Blog

Virtual Gombin #15: June 18th, 2023 – Tour the Gąbin Collection at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

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#14 happened on Sunday, March 26th, 11am Pacific, 2pm EST, 7pm London, 8pm Warsaw, 10pm Tel Aviv.  Katarzyna Martinovic is a PhD candidate at the University of Heidelberg – Hochschule für Jüdische Studien. Her dissertation focuses on the identity, culture, and literature of the Zionist-oriented Jewish youth in interwar Poland. She holds an MA in Jewish Museum studies from Heidelberg, an MA in Polish Studies at the University of Wrocław, a BA in Modern… Read More »


Virtual Gombin #13 – DNA and Family History – Michael Shade

Virtual Gombin #13: February 26, 2023: DNA and Family History – Michael Shade Michael Shade is a British genealogist and a member of the Gombin Society Board.  He has contributed extensively to genealogical research related to his family from Gombin and elsewhere in Poland and Belarus, and has spoken at Conferences of the International Associaltion of Jewish Genealogical Societies. See some of his presentations and posts at:  https://bit.ly/217Talks . His Gombin ancestors include: Frankensztajn, Zegelman, Szczawinski and Chern,… Read More »


Virtual Gombin #12 – Update from the Annual Members’ Meeting – 100 years of the Gombin Society.

January 29, 2023– Anita Greenbaum Brush: “President’s report”; Bernie Guyer: “Historical context for Gombin Society’s 100 years”. If you missed attending the 2022 Members Meeting in Washington DC in November, 2022, you now have an opportunity to view the zoom recordings of two presentations: Anita Greenbaum Brush will report on the exciting new Society activities and in Gąbin and introduce our new partners in Poland.  Bernie Guyer will briefly review the work of the Gombin… Read More »


Virtual Gombin #11: “Live” from Gąbin: 80th Anniversary of Life and Destruction of Gombin’s Jewish Community

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, Virtual Gombin #11, was hosted from Gąbin by members of the Gombin Society who traveled to Poland to participate in several days of activities related to the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the destruction of the Jewish community in 1942. Anita Greenbaum Brush, Vicki Fingeroot, Marlene Rifkin, and Michael Shade hosted a Zoom call, along with Wojtek and Karen Wasilewski and our partner organizations, reviewing the activities at the… Read More »


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

“We go on living” A plaque commemorating the Jewish community of Gąbin was unveiled in the Old Market Square on June 9, 2021.  The installation was an initiative of the Gombin Jewish Historical and Genealogical Society and the Mayor of Gąbin. Thanks to online communication, descendants of Gąbin’s Jews and others from all over the world participated in this emotional, historical moment.  Engraved photographs are either historical images or photos of Wasilewski’s model synagogue reconstruction. … Read More »


Virtual Gombin #10: What does Jewish Gombin mean to us today?

Why does Gombin, 80 years after Jews last lived there, still have a hold on the memory and hearts of several generations of Gombin descendants? Anita Greenbaum-Brush and a panel of Gombin Board members- Vicky Fingeroot, Elissa Klinger, Lindsey Max– will explore what Gombin means to them.  This will include questions like; what did they learn about Gombin from their family? what did they hope to find in seeking information about and connection to Gombin?… Read More »


Virtual Gombin #9: Bella’s Dream by Dana Boll

 Join us for a Virtual Gombin where Dana Boll will discuss her play, nearly 10 years after its premiere in New York City. Bella’s Dream is a play with dance inspired by the true survival story of Dana’s grandparents, Bella and Raymond Boll. For a limited time, you can access the full production video here: https://vimeo.com/183734569 Password: Gombin Poland 1939. This is not your typical Holocaust story. A foreboding dream and a leap of… Read More »


Virtual Gombin #8: “We Go on Living”

Gombin Rabbi and Mayor during the Gombin Marker unveling cermeony on June 9th, 2021 in Gąbin, Poland.

Gombiners, whether you missed the unveiling of the memorial in Gabin last week, or want to see the highlights again, please join us for a zoom presentation and discussions with our friends in Poland- Wojtek Wasilewski, Michal Sroka, and Karen Forth. This is our chance to learn how they created the marker, implemented this spectacular event, and navigated the complexities. We can honor their many contributions to the Gombin Jewish community, worldwide. PLEASE JOIN US… Read More »