Yaakov Guterman
Yaakov (Jakub) Guterman – painter and illustrator, born in 1935 in Warsaw, the son of Simcha and Ewa née Alterowicz. His hometown is Płock, where he lived with his parents in a one-story house at 64 Sienkiewicza Street. Jakub’s father ran a knitting workshop and was also one of the co-founders of the Płock branch of the Frajhajt organization. On March 1, 1941, the Guterman family, together with other Jews from Płock, were deported to the camp in Działdowo. The Gutermans spent the following years of the war wandering around various towns and villages, hiding thanks to Aryan papers. Jakub Guterman spent the last months of the war in the village of Zawady near Łowicz. Simcha Guterman died in the first days of the Warsaw Uprising. Jakub and his mother returned to Płock. He finished primary school here, for one year he attended the Władysław Jagiełło High School. In 1950 he emigrated with his mother and stepfather to Israel. He studied literature at the University of Jerusalem and art at the Avny Institute in Tel Aviv. He lived in kibbutz Ein Harod, then (to this day) in Ha-Ogen. For forty years he taught literature in high school and worked as a book illustrator (his artistic output includes over 170 books). He was also a graphic editor of weeklies for children, published poems and translations, including Polish poetry.
The house at 64 Sienkiewicza Street in Płock in the register of historic monuments!
