno

Rabbi Fuehrer taken

from synagogue and

shot

Nazis in Krosno

Photo by Warren J. Blumenfeld

END OF WWII

Allies liberated Krosno

Krosno became a center for assembling Jewish survivors

Then went to Rumania and sailed to Palestine

This semi-legal base operated until Palestine borders closed by British.

Jewish officials left Krosno

Krosno’s Jewish survivors never returned

Anti-Semitism from many non-Jewish residents

Jewish presence ended to this very day.


END OF WWII

Estimated 6 million Jews

murdered: equal to two-thirds

of European Jewry, and one-

third of the entire world-wide

Jewish population.

GOING

HOME 2008

33

A family history

recovered

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Kasia discovered Mahler family’s Apartment and

Butcher Shop directly off Krosno’s Market Square.

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Former apartment building and butcher shop of Mahler family.

Photo by Katarzyna Krepulec-Nowak

37

Today 1930s

Original

Mahler

Building

(lower right)

before

renovation

following

WWII.

39

Current owner of building.

Her father and his two partners rented the space to Mahler family.

40

Owner granted us permission to enter the upstairs apartment where

Mahler family resided.

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My heart seemed to pound out of my chest as we

entered the building where my family once lived.

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Following World War II, fire damaged upstairs apartment, but

restored close to original condition.

43

Currently serves as offices for a law firm.

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Courtyard behind Mahler family apartment and shop,

depicted in Simon & Eva’s 1932 Krosno film.

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Today, former Mahler family Butcher Shop

serves as Candy Shop.

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The current proprietors graciously gave us a

tour around the shop.

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THE JEWISH CEMETERY

(Cmentarz Zydowski)

of Krosno

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Cmentarz Zydowski

Following German

invasion of Krosno

Polish citizens, fearing

Nazis would vandalize &

demolish grave stones,

Entered Jewish Cemetery

Hid grave stones,

Returned them after

German troops retreated

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Cmentarz Zydowski Jews no longer reside in Krosno

Cemetery fell into disarray.

2002 local Krosno students, under management of

Grzegorz Bożek (local teacher and ecology activist)

Restored cemetery.

59 Photos by Tomasz Okoniewski

60

Photo taken July 2008

61 Photo taken January 2011

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MARKET SQUARE &

THE FORMER JEWISH QUARTER

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Former Jewish ghetto, 1942

600 Jews forced into 12 small buildings,

located directly below.

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“Jewish day”

Krosno, poland

16 January 2011

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MUZEUM PODKARPACKIE w KROSNIE

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Krosno “Jewish Day” Flyer

Photo by Bert Cohen

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Afternoon of event, Bert, Gary, and I met with

Kasia in her office to go over logistics.

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Translater, Kasia Nowak.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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.

Photo by Bert Cohen

81 Photo by Bert Cohen

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Here with this remarkable woman who is working to have us all face

our past and who to me is living Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s words:

Photo by Bert Cohen

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“If you want peace, work for justice.”

T

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“There is much evil here, and as a mother of a three-year-old,

I must do what I can to work for a better world for my son.”

Photo by Bert Cohen

Jewish tenet of Tikkun Olam:

the transformation, healing, and repairing of

the world so that it becomes a more just,

peaceful, nurturing, and perfect place.

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“Jewish Day” exhibit area.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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88 Wolf Mahler & Family, Butcher Shop

Displayed in Krosno “Jewish

Day” exhibit area.

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Synagogue

Displayed in Krosno


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Moses, David, Simon Mahler Displayed in Krosno


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Brother ? Mahler, Fannie Mahler, Simon Mahler, Dinah Mahler

Gertrude Mahler (David Mahler’s Wife), Saul Mahler, Philip Mahler,

David Mahler, Beatrice Mahler, New York, c. 1915

Displayed in Krosno

“Jewish Day” exhibit

area.

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Simon, Eva

Eva, Simon

Charles, Blanche, Jack

Eva

Scott, Simon, Warren,

Abby, Debra, Curt, Susan

U.S.A. Displayed in Krosno “Jewish Day”

exhibit area.

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“History of the Mahler

Family”

Displayed in Krosno “Jewish Day” exhibit area.

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“Oldest Film of Krosno”

Explanation of Simon & Eva

Mahler’s 1932 family film of

Krosno.

Displayed in Krosno “Jewish Day” exhibit area.

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Nazi troops transported a number of Krosno Mahlers to Korczyn

(once called Rzegocin) where they murdered them: Haya Rivka,

Eliazar, Hersh, Raphael, Moshe, Sarah, Yanka, and Wolf Mahler.

http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/korczyna/Kor447.html

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SUBCARPATHIAN MUSEUM OF KROSNO

Presents

Krosno Jewish Day

… And Your Brother …

16 January 2011, 17.00 [5:00 p.m.]

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Though the Museum auditorium holds125, an estimated 650 people

attended the “Jewish Day” event. Sadly, over 500 people had to be

turned away.

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Dr. Jan Gancarski, museum director, “Jewish Day” established in

1997 and celebrated annually in January. Falls on eve of Week of

Prayer for Christian Unity.

• He quoted Fr. Archbishop Jozef Michalik:

"The Community of prayer, a better

understanding of their faith, honoring the

memory of Jews who were part of Polish

history and the Poles who have brought

their faithfulness in difficult times, is the

most important fruit, which brings Jewish

Day."

“It is reminded that Christians and Jews believe in one creator of heaven and earth, giver of the

commandments, whose observance is a way of life….

It's time for another of our culture - an older, original - [and for us] to let go of prejudices and stereotypes, a genuine chance of understanding and reconciliation. It

is an opportunity for dialogue, and what we really need is a moment of mutual understanding and

respect, a fraternal conversation….

In Krosno, we can not on this day talk about the descendants of our older brothers who once lived here. None of the Krosno Jews who survived the Holocaust settled here after the war, so we only remember our

neighbors. We can only look at them in the faded photos… which have been left here, memorabilia

preserved in the museum.” Dr. Jan Gancarski

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Fr. Waldemar Janiga led the assembled in a

prayer of religious understanding and unity.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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Photo by Bert Cohen

To introduce the Mahler film, Kasia led the

audience through a guided visualization

developed from her extensive genealogical

and historical research. Here is an English

translation of Kasia’s address:

* * * * *

Our exhibition is called “Brothers,"

[neighbours] and it is not an exhibition

about the death of people. It is about their

lives.

Along with our neighbours, we created the

world, far from perfect, but our own. This

exhibition is an invitation to walk through

pre-war Krosno.

Have you liked the "Old Movies" series

that used to be on the national television

channel every Sunday? I loved it and I

didn't miss even one.

Let's imagine a world from this kind of black and white movie. Let's

imagine black and white Krosno.

It is September of 1932. Our town really blossoms this time of year.

Someone left a copy of the New Journal on a small bench down by the

river bank. Mr. Dym's shop has its advertisement on the second page.

One can see the new, popular gloves for ladies.

On Pilsudski Street you can smell the rolls from the second baking in the

bakery of Izrael Breitowicz. The people from Linas Chojlim are already

giving out the soup for orphans from Korczyńska Street.

And here it is again, a large line to Mahler's butcher shop. Little Mannis

Mahler is helping his grandfather. He is a beautiful, sweet little boy.

Doctor Still had a sudden call from the shelter in the synagogue. He looks

very worried. Chairman Akselrad is taking his daughter to the piano

lesson. I heard she's great.

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Our Market Square is filled with sunlight, teeming with life.

Mr. Englander from the Aguda Party is having an argument with Mr. Wiesenfeld over Zionism. After they finish, they will both go to Chanie Plater's restaurant to put on the nosebag [eat], and perhaps later, they will go to the taproom on Franciscan Street.

And we? Shall we go to Ider's Inn on Staszic Street? Their meals are marvelous!

This kind of dream-walk is about to materialise here tonight thanks to the very special movie that we received from a very special man.

But I would like him to tell his story in his own words.

Ladies and gentlemen -- Dr. Warren Blumenfeld.

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Simon’s antique Tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) and embroidered

Kippah (Jewish skull cap)

“Letter to My Great-Grandparents of Krosno, Poland.”

Photo by Damian Krzanowski

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Dear Great-Grandfather Wolf and Great-Grandmother Bascha,

Though I have never written to you, I have carried your image and felt

your comforting presence ever since that first day when your son [my

maternal grandfather, Simon Mahler] told me about you….

Photo by Bert Cohen

One day, when I was very young, I sat upon Simon’s knee. Looking down urgently, but with deep affection, he said to me, “Warren, you are named after my father, Wolf Mahler. I lived in Krosno, Poland with my father, Wolf, and my mother, Bascha, and 13 brothers and sisters, and aunts, uncles, and cousins.”

Simon talked about all of you with pride, but as he told me this, he seemed rather sad. I asked him if you still lived in Poland, and he responded that his father, mother, and most of the rest of his family were no longer alive. When I asked him how they had died, he told me that they had all been killed by people called Nazis. I questioned him why the Nazis killed our family, and he responded, “Because they were Jews.”

Those words have reverberated in my mind, haunting me ever since….

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As you know, according to Ashkenazi [European heritage]

Jewish tradition, a newborn infant is given a name in honor of a

deceased relative. The name is formed by taking the entire name

or just the initial letter of the name of the ancestor being honored.

I had the good fortune of being named after you great-

grandfather Wolf. As it has turned out over the years, you not

only gave me my name, but you, Bascha, and Simon also gave me

a sense of history and a sense of my identity.

Simon left Krosno in 1912 bound for New York City, leaving

you and most of his siblings. His older brother, David, who

traveled to the United States in 1911, returned in 1912 to bring

Simon, and three of his sisters, Fannie, Sadie, and Dinah back

with him. As they left Poland, a series of pogroms targeting Jews

had spread throughout the area. Simon often explained to me that

they could only travel by night with darkness as their shield to

avoid being attacked and beaten by people who hated Jews.

They arrived in the United States on New Years’

Eve in a city filled with gleaming lights and

frenetic activity, and with their own hearts filled

with hope for a new life.

Simon returned to Krosno with my

grandmother, Eva, in 1932 to a joyous

homecoming. This was the first time he had

seen you since he left Poland. He took with

him an early home movie camera to record

you on film. While in Poland, he promised

that once back in the United States, he

would try to earn enough money to send

for his remaining family members who

wished to come to the United States, but

history was to thwart his plans. During

that happy reunion, he had no way of

knowing that this was to be the last time he

would ever see you and those others he left

behind alive. Just seven years later, on 1

September 1939, the Nazis invaded

Poland….

111

Kasia

Nowak

translatin

g into

Polish

Photo by Bert Cohen

Simon never fully recovered from those days in 1939. Though he kept the faces and voices from his homeland within him throughout his life, the Nazis also invaded my grandfather’s heart, killing a part of him forever. My mother told me that Simon became increasingly introspective, less spontaneous, and less optimistic of what the future would hold….

Great-grandfather Wolf and great-grandmother Bascha, you would have been proud of Simon. He was a loving and caring father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He gave me so much: my enjoyment for taking long walks and sitting in quiet solitude, pride in my Jewish heritage, and most of all, my ability to love.

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Photo by Bert Cohen

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I then talked about the righteous rescuers of those tragic times, and of those of the

modern day. I concluded my remarks by acknowledging the great work of the

“rescuers” of Jewish history and Jewish culture today in the complete absence of

Jewish people: Grzegorz Bożek and the volunteers who have restored the Jewish

cemetery in Krosno…

Photo by Bert Cohen

114

…and the good people of the Muzeum Podkarpackie w Krosnie, especially

Lucas Klopot, Katarzyna Krepulec-Nowak, and Dr. Jan Gancarski. “They and

all of their colleagues work tirelessly to rescue and restore a vital part of history

in keeping memories alive and in educating new generations. They are my

heroes, and I will forever hold them in my thoughts and in my heart.”


.

115

Gary then recited and Kasia translated Kaddish, the traditional Jewish

prayer for the dead. Before the prayer, Gary eloquently explained this

tradition and added personal reflections about what this prayer means

to him.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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Simon and Eva Mahler’s 1932 film portrayed the town of

Krosno, and in particular, the Mahler family. This rare film is

the oldest film of the town known to exist.

Jews arrived in Krosno in the fifteenth century CE, and by 1938

numbered 2700, or 18.5 percent of the town’s population.

Prior to the Nazi invasion, the Jewish population in Poland

numbered around 3 million. Today, only about 10 thousand

Jews reside in Poland.

Lucas ran the film for the audience.


117

Members of the audience sat

transfixed as they witnessed

the sights of their town

during a time long passed.

Some pointed to familiar

landmarks.

Others spotted

possible relatives

in the old Market

Square. Some were

visibly moved, tears

streaming down

their cheeks.

Great-Grandparents, this night I fulfilled a life-

long dream of bringing you, your children, and

your grand children home to a happy reunion.

With love forever, Warren

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The program came to a stirring conclusion with the brilliant clear sounds of

the Rzeszow Klezmer Band

as Lucas ran the Mahler family film one final time.

Kamil Siciak

Mateusz

Chmiel

Jacek

Anyszek Marcin

Mucha

Wojciech

Jajuga

120

Bert, Gary, and I had our picture taken with Museum Director Jan

Gancarski and Krosno Mayor Piotr Przytocki.

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I was particularly touched when two students asked to take a picture with me.

Kasia Krepulec-Nowak translated that they are currently writing their thesis

paper focusing on the Mahler family of Krosno.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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At the conclusion of an emotional and memorable day, we relaxed,

unwound, and processed at a fabulous restaurant in a former wine cellar

beneath Krosno’s Market Square.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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Unfortunately, all good things must end, and we said “good bye” to our good

friend, Kasia (Kate), and her husband Matthew (whom I referred to as “Mr.

Kate”). We are seen here at the Krosno bus station ready to board our bus back

to Krakow, Monday, 17 January 2011.

Going back to the united

states

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Leaving Auschwitz back to Krakow on the bus, Bert took some pictures from the

window. During the bus ride, we had a chance to talk and reflect not only on our

time at the concentration camps, but also on the events of the past week…

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…about Krosno, and the

friends we made…

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…about the places we had

been…

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…about the

wonderful and

new foods we

enjoyed...

Photos by

Bert Cohen

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… about the emotional impact all of

this had on us…

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…and how we had grown closer as family.

Since Gary was scheduled to fly back home to Israel

that evening, soon after arriving back at our hotel in

Krakow, we hugged and said good bye to Gary as he

left in a cab for the airport.

132

The following day, Bert and I woke early, ate breakfast, and took a cab

to the Krakow airport. Our flight to Prague had been cancelled, but we

were fortunate to catch another flight directly to Paris in time for our

Paris to Boston flight that evening.

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Though we were exhausted from an exciting and emotional week, we also felt

the energy of knowing that though we were returning to the United States, in

some ways, we had been transformed, and knowing that we will never be the

same.

Photo by Bert Cohen

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[not] the end

Travel

Remembrance, Rescue, and Recovery: Going Home to Poland