The Israeli Organization of Zamość Jewry - Poland

The Committees of the Zamosc Survivors
In Poland, in the Years 1945-1950
(From the reports of Chaim Szpizajzen, v"g)
Page 1176: Fifteen delegates from the assembly of Zamosc landsleit groups, which took place 9-10 November, 1947 in Bratislava. Moshe Zajdel (Szczeczin); Aharon-Mordechaj Hirszberg (Lodz); Chaim  Szpizajzen (Szczeczin); H. Suchaczewski (Lublin); Moshe Kejzman (Wroclaw); Lejb Werter (Niemcie); Josef Sziper(Szczeczin); Eljasz Rechtman (Wroclaw); Chaim Unterrecht, Szloma Icek Fang, Aron Miller (All 3 Legnica); Motel Kac (Zhary); Elbirt from Browar, and Symcha Grindler (Swidnice).390
Page 1177: The exhumation of the Zamosc martyrs. Among those participating: Anszel Cymryng, the Grandson of Meir Maler, of the city (Lublin); Szymon Bajczman, Joseph Sziper (Szczeczin), Szloma Buch, Pinkas, Haskel Szamasz’s son (Wroclaw); Levi Gringler, Butcher.
As soon as Zamosc was liberated from the Hitlerist occupation, an inquiry about the condition of Zamosc and its Jews arrived from landsleit in New York, signed by Israel Zilber, at the address of Eljasz Epsztejn, who had survived the period of the occupation in a hideout.
The letter laid without being answered. It was only when the landsman, Jekutiel Cwillich returned from the German camps, who made a connection with the Zamosc Help Committee in New York, was contact first established. Contact also was initiated with those residents of Zamosc who had been saved, who surfaced, and came from a variety of places.
A short time after the first connection, the Zamosc committee received from New York the first assistance of $150 dollars.
The Committee rented a location, which was supposed to be an lodging point for the people of Zamosc who were thrown together, and they were also given a small amount of support.
The Committee consisted of: Eljasz Epsztajn, Szymon Bajczman, Jekuttiel Cwillich, Shloma Buch and others.
This was in the end of 1945 and beginning of 1946.
In the spring of 1946, when the war refugees began to arrive with the repatriation echelons, and those who were sent off to the Soviet Union, residents of Zamosc began to return en masse. It happened that fate was such, that the proportion of those who came back that were from Zamosc, was a significant one. Many from Zamosc, in their time, in the year 1939, when Zamosc ‘voluntarily’ went over to the Germans, were able to evacuate themselves with the Red Army, and a part of them went off deep into Russia, and applied themselves to work in many factories and undertakings.
The echelons of the repatriated went to Lower Silesia, the so-called newly constituted Polish areas, which had belonged to Germany. In many cities and towns, of these tracts, people from Zamosc began to meet one another. They came in almost every echelon. Rather significant groups of people from Zamosc began to develop in the cities of Upper and Lower Silesia, in Lodz and Szczeczin, the former German port cities.
Each individual wanted to know details about their own relatives; who had saved themselves; where they are to be found. From this a need was created for an information center, which could dispense information, which would enable families to get in contact and indeed, should be able to provide some of the initial advice and assistance.
Committees were organized all over, of the former residents of Zamosc. In Szczeczin, the committee constituted itself in May 1946, and it consisted of the following landsleit: Mendel Sznur, v"g (died after making aliyah to Israel, in Haifa), Chaim Szpizajzen (Died in Tel-Aviv), Josef Sziper, Moszko Szlam, and others. At that time, in Szczeczin, about 1,000 people from Zamosc registered themselves. A list of those registered was immediately then sent to New York. The list was printed in a newspaper. Thanks to this presentation, many friends and relatives responded and made inquiries.
The American Help-Committee sent assistance frequently to the committee of the Zamosc people in Szczeczin, Lodz, Wroclaw (formerly Breslau), which was divided up among the landsleit.
On November 1947, an assembly of all the Zamosc committees in Poland was organized through the central committee in Warsaw in the capitol city of Lower Silesia – in Wroclaw. Up to 30 delegated traveled to come together from a variety of cities.
After the reporting and a discussion about the future activities, it was agreed that:
The future activities need to be dedicated to carry out a wide-ranging exhumation – to bring to proper burial those dispersed and scattered remains of the martyrs in the area, who had been interred in a variety of places, in and around the city. To gather together all of the grave stones from both Zamosc cemeteries, which had been uprooted from them, and with which an array of streets in Zamosc had been paved. From these desecrated grave stones, a monument is to be erected. To put the cemetery back in order.
A central Zamosc committee of survivors was selected, of those who were to be found in Poland. It was decided that the leadership office would be located in Szczeczin, where the Chair, Chaim Szpizajzen was located, the Treasurer Moshe Zajdel, and the Help Secretary Josef Sziper.
At our call, the Zamosc people in New York responded very warmly, with the landsleit Israel Zilber and Izzy Herman at the head, and from Buenos Aires the landsleit, with the assistance of Wolf Kornmas, Kossoj and Cycman at their head.
Thanks to this received assistance, the exhumation was carried out in January 1949. 96 martyrs were given a proper Jewish burial. There is no doubt that the number of martyrs was larger. However, we exhumed those, where we knew the location where the murderers had killed them.
The difficult technical work was carried out under the direction of the delegate and member of the Zamoc central committee, Josef Sziper.
In the summer of 1950, the grave stones were gathered together at the cemetery, and a monument was erected, and a common grave was bounded with the grave stones that had been gathered in this fashion.
The technical work was supervised by delegate from the Zamosc committee, the landsman, Szya Sztajn.
It needs to be said, that the far-flung people from Zamosc in their respective ‘new’ locations, found it difficult to participate in the work of bringing order to the grave stones, and the erection of the memorial. Szczeczin, where larger numbers of landsleit were located, is on the other side of Poland. The travel was not easy at all. The Zamosc people who were closer (whether in Zamosc itself, or from Lublin) were less involved.
On September 10, 1950, an unveiling of the monument took place, which was indeed put together from the desecrated stones. It is found on the cemetery, not far from the common grave of the exhumed Jewish martyrs, brought from the surrounding villages, fields and woods.
To the unveiling, came Jews from Zamosc, survivors, who then lived in Warsaw, Lublin, Szczeczin, Dzerzanow, Wroclaw, and other points.
The monument was unveiled in the presence of an array of central and local institutions. The Zamosc land committee was not then represented. The political situation in Poland no longer permitted the existence of such societies and organizations.
At the unveiling, the Chairman of the Lublin Jewish District Committee spoke, M. Adler; from the Zamosc District committee, from the United Polish Workers Party – Zalinsky; from the central committee of the Jews in Poland, and from the Yiddish Historical Institute – V. H. Ivan. Floral wreaths were laid by a variety of organizations and societies.
The monument was designed by the architect-engineer Adam Klimek, with the close help and oversight of Szya Sztajn, who in his time, was delegated by the Zamosc committee about this matter.
The Zamosc Survivors Organization, had, in the matter of a scant five years, discharged its important and positive work. While it is true that the number of our landsleit was equivalent to that from much larger cities, much help was required. Also, the committee played an important role in unifying the sundered families that were separated in various places. There were instances, that members of families were found, who were thought to have been killed. The Zamosc committee were clearinghouses of addresses for all the far-flung landsleit who were driven away during the Holocaust.
Not only for those from Zamosc, but also survivors from the surrounding towns depended on the people from Zamosc. Very often, indeed, there were those people, who had family and relative connections with Zamosc.
From 1950 onwards, the existence of the Zamosc society was not possible and not necessary.