Hello friends,
Here is an article regarding the Galicia Jewish Museum
which has published an unknown diary from the occupied Krakow that I thought I
should share with you
Written by a young woman - Janka Goldstein, has been
kept for many years by friends of her family. Now it's available to readers!
Here is the Facebook link (it is in Polish): https://www.facebook.com/events/566732987073090/
I have attached an extract of the story translated by
Google from a Polish web page at http://welcometo.pl/dziennik-janki-goldstein-premiera-ksiazki/
. Please excuse the translation errors! I do not know yet if the book is
available in other languages:
Dziennik Janki Goldstein - the premiere of
the book
October 28, 2018, 16.00
Dziennik Janki Goldstein - premiere of
the Galicja Jewish Museum, ul. Dajwór 18, Kraków
Dziennik Janki Goldstein - premiere of
the Galicja Jewish Museum, ul. Dajwór 18, Kraków
Dziennik Janki Goldstein , a book published by the
Jewish Galicia Museum thanks to the financial support of the City of Krakow, is
a hitherto unknown testimony from the occupied Krakow. The release
of Dziennik in
autumn 2018 coincides with the 76th anniversary of the October deportations
from the Krakow ghetto to the extermination camp in Bełżec. This book
reminds of the tragic fate of one of the many Krakow families whose members
died during the Holocaust.
The author of the journal, Janina Bronisława Goldstein
(1920-1945) was the daughter of Julian Goldstein, an activist of the Szomer
Umonim Association of Jewish Craftsmen, editor-in-chief of "Rękodzieło i
Przemysł" published by this Association and the owner of the
Artistic-Slusarski Department, which was located in the buildings at
ul. Dajwór currently being the headquarters of the Galicia Jewish Museum.
Dziennik Janki, the only preserved notebook (one of many that
she wrote), covers the years 1940-1942, and therefore is an important testimony
of the years of German occupation - a record of the everyday life of a young
Cracovian woman who was affected by exclusion, persecution and finally closure
in isolation from the rest ghetto city. Janka spent little time in her
journal describing the occupation reality - she focused on herself, her
relationships with others, feelings, memories, ordinary and unusual events of
everyday life.
The daily was prepared by Katarzyna Zimmerer and Ewa
Czekaj. Katarzyna Zimmerer, author of m.in. recently published "Chronicles
of the murdered world", took care to embed Janka's testimony in a broader
context, reflect the realities of life in Krakow in 1939-1943, explain the
words used by Janka related to German occupation and life in the Krakow ghetto,
identify at least some people that Janka mentioned. Ewa Czekaj, whose
grandparents Alicja and Andrzej Łachów knew the Goldstein family and kept the
daily Janki, carried out arduous searches in the archives to at least partially
reconstruct the fate of Janek Goldstein, her siblings, parents and other
relatives. She reached many documents, thanks to which she managed to
establish a lot of facts about Janki herself, as well as her father - Julian
Goldstein, her mother - Sarah nee Scheller (r.
Despite extensive explanations, Janki's diary is not an easy
read. The journal cards fill the names and initials of the people, only a
part of which can be identified. There are many misconceptions in it,
broken tales, incomprehensible passages. It is not a matter-of-fact,
chronically kept chronicle of occupied Krakow. It is an intimate, hidden
even from the next diary, a record of everyday ordinary and unusual events, the
relationship of the author with family members, friends and acquaintances, a
record of her emotions, including the emerging feelings for Heinz Dressler.
Thanks to the preserved journal, the memory of Janka, her
family, friends, close and distant acquaintances will in some sense be
saved. Many people about whom Janek wrote in her diary still know little
or nothing. However, thanks to Janki's notes, we know that these people
existed.
The project "Development and publication of Dziennik Janki
Goldstein" is co-financed by the City of Krakow
Dziennik Janki Goldstein
Selected fragments:
I am exhausted so recently. I can not sleep at night, I still
have some drows falling. Daddy was appointed the vice-president of the
commune and today he began to work. We are not happy about it, although
everyone congratulated Daddy and when Jula talked about how it was all, pride
spread through me. So what. Those times will not return when Daddy
calmly sat at home and read books. Now he leaves the house and returns
late. In the morning he must be a little at the factory, at noon he is a
member of the Craftsmen's Union, and in the afternoon in the Commune. I
see him so little and sometimes I feel so sorry for him. I adore him so
much. I always try to imitate him and how should I do something, I always
think that Daddy acted in my place.
***
From the [Father's] factory I went with all the pots from dinner
to bread and powders. Then, on foot, I returned home, stopping and
changing my hands every now and then. I still had adventures along the
way. I do not know why they took on me. When I went with dinner the
day before yesterday, three daugthers at Dajwo were standing one behind the
other, and the last one pushed them at me. I pushed him back with all the
strength I still had in my electrified hand. Because previously in the
Market Square I unscrewed the plug and the current passed through my hand and
leg. Yesterday, again, some andrus struck me with a stick on my leg, and a
little further a little girl wanted to throw a snowball on me, because I did
not say anything to her request for bread, which, by the way, she wanted to
steal from me. Of course, such things unnerve me, but not for long. I
have an unpleasant taste after them. What will grow out of these
children? What kind of society will they create in the future when they
hate youth?
***
My thoughts often go towards our neighbor, Gmina official,
colleague Stefek, Heinz Dressler. He is an extremely nice, though unlucky
boy, a year older than me. Tall, slim not too much, dark haired, with
pretty eyes, but big nose. And it disgusts him. But he is very
nice. I met him on a couple or on the second day of our
introduction. We borrowed two buds for Blassberg for books. And
because Heinz lives with him, they both came for these buds. And then I
met them.Subsequently, I slowly got acquainted with his family, as well as with
some of the tenants. Sometimes I go to books, and every day I see someone
from them and often talk. I will return to Heinz, his family and our
tenants in general the next time, unless something more important in the meantime
happens. Because it always has time. Well, now I'm putting away.I am
sleepy and tired. In the field of rain, you want to sleep. However, I
am glad that I wrote this page at least. I have little time, when I find a
moment, someone is sitting and I can not write. I steal free minutes like
a thief.
***
Heinz asked gently, "What exactly are you?" He had
asked me this question several times before, and I responded to him every time
I shrugged. "I have to go now." But he stood over me and looked
at me for a long time. My eyes were dropped, but I knew exactly what he
was doing. He grabbed my head, hugged me, like on Thursday, after the "battle." However,
Mr. Weigunov entered this. He stepped back momentarily. When she
left, he came to me from the other side of the couch, embraced me lightly, and
hugged my cheek against mine. I felt so good and yet so sad that tears
came to my eyes. I felt that Heinz could not take control anymore and was
looking for my lips. He touched them with his own, but I turned gently and
his lips rested on my neck, his cheek touched mine again. We stood for a
fairly long moment. I wondered, Can I let him kiss me? It gave
me such pleasure, but I felt that I was not allowed.
***
I could not, I could not write until that time. And now I
barely got it. But to describe everything I've been through since first
June ... no! it is above my strength. What is gone, will not come
back, so it's better to forget about it. I will always remember in my
memory the memories of Heinz's arms covering me, hugging each other and the
touch of his soft, hot lips. This is the first boy that I really love,
which I embraced and kissed first. I will not describe all these
things. They will always be in my memory, and there would be too much
writing and sad things that I would rather not think about. One of the
most horrible things is that Hela is not with me and worse, I do not know at
all what's going on with her and where she is. And I miss so much !!!
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