On February 21, on the 80th anniversary of the first deportation of Jews from the Płock ghetto, the album Dalet by the Płock trio Schröttersburg was released. Both the release date and the title of the album are not accidental – Michał, bassist and vocalist […]
We invite you to watch the film “Into the abyss of shadows”, which we prepared in connection with the 80th anniversary of the liquidation of the Płock ghetto. In the film, you can listen to the accounts of witnesses of these events, see archival documents […]
Matias Marienstras (Mateusz Mariański) (1900-1957) – doctor of medicine. He was born on September 22 in Płock. He was the son of a merchant from Warsaw, Moszek and Sura née Krykus. He had two brothers – Wilhelm, who was also a doctor by profession, and Maksymilian – a pharmacist, and a sister, Franciszka (married name: Sztabholc).
In his youth he was a member of Makabi and chairman of the canoeing section of the association. He graduated with honors from the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. He received his diploma on July 3, 1929 (specialization: ENT and surgery). Until 1932, he was associated with the Vilnius university, where he lectured. He received diplomas of a doctor of all medical sciences and of the Institute of Physical Education in Warsaw.
In 1932, he married Kazimiera Butkiewicz (born 1902), the daughter of Matylda and Otto, who was a pianist by education. After the wedding, Matias Marienstras moved to Płock with his wife. Professionally, he was associated with the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital. He ran a private ENT office at 10 Kolegialna Street. He was a member of the Płock department of the Hygienic Society.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he and his wife moved to Warsaw. His son Grzegorz Janusz (Zvi) was born here. During the occupation, he stayed with his family in Vilnius, and then in Grodno, where throughout the war he actively supported partisan units fighting against the Nazi occupiers, including secretly providing medical assistance to wounded soldiers.
In 1947 he returned to Poland and settled with his family in Gdańsk. He worked as an ENT specialist and doctor in Gdańsk schools. He also treated divers who excavated ships sunk in the Gulf of Gdańsk during World War II. Then he moved with his family to Warsaw, where he worked as a medical school inspector and a doctor for an orphanage in Śródborów. In 1952, he emigrated with his family to Israel. Until the end of his life he worked in his profession (including practice in the cities of Afula and Hadera). He died on March 13, 1957 as a result of a stroke.
The Jews of Płock, apart from creating their own social organizations, took an active part in the activities of many others operating in the town. An example may be the Medical Society of Płock, where doctors of Jewish origin were involved, many of whom were […]
27 January 2021 marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, following the annual call of the Shalom Foundation, we encourage everyone in Płock to light candles in our windows on 6 p.m. as a sign of remembrance of all victims of the Holocaust. […]
Chaim Mendel aka Mieczysław Themerson (1871–1930) – doctor of medicine from Płock, writer and journalist was born on October 8, 1871, as the son of the turner Rubin and Chaja Tauba Themerson. Chaim Mendel graduated from the Płock Governorate Middle High School, and then the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Warsaw. After graduation, he ran a private medical practice at Grodzka Street. Chaim Mendel’s wife was Sara Liba vel Salomea née Smulewicz (born 1879), with whom he had three children: a daughter Irena (born 1904) and sons Stefan (1910-1988), who later became an outstanding writer, journalist and filmmaker, and Roman (1900 –1929), a doctor. In 1914, Chaim Mendel was mobilized into the tsarist army – he performed the duties of a military doctor in Wielkie Łuki. In 1919 he returned with his family to Płock. The Themersons lived at 5 Grodzka Street. This is also where Chaim Mendel ran his office as an internal medicine specialist. He was also a doctor of the Local Health Fund.
Chaim Mendel aka Mieczysław Themerson was passionate about literature: he published medical articles and minor literary works in such magazines as: “Ginekologia”, “Zdrowie”, “Goniec Poranny”, “Kurier Codzienny”, “Tygodnik Ilustrowany”, “Rozmaitości Literackie i Naukowe” and “Izraelita”. He was the author of the dramatic works “Tajemnica” (“Secret”), “Trucizna” (“Poison”), “Pleśń” (“Mold”), and “Na fali” (“On the Wave” – staged in Płock in 1903), as well as the novels “Szpieg” (“Spy”) and “Bunt krwi” (“Blood Revolt”). Themerson was also a social activist – co-founder of the Society for Free Care for Poor, Sick Jews. He belonged to the Płock Scientific Society, Płock Rowing Society and the Polish Progressive Press.
Paweł Goldstein (1884-1942) – an outstanding surgeon, scientist, one of the pioneers of neurosurgery in Poland, born in 1884 in the family of Kalman Kopel and Temra née Tac. His family lived at 10 Więzienna Street (now 30 Sienkiewicza Street) in Maria Obniska’s tenement house. […]
Year 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of the liquidation of the Płock ghetto. The first deportation of Jews from Płock took place on February 21, 1941, the last – on March 1 of this year. In order to commemorate the days when about 10,000 Jews […]
Józef Majer Kunig (1857-1930) – son of Szyja Lejzer and Ryfka née Majorkiewicz. A graduate of the Governorate Middle High School in Płock and the Imperial University of Warsaw. For many years the director of the Izaak Fogel Jewish hospital. He was a well-known social activist in Płock: during World War I he was active in the Committee for Aid to Jews in Płock, in the 1920s – in the Jewish Charity Society. He was also the president of the Hazomir Association.
In 1832 in Płock, in the family of doctor Filip Lubelski and Wilhelmina née Frankenstein, Wilhelm Szymon Lubelski was born – a future psychiatrist, also a social activist, a favorite of Warsaw residents, appreciated for his comprehensive knowledge, sense of humor and erudition. Wilhelm graduated […]
