In April of 2022 four Gombiners traveled to Gombin for a commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Deportation of the Jews of Gombin to the Death Camp at Chełmno nad Ner. The students and administration of the Staszica School, along with the people and civic authorities of Gąbin, provided a truly wonderful three days of experiences. On Friday we were fortunate to be able to visit the interior of the former Polonia Theatre, the site of countless performances by traveling Yiddish theatre companies and a local Jewish Drama Circle for Jewish and Polish audiences. We were accompanied on this visit by Staszica School students. Though the theatre was filled with years of collected car parts and tools, it was still possible to vividly imagine theatre productions taking place under the vaulted roof. Anita Greenbaum-Brush shared her family’s recollections of working in the theatre which they built in the early 1920s.
In the afternoon we returned to the school to attend a remarkable performance of singing, poetry, and theatre focused on remembrance and to making moral choices. The four Gombiners, Vicky Fingeroot, Anita Greenbaum-Brush, Marlene Rifkin, and Michael Shade, followed the program by sharing stories from their families’ time living in Gombin.
On Saturday we visited with older Gąbin friends, Jan Jedrzejewski and Henryka Jablonska. They came forward during an earlier trip to share their powerful remembrances of what they witnessed as children during the Nazi Occupation.
Sunday was a glorious day. In the morning, alongside students from the Staszica School, we laid 2100 commemorative stones along the path leading to Fireman’s Field, where Jews were held for three days without food or water prior to their deportation. In the afternoon, we enjoyed another performance on the Stary Rynek (Old Market Square) of song, poetry, readings, and a speech by Gąbin’s Mayor, Krzysztof Jadczak dedicated to the memory of those deported. Afterwards, the students, teachers, visiting descendants and townspeople walked to Fireman’s Field in a solemn procession to say the Mourner’s Kaddish for those deported, followed by a communal meal of soup and bread prepared by the students at the school.
Our sincere thank to:
Karen and Wojtek Wasilewski for arranging the entire weekend,
Ela Młodsziejewska and Razem for everything they provided to make the days go smoothly
Ms. Milewska and the staff and students of the Staszica School for their dedication and hard work.
The Drama Circle’s play programs from the Chaja-Tiefld collection can be seen at: https://gombinsociety.org/history-of-the-jews-of-gombin/culture-literature-theater/
The day was captured in a film One Stone One Life which can be seen at: https://gombinsociety.org/videos/one-stone-one-life-2/
