Preserving Gombin's Legacy Since 1996
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The objective of the Gombin Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society is to preserve the legacy of Jewish life and culture in Gombin (Gąbin in Polish), Poland- the town of our ancestors. We will preserve the record of our families’ lives, roots and genealogy so that the history of 300 years of Jewish life in Gombin will not have been destroyed by the Holocaust. This preserved record will be used to educate current Gąbiner residents, descendants living all over the world and future generations..
(translated by Google)
Gąbin, September 21, 1939, from the memories of Mr. Jan Borysiak:
"On September 21 (originally 19), all men from 18 years of age to old age were summoned to appear at 9 a.m. at the New Market Square (then Piłsudski Square). The Germans placed a machine gun on the balcony of the Greenbaum house, and another in the window of the neighboring house . The gathered people were called upon to immediately surrender all firearms and radios to the commandant's office and were called upon to be absolutely obedient to the German authorities. Any slightest disobedience "will be punished with a bullet to the head." On the same day, the Nazis set fire to the historic 18th century synagogue. They did not allow it to be extinguished. Soldiers from They beat the SS troops with rifle butts and shot them terribly. The fire quickly spread to the neighboring buildings, which it completely consumed, including the imposing building of German and Gnoth at Płocka Street. The synagogue, built of tar pine, burned like a splinter. In two or three hours, the work of wooden construction ceased to exist...".
Jan Borysiak, "Memories of September 1939 - Gąbin after the Germans entered", Echo Gąbina 10/1999.
In the photo: New Market Square in Gąbin on September 21, 1939. On the right you can see a tenement house, on the balcony of which the Germans placed the machine gun mentioned in the text. Residents gathered in front of the tenement house. A column of smoke from the burning synagogue is visible in the background.
(from Z.B.'s own collection)Gąbin, 21 wrzesień 1939 roku, ze wspomnień p. Jana Borysiaka:
"21 września (w oryg. 19) wezwano wszystkich mężczyzn od 18 roku życia do późnej starości do stawienia się o godz. 9 na Nowym Rynku (wówczas Plac Piłsudskiego). Na balkonie domu Greenbaumów Niemcy ustawili karabin maszynowy, a drugi w oknie sąsiedniego domu. Wezwano zgromadzonych do natychmiastowego oddania w komendanturze wszelkiej broni palnej i aparatów radiowych oraz wezwano do bezwzględnego posłuszeństwa wladzom niemieckim. Każde najmniejsze nieposłuszeństwo "będzie karane kulą w łeb". W tym samym dniu hitlerowcy podpalili zabytkową XVIII wieczną synagogę. Nie pozwalali gasić. Żołnierze z oddziałów SS bili kolbami i strzelali na postrach. Ogień szybko przeniósł się na sąsiednie zabudowania, które strawił doszczętnie, a wśród nich okazały okazały budynek Germana i Gnotha przy ul. Płockiej. Zbudowana ze smolnej sosny bożnica płonęła jak drzazga. W dwie , trzy godziny wybitne dzieło drewnianego budownictwa przestało istnieć....".
Jan Borysiak, "Wspomnienia września 1939 - Gąbin po wkroczeniu Niemców", Echo Gąbina 10/1999r.
Na zdjęciu: Nowy Rynek w Gąbinie w dniu 21 września 1939 roku. Po prawej widoczna kamienica, na balkonie której Niemcy ustawili wspomniany w tekście karabin maszynowy (budynek istnieje do dzis). Przed kamienicą widoczni zgromadzeni mieszkańcy. W głębi widoczny słup dymu z płonącej synagogi.
(ze zbiorów własnych Z.B.)
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Zbignirw Balcerzak thank you so much for posting this. Jakob Greenbaum was my grandfather. I never have heard the story of the machine gun on the balcony before. Thank you for posting the description and photo.
L'Shanah Tovah from the Gombin Society!
Drawing of Gombin's Great Synagogue 1710-1939 by Michal Sroka
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Very beautiful. Thank you.
Hello all! With all our best wishes for a healthy, good and sweet New Year. K and W
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Support Aid to Ukraine Refugees and Commemorate 80th Year of Holocaust in Gombin
Ukraine and our Jewish experience Like the rest of you, we are fixated and horrified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine — the murder of civilians and the destruction of communities and institutions. One can’t avoid seeing the parallels to the eve of WWII, when Nazi armies invaded Poland, and our Gombiner landsleyt either fled or faced imprisonment and death in the ghetto. We are once again witnessing an era of tyranny and its consequences.… Read More »
Rendering of Plaque in Old Town Square Gombiner Lindsey Max describes her genealogical journey in Smithsonian article New Video: “Last Letter – Gombin and Gostynin Commemoration” Jewish Gombin Highlighted at Yad VaShem Abraham Mastbaum Auschwitz Interview New Video: George Nosal Interview in Cleveland, 2019
There are no upcoming tours. Please check out our previous tours:
Virtual Gombin #15 happened on June 18, 2023: 10am Pacific, 1pm New York, 6pm London, 7pm Warsaw, 8pm TelAviv Presentation made by USHMM curators, Susy Snyder and Vincent Slatt. Highlights include brief tours of the family photo collections, the 1937 Sam Rafel film, and the recently discovered testimony by a witness of the Nazi invasion of Gombin during the very early days of WWII; these documents were hidden and are known as The Ringelblum Archive,… Read More »
Virtual Gombin #14: Sunday, March 26th – Zionist Youth in pre-war Poland. Katarzyna Martinovic
Virtual Gombin #13 – DNA and Family History – Michael Shade
Virtual Gombin #12 – Update from the Annual Members’ Meeting – 100 years of the Gombin Society.
