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Welcome

This web site is dedicated to the study of Jewish fa
mily history in the town of Radom, Poland.


Location: 51° 25' 21° 09' 

Other Names: Radom (Pol, Rus), Rodem, Rudem

Nearest Large Cities:  93.2 kilometers (58 miles) S of Warsaw

The Book of Radom: The Story of a Jewish Community in Poland Destroyed by the Nazis has been translated in full from the original Yiddish and is available for purchase from JewishGen. A special thanks to Anita Gabbay who managed this translation.

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Events in Radom

A Commemoration of the liquidation of the Radom Ghetto occurred in August 2017. At that time a trail was established that identifies the locations of significance to the Jewish community. Learn more about the trail here. The Resursa Obywatelska, Radom's Arts and Culture Center, has sponsored events commemorating the former Jewish community and was instrumental in the creation of the trail.
You can visit their Facebook page here.

There have been many efforts to recognize the Jewish history of Radom, for both Poles and Jews. Learn more about these efforts.  Read more.

Planning a trip to Radom?

Radom Today
On the Radom Today tab you will now find a summary of key Jewish sites in Radom and their locations.  Please don't hesitate to contact Susan Weinberg if you are planning a trip as I can help to connect you to resources while there.

On the links tab you will find links to several articles on my travels in Radom from my blog Layers of the Onion.  While there I explored Jewish Radom and did research at the archives.  If you are planning a trip you may find this useful.

Cemetery
The key to the Jewish cemetery is held by a woman who lives nearby.  If you are visiting Radom and want to go to the cemetery, contact me to learn how to access it.
 
In 2010 seventy-two long hidden tombstones were built into a monument known as the Lapidarium.  Articles on this discovery are found on the Cemetery Tab and the Radom Today tab.

A translation of these tombstones is now available at the Cemetery tab.  It is referenced to the Radom Book of Residents thanks to the assistance of Moshe Michel Werber.  Both Werber and David Rosen assisted in the translation.  Jakub Mitek from the Arts and Culture Center in Radom was kind enough to go to the cemetery in the middle of winter to take photographs. I've already heard from several people who have found family in those tombstones.







  
Using This Site

There is a great deal of information on this site so if this is your first visit, please explore.  A few tips....

Are you looking for a specific family name? Click on the Names tab. There you will find many links to documents retrieved from the archives as well as resources at the archives and library that are accessible on-line. They all contain names. You can also click on the Name Index  which is a list of surnames which  frequently links to a particular name in a variety of sources on this site – ads, synagogue members, immigration lists.

At the 2021 Birds of a Feather gathering for Radom, held at the IAJGS Conference, I shared a discussion of the archival resources on this Kehilalink. It is a good introduction to the names page and its resources. You can access it here.

At the conference we learned of a new resource. ID papers from 1934 with photographs. We have gotten these added to JRI-Poland with links to the Polish Archives. Go to the Names tab to read more about this document.

If you are looking for addresses go to the Names tab and access property owners, telephone books and identity papers.
On the Links tab you will find information on the 1930 and 1932 business directories which are available for download. Also check to see if there is an ad for a family business from Names or Pictures.

At the 2022 Birds of a Feather Radom gathering during the IAJGS Conference we explored how to locate photos of family members from Radom from a wide variety of sources. You can find this information on the Names tab as well as a handout. The presentation is available here.

If you would like to add information on your family, have questions, or would like to be notified of Radom related gatherings, please
contact Susan Weinberg




Searchable Visual History Archive
The Visual History Archive of the USC Shoah Foundation is now searchable for names which are mentioned in Shoah interviews.  After you register you can do a search for Radom and the name of interest and it will pull up interviews in which the family name is mentioned.



Virtual Shtetl
has added an excellent history of Radom to its site.


A Radom Museum
Did you know that there is a Radom Museum, and not in Radom?   Many former Radomers made their way to Toronto where they founded the Beth Radom Congregation. In more recent times they have created a museum to  remember Jewish life in Radom, to trace the Radomers' journey from Poland, around the globe, and to memorialize it as a physical tribute to their history. They have sought memorabilia related to Radom to develop  the museum.  This is a good time to look through those old boxes and share your Radom related materials, either photos or scanned images. Their objective is to develop their website into a resource for those of us with an interest in Radom around the world. While you may never get to Toronto, you will be able to access the museum as a resource. And if you are in Toronto, an advance contact to its curator, Allan Fryman, will allow you to visit the museum. You can learn more about the museum, contact information and its efforts at Beth Radom Museum.

   


KehilaLinks

This page is hosted at no cost to the public by Jewishgen, Inc., a non-profit corporation.  If you feel there is a benefit to you in accessing this site, your JewishGen-erosity is appreciated.

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What Can I Find at the Archives?

While in Radom I found many resources that I've included on this site. You will find many of them on the Names page.

Archives and Library
If you plan to do research in Radom, read Using the Radom Archives to learn what is available there. Even if you don't travel there, it may help you in ordering documents.

Names
Research documents from 1822/23 are available at the name link with the patronymics and the new surnames which were taken.

A list of Jewish names from 1813 are in a downloadable excel spreadsheet, together with profession.  As these are patronymics, the name they later assumed is also noted.

Other documents list out the members of the synagogue in Radom and surrounding areas in 1884/86.   A list of surnames of photographs of former Radom residents is provided which can be located through the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw.

A number of links to the Polish Archives have been added that include identity papers from 1941 and lists of Jewish bakeries from the 1930s.


Don't forget that the Radom Library also has documents, many of which are available on-line. On the Names page you will find links to a book of property owners from the early 1900s, telephone books and directories of professions from the 1930s and 1940s.

Pre-War Radom

Family Histories
and Pictures

On the Family History tab you will find recollections of survivors who lived in the pre-war community.  Many who have written a memoir have allowed us to include the first chapter about their life in Radom.
 
On the pictures tab you will see a link to stills from a homemade film of Jewish Radom done in 1937.  The quality is poor, but it  captures the people and institutions of the community in a rare pre-war snapshot.  It is easier to view via stills so I have captured many of the images. 

My visit in 2011 was on the occasion of exhibiting  my
artwork based on that film some of which is found in the header of each page. Accompanying me was Dora Zaidenweber, a survivor who was 15 years old when the war broke out.  Dora shared her pre-war and ghetto period family photographs in the exhibit.  Her photos had survived in the shoes of her husband and her brother who grabbed photos and put them in their shoes prior to being sent to the camps.  














We are very sorry to report that Professor Zbigniew Wieczorek passed away after a brief illness on October 25, 2021  Wieczorek was an important figure in fostering dialogue between Poles and Jews and preserving the memory of Jewish history in Radom.  You can read more about his work here. May his memory be a blessing.


Excerpts from reflections of  from Hilda Chazanovitz and Sharon Grosfeld, children of Holocaust survivors and activists for a new narrative in Poland

  . .In 2009, Sharon traveled on her own to visit the place of her father's lost youth. Though finding his former address, the original building was replaced by a Communist era high rise, and there were very few plaques to identify historically Jewish landmarks. Hilda’s journey began in 2014 upon the discovery of the Grynblat home where her mother lived with her family. Without any visible signs of Jewish life, echoes of her family whispered through the broken walls.

Over the next few years, Hilda and Sharon visited Radom and began developing relationships with Radom teachers and government officials interested in pursuing the same journey of reconciliation by honoring, as well as commemorating, the Jewish community and culture that once flourished there. In 2016 they led an interfaith Passover Seder at the Radom’s community center. They worked with the Radom government and colleagues in Radom to mark the 75th anniversary of the liquidation of the Radom ghetto through commemorative ceremonies lasting almost a full week.  Inspired by Professor Zbigniew Wieczorek and close friends at the Forum for Dialogue in Warsaw, they have worked to restore just some of what was lost.

In addition to many events planned during the commemoration, together we all formed an extraordinary relationship that culminated in the unveiling of Jewish plaques installed along streets and on buildings throughout Radom to ensure local citizens, as well as visitors do not miss the presence that once filled the town with Jewish schools, bakeries, hospitals, a synagogue, cemetery, and most importantly, Radom's former Jewish inhabitants.

Restoring the history of the Jewish presence within the infrastructure of Radom’s society, along with the renewed and present-day ties between Jewish and Christian Poles, marks both a revival and regeneration of centuries of co-existence. Though the Holocaust was a defining moment that severed those fragile bonds, the hope for the future runs through the veins of Jewish descendants, and Christian residents alike.



 
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© 2010-2023 Compiled and Created by Susan Weinberg
Please contact Susan Weinberg with your additions and your comments!
 Last updated August 13, 2023
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