Ringelblum archives: Gombin, 1940. [June 15,2023]
Read the original documents in Yiddish, Click Here
Read the English translation, Click Here
The Ringelblum Archive is a collection of documents from the World War II Warsaw Ghetto, collected and preserved by a group known by the codename Oyneg Shabbos (in Modern Israeli Hebrew, Oneg Shabbat; Hebrew: עונג שבת), led by Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum. The group, which included historians, writers, rabbis, and social workers, was dedicated to chronicling life in the Ghetto during the German occupation. They worked as a team, collecting documents and soliciting testimonies and reports from dozens of volunteers of all ages. The materials submitted included essays, diaries, drawings, wall posters, and other materials describing life in the Ghetto. The archive assembly began in September 1939 and ended in January 1943; the material was buried in the ghetto in three caches.
After the war, two of the three caches were recovered and today the re-discovered archive, containing about 6,000 documents (some 35,000 pages),[1] is preserved in the Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw. Source: Wikipedia.
Remarkably, 4 pages in this trove, written in Yiddish script are identified as having come from Gombin (גומבין) in 1940 and are available through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. An English translation is shown.
The text of the Gombin document concerns the first months of the War, including the German bombing of Gombin, the entrance of the German army into the town, the violent treatment and murder of Jews, the burning of the synagogue, the forced wearing of Yellow Stars, an epidemic of typhus, and the efforts of the Kehilla to provide food and support.
Gombiner mentioned by name include: Avraham Leyb Gips, Avraham Zamosc, Yitzkhok Renboim, Leyb Shekierni, Gershon Gezldman and family, Sheyne Blime Velman, the Plotzke(r) Rov, and Ripiner rebbes.
May their memories be for a blessing.
