Three Minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film by Glenn Kurtz 2014

"Every act of preservation, Kurtz observes, is only temporary, 'a brief swirl in the relentless flow of dissolution.' Eventually, everything and everyone gets lost. Jewish Nasielsk is a town that exists only in memory and those memories — of stonecutters and storytellers, mischievous school boys, a little girl with a red ribbon in her hair — are fading. In the pages of Glenn Kurtz's marvelous book, the ghosts from those three minutes are breathtakingly brought to life." from a review by Louise Steinman in the Los Angles Times 11/20/14.

Tucked away in his parents’ house in Florida was a three minute home movie taken by the author’s grandfather, David Kurtz, of a return trip to his birthplace in 1938 to the shtetl Nasielsk in Poland nearWarsaw.  The author, who states that he never had had much interest in exploring his Jewish identity, was fascinated at this glimpse of a Jewish population connected to his family. Because just almost all of them were killed during Nazi roundups, he felt compelled to learn as much as he could about where the film was exactly shot and who the people in the film were.

What ensued was a journey that took a number of years and involved travel to cities and towns in the United States, Europe and Israel to retrieve information and interview survivors who were still alive and members of their families. One of his great pleasures was showing the film to survivors who became excited when they could identify their younger selves or one of their parents or a sibling or a neighbor or a friend or town merchant. The film  triggered memories of their childhood and relationships that they thought they had forgotten. At least one survivor said that the film gave him back his childhood.

Glenn Kurtz was able to put together many pieces of the puzzle by following up on leads provided by survivors, by searching in archives, and by interviewing historians, archivists, and Jewish scholars as well as survivors. It is fascinating to see how piecing together a constellation of clues often  prompted  major discoveries – a positive identification, a relationship, a photo found in an official file or in an album owned by a survivor or relative. The longer Kurtz worked on deciphering the puzzles presented by the film, the more  expertise he acquired, which led him to rephrase his questions, which often led him back to information in a source he’d previously researched but whose details he now realized were significant.

Throughout, Kurtz provides a  broader historical context for what happened in the town and to the members of the town.  Through both personal stories and historical documentation he manages to give life to a community that on film is very much alive. They had little idea of what was to come.

This memoir includes photos, and notes listing many institutions and resources.

To read or listen to an interview with the author that  had been broadcast on National Public Radio, to read an excerpt from the memoir, and to watch the three minutes in Poland film clip, click here.

To watch a video of the author talking about his project to identify people in his grandfather's home movie, click here.

Family
(Hermann) Hyman Kurtz – married Leah Diamond (Diamont)
     David Kurtz – son of Hyman and Lea; married Lena (Liza) Saltzman
         Jerry Kurtz – son of David and Lena
         Shirley Kurtz – daughter of David and Lena; married Jack Mandel
         Milton Kurtz – son of David and Lena; married Dede
            Roger Kurtz – son of Milton and Dede; married to Cynthia
                David Kurtz – son of Roger and Cynthia
           Dana Kurtz  – daughter of Milton and Dede; married to Rob
           Glenn Kurtz – son of Milton and Dede; author
    William Kurtz – son of Hyman and Leah
    Harry Kurtz – son of Hyman and Leah



David Diamond – sister of Lea Diamond (see above) – married to Essie Malina
     Fred Diamond – son of David and Essie
           Ronnie Diamond – granddaughter of David and Essie (parents’ names not included)
Louis Malina – sister of Essie; married to Lillian “Rosie”
           David Malina – grandson of Louis and Lillian (parents’ names not included)
           Jane Malina Levinson – granddaughter of Louis and Lillian (   “   )
Eliahu Kubel and Frumet Haze Kubel; cousin of Louis and Essie Malina (exact relationship not clear) 
     Sura Kubel Goldsmith – daughter of Eliahu and Frumet; cousin of Louis and Essie Malina
           Faith Ohlstein – daughter of Sura
           Jerry Goldsmith – son of Sura; married to Nikki
     Shandle Kubel – daughter of Eliahu and Frumet
     Chaja Kubel – daughter of Eliahu and Frumet
     Mindl Kubel – daughter of Eliahu and Frumet; married Josef Lederman
     Avrum Kubel – son of Eliahu and Frumet
     Rachel Kubel – daughter of Eliahu and Frumet
 David Kubel – cousin; exact relationship unclear

Haskell Bab (Babszuk) – grandfather of Lena Saltzman (exact relationship unclear)
 Chaim Saltzman - author's father's maternal grandfather
 Lena Saltzman – daughter of Chaim; married Hermann Kurtz (see above)
 Rose Saltzman – daughter of Chaim
      Lee – daughter of Rose
 Fannie Saltzman – daughter of Chaim; married Louis Karpf

Baruch Gershkowitz – married to Leah Kanat; distant cousin of Lena Saltzman Kurtz (see above)
     George Gershkowitz – son of Baruch and Leah
     Julius Gershkowitz – son of Baruch and Leah
    Channah Gershkowitz – daughter of Baruch and Leah
     Ruchel Gershkowitz – daughter of Baruch and Leah
     Saul Gershkowitz – son of Baruch and Leah; married Irma
Bernice Schechter – cousin of author; exact relationship unclear

Friends and Acquaintances
Mordehai and Libo Ajzenberg
     Cesia Ajzenberg (Susan Eisenberg) Weiss – daughter of Mordehai and Libo
Natanal (Sana) Milchberg – married Hendl Nordwind
     Fajga (Faiga) Milchberg – daughter of Sana and Hendl; married to Szmuel (Samuel) Tyk (Tick)
           Malca Tick – daughter of Faiga and Samuel; married David Reiss
           Heather Tick – daughter of Faiga and Samuel
     Yehiel Milchberg – son of Sana and Hendl
     Pesa Milchberg – daughter of Sana and Hendl
     Efraim Milchberg – son of Sana and Hendl
Ruchla Tyk- sister of Szmuel
Masha Nordwind – sister of Hendl
Boris Yehuda Skalka
      Israel (Srul) Skalka – son of Boris Yehuda; married Dvora Friedman
      Chawa Skalka – daughter of Srul and Dvora; married Jehouszua (Szaja) Tuchendler
            Avrum Tuchendler – son of son of Szaja and Chawa
           Moszek Tuchendler (Maurice Chandler) – son of Szaja and Chawa; married Dorris
                  Debra Chandler – daughter of Maurice and Dorris
                  Evelyn Chandler – daughter of Maurice and Dorris; married to Steve Rosen
                        Marcy Rosen – daughter of Evelyn and Steve; married David Eisenberg
                              Lev Eisenberg – son of Marcy and David
                        Jason  Rosen – son of Evelyn and Steve - married to Esther Lee
                        Emily Rosen – daughter of Evelyn and Steve
           Dawid Tuchendler – son of Szaja and Chawa
      Jankiel Skalka – son of Srul and Dvora; married Malka
           Brucha and Selig Skalka – children of Jankiel and Malka

   Elia Applebaum – nephew of Chawa Skalka (mother was Chawa’s sister); married daughter of Rabbi Chaim Fine
   Sarah-Achicam Fine – daughter of Rabbi Chaim Fine; sister of Elia Applebaum’s wife

Israel and Paja Kulas
      Meir Kulas – son of Israel and Paja
      Czarna Ida Kulas Zimmer – daughter of Israel and Paja

David Leib  and Ester  Szmerlak (Schmerlak) (Simon)
Yitzhak and Frida Piekarek
      Jankiel Piekarek – son of Yitzhak and Frida
      Gitta (Gloria) Piekarek Rubin – daughter of Yitzhak and Frida

Mendel and Riza Perelmuter
      Fishl Perelmuter – son of Mendel and Riza
           Rizla Perelmuter – daughter of Fishl
      Sura Perelmuter – daughter of Mendel and Riza, married Avrum Landau
           Felix Landau – son of Sura and Avrum
      Josef Perelmuter – son of Mendel and Riza
          Dina Perelmuter – daughter of Josef
               Sophia Perelmuter Wolkowitz – daughter of Dina
          Fishl Perelmuter – son of Josef
     Chaim David Perelmuter – son of Mendel and Riza

Leibl and Faiga Owsianka
Arieh Czarko
     Shimon Czarko – son of Arieh

Chaim Nusen Cwajghaft (Tsvaighaft)
    Abram (Avraham Isser) Cwajghaft; son of Chaim Nusen
Unszer Swarcbert  (Shmuel Usher Schwartzberg)
    Laja Swarcberg (Leah Schwartzberg) – daughter of Unszer; married Louis (Lejba, Leibl) Silverstein (Zylbersztajn)
    Idessa Swarcberg (Schwartzberg) – daughter of Unszer; married Shloma Rychermann (Solomon Richman)
        Keva Richman – son of Idessa and Solomon; married to Beverly
  Itzhak Koprak- nephew of Usnzer; married Channa Koprak
       Morchechai (Mikhail) Koprak – son of Itzhak and Channa

Fajwel Lejbowicz – married Szeindla Waligura
Mordechai Rajczyk
Majer (Meir) Filar

Jankiel and Chana Glodek
    Abraham Glodek – son of Jankiel and Chana
    Leibl Glodek – son of Jankiel and Chana
    Herszek Glodek – son of Jankiel and Chana
    Szlamek Glodek – son of Jankiel and Chana
    Gittla Glodek – daughter of Jankiel and Chana
 Leslie (Lejzor) Glodek – married Celia
           Jennifer Glodek – daughter of Leslie and Celia; married Jonathan Benn
           Graham Glodek – son of Leslie and Celia; married Maria

Mottl Brzoza
Moshe (Mojsze) Cyrlak; married   ?    Srebro
     Israel Cyrlak – son of Moshe
Abram Gutman – married Chaya Finkelstein
    Grace Gutman Pahl – daughter of Chaya Finkelstein
    Lonia Gutman – daughter of Abram and Chaya
 Rivka Finkelstein – probably a relative of Chaya

Hersz Jagoda
    Michael Jagoda – son of Hersz
     Jankiel (Jacques) Jagoda – son of Hersz
Leib Jagoda
Israel Yagoda – uncle of Natan and Arie – exact relationship unclear
? and Elkie Yagoda
     Natan Yagoda – son of ? and Elkie
     Arie Yagoda – son of ? and Elkie; married to Shifra

Moszek (Moshe) Rotsztejn (Rotstein) (Mark Rothstein) – brother of Avruml and Simcha
Avruml (Rotsztejn) Rotstein – brother of Moshe and Simcha
Simcha (Rotsztejn) Rotstein – brother of Moshe and Avruml
Saul Reingewirtz (Raimi)
Chaim Huberman
Tuwia Blaszka
Mendel Bergazyn
Leib Jedwab
Abraml Jedwab
Shiye Brozoza
Shimon Kaminski

Idel and Czarna Skornik
     Maryisia Skornik- daughter of Idel and Czarna
Moshe Skornik – distant relative of Idel
     Peril Skornik – daughter of Moshe
              Yiniv Goldberg – grandson of Peril

Leon (Ljzor)  Finklestein (Finkielsztejn) – btother-in-law of Czarna Skornik (exact relationship unclear)
Icchok Buchman – brother of Fajwel
Fajwel Buchman – brother of Icchok
Ita Melman
            Anat Aderet – granddaughter of Ita
Rachel Rosenthal – married Chaim Laks
Itzhak and Channa Koprak
       Morchechai (Mikhail) Koprak – son of Itzhak and Channa
Neshka Rosenberg
Irving Novetsky
Morris Laboda
Boyes Sheinbaum (Szejnbaum)
Meilich (Moyshe) Hokhman
Jankiel (Jack) Weingarten
Moishe Borstein

Yitzhak Leib Lubieniecki
       Hershel (Henry) Lubieniecki – son of Yitzhak
       Andrzej (Avram Moshe) Lubieniecki – son of Yitzhak; married Manya (Maria) Wlosko
       Shimon Lubieniecki – son of Yitzhak

Abrahm Itzhak Wlosko – father of Manya
Berl-Bernard Mark
Perla Tch
Zelda Beharier
Heike Goldwasser
Manya Goldwasser
Miriam Myrla – married Josef Skurnik; second husband   - Sadik
       Carla Sadik Blumenthal – daughter of Miriam and - Sadik
Czarna Myrla – sister of Miriam and Malka
Malka Myrla – sister of Miriam and Czarna

Abraham and Leah Vilchinski (Wilczynski)
     Valek (Mordekhai) Vilchinski – son of Abraham and Lea
     Tadek (Yitzkhak) Vilchinski – son of Abraham and Lea
Faigele Pludwinski (Pludwin)

Leiser Horowitz
Boruch Filar
Aron Filar
Leibl Filar


Places
Berezne, Poland
Nasielsk, Poland
Sarny, Poland
Mokvyn, Poland
Radzyn, Poland
Nowy Dwor, Poland
Jablonna, Poland
Warsaw, Poland
Bialystok, Poland
Warsaw ghetto
Piekielko labor camp
Flatbush, Brooklyn NY
Roslyn, NY
Palm Beach Gardens, NY
Boca Raton, Fla
Detroit, Michigan
Bloomfield, Michigan
Windso, Ontario, Canada
London, England
Nachlat Nashelsk, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Paris, France

Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust by Ruth Thomson 2011

"[A] varied and fascinating account—for readers over age 8—of what was, in truth, a brutal transit camp." from a review by Meghan Cox Gurdon in WSJ.com 2/19/11

This slim, picture-book size volume was conceived for young readers, but that should not put off adults who will find this book beautifully executed and worthy of their attention if they are interested in the Holocaust or the Theresienstadt concentration camp, in particular.  The author has assembled the text from primary sources, using mostly quotes from journals, oral histories, works of art and photos of artifacts like records of an identity card of those who had been deported to Theresienstadt. Also, she has included photos of the camp, some of its buildings and prisoners, and current memorials.

The history of Hitler’s rise and the building and set-up of Theresienstadt are laid out simply. The written, oral and visual records provide the emotional impact inherent in eye-witness accounts. Some of these accounts were created during the lives of the prisoners simultaneous with their being in incarcerated. Some were written as recollections by survivors.

We learn about overcrowding, illness, deportations - mainly to Auschwitz, and the role of the Jewish Council of Elders. Since so many artists and intellectuals were incarcerated in Theresienstadt, the role of culture and education are stressed: lectures, classes, and the creation and/or performance of literary, visual, musical and theater arts, both those activities sanctioned and those that took place in secret.

Thomson spends important time on the visit to Theresienstadt by a committee of the Red Cross at the request of the King of Denmark. In anticipation of being found out, Nazi leadership retrofitted the camp in an effort to deceive the Red Cross committee. We hear how deportations for Theresienstadt before the visit helped to reduce crowding, and how keeping the elderly and ill far away from the planned route lowered the risk of exposure. And we learn about the cultural activities that were set up to entertain the visiting committee.

Ruth Thompson’s judicious choice of material as well as the layout in 60 plus pages makes this book of interest to a reader of any age. The Thereseinstadt concentration camp is movingly evoked in this volume.

This book includes several maps, a timeline from 1934-1945, a glossary of terms, sources, an index, and photo acknowledgements.

To read an article about the importance of music in Theresienstadt, click here.
To read an obituary of Joza Karas who recovered and helped publicize music performed in Theresienstadt, click here.

People
Edih Baneth
Henriette S. Beck
Ferdinand Bloch
Frank Bright
Charlotte Buresova
Friedl Dicker-Brandeis
Jakob Edelstein
Zdenka Ehrlich
Raja Englanderova
Pavel Fantl
John Fink
Lily Fischl
Peter Frank
Steven Frank
John Freund
Jana Renee Friesova
Bedrich Fritta
 Tommy Fritta – son of Bedrich
Kurt Gerron
Leo Haas
John Hartman
Ben Helfgott
Mayer Hersh
Hans Hofer
Albert Huberman
Arnold Jakubovic
Alfred Kantor
Helga Kinsky
Freddie Knoller
Rma Laushcherova
Berdrich Lederer
Zdenek Lederer
Peter Lowenstein
George Mahler
Eva Meitner
Frantisek M. Nagl
Josef Polak
Helga Pollak
Hana Pravda
Gonda Redlich
Paul Aron Sandfort
Malvina Schalkova
John Silberman
Alice Sittig
Aron Sloma
Joseph E. A. Spier
Gerty Spies
Norbert Troller
Otto Ungar
Charlotte Veresova
Helga Weissova-Hoskova

Places
Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia

The Nazi Officer’s Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer with Susan Dworkin 1999

"A well-written, tense, and intimate Holocaust memoir by an author with a remarkable war experience." from a review in Kirkus Reviews 9/1/1999

This very interesting and moving memoir was written by the Holocaust survivor, Edith Hahn Beer with the help of Susan Dworkin. The author, 85 at the time of its publication in 1999, had grown up in Vienna, lived out most of the war years in Germany under a false identity, and then left for England after the war where she lived for over thirty years. After her second husband, Fred Beer died, she settled in Netanya, Israel.

The title of this memoir underlines the most unusual aspect of her life. Provided with false identity papers by Austrians who did not support the Nazi regime, Edith Hahn Beer married a German member of the Nazi party whom she met at an art gallery, and who, after a short romance, declared his love. She shared her secret, but although his politics were not pro-Jewish, his personality was such that he chafed at authority and felt compelled to protect her and her secret. When he was drafted toward the end of the war, he became a Nazi officer.

Because the author spent most of the war years in Germany, we get a detailed look at what it was like to first be a slave laborer on an asparagus farm, then a worker in a box factory.  Then, once she got her false identity papers, she became what she calls a “U-boat” – a person living amongst the enemy - and we see what it was like living amongst Nazis and Nazi sympathizers through her eyes. The details she provides allow us to become emotionally involved in her close calls – in her need to be careful in order not to give away her identity. This meant that she was constantly strategizing, constantly being fearful that she might implicate herself and others who had helped her.

Edith Hahn Beer survived for a number of reasons: she was lucky, and she met a few sympathetic Austrians and Germans who provided help and cover at crucial moments. Mostly it was because she was smart and made the right decisions. However, she never would have suffered as she did, she realized much later, had she decided to leave Austria before Hitler invaded, as her sisters had done. For a variety of reasons she had not wanted to leave her beloved Vienna and she, like many others, was convinced that Hitler, who she considered an “idiot,” was not a real threat.

Throughout the years she kept in touch with her Austrian Christian friend Christl Denner Beran who helped save her life by agreeing to hand over her papers so that Edith Hahn Beer could assume her identity. For this selfless act of humanity she has been honored by Yad Vashem.

To see a trailer for the movie of the same name which includes a short clip of an interview with Edith Hahn Beer, click here.

To read an in-depth article on Germany's use of forced and slave labor during World War II called "German Industry and the Third Reich", click here.

People

Author’s family (Father and mother were distant cousins. Both had Hahn surname.)

Author’s father’s family

Leopold Hahn – married Klothilde Hahn

            Edith Hahn – daughter of Leopold and Klothilde; married to Werner Vetter; married to Fred Beer; author

                        Maria Angela Vetter Schluter – daughter of Edith and Werner

            Mimi Hahn – daughter of Leopold and Klothilde; married Milo Grenzbauer

            Johanna (Hansi) Hahn – daughter of Leopold and Klothilde

Gisela Hahn Kirschenbaum – sister of Leopold

Isadore Hahn – brother of Leopold

            Selma Hahn – daughter of Isadore

Author’s mother’s family

Ignatz Hoffman – Klothilde Hahn’s uncle – exact relationship unclear

            Klothilde Hahn –niece of Ignatz Hoffman;  married Leopold Hahn (see above)

            Richard Hahn – brother of Klothilde; married Roszi

            Elvira Hahn – sister of Klothilde

                        Jultschi – daughter of Elvira; married Otto Ondrej

                                    Otto Ondrej – son of Jultschi and Otto

            Marianne Hahn – sister of Klothilde; married Adolf Robichek

Max Sternbach – author’s cousin; relationship not clear

Friends and Acquaintances

Bertschi Beran – married to Christl Denner

Liesel Brust

Kathe Crohn

Heddy Deutsch

Suri Fellner

Philippe Halsmann

Max Hausner

Steffi Kanagur

Sigfried Kanagur – brother of Steffi

Mina Katz

Lily Kramer

Erna Marcus

Felix Roemer

            Wolfgang Roemer – nephew of Felix

            Ilse Roemer – sister of Wolfgang

Josef (Pepi) Rosenfeld

Hermi Schwarz

Places

Vienna, Austria

Stockerau, Austria

Hotel Bristol, Badgastein, Austria

Hainburg, Austria

Osterberg, Germany

Munich, Germany

Brandenburg, Germany

Netanya, Israel

Mendel’s Daughter by Martin Lemelman 2006

"[A] stirring memoir for Gusta's own grandchildren and everyone else's" in a review by Joe Estkenazi in Jweekly.com, 4/07

Martin Lemelman, an illustrator and a professor in the Communications Design Department at Kutztown University in Pennsyvania, has written and illustrated with black and white drawings the story of his mother’s experience during the Holocaust. The son of survivors, Martin Lemelman videotaped his mother telling her story in 1989 and revisited the tape many years later. This book is essentially his mother’s memoir – his writing and illustrating the story of her growing up in Germakivka in what was then Poland. She starts by describing her family, her home, the town and their way of life , then goes on to describe the invasion first by the Russians and then by the Germans.

She narrates their hardships and fear and describes the life and fate of each member of her family. She escaped into the forest in Maravinitz with her half-brother Simon and her younger brother Isak where they hid for three years. Her story is both horrifying and fascinating. They dug what she called graves – deep pits in the ground and lived underground to avoid detection. Eventually her sister Yetala joined them and the four of them survived the war due to their ingenuity, the help they got from a number of compassionate Christians, and sheer luck.

This is not a graphic memoir. Lemelman has not drawn cartoons. But because he is an illustrator by profession, the drawings are front and center. He also includes many family photographs, including documents from the family's immigration to America. All are artfully placed on their pages. They become integrated into the illustrations.

To see previews of Lemelman's book For Two Cents Plain about growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950's to be published in September 2010, click here.

People
Bashi Spitzer – author’s great grandmother
    Menachem Mendel; her son – first wife is Chanah; author’s grandfather
    Malkah – his second wife; sister of first wife; author’s grandmother
        Simon and Chunah –Mendel and Chanah’s sons; author’s half-uncles
        Jenny – Mendel and Malkah’s daughter; married to Fievel
            Eli – their son
        Regina – Mendel and Malkah’s daughter
        Yetala – Mendel and Malkah’s daughter; marries Kalman
        Gusta Schaechter – Mendel and Malkah’s daughter; author’s mother
        Toviah Lemelman – married Gusta; author’s father
            Bernard – their son; married Diane; author’s brother
            Martin – author; married Monica
                Jonathan, David, Benjamin, Sam – their sons
        Isak (Isia) Schachter – Mendel and Malkah’s son
Zlateh – Menachem Mendel’s sister
Shmil Rosenblatt – her husband
    Chantze – their daughter

Places
Germakivka (formerly Poland)
Maravinitz
Ivana Pusta
Kriftche
Korolivka
Borchov
Milnetze
Scala
Chortov
Buchach
Neu-Freiman Displaced Person’s Camp, Germany