In 1998, the municipality of Płock purchased the building of the former synagogue at 7 Józefa Kwiatka Street from the Jewish Religious Community in Warsaw. The municipality planned to place a small museum dedicated to the Jews of Płock in the building, but also to […]
At the beginning of August 2022, we wrote a letter to the Chairman of the City Council of Płock, Mr. Artur Jaroszewski, regarding the commemoration of three residents of Płock of Jewish origin – Symcha Guterman, Edward Flatau and Nachum Sokolow, by naming the newly […]
On March 1, 2020, the Nobiscum Foundation, courtesy of Susan Keller Mouckley, Sandra Brygart Rodriguez and Arieh Bomzon, presented a film recorded in the summer of 1937 in Płock by Herman and Norton Keller. The premiere of the film took place during a commemorative event organized by the foundation on the 79th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from the Płock ghetto. This year, in connection with the 82nd anniversary of the deportation, we will present the next part of the film, also recorded in July 1937, previously unpublished, in which Herman and Norton Keller filmed their journey to Płock, including the streets of our city – Józefa Kwiatka, Kolegialna and Bielska and their residents.
We would like to invite you to the premiere of the film “Journey to Płock” on February 17 at 6 pm at Dom Darmstadt (8 Old Market Square). On that day, will will also present the project entitled “The Little Book of Names”. The project is dedicated to the children of the Płock ghetto, and is also an attempt to bring back from oblivion the names of the youngest victims of the terror of the German occupier during World War II. Brutally deprived of childhood and a sense of security, forcibly torn from their own homes, they became, as Yaakov Guterman recalled years later, “victims of paralyzing fear and depressing concern for tomorrow.” Children have become helpless victims and witnesses of ubiquitous hunger, disease and death. In the winter of 1941, during the liquidation of the Płock ghetto, some of them, including infants, were brutally murdered. Children died in the transit camp in Działdowo, in the Warsaw Ghetto, in Treblinka, in Auschwitz. The project is the result of research conducted in the archival resources of the State Archives in Płock. Based on the source materials, we were able to determine the names of 1,680 children who were among the group of 6,000 prisoners in the Płock ghetto, which existed from September 1940 to the beginning of March 1941. The inspiration for the foundation’s project is the invaluable work of Dariusz Popiela and his unique project “People, not numbers”, in which he commemorates the Jewish communities of his home region.
On March 1, at 4:00 p.m., we encourage people of Płock to read the names of the 1,680 youngest prisoners of the Płock ghetto together with us at the Jewish cemetery at Mickiewicza Street. During the meeting, we will place symbolic pebbles, which are a traditional Jewish form of commemoration, on the monument to the victims of the Holocaust.
Events commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the deportation of Jews from the ghetto in Płock are organized by the Nobiscum Foundation thanks to our own funds and support from our donors.
On January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp is commemorated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, we especially remember the Jewish residents of our city who were murdered in the Płock ghetto, in Imielnica, in the Działdowo transit […]
Ada Holtzman (1951-2016) was the daughter of Meir Holtzman (1914-1998) and Rywcia (Rywka) nee Gostyński (1914-1969). Her grandfather – Eliahu Holtzman (1866-1923) was married to Rasza née Złotnik (1870-1937), who came from a well-known rabbinical family. Her brother was the Płock rabbi Jona Mordechaj Złotnik. […]
November 14, 2022 is the date of the premiere of the latest book published by the Nobiscum Foundation – “Rachmonim bnei rachmonim. Charity and philanthropy of Płock Jews” by Gabriela Nowak-Dąbrowska.
The 340-page publication is a presentation of selected initiatives undertaken by the Jews of Płock from the 19th century to the post-war period, as well as Jewish benefactors, philanthropists, extraordinary people who selflessly acted for the good of their community. The sources of the book are the archival materials stored in the State Archives in Płock, including the documents of the town of Płock, files of the Płock Jewish religious community and the archival document set of the Social Welfare Council of the Płock Governorate. These sources are supplemented by the press information, including the weekly “Izraelita” published in the years 1866-1912 in Warsaw.
The book was published in connection with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital in 2022 and the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish Charity Society. With this publication, we want to remind the contemporary residents of our city about Jewish activists, whose work can still be inspiring for all those who are close to the ethos of social activism. It is also another book of the foundation, which is an attempt to commemorate the Jewish community of Płock, the history of which dates back to 1237.
The book was published thanks to the Nobiscum Foundation’s own funds and the support of our donors – Arie Fuks and Michael Fuks – in the first limited edition of 100 copies. It will be available at the price of 45 PLN starting from November 14 locally at the Płock Local Tourist Organization (8 Old Market Square) and by mail order – directly at the Nobiscum Foundation (contact for mail order of the book: info@fundacjanobiscum.eu)
Please note that this is the Polish edition of the book. The English edition is scheduled for the first months of 2023.
Fiszel Gerszon Nordenberg was born on November 1, 1895, in the family of a merchant Daniel Dawid Nordenberg and Hinda Michla Fliderblum, in a house at number 41 on the former Szeroka Street. Neil Bass recalls his grandfather: On August 5, 1917, in the wake […]
The online exhibition “Rachmonim bnei rachmonim. The charity and philanthropy of Płock Jews” is now available: https://jewishplock.eu/en/rachmonim-bnei-rachmonim-en/ Organizer of the exhibition: The partner of the exhibition is the State Archives in Płock. The exhibition is part of the program of this year’s European Days of […]
Bolesław Norski-Nożyca was a well-known pre-war cabaret actor, monologist, parodist, author of song lyrics and sketch comedies and singer, who was born in 1904 in Płock as Wolf Nożyca in the family of a merchant, Icek and Tauba Ruchla née Frydman. The Nożyca family lived at the Old Market Square, in a tenement house at number 21 (the last known pre-war address of Icek and Tauba Ruchla Nożyca was 15 Old Market Square). Wolf Nożyca completed his military service in the third battalion of the 32nd Infantry Regiment in Działdowo, during which, among others, he played in the drama circle of professional non-commissioned officers. On September 11, 1932, he married 21-year-old Tauba Cymerman from Chełm Lubelski, the daughter of Aron, a merchant, and Gitla née Achtmanow. Wolf Nożyca’s family was closely related to the Bomzon and Brygart families from Płock (his mother Tauba was the half-sister of Lejb Bomzon and Dwojra Ides Brygart née Bomzon).
Although in the archival documents he is listed as a “teacher” (it is possible that he was a graduate of the King Bolesław Krzywousty Men’s Teacher Training Seminar in Płock; for some time he also worked in a primary school, from which he was dismissed due to maintaining close contacts with female students). Wolf Nożyca was one of the most popular and liked comedy actors in Jewish-Polish revue theaters and cabarets. “An intelligent, subtle, unrivaled humorist-announcer, an incomparable master of the spoken word, a prodigy of humor” – as it was written about him in “Trubadur Warszawy” magazine. He performed, among others, in Lublin, Radom, Chełm, Łódź, Będzin and Piotrków Trybunalski. However, he never performed in his home town of Płock. The name of Bolesław Norski-Nożyca was also known abroad, thanks to the albums which he recorded for Syrena Record.
In 1937, Bolesław Norski-Nożyca was accused of plagiarism, as noted in “Robotnik” of October 2 of that year: “Emanuel Schlechter, revue and film author, looking through records in one of the music magazines, noticed in the album entitled “Million of professions” the following note: “Composer, author and publisher – Bolesław Norski-Nożyca”. This fact surprised Schlechter, who wrote the lyrics to the song, and the music was composed five years ago by the American composer, Olszanecki. “A Million Professions” was a Jewish song whose original title was “Lots of Work – Little Earnings”. Four years before Leo Fuks, a revue artist, came to Schlechter, who was in Lviv at that time, with a request to write the Polish text for the aforementioned song. “A Million Professions” translated by Schlechter, and interpreted by Leo Fuks was popular for a long time in the then revue theater “Qui-Pro-Quo” and “Ananas”. After Fuks left for America, Norski-Nożyca purchased the song from Leo Fuks and performed it as his own property on stage. Recently, Norski-Nożyca recorded it on “Syrena-Electro” records, changing the lyrics to some extent. In this situation, Schlechter demanded through ZAIKS from “Syrena-Electro” to withdraw the records of the song from sales…”.
During the Nazi occupation, Bolesław Norski-Nożyca performed in the Warsaw Ghetto, in theaters and cafes (including Café of Revue Artists “Bon Apetit” at 37 Nalewki Street in Warsaw). He was also often invited to philanthropic cultural events. He was most likely murdered in the Nazi concentration camp in Lublin.
The Nobiscum Foundation is happy to announce the premiere of the second edition of the guidebook “In the footsteps of Płock Jews” by Gabriela Nowak-Dąbrowska, which will be available from August 28 thanks to funding we received from the City of Płock. The first edition […]
