Józef Kwiatek was born on January 22, 1874 in Płock, in a large Jewish family. His father Fiszel, son of Efroim Kwiatek (1792-1875) and Sura née Kagan, traded in colonial goods. Józef’s mother was Hinda née Prussak. Józef had six siblings – brothers Symcha (born […]
In 1816, in Kutno Mordka Lindeman (Linderman) (born ca. 1791), son of the trader Berek and Bluma (daughter of Chaim), married Perel Fux (born ca. 1792), the daughter of the baker Szyja and Małka (daughter of Jonasz). In 1817 their son Chaim was born, and […]
One of the families associated with the former Szeroka Street (currently Józefa Kwiatka St.) was the Berliner family. Beniamin Berliner was born in 1829 in Płock as the son of Hersz and Maria. He was a tailor by profession (like his parents). In 1851 he married Krajndla Topaz (born in 1832), daughter of Beniamin and Jeres. Beniamin and Krajndla Berliner had 6 children: sons Szulim (born in 1857), Majer (born in 1866) and Icek Jankef (born in 1868) and daughters Symcha (born in 1861), Sura (born in 1872) and Masha ( born in 1874). The Berliners lived in a tenement house at 36 Szeroka Street, which was owned by Hersz Szlezyngier. Symcha Berliner married Abram Izaak Klejn, who came from Kalisz (ca. 1857-1887) and was the son of Lejb and Frajda. Their son Izrael was born in 1886. In the early 1890s, the Berliner family emigrated to England. After the death of Abram Izaak, Symcha married Abraham Fass, who came from Płock and was a cotton porter. The family lived in Liverpool. Symcha Berliner died in 1925. Izrael Klejn (Cyril Keene) married Miriam Blumenthal (1885-1963). He died in Reading, Berkshire, on January 4, 1942.
Photographs courtesy of Sue Easter. Thank you!
On September 19, a board exhibition entitled Józef Kwiatek and his street which the Nobiscum Foundation has realized in connection with the 145th anniversary of birth of Józef Kwiatek (1874-1910), will be opened at the P Gallery in the Płock City Hall. The exhibition was […]
The Multicultural Gostynin initiative and the Municipal Cultural Center in Gostynin invite you to this year’s European Heritage Days, which should be interesting to everyone interested in the history of the Jews who once lived in the city. We especially recommend a walk in the […]
World War II brought the extermination of the Jews of Płock. In February and March 1941, the Nazi occupants deported about 10,000 Jews from Płock and nearby towns to German concentration camps. From around 9,000 of Jewish people living in Płock before the outbreak of the war, only a few survived.
When talking about these dark times, we use numbers, often forgetting that specific people are behind them. Men, women and children.
Every now and then important, necessary and smart projects arise in the public space that motivate us to take on new challenges. Inspired by the initiative of Dariusz Popela “People, not numbers” and the project of the “Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Center – “Lublin. 43 000”, we will implement the project:
Remembrance. Płock 1939
The goal of the initiative by the Nobiscum Foundation will be to commemorate all Jewish citizens of Płock who perished in the Holocaust. Based on archival documents from the World War II period, we will compile information on all Jews living in Płock, together with data regarding the address of residence and date of birth, which will be available on the JewishPlock.eu website.
We hope that on March 1 next year, on the anniversary of the last deportation of Płock Jews to the camp in Działdowo, we will be able to present you the results of our archival research.
Soon we will also inform you about the next initiative of the project “Remembrance. Płock 1939”.
In 1841, property with the mortgage number 37 at Grodzka Street was purchased from Anna Kłobuszewska nee Zawidzka and Teofila Białkowska née Kłobuszewska by Samuel Majeran. In the years 1841-1842 Majeran erected a brick tenement house on the square. Since 1873, the owner of the […]
My grandfather, Izydor Wajcman (born 1867), came from a large Jewish family associated with Wyszogród. He was the son of Szmul Jochim (1841-1892), son of Zelik Lewek (born 1794) and Ryfka née Eben (born 1796), and Estera Sura née Albert (1837-1901), daughter of Mosiek Albert […]
On August 18, 1920, the Bolshevik army attacked Płock. Until August 19, the city’s civilian population, including women and children, heroically defended themselves on the barricades along with the army, preventing soldiers of Bolshevik Russia from gaining the bridgehead and crossing the Vistula.
In the face of Bolshevik danger, the Jews of Płock did not remain passive. Already ca. July 10, the board of the Jewish community adopted a resolution that reads: “Like one man, children of one land, we must stand up for the country. Whoever is strong and healthy, let him stand up to the enemy, whoever is incapable of fighting, let him sacrifice his social work on the altar of the homeland.”
The Jewish community set up a committee which operated in the recruitment and support section for soldiers and running the hospital for the wounded. The idea of defending the country was undertaken by Jewish youth from the Jewish Co-educational Middle School of Humanities. Local manufacturers of Jewish origin – Izydor Sarna and Maurycy Margulies – also supported Płock residents.
Source: G. Gołębiewski, “Obrona Płocka przed wojskami bolszewickimi 18-19 sierpnia 1920 r.” [Defense of Płock against the Bolshevik forces, August 18-19, 1920], Płock 2015
On a plaque commemorating people killed in the defense of Płock in August 1920 on the guard house building (4 Tumska Street) one can find the names of Jews of Płock: Izaak Assante, Chaim Hammer, Abram Narwa, Ber Nordenberg, Chaim Ogman, Uszer Rotenberg and Dawid Szenwic.
Hechaluc began its activity in Płock in 1923. Its founders were A. Kowalski, F. Fliderblum and M. Kenigsberg. Szymon Margulin, Mojżesz Zander and A. Lejbgot were also part of the board of the organization. The organization’s goal was to emigrate its members to Eretz Israel. […]
