Hunt for the Jews

Jan Grabowski

Description

The betrayal and killing of Jews in German-occupied Poland

Judenjagd, hunt for the Jews, was the German term for the organized searches for Jews who, having survived ghetto liquidations and deportations to death camps in Poland in 1942, attempted to hide "on the Aryan side." Jan Grabowski's penetrating microhistory tells the story of the Judenjagd in Dabrowa Tarnowska, a rural county in southeastern Poland, where the majority of the Jews in hiding perished as a consequence of betrayal by their Polish neighbors. Drawing on materials from Polish, Jewish, and German sources created during and after the war, Grabowski documents the involvement of the local Polish population in the process of detecting and killing the Jews who sought their aid. Through detailed reconstruction of events, this close-up account of the fates of individual Jews casts a bright light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust in Poland.

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Dąbrowa Tarnowska
2. Jews and Poles in Dąbrowa Tarnowska Before 1939
3. First Years of Occupation
4. The Destruction of Dąbrowa Tarnowska
5. Judenjagd – Hunt for the Jews
6. Rural Society and the Jews in Hiding
7. In the Dulcza Forest
8. The German Police
9. The Polish "Blue" Police
10. Baudienst
11. Last Months of War
12. Different Kinds of Help
13. The Righteous
Conclusion
Documents & Tables
Bibliography

Sujets

• 20th Century
• Jewish
• Modern
• Holocaust
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Jews
• The Holocaust
• Jewish studies
• Modern history
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• Holocauste

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 09 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253010872
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

HUNT FOR THE
JEWS
HUNT FOR THE
JEWS

Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland
Jan Grabowski
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS BLOOMINGTON INDIANAPOLIS
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
2013 by Jan Grabowski
An earlier Polish version of this book was published as Jan Grabowski, Judenjagd: Polowanie na yd w 1942-1945 (Warsaw: Stowarzyszenie Centrum Bada nad Zaglad yd w, 2011),
2011 by Jan Grabowski and Stowarzyszenie Centrum Bada nad Zaglad yd w.
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grabowski, Jan, [date]-author.
[Judenjagd. English]
Hunt for the Jews : betrayal and murder in German-occupied Poland / Jan Grabowski.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-01074-2 (cl : alk. paper) - ISBN 978-0-253-01087-2 (eb) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)-Poland-D browa Tarnowska (Powiat) 2. Jews-Poland-D browa Tarnowska (Powiat)-History-20th century. 3. D browa Tarnowska (Poland : Powiat)-History. I. Title.
DS134.66.D338G7313 2013
940.53 180943862-dc23
2013012259
1 2 3 4 5 18 17 16 15 14 13
This book is dedicated to the memory of W adys aw Fischbaum, Szymon Hajbergier, Lejb Millet, Apolonia Brand, Mr. Kampf, Blanka Goldfinger and her family, Mrs. Kupfelman, Mrs. Bloch, five members of the Fogel family from Krak w, Lejb Herszfeld, his wife and daughter, Estera Polonicer, Mendel Minc, Ka m Wilk, Baruch, Sara, Regina, Fela, Helena and Ryfka Szneps, Chwa ka, Juma and her two children, Otek (age eleven), Estera and Dalka Metzger, Icek Mendel, Mendel Kogel, Sala Drelich, Maria and Rywka Einhorn, J zef Adler, Pejka Kapelner, Mendel Kapelner, Josek Leinmann, Jakub Black from Opatowiec, Mrs. Holender, Mrs. Langer and her family, Mrs. Grozman (baker s wife), Mr. Sztum, Mr. Frass, the Spatz family, the Fischer family, Lidia Sass, Giena Raber, Maria Wildfajer, Mrs. Schacher, Micha Pinkas and his family, David Wassersturm s father, sisters, uncle and aunt, the Ehrlich sisters, Lejba and Arona Ehrenberg, Chaim Knie, Sala and Hela S ss, Rozalia Polanecka, Mrs. Lipka and her three daughters, Moises Maltz, Jankiel Liebermann, Regina Goldberg s mother, Moj esz Baldinger, Mr. Neumann, aja Jakubowicz and her son, Elida Weinberg, Rafael Friess, his wife and child, Rozalia Abram, Dawid, Hirsz and Estera Wajzer, Pawe Szacher, the Kornhauser family, Peretz Kupfer, Hana Kupfer, Karolina Gr n, Dawid and Ruchla Lewkowicz and their children, Jankiel (who was killed in January 1945), and all the nameless Jews who kept fighting until the end.
This book is equally devoted to the memory of Franciszek, Teresa, Stanis aw and J zef M dala, Wiktoria W owicz, W adys aw Starzec, J zef and Teresa Szkotak, Zofia W jcik, Bronis aw Kmie , and other Poles from D browa Tarnowska County who decided to help the Jews, that most dangerous of all underground activities, and who paid the highest price.
For my father, who survived the hunt
Non omnis moriar
Non omnis moriar-my proud estate,
of table linen fields and wardrobes staunch
like fortresses, with precious bedclothes, sheets,
bright dresses-all remain behind me now.
And as I did not leave here any heir
you, Chomin s wife, the snitch s daring wife,
Volksdeutcher s mother, swift informant, do
allow your hand to dig up Jewish things.
May they serve you and yours, and not some strangers.
My dear ones -it s no song, nor empty name.
I do remember you, and when the Schupo came,
you did remember me. Reminded them of me.
So let my friends all sit with goblets raised
to toast my memory and their own wealth,
their drapes and kilims, candlesticks and bowls.
And may they drink all night, till break of dawn,
and then begin to search for jewels and gold
in mattresses and sofas, quilts and under rugs.
Oh, and what quick work they ll make of it!
Thick clumps of horsehair, sea grass stuffing, clouds
of cushions torn and puffs of eiderdown
will coat their hands and turn their arms to wings.
My blood will bind these fibers with fresh down,
and thus transform these wing d ones to angels
Zuzanna Ginczanka (1917-1944)
Translated by Irena Grudzi ska-Gross, Aniela Pramik, and Geoffrey Cebula
Non omnis moriar
Non omnis moriar-moje dumne w o ci,
ki moich obrus w, twierdze szaf niez omnych,
Prze cierad a rozleg e, drogocenna po ciel
I suknie, jasne suknie pozostan po mnie.
Nie zostawi am tutaj adnego dziedzica,
Niech wi c rzeczy ydowskie twoja d o wyszpera,
Chominowo, lwowianko, dzielna ono szpicla,
Donosicielko chy a, matko folksdojczera.
Tobie, twoim niech s u , bo po c by obcym.
Bliscy moi-nie lutnia to, nie puste imi .
Pami tam o was, wy cie, kiedy szli szupowcy,
Te pami tali o mnie. Przypomnieli i mnie.
Niech przyjaciele moi si d przy pucharze
I zapij m j pogrzeb i w asne bogactwo:
Kilimy i makaty, p miski, lichtarze-
Niechaj pij noc ca , a o wicie brzasku
Niech zaczn szuka cennych kamieni i z ota
W kanapach, materacach, ko drach i dywanach.
O, jak b dzie si pali w r ku im robota,
K by w osia ko skiego i morskiego siana,
Chmury prutych poduszek i ob oki pierzyn
Do r k im przylgn , w skrzyd a zmieni r ce obie;
To krew moja paku y z puchem zlepi wie ym
I uskrzydlone nagle w anio w przerobi.
Zuzanna Ginczanka, Ud wign w asne szcz cie
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction
1 D browa Tarnowska
2 Jews and Poles in D browa Tarnowska before 1939
3 First Years of Occupation
4 The Destruction of D browa Tarnowska
5 Judenjagd -Hunt for the Jews
6 Rural Society and the Jews in Hiding
7 In the Dulcza Forest
8 The German Police
9 The Polish Blue Police
10 The Baudienst
11 The Last Months of War
12 Different Kinds of Help
13 The Righteous
Conclusion

Appendix: Documents and Tables
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book took several years to research and to write. In the course of these years I contracted a debt of gratitude to many extraordinary people, without whose assistance, advice, and encouragement this work would, most probably, never see print. First of all, I would like to express my thanks to my colleagues and friends from the Polish Center for Holocaust Research. In terms of intellectual exchange and friendly (although often quite critical) review, they provided me with the necessary feedback and allowed me to steer clear of various shoals and reefs that otherwise could have foundered many a ship. Barbara Engelking not only read and reread the drafts of this book, but also suggested additional issues to look at and new questions to ponder. Darek Libionka and Alina Skibi ska, who know practically every Polish archive by heart, offered their invaluable insights; Jacek Leociak was there to suggest new sources; and Jakub Petelewicz kept me in the loop. Jean-Charles Szurek from Paris, Izrael Gutman from Jerusalem, and Jan T. Gross from Princeton offered their encouragement and help, while Dagmara Swa tek spent countless hours working with me in the Krak w archives. I would like to thank my friends at Yad Vashem: David Silberklang, Rob Rozett, Dan Michman, and Witold Medykowski, who were always there to offer their help and suggestions. My thanks go to the friendly and helpful staff at the Polish, Israeli, German, and American archives. I am particularly grateful to Ela Linde from the Yad Vashem archive in Jerusalem (she made Yad Vashem seem like a home to me), Barbara Russek from the State Archives in Krak w, Maria Polewacz from the City of Warsaw archives, Michlean Amir from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and many other archivists who offered their time and effort to facilitate my work. Without them this historical research would have been quite impossible. My wife, Hania, not only was gracious enough to put up with my busy schedule and frequent travels, but also took time to work with me in the Yad Vashem archives. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my parents, who are my first readers and who always seem able to tell good from bad and right from wrong.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has, over the years, generously supported my research. The Council s help is hereby gratefully acknowledged. In 2011, on sabbatical leave from the University of Ottawa, I was appointed the Baron Friedrich Carl von Oppenheim Chair for the Study of Racism, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel. I am grateful to the von Oppenheim Foundation for its support, which enabled me to complete my research in Israel.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AAN
[Archive of C