The Holocaust
Jew in Nowy Korczyn During World War II
Personal Witness "The roundup of Nowy Korczyn Jews"
Jews were first mentioned in Nowy Korczyn History in the 15th Century, when they were restricted to residence outside the town walls. In 1866 they completed one of the most magnificent synagogues in Poland. The Jewish Population grew from 1,232 in 1827 to 2,781 in 1897. After World War 1, Jews opened new workshops (for hide processing, tailoring and work in wood and wicker. Zionist activity was extensive.
Where Once We Walked by Gray Mokotoff & Sallyann Amdui Sack
Above is a picture that was taken at the townsquare
just after the outbrake of the WW2. Edward Glodowski the NK Parish Priest,
and quite a strong antisemite himself, is speaking. On his left side in
the picture there is a banner which reads "Precz od naszych granic",
which in English would be something like "Get away from our frontiers!".
Among people listening, there are Jews and Poles.
E-mail written By Jarmo Jaaskelainen on Jews in Nowy Korczyn during World War II
The Jews of Nowy Korczyn being marched out town by the Nazi's to the death camps.
In Yad Vashem archives in Jerusalem there is a testimony of a Nowy Korczyn survivor in which he tells that the Germans crossed into Nowy Korczyn the day after the Jewish New Year. In the year 1939 the Jewish New Year was on September 15-16. In several other testimonies the date of arrival of the German army is mentioned as September 20. So we can presume that this date is correct.
Generally in occupied Poland the ghettos were organized by the Nazi German occupation law in spring 1941, so April for Nowy Korczyn must be correct. But as opposed to what happened in Warsaw, in Lodz, and some other places around, the Nowy Korczyn ghetto was an open ghetto without fences, controlled by the German Military Police, the German appointed Jewish Council, with its Chairman being the most important person, and by the Jewish Police.
There was no exact information about the coming deportation of N.K. Jews, but there were enough rumours about what was happening in other Shtetls to make some people take precautious and if they had possibilities organize hiding places in bunkers and elsewhere.
In the night of November 2. in 1942 Nowy Korczyn was surrounded by the German military and two Ukranian units. The Jews of the town were chased to the town square - or rather a market place in the centre of the town. There could have been 2000 Jews or 3000 or more, I don't know, different figures are mentioned. However, all the Jews of Nowy Korczyn were deported, except the members of the Jewish Council, and the Jewish police, and at least some part of their families. Two figures are mentioned in Yad Vashem documents - in all 60 or 70 people were left. The pre-war Jewish population of Nowy Korczyn is put between 2000 and 3000, against 1000 Poles.
A few days later, in November 1942, when the situation after the deportation had calmed down a bit, some 200 Jews turned up from different make shift hiding places. So there were around 300 people in what became to be known as a small ghetto of Nowy Korczyn.
In the end of November 1942, the date November 24. is mentioned, a Wehrmacht truck came and took a number of Jews to work in the German ammunition factory HASAG in the town of Kielce. And in the beginning of December 1942, in the documents there is a note that by December 10 another group of Nowy Korczyn. Jews were taken away and placed in the Sandomierz ghetto. So there were some 70 Jews left in Nowy Korczyn, those who were not part of the November 2 deportation. They formed the small ghetto of Nowy Korczyn proper.
Where did the deportation go from Nowy Korczyn? The Jews were first marched 18 km in direction of a small town of Slupie. In the morning hours they met another group of Jews who had been deported from Pacanow, and they were all marched together 10 more kilometers to Szczucin railwaystation and taken by train to Belzec Vernichtunglager - not to Treblinka. This information comes from the testimonies of Nowy Korczyn Jews who managed to escape from the train transport. There is a possiblity, though, that the group of Nowy Korczyn Jews who were taken to Sandomierz in December 1942 might have been transported from there to Treblinka.
What was the task of the small getto is another story which I might return to later if you want so, however, the Nowy Korczyn small ghetto existed at least 7 months, till may 1943. Then one day a Wehrmacht truck came again and the Germans carried out selection. The Jews capable to work were taken to Kielce, elderly Jews and children were shot.
Jewish Police - Moshe Wachter (Left) and Kalma
Wacher (Right) Women unknown.
But the key persons of the Jewish Council and the police were not there. They had been informed about the liquidation of the small ghetto in advance and they had had time to prepare their hiding places - one for the Chairman of the Jewish Council and his family at the Macugowskis' house.
Digging of the bunker under the house, the construction of which was not yet finished at that time, was a difficult task and took a long time. The fiancé of one the Chairman's three daughters was helping Jozef at nights. The German Militia headquarters was only three hundred meters away.
I have copies of all the documents I have referred to in this mail in Yiddish, transcripted in Latin, and translated. I have also all the names of the persons I am quoting herewith.
You may ask what makes me write all this. The reason is simple. I have authored three films on Holocaust, the last one of them about Nowy Korczyn and made one more as a producer. I have also made many other historical documentaries and I cannot easily accept re-writing of history, for any reason.
Two days ago I had a talk over the phone with a close neighbour of the Macugowskis'. Jozef has passed away three years ago, and Stefania a year later. Their house is now empty. Their two daughters are living elsewhere, one in Cracow, the other one somewhere in the Northern suburbs of Chicago.
The Synagogue in N.K. is a ruin as it was fourteen
years ago when I was shooting my film, and the sleepy town of N.K. that
lively little Shtetl is now slowly falling apart - with the exception
of two catholic churches. This at least is the impression I got on the
phone.
Please note: This is a copy of an email from Jaarmo Jaaskelainen to Ann Wine explaining the situation in Nowy Korczyn during the war. It was written to correct historical facts that have been misrecorded in some reference books. Jaarmo wrote and directed a documentary "Heroes and Martyrs". See Righteous Among the Nations for further information and Thank You's.
Personal Witness - Mr Frank Dobia on October 2, 1942
The tractor with the trailers went on with us on them to the railway station. We went through a little town called Nowy-Korczyn. The town was empty of people. A strange feeling went through us. The people that were with me were from Stopnica. They knew the area and felt like me very disturbed. When we got to the railway station that was a few km on, we could not drive into the station. All the Jews from Nowy-Korczyn were there waiting to be transported to their final destination. It was getting dark and the guards that surrounded the people lit carbide lamps to keep the people together and make sure that nobody escapes.
What we saw there was the cruelest treatment that I ever experienced. The tractor was about 50 metres away from the people. The screams, the shouting we could clearly hear. The guards called for the "oberjude". They made them all sing. All that time the guards kept on shooting, stirring even greater terror and panic among the trapped Jews. Many many shots were fired, cries, screams and finally the train arrived and the loading took place. This picture stands before my eyes continually. I don't think that apart from the Germans and Ukrainians that carried out these barbarous jobs of deportations, that there ever was another eyewitness during the physical loadings of the Jews, destined for the gas chambers. That night there were 9 eyewitnesses. As soon as the first wagon was closed up the pleadings and the screams for water was continuous. The whippings, the barking of the dogs, the savageness and cruelty, that these poor Jews from Nowy-Korczyn had to endure, I am unable to put it into words. Finally the train with the unfortunate cargo left the siding and the German driver of the tractor returned very drunk and with some girls.
While all this was going on, he was in the railway station entertaining the girls. He pulled the trailers up on to the ramp, where a railway wagon was waiting for us to offload the wheat. He unhooked the tractor, switched on the headlights and gathered with the girls some of the parcels the unfortunate Jews left behind. He went back to continue his drinking and we started our offloading. We couldn't help but notice some of the people that were shot during the action. We took from the bodies the "Kenkarte" identity cards and when we finished the unloading of the trailers, we pleaded with the German to let us take the bodies home with us for burial. He refused, so they were left there. Late in the morning we returned to Stopnica. Very soon the Ghetto knew what we witnessed. We were arrested by the Jewish police and belted by them for causing panic in the town .
Taken from a letter written by Mr Frank Dobia (Melbourne,
Australia) on the 1st October, 1996.
http://internex.net.au/~fdobia/Chm-stop.htm
List of Nowy Korczyn Survivors
This list was written by Israel Wine (Izrael Wajnbaum) in 1989. He was born in 1910 in Nowy Korczyn. Israel was hidden by the Piwowarczyk Family (see Righteous Among the Nations)and survived the war together with his wife and son.
Israel WINE (Israel WAJNBAUM)
Lola Wine (Leah WAJNBAUM nee ORZECH)
Albert WINE (Adash WAJNBAUM) Child
Leon RAZA (Szapsa RADCA)
Tina RADCA
Szajber CALEL
Moszek FRIDMAN
Morris Strosberg (Moszek STROZBERG)
William Strosberg (Wowek STROZBERG)
Mendel GRINBAUM
Chaim PISARZ
Leon WACHTER (Leib WACHTER)
Moszek WACHTER
Zisza RUBIN
Hudes RUBIN
Szajndla WEINBERG
Leibke RADCA
Gitel RADCA
Sarah WEINER (Sara RADCA)
Miriam OGINSKI (Maria RADCA)
Zahava BURACK (Golda RADCA)
Alan KUPFER
Sara GRINBERG (Sarah BOK)
Icek DALEZMAN
Leib LERNER
Rita NUSSBAUM (Rita RADCA)
Henry NUSSBAUM (Hanoch NUSSBAUM)
Shifre DALEZMAN SPIGELMAN
Syma DRUT SOLNIK (b. 1922)
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Zisha & Hinde Rubin , Label (Leon) Wachter
Moszek Fridman & wife
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Moszek Strozberg
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DP Camp - Furth (in Nuremberg) |
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I believe this list to be comlete. If you would like to submit a name or add the "newer" name in. Please email the webmaster.
Who was hidden where & who helped!
Israel WINE (Israel WAJNBAUM) - Piwowarczyk
Family
Lola Wine (Leah WAJNBAUM nee ORZECH)- Piwowarczyk Family
Albert WINE (Adash WAJNBAUM) Child- Piwowarczyk Family
Leon RAZA (Szapsa RADCA)- Piwowarczyk Family
Tina RADCA - Macugowski
Calel SZAJBER - Mr & Mrs Kuku³czak or hidden in an attic not
far from the Rynek in NK by
Joanna and Wladyslaw Stachurski.
Moszek FRIDMAN - Mr & Mrs Kuku³czak
Morris Strosberg (Moszek STROZBERG) - Butcher in Rynek
William Strosberg (Wowek STROZBERG) - Hidden in Leka (non NK Side)
Mendel GRINBAUM
Chaim PISARZ - Mr & Mrs Kuku³czak
Leon WACHTER (Leib WACHTER) - Mr & Mrs Kuku³czak
Moszek WACHTER - Hidden in BORSOW
Zisza RUBIN - Hidden in BORSOW
Hudes RUBIN - Hidden in BORSOW
Szajndla WEINBERG - Hid under bed during roundup. Hidden by elderly lady
near Church.
Leibke RADCA - Macugowski
Gitel RADCA- Macugowski
Sarah WEINER (Sara RADCA) - Macugowski
Miriam OGINSKI (Maria RADCA)- Macugowski
Zahava BURACK (Golda RADCA)- Macugowski
Alan KUPFER- Macugowski
Sara GRINBERG (Sarah BOK)- Macugowski
Icek SPIEGELMAN - Jonek Shirok in the ceiling near River (wife didn't
know till end of war!)
Leib LERNER
Rita NUSSBAUM (Rita RADCA) - Labor Camps
Henry NUSSBAUM (Hanoch NUSSBAUM) - Labor Camps
Shifre DALEZMAN SPIEGELMAN - Labor Camps
Syma DRUT SOLNIK - Released from Dachau 1945
Other Poles involved in assisting Jews:
Honorka (married Marion(?) Sliwa) - hid
Lola & Albert Wajnbaum on night of roundup after crossed river.
Wichte (Baked the bread left in tree & provided Mrs Kuku³czak
eggs)