Circle of Former Treblinka Inmates

[pilgrimofdark]

Cross-posted from deep inside the Nov 1942 Treblinka Report, Ringelblum (the "Steam Chamber" report) thread.

I know this has been "known" since at least 1979 with Donat's Treblinka book, but there was a "Circle of Former Treblinka Inmates" in 1945.

Donat dated this photo to 1944, but it could be 1945. If it's 1944, then it's at least a second group reunion of these people showing a relationship that lasted more than half a year at least.



Standing from left to right: Rosenthal, Brothandel, Shimon Goldberg, Chaim Ciechanowski, Wolf Schneiderman.
Sitting from left to right: Jacob Domb, Gustav Boraks, Oscar Strawczynski, Samuel Rajsman, Arie Kudlik, Shmuel Goldberg, Lejzer Ciechanowski.

Many of these people were interrogated by the Soviets in August-October 1944 as part of several investigations.

More mentions of this circle and its activities:

21 January 1945: the Central Jewish Historical Commission (CZKH) organized a meeting in Lublin of Treblinka survivors. Survivors Samuel Razjman and Stanislaw Kohn were part of the committee, along with Philip Friedman (not a Treblinka survivor but founder of the CZKH and important elsewhere).

April 1945: a group of 35 Treblinka survivors contacted the Lodz branch of the Association of Jewish Partisans in Poland. They wanted to be recognized as partisan veterans, but the Association wouldn't accept them as an entire group since it was against their rules. Stanisław Kohn and Kalman Potasz represented the group of Treblinka survivors.

Summer 1945: the "Circle of Former Treblinka Inmates" gathered in Lodz and assisted CZKH in researching and collecting testimony about Treblinka.

15 July 1945: over a dozen Treblinka II survivors met at Oskar Strawczynski's home with Rachel Auerbach (Oyneg Shabes) and Janina Bukolska/Bucholc (Zegota) to record their testimony as a group. They practiced a "collective testimony" methodology where they were read existing testimonies in order to corroborate each other's narratives (i.e., "convergence of evidence" and "independent testimony"). Attendees below:

• Jankiel Wiernik
• Szymon Goldberg
• Sabina (Sonia) Grabińska
• Henryk Rajchman
• Aharon Czechowicz
• Henoch Brener
• Arie Kudlik
• Samuel Rajzman
• Abe Kohn
• Chaim Ciechanowski
• Samuel Willenberg
• Lejzer Ciechanowski
• Henryk Pozwolski
• Oskar Strawczyński
• Wolf Sznajdman

Here's what Philip Friedman (who also moved to New York and worked with YIVO and was a mentor to Raul Hilberg) had to say about this type of group collective memory:

In order to avoid the defects of excessive subjectivity in the testimonies, the various historical commissions attempted to organize collective testimony. Where several people from the same town or who had survived the same concentration camp lived together, they were brought together. The existing testimonies or chronicles of their town were read to them, and they were asked for additional information, corrections, etc. During such collective treatment of certain topics, a higher level of objectivity was very often (not always) achieved than that attained during individual interviews. Certain intimate experiences that cannot be touched on during a collective interview can be completed in individual discussions.

- Document 11 in Khurbn-Forshung. PDF

Fall 1945: many of them then gave testimony to the Polish Judge Łukaszkiewicz.

Several also published books, gave statements that are in archives in Poland/Israel/USA, participated in later trials, etc.

I don't think the names of all 35 are known or collected in one place, along with when/where they left their mark. Many of the relevant early documents are in the JHI archives. Those have had a "temporary loss of access" for 7-8 months now, so we'll see how long "temporary" turns out to be. [edit: a book published in Polish has an article that might have all 35 names -- or at least the author of one of the articles in the book names 35 people who left early testimonies.]

If I can find more on this Circle and what they did, I might create a Wiki page.

edit: found more and will add here... but not organized enough for a Wiki page yet.

[pilgrimofdark]

Alina Skibińska, in an article "My mówimy zamiast nich, mówimy w ich imieniu": Więźniowie Treblinki II świadkami Zagłady ("We speak instead of them, we speak on their behalf" Prisoners of Treblinka II as witnesses to the Holocaust), identifies these 35 "revolt survivors" as having left testimonies:

1. Gustaw Boraks
2. Hejnoch Brener
3. Szymon Cegieł
4. Jakub Domb
5. Leon Finkelsztejn
6. Richard Glazar
7. Szymon Goldberg
8. Abraham Goldfarb
9. Samuel Goldstein
10. Tanchem Grinberg
11. Szlomo Helman
12. Lejzer Jakóbskind
13. Mosze Klajman
14. Abraham Kolski
15. Abe Kon
16. Stanisław Kon
17. Aleksander Kudlik
18. Sonia Lewkowicz (née Grabińska)
19. Abraham Lindwasser
20. Leon Perelsztejn
21. Henryk Poswolski
22. Chil (Henryk) Rajchman
23. Samuel Jerzy Rajgrodzki
24. Samuel Rajzman
25. Berek Rojzman
26. Eli Rozenberg
27. Wolf Schneiderman
28. Henryk Sperling
29. Oskar Strawczyński
30. Bronka Sukno
31. Kalman Tajgman
32. Eugeniusz Turowski
33. Borys "Kazik" Weinberg
34. Jankiel Wiernik
35. Samuel Willenberg

The actual "circle of former Treblinka inmates" was probably more fluid, so this isn't a fixed list of all members. It doesn't seem to have existed as a formal organization, although Philip Friedman encouraged them to try to organize formally.

A few examples of people missing. Oskar Strawczynski's brother Zygmunt was likely a part of the group, but isn't in Skibińska's list above, but he did leave a testimony. The "Rosenthal" in the photograph might be Szymon Rosenthal, who was interrogated by the Soviet Extraordinary State Commission and showed up for the "reunion" photograph, but isn't on the list above.

Also, whoever Rajzman identified as "Brothandel" in the photograph, may not have left any testimony at all.

[Archie]

This is a good angle because it destroys the value of these testimonies as "corroboration." (Although I suppose they will argue that the inconsistencies in the testimonies are proof that there was no tight coordination ).

• Eli Rozenberg

This must be Eliahu Rosenberg.

He testified at the Demjanjuk trial (and completely discredited himself). See the X thread below.


He also testified at the Eichmann Trial. Scroll down to find a complete list of Eichmann trial witnesses.
https://www.eichmanntrial.com/transcripts

I believe there are four people from your list who testified at the Eichmann trial (accounting for spelling/transliteration differences).

Avraham Lindwasser
Eliahu Rosenberg
Kalman Teigman
Ya'akov Wiernik

[pilgrimofdark]

I think a Wiki page would help to track who appeared where and in what context.

A big table would probably make sense, but I'm thinking about how to do it.

• Soviet interrogations
• Various other organizational overlaps
• Central Jewish Historical Commission accounts
• Polish interviews
• Dusseldorf trial participants
• Eichmann trial witnesses
• Demjanjuk trial
• Books, interviews, oral histories, documentaries, etc.

The "convergence of witnesses in the same room" would be easier to keep track of.

Not just the discrepancies are important, but the consistencies. There seems to have been a "Wiernikonvergence of testimony" as early as summer 1944; followed by the "collective testimony methodology" meetings of summer 1945.

Collective memories probably aren't as durable as firsthand experiences, so there will inevitably be some drift as years go by.

I'd be interested to know if any of the "circle" members ever stated they were part of this group involved in collective memory production.

This is the kind of historical reconstruction that isn't inherently revisionist, but is unlikely to get published in a mainstream journal/book. I might be wrong, but it seems too unorthodox even for a work like the recent Yad Vashem collection on social networks.

I have a case study on only Oskar Strawczynski basically done and ready to go.

Tajgman's earliest account is so strange that it calls into question whether he was ever really at Treblinka.

[Hektor]

Alina Skibińska, in an article "My mówimy zamiast nich, mówimy w ich imieniu": Więźniowie Treblinki II świadkami Zagłady ("We speak instead of them, we speak on their behalf" Prisoners of Treblinka II as witnesses to the Holocaust), identifies these 35 "revolt survivors" as having left testimonies:

1. Gustaw Boraks
2. Hejnoch Brener
3. Szymon Cegieł
4. Jakub Domb
5. Leon Finkelsztejn
6. Richard Glazar
7. Szymon Goldberg....
8. Kalman Tajgman
9. Eugeniusz Turowski
10. Borys "Kazik" Weinberg
11. Jankiel Wiernik
12. Samuel Willenberg

The actual "circle of former Treblinka inmates" was probably more fluid, so this isn't a fixed list of all members. It doesn't seem to have existed as a formal organization, although Philip Friedman encouraged them to try to organize formally.
....the Soviet Extraordinary State Commission and showed up for the "reunion" photograph, but isn't on the list above.

Also, whoever Rajzman identified as "Brothandel" in the photograph, may not have left any testimony at all.

Former inmates huge organizations of the type of 'veteran organizations'. It help them to push their interest through. It also may have the way how much of the narrative did emerge, given that they told each other stories and memories. Especially the the same nonsensical storie told by the same people over and over again may have emerged that way.