ROBIN NICINSKI'S TRIP TO KLODAWA: SUMMER 2007
Here is a recap of Robin Nicinski's recent visit to Klodawa:
See Robin's Pictures Here
" We hired a guide named Roman from a very responsible agency, and he drove us the two hours to Klodawa from Warsaw. He fit in very well with the locals, and as a result we had a very good experience. Did you know that Klodawa is known for its salt mine? We met two residents of Klodawa, one who lived on Rynek Street today and showed us a picture of the street from the 1930's. He was very friendly and welcoming and when we left told me I should live 100 years! We also met a woman who had a Jewish father who was at Auschwitz and returned to Klodawa after the war and married a non Jewish woman. She showed us pictures of her family, relatives in Israel and her father's (Mendel Frankenstein) Auschwitz identification papers. The town itself was pleasant enough, with a big grassy park in the center with a monument to Poles killed by the Nazis in the center. We found the old synagogue, which is now a community center, and could see where the sanctuary must have been, and is now a ticket selling area. We saw the old Jewish cemetery, which has no headstones but does have a plaque on a memorial stone. We also went to the town center, and the woman there made copies of the birth records of four out of five of my father's brothers (I learned from my sister when I returned home that one brother died of natural causes so there were actually five). I now know their names and dates of birth, and that the Rabbi's name was Engelman. I also got the marriage and birth records of an Avram Chaim Nicinski, who was also a tailor (he even had a phone, I have a page from the 1939 phone directory!). He must be a relative but I don't know how. When we left Klodawa we went about 9 miles away on this country road to a nearby town called Prezedecz. I had learned from a cousin that my grandmother was born there, and the kids from Prezedecz used to walk along the road and meet up with kids from Klodawa (perhaps how my grandparents met!). That town was a little smaller but similar to Klodawa and I found my grandmother's handwritten birth record from 1905. It was really all an incredible experience and we encountered no anti-semitism at all, I am happy to say. From there I visited the Krakow ghetto, where my father went after Klodawa, and then Auschwitz, where he also was for years before being liberated from Bergen Belsen at the end of the war. I had been nervous about going to Klodawa and the possibility of encountering hostility there, but it didn't happen. Of course we didn't push any buttons by asking lots of questions about Jewish life, but we did ask and was told about where the Jewish areas were. We also did not meet any seniors who might have been adults at that time (the people we spoke to were closer to my age). I bought a package of Klodawa salt, and bread and chocolate there. I also took as many pictures as I could and would love to share them with you. The problem is that I am not too computer-savvy about these sorts of things so I could use your guidance on how to do it."
Robin
See Robin's Pictures Here
" We hired a guide named Roman from a very responsible agency, and he drove us the two hours to Klodawa from Warsaw. He fit in very well with the locals, and as a result we had a very good experience. Did you know that Klodawa is known for its salt mine? We met two residents of Klodawa, one who lived on Rynek Street today and showed us a picture of the street from the 1930's. He was very friendly and welcoming and when we left told me I should live 100 years! We also met a woman who had a Jewish father who was at Auschwitz and returned to Klodawa after the war and married a non Jewish woman. She showed us pictures of her family, relatives in Israel and her father's (Mendel Frankenstein) Auschwitz identification papers. The town itself was pleasant enough, with a big grassy park in the center with a monument to Poles killed by the Nazis in the center. We found the old synagogue, which is now a community center, and could see where the sanctuary must have been, and is now a ticket selling area. We saw the old Jewish cemetery, which has no headstones but does have a plaque on a memorial stone. We also went to the town center, and the woman there made copies of the birth records of four out of five of my father's brothers (I learned from my sister when I returned home that one brother died of natural causes so there were actually five). I now know their names and dates of birth, and that the Rabbi's name was Engelman. I also got the marriage and birth records of an Avram Chaim Nicinski, who was also a tailor (he even had a phone, I have a page from the 1939 phone directory!). He must be a relative but I don't know how. When we left Klodawa we went about 9 miles away on this country road to a nearby town called Prezedecz. I had learned from a cousin that my grandmother was born there, and the kids from Prezedecz used to walk along the road and meet up with kids from Klodawa (perhaps how my grandparents met!). That town was a little smaller but similar to Klodawa and I found my grandmother's handwritten birth record from 1905. It was really all an incredible experience and we encountered no anti-semitism at all, I am happy to say. From there I visited the Krakow ghetto, where my father went after Klodawa, and then Auschwitz, where he also was for years before being liberated from Bergen Belsen at the end of the war. I had been nervous about going to Klodawa and the possibility of encountering hostility there, but it didn't happen. Of course we didn't push any buttons by asking lots of questions about Jewish life, but we did ask and was told about where the Jewish areas were. We also did not meet any seniors who might have been adults at that time (the people we spoke to were closer to my age). I bought a package of Klodawa salt, and bread and chocolate there. I also took as many pictures as I could and would love to share them with you. The problem is that I am not too computer-savvy about these sorts of things so I could use your guidance on how to do it."
Robin
HI ROBIN!
Thank you so much for writing in and sharing your thoughts and experience of your trip. I found it extremely interesting, and I'm sure others will, as well.
To answer a few of the questions:
1) I definitely know about Przedecz. My grandfather's father's side of the family originated from that town, thus the name: Przedecki. My grandmother's family was also from Przedecz. From what I've read over the past years, many of the Klodawa townspeople met their spouses in Przedecz, and there was definitely a lot of interaction between the two towns. There's a Rabbi in Israel who has written about the town, and has even mentioned a memorial plaque that was erected by the "Buks" family, which is my grandfather's grandmother's family (and LOTS of intermarriages between the families over the generations).
I also am aware that Engleman was the Rabbi in Klodawa, as told to me by my Uncle and cousin in their interviews.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you did not experience any anti-semitism. I know that this is not the case for all visitors. As you say, you're guide may have been key to setting the right tone with the "natives".
Everything sounds so positive and rewarding. Again, thank you for sharing. When/if the photos become available, I will gladly help you out, and get them posted, as well.
Thank you again!
Judy
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