Our branch of the Szeraszew family comes from Radziłów and thanks to the documents stored in the Łomża department of the State Archives in Białystok it is known, that there were many members of the Szeraszew family in Radziłów and the local area. Joszka Szeraszew […]
Fiszel Zylberberg (1909-1942), graphic artist and painter, was the son of the trader Wolf Zelig and Hena Ruchla nee Nordenberg. At the age of 16 he went to Warsaw, where he studied drawing during private lessons. Since 1930 he studied as a free student of […]
Nusen aka Natan Korzeń was born on April 17, 1895 in Płock, as the son of Szlama Majer and Ruchla Łaja nee Szczawińska. Natan Korzeń, a member of a young group of Polish painters, was considered one of the most important Jewish artists in Poland. Members of his family in Płock were involved in various arts and crafts, and little Natan loved to watch the work of his uncles who were goldsmiths. His grandfather and father had a workshop producing copper items, including those used in Jewish rituals. In order to take formal education in the field of art, Natan left his family home and went to Warsaw. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts under the supervision of professors Stanisław Lentz and Tadeusz Pruszkowski. Still as a student, Korzeń exhibited his works in a Jewish gallery in Warsaw. After graduating, he quickly became one of the best portraitists in Poland. Many notable people employed him for portraits. He was also associated with the Theater School in Warsaw operating since 1929, where he lectured on art history. In addition to portraits, he also painted landscapes and whenever he visited Płock, he left the town in order to paint rural landscapes near it. According to art critic Yehiel Aronson, Korzeń was not influenced by the school of surreal post-impressionism because he had the talent to convey his own longings to the canvas in a realistic way. Korzeń had its own painting workshops in Warsaw and Kazimierz nad Wisłą. His works were exhibited, among other places, in Paris and Warsaw. He had two individual exhibitions in Płock and took part in several group exhibitions. In February 1932, at the exhibition in the Hotel Polski in Płock at 9 Tumska Street, the Art Club of Płock opened the 1st Płock Art Exhibition, which showed two oil works by Korzeń – ‘Portrait of a Boy’ and ‘Houses in Kazimierz’.
During the outbreak of the war, Natan Korzeń settled in Vilnius, because he thought that from there it would be easier for him to escape to the West. In Vilnius, he worked as a stage designer at the Jewish National Theater. His hopes for escape proved to be deceptive, as he ended up in the ghetto, where he took an active part in the cultural life of the Jews living there. The Nazis burned most of his paintings. He was murdered in 1941, probably in Ponary near Vilnius.
An extraordinary 1937 film by Józef Herman Keller and his son Norton has been just published on JewishPlock.eu. The Nobiscum Foundation received the film courtesy of Susan Keller Mouckley, Sandra Brygart Rodriguez and Arieh Bomzon. The film was digitized by the Yad Vashem Institute at […]
On the night of February 20-21, 1941, the Germans began to deport Jews from Płock. On the morning of February 21, the Jewish population was concentrated on Kwiatka Street and between the synagogue and Bielska Street: “… since 4 in the morning, there was light […]
The Arbajter family lived in Płock at 3 Kwiatka Street in the tenement house of Mendel Jakub Perelgryc and his wife Hinda Małka nee Radzik. Hersz Icek Arbajter (1889-1942), son of Mordka and Chaja Hinda nee Żwirek, was a tailor by profession. His wife was Hugra Maleńka (1892-1942), daughter of Chaim Mordka (1856-1933) and Szajna nee Lis (1850-1928). Hugra had two sisters – Estera and Hendel and a brother Izydor who emigrated to the United States. Hersz Icek and Hugra Arbajter had five sons: Eliasz Mendel (born in 1919), Mordka (born in 1922), Izrael Beer (born in 1925), Uren (born in 1927) and Józef (born in 1929).
During World War II, the eldest of the brothers, Eliasz Mendel fled to the Soviet Union. Initially, he worked as a teacher, then joined the army. He was killed near the Polish-German border. The Arbajter family was deported from the Płock ghetto (established on September 1, 1940) to the transit camp in Działdowo, then to Bodzentyn, and finally to the ghetto in Starachowice, which was founded in February 1941. On October 27, 1942, the Germans liquidated the ghetto – Józef Arbajter with his parents Hersz Icek and Hugra were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. Mordka, Izrael Beer and Uren remained in Starachowice. They worked in an ammunition factory, which was controlled by the Herman Göring Werke group. In July 1944, the Germans began the liquidation of the labor camp. 1,500 prisoners, including the Arbajter brothers, were deported to Auschwitz.
After the war, Mordka, Izrael Beer and Uren Arbajter emigrated to the United States.
Sunday, March 1, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of the last deportation of Jews from the Płock ghetto. On this day, the Nobiscum Foundation invites you to the Art Gallery of Płock for the premiere of its third publication – the book entitled “Tema. Memories […]
At the beginning of the 19th century, the square with a brick house on the property marked with mortgage number 283 belonged to a carpenter Jan Franciszek Frahm (around 1768-1813) from Hamburg. As he had no children, after his death the property was inherited in […]
The empty square marked with mortgage number 256 at the former Szeroka Street belonged to the police director Wilhelm Czarnowski at the beginning of the 19th century. After his death, the property was inherited by his juvenile sons – Juliusz and Henryk Czarnowski. As a result of the auction held at the Municipal Office on June 7, 1825, the square was bought by the merchant Falk Landau Kempner and Jakub Lichtensztajn. Lichtensztajn on his part of the square, henceforth numbered 256 A, erected a brick house, a wooden storage and a woodshed, which were insured for 7,200 Polish złoty. Under the sale and purchase contract of February 23/March 7, 1843, Icek Fogel (ca. 1806–1869) purchased the property from Jakub Lichtensztajn together with his wife Rasza née Marsap. Icek Fogel was a banker, grain merchant, religious and social activist. His son was Gustaw – an industrialist and social activist, initiator of the establishment of the “Zgoda” Cooperative and Loan Fund in Płock. The next owners of the property were Hersz Schönmann and his wife Rozalia née Frankensztajn, who purchased it under a contract of 4/16 June 1865. In 1867 Ludwik Rychter bought the property and in the same year he sold it to Jakub Szulim Altman under a contract concluded on May 10-22, 1867. After the death of Jakub Szulim Altman, the parts of the property were inherited by: Icek Altman (3/8 of the property), Mosiek Altman (3/8 of the property) and Sura Lasman née Altman (2/8 of the property). By virtue of property divisions between the Altman siblings made on November 19/December 1, 1870, Mosiek Altman became the owner of the property. After his death, the property was inherited in equal and indivisible parts by Chaja Frajda Hak née Altman, Ruchla Lebendiger née Altman, and Juda Majer Pszenica – his daughters and grandson. They were registered as owners on the basis of an application to close the inheritance proceedings of November 3, 1909. In 1913, Ruchla Lebendiger, wife of Jankiel Lebendiger, purchased a part of his property from Juda Majer Pszenica. The Altman sisters – Chaja Frajda Hak and Ruchla Lebendiger were its owners until the outbreak of World War II.
The yard connecting 10 Szeroka Street and Sienkiewicza Street was one of the most characteristic places of the Jewish district in Płock. It was the so-called “Altman’s courtyard”, which was brilliantly described by the Jewish publicist from Płock – Natan Lerman:
In Płock, as well as in other towns in Poland, there were courtyards that were themselves like small towns. In fact, they were like closed worlds. In such a courtyard, Jews of all social groups and classes lived their lives: cobblers, tailors, carpenters, plumbers and other craftsmen. In addition, in the courtyard there were Chadarim of the Hassidim, a dancing hall, teachers of Gemara, Torah scribes, porters, peddlers, stonecutters and even criminal lairs. In short, everything from the most holy to complete sin. I would like to describe one of those courtyards.
The place where I was born, in crowdedness and shortage of proper conditions alike other poor children, was called “Altman’s Courtyard”. We were so used to that environment, in spite of all its disadvantages, that sometimes it seemed to us that it was the way things should be. We simply loved the “courtyard” and its small world because we were tied to it with a thousand threads that were inseparable. Only today, when I am so far away from Płock and from Altman’s courtyard, I can see it in a different way.
In Płock there were other big courtyards as well: the ones of Praszker, Bruzda and more. However, not one of them equaled Altman’s Courtyard. Except for it being like a small town, it was the route that connected two streets and through which people went from the synagogue, that was located on Szeroka Street, to the mikvah, which was on Sienkiewicza Street. Well, was there anyone who didn’t cross Altman’s Courtyard? On eves of holidays and especially on Rosh Hashanah and Pesach eve, the poor people used to change the straw in their mattresses. The women, while dragging the bundles of straw and leaving straw stalks here and there, rubbed the pavement so well, that there was no need to sweep it for the holidays. It was a frequent view and therefore I remember it well.
About 250 permanent inhabitants, 40-50 families, lived in the yard. In addition, there were also occasional vagabonds who used to sleep there in the basements. Regular guests in the yard were the Hassidim from the Rabbi of Góra Kalwaria. The three rooms of their house of prayer were always filled with noise and turmoil of more than 100 children, who were studying there. If we add to those mentioned above the customers of the craftsmen and people who came to the dancing hall, sometimes there were more than 1000 people, or even more in the yard.
It is not hard to imagine the noise and the turmoil in the yard when its inhabitants started their daily routine. The first one to announce the neighbors of the beginning of a new day was always the woman who engraved letters on tombstones. She used to cry loudly and mourn her bad fortune, while cursing awfully. She also earned her living by supplying fresh bread to the houses of the rich people every morning. When the heavy steps of the janitor, who walked to the synagogue for his daily chores wearing his heavy boots, were heard, everyone was already awake. Right after him you could hear the cough of Eliasz the carpenter and then the cough of Mosze the plumber, and then of Szlomo the porter, of Hirsz Aron the hatter, of Bejrysz the tombstone turner, of the craftsmen, butchers, the Torah scribes, the cantor. Each one of them coughed in his own style and in this way got ready for Shacharit. Later, the women would come out and their faces looked as if swollen from the night sleep. They would go down, holding kettles, to the basement of Gołda Lea to buy some hot water for the breakfast tea. Then a variety of voices and noises was heard from each place, until twilight. Then the pupils of the chadarim used to fight among themselves, and it usually ended with some broken window glasses.
And so life passed, day after day, year after year, at Altman’s courtyard in Płock.
According to data from 1931, at 10 Szeroka Street 119 people lived in a total of 32 apartments: Gołda Łaja Lemberger, Icek Mojsze Zelwer, Rywka Ruchla Knorpel, Franciszek Sieradzki, Henryk Olszewski, Abram Icek Florek, Czeslaw Myśliwski, Józef Stańczak, Feliksa Multan, Stanisława Cywińska, Józefa Czerniak, Józefa Dylewska, Stefan Bińkowski, Jan Smoliński, Wilhelmina Borowska, Jan Czajkowski, Marcin Figlewski, Gerszon Zielonka, Szlama Szczerba, Jochewet Florek, Ryfka Dwojra Lerman, Hersz Aron Borensztejn, Mojsze Aron Rozenberg, Stanisław Sieradzki, Elja Rozentrejter, Jochewet Łaja Bielmo, Szlama Wyszogród, Jakób Zawadzki, Tauba Gołda Brym, Mojsze Gotlieb, Ewa Bieniewicz, Czesław Jakubowski, Tauba Sochaczewska, Mordka Jochim Lipsztejn, Marjan Kafliński, Izrael Zajde, Janina Wojtowicz, Józef Figlewski and Romuald Jankowski, together with their families.
Before the war, at 10 Kwiatka Street there was a haberdashery store of Icek Zelwer and a grocery store of Gołda Lemberger.
Bibliography:
Nowak-Dąbrowska G., Okno na Kwiatka. Ulica Józefa Kwiatka w Płocku od początku XIX wieku do 1939 roku – ludzie i zabudowa, Płock 2019
Plotzk (Płock). A History of an Ancient Jewish Community in Poland, edited by E. Eisenberg, Tel Aviv, 1967
Translation of Natan Lerman’s text from Hebrew to English: Pnina Stern
This Monday, 27 January 2020, marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Answering the annual appeal of the Shalom Foundation, let us join the “Light of Remembrance” action that day. Let’s light candles in our windows in Płock at 6 p.m. as a sign of commemoration […]
