24 KLODAWA SURVIVORS. LANDSBERG, GERMANY DP CAMP. JANUARY, 1947.
L-R Sitting: Pesseh Zysling, Ben Landau, Mendel Greinfeld, Chaicha (Tabaczynski/Opoczynski) Marczak, Zalma Marczak, Yosef-Zalig Nichinsky.
Second Row Standing L-R : (start w/ man in front left): Labe Landau, Yiztkah Lewin, Michuel Przedecki, Lienna Przdecki, Myer-Hirsh Bordowski, Golda Malka Sendowski, "Male" Greinfeld, Samuel Nicinski, Mordchai [Mark]Bordowski, Henyik Opoczynski, Motek [Max] Rotbart.
3rd Row Standing L-R : Yurig [Joseph] Francus, Sura-Laia Sendowski, David Bordowski, Regina Tama Bordowski, Leibel Korek, Lily Niehaus, Henyik Niehaus. ["Male" or "Female" was used if first name unknown.]
THESE PEOPLE WERE IDENTIFIED BY JOSEPH FRANCUS AT AN INTERVIEW IN HIS HOME ON JANUARY 13, 2007. ONLY ONE PERSON OUT OF THE 24 WAS NOT IDENTIFIED. I AM NOT 100% CERTAIN OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES SUROUNDING THESE SURVIVORS, OR HOW THEY ENDED UP IN THIS CAMP TOGETHER. MY UNCLE MICHUEL PRZEDECKI, AND HIS WIFE LIENNA (PICTURED HERE) WENT ON TO LIVE IN FRANKFURT FOR THREE YEARS BEFORE LEAVING FOR CUBA-- EN ROUTE TO THE U.S.. MY COUSIN JOSEPH FRANCUS (ALSO PICTURED HERE) LIVED IN NEW ULM, GERMANY FOR 3 YEARS BEFORE COMING TO THE U.S.. IT IS MY ASSUMPTION THAT ALL THESE KLODAWITES WERE PLACED HERE TEMPORARILY, BEFORE FINDING MORE PERMANENT RESIDENCES. I ALSO KNOW THAT THERE WAS ASSISTANCE SET UP IN THE TOWN OF LODZ FOR LOCAL PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR HOMES AND FAMILIES--PERHAPS AFTER REGISTERING THERE, THE TOWNSPEOPLE WERE SENT TO LAUPHEIM. I WILL LOOK INTO THIS FURTHER.
I was touched looking at this photo. I recognized my father Mark (Mordechai) Burdowski, my uncle Myer-Hirsh Burdowski, my cousin David Burdowski and his wife Regina. I also see family friends that I grew up knowing, the Nicinski family). Ther is even a picture of Henyik Opoczynski,who was instrumental in saving my father's life. If you have any more photos or information contact me
Reply to this
Judy, the man standing at the far right in the second row is my father, Max "Motek" Rotbart, not correctly identified. I've had this photo in our family album for years and never known who the rest of the folks are. This is an amazing photo that links so many of us together.
Reply to this
Hi Dean-
Yes, I agree. This is the photo that links many of us together! I have already heard from Robin Nichinsky, whose father and grandfather are here in the photo, and Alllen Burdowski, whose father, uncle, and cousin are pictured here, and now you. I knew when my cousin brought this out and started naming the people that this would be a really powerful image.
Robin asked if these were all of the Klodawa survivors. From what I've been told by both my Uncle and my cousin there were about 110 survivors, so no this is not all of them. I heard that a majority settled in Israel, and a handful came to the U.S. Of the ones who came to th U.S., most settled in the New York City area. My grandfather and Uncle came to Boston, as their relatives from the Przedecki family came here in the early 1900's and had already established their own extended families within the community. As most of them were tailors, they settled in Malden, MA to work in the Malden Mills Textile. [Malden Mills has a very interesting (and Jewish) history--if interested you can check out the "Mensch of Malden Mills at: www.cbsnews.com/stories/
Again, I am not clear on how this particular group ended up in Laupheim. I imagine these people really had nowhere else to go. Perhaps the others had relatives who took them in? Perhaps they ended up in another DP camp? Yet, another piece to try to put together.
Our work continues!
Judy
Reply to this
Judy, let me start by publicly thanking you for your fantastic work on this site and communicating with members. You are doing "G-d's" work in helping to preserve the memories of our families for posterity. Bless you!
I still can't get over the revelation that this photo is of Klodawa survivors. Better still, it links so many of us directly to one another. We are, truly, family!
I know of other Klodawa survivors who are not in this photo, and hence, I'm 100% certain that this isn't a photo of ALL surviors. I was interested to read on a recent post that someone thinks there were 110 survivors. At some point, we ought to coordinate our research with Yad Vashem and the Holocaust Memorial Museuam in Washington.
I'm very much in favor of us all getting together and perhaps bringing in survivors to share their memories with us. I also think we should have someone videotape our gettogether. What we are doing is, to my knowledge, something kind of unique, i.e. the children and grandchildren forming a virtual community of a now defunct Jewish community.
We can all be very, very proud that we have not let Klodawa fade into nothingness.
Reply to this
Hi Dean-
That was very complimentary of you. Thank you. This is a labour of love. It's something I feel compelled to do. I wish I were more computer savvy to make the process a bit smoother, but I will not let that get in the way of the bigger picture and goal.
I was the one who mentioned the 110 survivors of Klodawa. I heard this from my Uncle on his first interview, and then again from my cousin a year later. I often get conflicting stories, but when they reiterate what the other has mentioned I tend to believe whatever they have said to be fact, or as close to fact as we're probably going to get. I, too, know that there are other survivors, and when I went through the JRI-Klodawa surname list with both of them, I tried to find out if anybody in a particular family survived. I was not always able to get that answer. Most of the survivors names have come up in conversation, as the number was so few, and it was such a major feat and accomplishment, that they both mentioned many of the names to me.
As far as Yad Vashem, it is not 100% accurate. They have Joseph Francuz (my cousin in New Jersey who is supplying me with all this Klodawa information!) listed as not surviving. I'm sure you know that the process for receiving their information is that witnesses would fill out "Pages of Testimony" to write down anyone and everyone who they knew to have perished. In some cases, if the person in question had not been seen or heard from and had other family members who had perished, it could have been assumed that person, too, perished. I'm sure it's close to accurate, but not 100%.
I do think that other towns have got together by internet, etc. to put together stories/memories of the town. One I know specifically was "Balchertow". Many have got together to place memorials up, etc.. If/when we all get together, definitely videotaping is in order! Besides my cousin, I don't know too many other living survivors who could make the trip. Ron Volk's father, but as Ron says he was 10 when he left so does not remember all that much. Definitely my cousin.
So, we plug along, and see what other pieces unveil themselves to us.
Judy
Reply to this
My mother received a card from Malka Francus in 1942. She was speaking of her brother Izrael Francur or Francus.
Do you have any idea of her?
Maurice SZTEJN
Reply to this
I found your site on a search for Klodawa. It is a wonderful job and thank you for setting this up. My Grandfather and family were from Klodowa. My grandfather came to NY in 1910. He left alot of family behind. Is there any record of the family Kuperwasser from that town. His name on the ship manifest was Israel Kuperwasser (there are many spellings of this last name on the Ellis Island search.) We know that family members perished in the Holocaust but have no info. Thanks for help with this.
Reply to this
Hi Carole,
First of all thank you so much for writing in.
I am very familiar with the Kuperwasser name. According to my Uncle, the family were his neighbours on Rynek St. in Klodawa. If you take a look at the entry "Jewish Homes Around the Town Square", you will see the Przedecki house which is the only three story building (pinkish in colour). The house directly to the right is the Kuperwasser home. My Uncle mentioned a Yankif and Moishe in that family, and that had a very successful shoe repair business.
Also, if you go to the Yad Vashem Shoah Database you will find several listings for the name Kuperwasser. This can be a bittersweet experience, as it gives you some closure and information on your famlily, but it is the sad fate of their lives that has been documented. Also, it is not 100% accurate, but the names are reported by other relatives or townspeople who are quite certain that they perished during the War. I do know of at least two inaccurate recordings, and I'm sure there are more.
Thank you again for writing in. We would love if you could share any information and/or photos that you may have about the Kuperwasser family. With everyone's help, we can help put together a nice memorial to the extinct community that our ancestors called home.
Sincerely,
Judy Muratore
Reply to this
Dear Judy,
I want to start by thanking you for doing this wonderful work!
I can not express how much it touched me to see this photo because this is now the only picture i have of members of my family from back then. I recognize in the photo my grandfather Myer-Hirsh Bordowski and his brother Mordechai Bordowski.After the war Myer-Hirsh came to Israel. I am the daughter of Ruven, Myer's youngest son.I am trying to find details about the bordowski family that lived in Klodawa.I have only pieces of information. My great-grandparents were Rivka and Elyahu Bordowski. I think they were neighbors of the Pizer family and possibly lived in a house that belonged to the Jaklinski family, I do not know the st. name. The Jaklinski granddaughter lives in Israel and i know her. Would you be able to ask your uncle if he remembers where my family lived or remembers somthing about them or about the Jaklinski family?
Reply to this
Judy, thank you very much for putting together this site as well as the stories on your tribute to klodawa website. My grandfather is mordechai burdowski (Mark). It is truly remarkable to see these photos and here such wonderful stories about him. It is nice to put faces to the many people and stories he talked about for so many years. One of the things that I was wondering about was, while he was a live, he briefly mentioned that prior to the war he was previously married and had a son. He never mentioned much of this family because he believed they died in Chelmno. I was wondering if anyone knew any information or stories about his family prior to the war. I was also wondering if anyone knew any stories or had any information about his sister Kyla Rosa. We know that she won a beauty contest in Klodawa and was married with children, we would love to have any documents, photos, or stories anyone has. Also do you have any information about his younger sister Yiskor. My grandfather has told me many stories about his experiences during the war and I would love to share that with anyone who is interested.
Reply to this
Evan--
Thank you so much for writing in. My Uncle was VERY close with Mordchai Burdowski. I believe they were the same age, and the definitely spent 18 months in the army together. My Uncle has had some health problems in the last few weeks, but as soon as he's up for it, I will ask him the questions that you posed to see if he can help you out.
Thank you again for writing in.
Judy
Reply to this
Hi Judy. If your uncle was close with Mark Burdowski he must have known the Nichinsky family! My dad Sam and Mark were very close (in NY too). When I went to Klodawa this summer, I discovered there were two Nicinski families in Klodawa in the 1930's/40's: my grandfather Yosef Zelig Nihinski and Avraham Chaim Nicinski. They were both tailors and I don't know if either were related to each other or to Lewis & Annie Nichinsky, who had moved to England earlier (although I do know that my grandmother, Henrietta Nichinsky/Cohen, must have been related to Annie because her ancestors changed their name from Nichinsky to Cohen). This is all such a puzzle!
Reply to this
Hello Meital!
Thank you for writing in. I am in the process of trying to get more information on the Burdowski family from my Uncle, but he has run into some health problems and things have been delayed. He definitely knows the Burdowski and Jaklinski families, and I'm sure when he's feeling up to it, he can supply you with some, if not all the facts you are searching for.
I will be back to you as soon as I can.
Thank you again.
Judy Muratore
Reply to this
Hi Robin--
Yes, my Uncle definitely knew your father and grandfather, as well as the Burdowski's. I believe he knew your grandfather better, probably because of the age. I have heard him refer to "Yosef Zalig's son", but never by name, and that he passed away at an early age. As you know from the other entries, there is a whole slew of descendants of the "other" Nichinksi family who are mostly living the U.K.. We have not yet been able to establish exactly what the relationship is between the two Nichinski families. As you say, more likely than not, there is a connection.
Thank you for writing in. All has been quiet on the blog. Time for some new entries!
Judy
Reply to this
Oh my! The unidentified female, seated in the first row, is my mother, Paula (Pes-seh) Zysling Kempinski. My mother was born in 1924. She died last spring, May, 2007.
Some months before she died, as a joint project of Congregation Kol Am, in Freehold NJ and Brookdale Community College, a DVD was produced on which my mother is interviewed by Kol Am's rabbi, Brooke Susman.
During the interview, she spoke at some length of her home town, Klodowa. She said: 350 Jewish families lived in Klodowa; there were three synagogues and a bais (baet, house) "med-rish," meaning, I think, a an Orthodox house of study or school; there was a priest who was protective of the town's Jews, her father was a merchant or broker and farmed fish for the congregants in a two acre pond associated with the priest's church; her father served as treasurer for monies earned during social benefits held for the police and fire department (or a particular fire house?); after the German occupation there was a burning of Jewish books; the Germans stabled their horses in the synagogue. My mother was separated from her family in '39 went to two labor camps, Auschwitz and survived. She cannot bring herself to actually say it, but apparently a relative by marriage, whose job it was to remove corpses from the mobile gas vehicles at Chelmno, witnessed the death of her mother and two sisters.
Elaine Alexander
Reply to this
I am so glad to learn about your mother and her DVD. Do you think it would be possible to get a copy of the recording? I know how to edit it and could post some or all of it for others to view. It would be a wonderful tribute to your mom.
Reply to this
My mother is a Leipheim survivor.Fuchs, and her friend Emil Brier
Reply to this
does anyone remember Dora or Emil from Miskolc and Nankova?
Reply to this
Hello,
It is so interesting to read all these questions and answers !
I wanted to say that there were other survivors from Klodawa : my father Majer Burdowski who was a cousin of David and Mark and also a friend my father had in Paris, Jutek Sztanke. My father's parents were Szya Burdowski and Dwojra Frankenstajn.
My parents met in the DP camp Feldafing where I was born in 1947. Then we came to Paris, France. But I have also a question : I learnt that before war, my father was married and had 2 children. The name of his wife has be found : Frajda Sompolski. But it is more difficult to get informations about his children. It would be wonderful if somebody could know something about them.
Thank you, Ita
Reply to this
Hello Ita-
Thank you so much for your interest and for writing into the site.
As you may know, your brother and niece have already written in to the other site, www.klodawatribute.com, with questions and information about your father, Majer.
I have definitely heard of the Sompolski family. According to my Uncle Michael Pizer they ran the town Mikvah. I don't know too much more about them. I will definitely look further into this and see if there's any information that I can come up with. Are there children listed on Yad Vashem?
Thank you again for writing in, and I will write to you directly if I can come up with any information your father's family in Klodawa.
Best wishes.
Judy
Reply to this