In 2024, we commemorated the pre-war Jewish community of Brzesko during various events that took place on September 13-15.
On September 13, there took place the opening of the exhibition dedicated to Mala Zimetbaum in the Brzesko high school followed by the intergenerational discussion “What it means to remain human in unhuman times”.
It’s been already for 8 years that we’ve been cooperating with this school organising various events together with several teachers, first of all Bernadeta Styczeń and Dorota Woda, and the school principal Ryszard Ostrowski. As September 15, 2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the tragic death pf the Brzesko-born heroine of Auschwitz Mala Zimetbaum, many of this year’s commemorative events were dedicated to her. The closest living relative of Mala, Jehuda Hartman, and Mala Meyer, whose mother was saved in Auschwitz by Mala Zimetbaum, came from Israel so that to take part in the opening of the exhibition and discussion organized in the school. It was especially moving to see so many young people participating in these events.
This year, we welcomed in Brzesko the descendants of 10 Jewish families coming from Israel, USA, UK, France, Switzerland and Portugal. For some of these people, it was their first visit to Poland, others had already visited Brzesko several times. In the morning of Saturday, September 14, we met at the Brzesko Market Square so that to walk through the town in the footsteps of Brzesko Jews. It was raining quite heavily, but that didn’t scare anyone, especially since in the afternoon we could warm up a bit in the hospitable premises of the Brzesko library.
On Saturday afternoon we had a workshop on Jewish papercuts led by Elżbieta Polonczyk-Moskal who is involved in commemoration of Jews in Dobczyce. Perhaps here I should mention that Mrs Polonczyk-Moskal as well as I, my husband Bogdan Brzyski, Brzesko high school teacher Bernadeta Styczeń and dozens of other people from all over Poland, are part of the “Forum For Dialogue” network which brings together people taking care of Jewish heritage in Poland, and supports our work. It does mean a lot – to know other people of similar views, who also dedicate their time to commemoration of Jewish life, face the same challenges. We can share our experiences and support each other – as it happened with this workshop. In less than 2 hours, participants could learn about the history and different types of Jewish papercuts, see the papercuts of Elżbieta and create their own works.
We also received a special gift from Elżbieta – a papercut showing the Brzesko mikvah.
The workshop was followed by the opening of the exhibition of the paintings by the Brzesko artist Janusz Mytkowicz “Brzesko House of Eternity, בית עולם”
Mr. Mytkowicz is an exceptionally sensitive artist who expresses through art what cannot be described in words – feelings, calling for remembrance. The paintings from this year’s exhibition are in a sense a record of a conversation, a dialogue that the artist had with people buried in the Brzesko Jewish cemetery. These pictures encourage visitors to reflect on life and its meaning.
On Saturday, September 14, there also took place the official opening of the exhibition dedicated to the bicultural history of pre-war Brzesko. The exhibition told about the times when the town of Brzesko gained a Yiddish name, Briegel; about the languages spoken in the town before the war; about Jewish and Catholic merchants and craftsmen; about schools where Catholic and Jewish children studied side by side. One can also read the testimonies of older Brzesko residents, learn about Jewish holidays celebrated in the town, get to know the stories of some Jewish families and their descendants, who still feel connected to the hometown of their ancestors… The exhibition was open in the Brzesko culture center till the end of October and many people had a chance to learn something new about the history of Jewish families that used to live in their town. The exhibition was created with the financial support of the Forum for Dialogue Association.
Saturday evening was dedicated to Mala Zimetbaum. In less than 2 months Brzesko artists under the direction of Agnieszka Piekarz managed to prepare a unique musical program “Overcoming evil with love. The story of Mala Zimetbaum” based on the musical “Mala. Music of the wind” by Nikos Karvelas and 2 ballads written especially for this occasion by Janusz Szot and Joanna Babiarz.
The artists managed to create a wholesome image of Mala – first a girl in pre-war Brzesko, later a young woman deported from Antwerp to Auschwitz, a woman who risked everything to save fellow prisoners, who in the hell of the concentration camp found love, escaped, but was caught, brought back to Auschwitz and died as a heroine.
Especially moving was the stage design created by Damian Styrna. With the help of 10 old suitcases and photos Damian not only recreated the spirit of pre-war Brzesko, but also expressed what is so difficult to put into words: the fate of Jews who had to pack their entire lives, all their memories, and hopes for the future into one suitcase when being deported from their hometowns…
Early Sunday afternoon we met with the group of descendants so that to spend some time at the Jewish cemetery where they could see the tombstones of their ancestors, some of them from 1880ies, also those that have been recently renovated. It’s difficult to put in words, how deeply moving it was. All together I could show 28 matzevot of various family members of the people who came to Brzesko this year to join our commemorative events.
And finally, on Sunday, September 15, we met for the March of Remembrance to commemorate the Jewish community of Brzesko that was wiped out by the Shoah. In September 1942, Germans ordered all Jews from the Brzesko ghetto, several thousand people, to gather at Kazimierza Wielkiego square. It was a very hot day. For many hours, the Jews, including mothers with small children and the elderly, had to remain at the square kneeling. Late in the afternoon, they set off on their last march. They walked along Czarnowiejska Street; on the way to the train station, they passed the Jewish cemetery. Were they saying goodbye to the graves of their ancestors? Did they know that they themselves will have no graves? Cattle wagons were already waiting for them in Słotwina. That same day, they were taken to the Bełżec death camp. No one from this transport survived. They were all burned in the ovens of Bełżec. More than half of the inhabitants of Brzesko, Jews from all the surrounding villages…
Deputy Mayor Grzegorz Brach greeted everyone and read the letter written by the Ambassador of Israel to Poland, Dr. Yakov Livne. In this letter, Dr. Livne emphasized that “Events such as the March of Remembrance not only shape the memory of the past, but also bring hope for the future…”
The Krakow Rabbi Eliezer Gurary shared few words, also on behalf of the Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich. His talk was followed by deeply moving speeches by the director of the Soltau Gymnasium, Volker Wrigge, and the director of the Brzesko High School, Ryszard Ostrowski.
From Kazimierza Wielkiego Square, the March of Remembrance set off to the synagogue building, where Rabbi Gurary and Prof. Jonathan Webber offered prayers for the murdered Brzesko Jews. Flowers were laid and candles were lit by the plaque commemorating Holocaust victims from Brzesko and vicinity.
On the way to the Jewish cemetery, one could not but think about hundreds of Brzesko Jews who had been walking this path 82 years ago, saying goodbye to their town and their lives.
During the commemorative ceremony at the cemetery, representatives of 10 families of Brzesko Jews read the names of their murdered relatives.
This year’s March of Remembrance was especially dedicated to former Jewish students of pre-war primary schools in Brzesko. Thanks to partially preserved school records, we currently know the names of 1,668 Jewish children who had attended these schools in the years 1910-1939. To commemorate them, current students of the Brzesko high school read the names of murdered former Jewish students from several families.
September 15th marks the 80th anniversary of the tragic death of Mala Zimetbaum, who also attended primary school on Głowackiego street for 4 years. Mrs. Mala Meyer, whose mother was saved in Auschwitz by Mala Zimetbaum, shared her mother’s memories; Rabbi Eliezer Gurary and Prof. Jonathan Webber offered prayers for all murdered Brzesko Jews.
The ceremony was concluded by beautiful nostalgic melodies written and performed by Franciszek Podłęcki.
We cannot bring the dead back to life, but our memory restores their dignity and humanity.
May the memory of all Holocaust victims be an eternal blessing.
Organization of this year’s commemorative events wouldn’t have been possible without joint efforts of the members of our Association Anna Kudła, Bernadeta Styczeń, Zuzanna Peters-Musiał, Damian Styrna, Bogdan Brzyski, Małgorzata Cuber and support of the Brzesko high school, Brzesko city library, Brzesko culture center and Brzesko city council. And I’m deeply grateful to all descendants of Brzesko Jews who came to Brzesko and who have been supporting our efforts on commemoration of the pre-war Jewish community of Briegel. We are doing this work together!
All the photos in this article are by Krzysztof Wasyłek (Flesz).
© Anna Brzyska, 2024