April 19, 2020 marks the 77th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In connection with the anniversary, we present two people from the Płock region, whose activities were related to the Warsaw ghetto. Bronek (Boruch) Szpigel from Wyszogród (1919–2013, pictured on the […]
Dawid (Devi) Tuszyński – a painter and master of miniatures, was born in Brzeziny on September 17, 1914 (according to the entries in the registry books for the town of Brzeziny), as a son of Icek Tuszyński (born in 1879) and Sura nee Bajbok (born […]
Under the contract concluded on June 1, 1824 with the Municipal Office of the Town of Płock, the merchant Jakub Lewin Szenwic (born in 1789) received a perpetual lease of the square located at Nowa Street at that time (property 258 E) for an annual rent of 10 PLN. On this square, before 1827, he erected a brick house with one floor and a basement, covered with Dutch tiles. After his death, the property was inherited by his son Chaskiel Szenwic (1817-1889). By virtue of an official will of October 18/30, 1864, and following a request of September 20 / October 2, 1867 and 7/19 January 1870, he was registered as its owner. Before 1871, Chaskiel Szenwic erected a new brick front house: partly half-timbered, tiled, with two stories and a residential attic.
Since 1880, at the Chaskiel Szenwic house operated the Optician and Jewelery Company of Moritz Szenwic, who advertised it in the pages of “Korespondent Płocki”:
I hereby inform the Dear Audience that since January 1 this year. I have set up a repair workshop for watches, where I perform all repairs very quickly, at very affordable prices, and I have various new wall clocks to sell. I perform optical and all jewelery works 25% cheaper than larger jewelry workshops in Płock…
The next owner of the property was Tauba Itta Szenwic née Borensztejn, who purchased it from Chaskiel Szenwic for the amount of 12,000 rubles and by virtue of the act of September 29 / October 11, 1882 and the application of April 29, 1891 was registered as its owner. Tauba Itta, daughter of Hersz and Sura née Zdugman, was the daughter-in-law of Chaskiel Szenwic, wife of his son Manchajm (born in 1845) – a trader, owner of coal and wood store. At the beginning of 1893, Manchajm Szenwic opened a cooling drink manufacture at Szeroka Street.
In 1907, Manchajm and Tauba Itta Szenwic née Borensztejn bought a neighboring property at Tumska Street, mortgage number 258, for the sum of 598 rubles and 75 kopecks.
In 1909, at 1 Szeroka Street, the Russian authorities legalized the Bieker Chajlim Jewish Funeral Association, the founders of which were Jakub Szenwic, Izydor Wasserman, Chaskiel Perelgryc, Abram Fiszman, Manchajm Szenwic, Mordka Dancygier and Kalman Frenkiel.
After the death of Tauba Itta Szenwic, half of the property was acquired by Manchajm Szenwic, by virtue of pre-marriage intercourse of July 29, 1873, and the other half, in equal parts, became the property of Pessa Pelagia née Szenwice Rajcher (b. 1876), Ryfka Regina née Szenwice Wolman (b. 1886), Sura Stefania Szenwic (born in 1896), Hersz Herman Szenwic (born in 1877), Lejzor Eleazar vel Ludwik Louis Szenwic (born in 1888), Icek Izaak Jerzy Szenwic (born in 1879) and Chaja Fajga Helena Szenwic (born in 1881). The above-mentioned were registered as its owners pursuant to the protocol of closing the inheritance proceedings of October 8, 1920 and the application of May 27, 1921.
The property of the Szenwic family, including the property at Tumska St., was later purchased by Jan Trojanowski for the amount of 7,000,000 marks and, pursuant to the act of 16 August and the application of 17 August 1921, he was registered as its owner.
The list of sign boards prepared for 1929 lists 10 companies at 1 Szeroka Street: “Bar Europejski”, haberdashery shop of Stanisław Ciesielski, seed shop of Natan Graubard, the Schicht company, haberdashery shop of B. Rozental, clothes shop of L. Lichtman, engraving factory of L. Ejchelt, “Czesława” haberdashery company, haberdashery shop of J. Zelkowicz and smoked meat store of Jan Trojanowski, the property owner. According to data from 1937, this address included Jakub Purzycki’s hairdresser business, Konstanty Kowalewski’s restaurant and Chaskiel Kohn’s bookbinding workshop.
According to data from 1931, 76 people lived at 1 Szeroka Street. In the outbuilding, in which there were 6 apartments, the following people lived together with their families: Zofia Dybicz, Ludwika Dydecka, Jan Trojanowski, Hugon Gross, Blima Gruszka, Juda Głowiński, Moszek Magnes and Adam Kowalski; in the front house with 10 apartments: Sender Chmiel, Konstanty Kowalewski, Izrael Klinger, Pessa Krasiewicz, Henryk Siedliński, Luzer Lichtman, Chaim Kon, Lejzer Kugel, Pinkus Neuman, Paulin Więcławski and Izrael Finkelsztejn.
At the end of August 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, 25 families lived at this address, including the family of Izrael Klinger, Juda Tyber, Luzer Lichtman, Chilel Kon, Luzer Kugel, Lejb Gruszka, Abram Cymbler, Izrael Kwiat, Szmul Kiper and Chaskiel Kon.
The property at 1 Kwiatka Street still belongs to the descendants of Jan Trojanowski.
Kazimierz Mayzner was born on July 6, 1883 in Warsaw, as the son of Izydor and Anna née Woldenberg. His father was considered a humanist and a patriot, he was an outstanding industrialist, co-owner of a trade company, co-founder of the Mayzner Society of Sugar […]
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 the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he learned from Władysław Skoczylas, Felicjan Szczęsny Kowarski and Miłosz Kotarbiński. As a member of the graphic group “Czerń i Biel” [Black and White”], he exhibited his works at the Zachęta Gallery and the Institute of Art Propaganda. In 1936 he presented 61 works in his hometown, among which woodcuts dominated. He completed his education in Paris, where he was sent on scholarship by the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 1937 he had an individual exhibition in Paris, he also participated in the international graphics exhibition, he presented his works at the Autumn Salon in 1937 and 1938. In 1938 he exhibited his works in London. He also presented his art in the Baltic countries.
After the outbreak of the war, Fiszel Zylberberg took part in the resistance movement. In 1941 he was arrested in France and imprisoned in the camp of Bonne la-Roland, from where he was transported to Auschwitz, where, sick with typhus, he was murdered in a gas chamber.
Woodcuts by Fiszel Zylberberg (source: www.zchor.org)
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. […]
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 in all the apartments, people squeezed on the stairs, running from room to room […] the town seemed to be calm, but in front of every Jewish home there were SS guards with bayonets mounted on their weapons. People thought they were fatalists. Whatever will be, will be. But when they saw the SS guards, panic broke out, something was different than usual. Until then all displacement had been carried out by the 13th police battalion […] A short winter day passed in anticipation of the angel of death, no one thought that hell had already broken out, more than 3/4 of the inhabitants were driven out into the street, surrounded by a cordon of SS and gendarmerie. All those bastards used their power to their liking…” Sick and disabled people were killed on the spot. “Heavily wounded people laid on the ground, religious Mayer Kahn suffered from a heart attack, even though he had not been beaten by anyone, it was like a mist had surroundered him, his eyes were clouded, the psalm to the dead flashed through his head, but he no longer could say it, half his body was like made of stone”. In the afternoon, the gathered people were taken away. Ca. 4,000 people were deported to the camp in Działdowo on that day. “The rest of us went back down the street to their homes after long hours of waiting and suffering, and they were summoned the next day.”
The text uses fragments of the testimony of Symcha Guterman (born in 1903) titled “Leaves from Fire”, Polish version published by the Płock Scientific Society in 2004.
Photo of the deportation of Płock Jews from Jakub Guterman’s private collection.
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 […]
