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 […]
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 […]
August 2, 2022 marks the 79th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising in Treblinka.
Marian Płatkiewicz recalled:
“People from Płock were a pillar of the uprising. Motek Perelgryc, citizen of Płock, a bicycle mechanic. He worked in Treblinka as a tinsmith and repaired bicycles. He and his friends Łyk from Nowy Dwór and Budnik with his brother forged the key to a German weapon warehouse, they made an imprint of the key using a piece of bread. Treblinka counted nearly a thousand prisoners, and there was no one to voluntarily enter the weapons warehouse to hand over the weapons. Only Chaskiel Rozenberg and his son Szmul Rozenberg volunteered. They were let into the arsenal with weapons and they issued German automats and grenades to the insurgents through the bars. Chaskiel Rozenberg was the commander of his timber group, and in the underground he was one of the organizers of the uprising in Treblinka. He was killed during the fights. His son, Szmulek, died in the forest during the siege conducted by the Germans from outside the camp, near Treblinka. The Rozenbergs were native Płock residents. In the group of fitters, the commander was a small guy, Rudek Lubraniecki. Lubraniecki, known in Treblinka as “Little Rudek”, died during the fights at his garage in the tunnel. Rudek and the Czech Rudolf made a great panic at the SS men, blowing up a tanker full of gasoline and the oil reserves they had in Treblinka. Ber Gutman, a carpenter from Płock, worked with me in the “Kartoffelkommando”. We demolished the German “Verwaltung” during the uprising. Kryszek, a young boy from Płock, was assigned to set fire to the clothes left behind by our brothers and sisters in Treblinka. He was killed in the camp during the fights”.
In the photo, from left to right: Motek Perelgryc, Marian Płatkiewicz and Rudek Lubraniecki.
May their memory be a blessing!
More information on the history of the Treblinka Uprising: https://polin.pl/en/the-treblinka-uprising
In connection with this year’s European Days of Jewish Culture, the Nobiscum Foundation organizes an online exhibition entitled “Rachmonim bnei rachmonim. The charity and philanthropy of Płock Jews”. The exhibition, in Polish and English, will be available through the JewishPlock.eu website from 4 September 2022. […]
The Renaissance-style tenement house at 9 Kolegialna Street was built in 1885-1886 by Anna Flatau née Heyman (1838-1898) and her husband Ludwik (1829-1890) – a grain merchant, industrialist and owner of a banker’s office. Both Anna and Ludwik were well-known philanthropists in Płock, founders of […]
Cyrla (Czesława) Graubart was born on March 29, 1894, as the daughter of Szoel Bruzda and Sura Maria née Fabjan. In 1911, she graduated from a 7-grade government middle school in Warsaw. In December of that year, after passing the exam, she received a certificate of a “home teacher”. In January 1913, after taking the Latin language exam, she was allowed to undergo an apprenticeship in a pharmacy. In September 1913, she left for Berlin, where she studied German and attended a trade school. In 1915 and 1916 she worked as a teacher at the Philological Lower Middle School in Rypin. In November 1919, she became a teacher of a primary school in Płock. Until the outbreak of World War II, she was professionally associated with the primary school No. 8 for Jewish children.
Her husband was Natan Graubart (born 1886) – a merchant, owner of a seed store, banker. Cyrla Graubart had two sons – Saul Jehoszua (born January 14, 1927) and Aleksander (born March 24, 1930). She also raised two daughters of Natan Graubart from his first marriage – Jadwiga (born on September 23, 1918) and Zofia (born on December 16, 1919).
On May 13, 1886, Natan Graubart was born in Płock – he was the chairman of the Talmud-Torah religious school committee, a merchant, owner of a seed store and the president of the Cooperative Loan Bank in Płock. Natan Graubart was also the treasurer of […]
Chiel (Jechiel) Majer Bieżuński (born 1888 in Płock), teacher, son of Natan and Gitla nee Gombiner. He graduated from the provincial midle school in Płock, then continued private education in high school. He graduated from the Helena Kuczalska School of Swedish Gymnastics and Massage and […]
On October 15, 1821, Józef Jakub Kreyzler aka Josek Sokół and Gerszon Lewin Gradel aka Mintz concluded contracts for the perpetual lease of squares marked with numbers 68 (town square measuring 20 bars, with an annual rent of 1 złoty and 2 grosz) and 69 (town square measuring 20 bars, with an annual rent of 1 złoty and 2 grosz) with the Municipal Office of the Town of Płock. Before 1827, they erected a residential building on the square. It was a half-timbered house, with one upper floor, covered with tiles, 20 ells long, 12 ells wide, 6¼ ells high, located at the corner of Jerozolimska Street and Nowa Street, the internal layout of which was as follows: on the ground floor, entering from Jerozolimska Street, from the hall on the right and on the left hand, there were rooms, a shop with a room and a kitchen (a laborer, Marek Bromirz, who paid an annual rent of 126 złoty, and Lewek Abraham, who paid 180 złoty of an annual rent, lived here); There was a basement under this apartment where Michał Mięter lived, paying 90 złoty of an annual rent. On the first floor of the hall on the right there was a room and an alcove, which was occupied by Lewin Goldszyd. On the left hand of Nowa Street there was a room with a chamber, and in the attic there was one room with three storage places. There was no yard by the house.
Both Josek Sokół (ca. 1777–1844) and Gerszon Lewin Mintz (ca. 1769–1839) were tailors by profession.
On April 27 / May 9, 1835, the Municipal Office of the Town of Płock gave permission to Gerszon Lewin to sell the property at number 69 to his son Lewin Mintz. The contract was concluded on May 6/18, 1835.
As a result of the purchase and sale contract of June 1/13 and the regulation protocol of June 4/16, 1843, Chana Sura and Lewin Goldszyd, Szajna Chaja and Szulim Kurant and Abraham Szmul Sokół became the owners of the property marked with number 68.
Under the mortgage regulation protocol of June 4/16, 1843, separate mortgage books were established for real estate numbered 68 and 69.
Lewin Goldszyd and Szulim Kurant then purchased 1/3 of this property from Abraham Szmul Sokół for 1200 złoty under a purchase and sale contract of August 8/20, 1844. In the same year, Lewin Goldszyd and his wife, Chana Sura, gave their daughter Szaja Estera and her future husband, Symsza Szrejber, one store room from their property on the front of Jerozolimska Street, formerly owned by Alter Abraham, for a period of 12 years.
Under the contract of July 24/August 5, 1853, half of the real estate belonging to Szajna and Szulim Kurant was bought by Icek Karasek (born 1819; son of Mordka and Liba Karasek) for the amount of 3600 złoty. Icek Karasek then purchased half of the real estate with two store rooms from Chana Sura nee Sokoł and Lewin Golszyd for 9350 złoty under a purchase and sale contract of September 25/October 7, 1853. On February 11/23, 1854, Karasek bought property number 69 from Lewin Gerszon Mintz.
In 1857, Icek Karasek demolished the old buildings that were in danger of collapsing, and in 1860 he erected a new brick house. It was a residential house, made of lime-burnt brick, with a ground floor and two floors, with basements under half of the house, covered with tiles, 54 Russian feet long, 34 feet wide, 36 feet high. The value of the buildings, including the square, was estimated at 83 898 złoty and 22 grosz.
The location of the building at the corner of Szeroka and Jerozolimska Streets allowed for the design of two frontages, while the frontage from Jerozolimska Street took over the main function. The semicircular arcades of the ground floor openings and the first floor enriched with triangular pediments are characteristic of this building, known today as the Rabbi’s House.
In his house on the corner of Jerozolimska and Szeroka Streets, Icek Karasek ran a company – a store selling iron and agricultural tools (he was granted the iron trade permit on October 12/24, 1843), in which, according to an advertisement in the “Płock Calendar for a Leap Year 1876” , one could purchase, among others, threshers and manages from various domestic and foreign factories, chaff cutters, grinders and choppers, Boston winnowing machines, Prussian scratchers, Września plows, Czech harrows and extirpators.
Under the protocol of August 7/19, 1861, real estate no. 68 and 69 were merged into one mortgage book. In 1885 the property was purchased by Ewa Irina Stefania Fijałkowska for 4815 rubles.
The next owner was the trader Ber Taub (born 1860), son of the trader Izrael Icek and Nycha Fajga, who bought it for the sum of 4900 rubles under the contract of April 25 / May 7, 1897. The property was bought from Taub by Majer and Chasza Frenkiel for 41 000 marks and 5 000 rubles under a purchase and sale contract of July 18, 1919.
In 1931, 29 people lived at 25 Szeroka Street. They resided in eight apartments together with their families: Gołda Nordenberg, Pinkus Zylber, Ruda Brana Rogonowicz, Ber Taub, Szajndla Bursztyn, Jakób Nagiel, Majer Frenkiel, Ruchla Szeraszew, Zelman Libson, Stanisław Ciesielski and Wiktor Modelski.
Before the war, at 25 Szeroka Street, registered were the companies of Dawid Jesion – confectionery trade, Ber Ciechanowski – shoe shop, Jakub Płockier – hat maker’s workshop, Pinkus Zylber – trade in fabrics, Mordka Moszkowicz – clothes shop and Icek Kronenberg – haberdashery shop.
Bibliography: Nowak-Dąbrowska G., Okno na Kwiatka. Ulica Józefa Kwiatka w Płocku od początku XIX wieku do 1939 roku – ludzie i zabudowa, Płock 2019
I was interested in my family history only since a distant cousin from a different part of the family gave me a scruffy, rolled up paper family tree that was a bit out of date. I was a side entry on that tree. But there […]
