Proszowice
Elementary School
in Proszowice
Elementary School
in Proszowice
Jews came to Proszowice only in the 16th century. They were merchants who did not live in towns. Jakub Lewkowicz was the first Jew to settle in Proszkowice, who, despite the opposition of the Christian community, ran a mill and a brewery in the area. There was also Aron, a doctor, who enjoyed the respect and recognition of many also beyond the town borders. In the 17th century, the Jewish community had eight members, but it did not flourish until the 19th century. At the turn of the century, the Jews from Proszowice were mainly engaged in crafts (tailoring, shoemaking, baking) and small trade. There was also a matzah factory in the town, known all over Poland.
However, it was not until the interwar period that Jews gained full rights. Then, they joined the Town Council. The Jewish community in Proszowice had a wooden synagogue with a brick mikvah, a cemetery established in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century and a butcher’s stall. There were also several schools – three cheders, a religious school for girls Bet Yaakov and the Zionist school Tarbut. There were also political parties, mainly Aguda and Zionist Mizrachi, which competed with each other. The Jews were also associated in charity organizations, such as the Jewish Rescue Committee, the Gemilut Chesed Mutual Assistance Association, a branch of the Jewish Social Self-help – Co-ordinating Commission.
In September 1939 the Germans entered the town and began persecution of Jews. A ghetto was never established, but a Judenrat was appointed. In 1942 most of the Jews from Proszowice and the surrounding area were sent to the transit camp in Słomniki, and from there they were transported to the death camp in Bełżec, where they perished. During the war Poles presented various attitudes towards their Jewish neighbors. There were pogroms in the surrounding forests. However, there were also the righteous – the main initiator of helping Jews was Fr. Józef Pawłowski. Two families – Wilków and Wierzbanowskis paid for the help with their lives. After the war, 60 Jews returned to the town, but they decided to leave the country after several murders, which were carried out on the Jewish community by their neighbors from the county.
Young people taking part in the “School of Dialogue” workshops go to school where before the war Jewish youth from the town would learn. The Jewish community constituted 40% of the population of Proszowice.
“I really learned how to work in a group. When a group works together, it is not just one person by everyone who has to get involved. During the walking tour everyone had to either say something, read out loud or research information,” Weronika, a student of Primary School No. 1, wrote. Another student, Mietek admitted: “The project in which I had the honor to participate taught me many important things about which I had a different opinion. Inspired by meetings with educators and the workshops, and with support from their teachers, the participants created a project in which they brought back the memory of Samuel Blumenfeld, a survivor who from time to time comes to the town for a visit. During the walking tour, however, he was not the only one mentioned by the students. They made a list of other Jewish inhabitants of Proszowice (mainly merchants and craftsmen living near the market square), which they read out to the tour participants. They managed to make such list thanks to conversations and interviews with the inhabitants.
The walking tour started on the market square – where local Jews once lived, but also where their life symbolically ended, because this was the place of gathering for the Jews of Proszkowice before being transported to the transit camp in Słomniki and then to Bełżec. Tin order to commemorate the former neighbors, the tour organizers lit sparklers. The students described it saying: “Our Jews are like those sparklers – we can see them, but we no longer feel their warmth, we hear the stories about a given family, but these stories are as short as a spark that falls and disappears”. Then they went to the place where the Szydłowski family’s house once stood, and later they took the gathered guests to the Rabbi’s house.
They also told the story of the famous dispute between the two candidates for the position – Aba Wachs and Nuchem Beer Horowitz. When they got to the local “Museum”, they presented the Torah, which was supposedly written before the war by the grandfather of the patron of the event. The students also talked about difficult moments of the Jewish history – such as the one that took place in the courtyard of the town house at 11 Kościuszki Street – in October 1942 the Germans shot Gurek Pinczowski, President of the Jewish Council, and his five sons. At the end, the guides invited their guests to the school to present an exhibition inspired by a quotation from the Talmud: ” Do not scorn any man, and do not discount any thing. For there is no man who has not his hour, and no thing that has not its place.”
The exhibition was created thanks to the students’ efforts, but also thanks to the kindness and support of the inhabitants of Proszowice. They handed over to the youth the Jewish memorabilia that can be seen at school, including photographs of former neighbors, publications on Jews and the diploma awarded to Jan Ciepły – Righteous from Opatowice, who rescued three Jews during the war.
A few days after the trip the students of the Primary School No. 1 in Proszowice commemorated the Jews deported from their town by lighting candles at the Jewish cemetery.
The young people declare that they will continue their activities. They also plan to meet Mr. Samuel Blumenfeld and take him on a walking tour around Proszowice.
The project in which I had the honor to participate taught me many important things about which I had a different opinion. Jewish history is very interesting and it encouraged us to deepen our knowledge. I have learned many amazing facts. The walking tour inspired me to learn more about the history of the place where I was born.
Workshops participant
School:
Elementary School in Proszowice
Students:
class VII
Teacher:
Bożena Kłos
Educators:
Maria Pawlak, Stanisław Niemojewski
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this educational program. Through recovering the assets of the victims of the Holocaust, the Claims Conference enables organizations around the world to provide education about the Shoah and to preserve the memory of those who perished.
In appreciation to Friends of the Forum for supporting the School of Dialogue educational program.
