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Welcome
This
web site is dedicated to the
study of Jewish family
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
Events
in Radom
2020
Jewish Culture
Festival
For
the past 12
years the
Resursa
Obywatelska,
Radom's Arts
and Culture
Center, has
put on an
"Encounters
with Jewish
Culture Festival"
in the spring.
This year because
of COVID-19,
they moved
activities
onto Facebook
where they can
become
more
accessible to
many
of us.
You can visit their Facebook page
here.
Past
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 and the Resursa which
honors
the former
Jewish
community each
year.
There
have been
many efforts
to recognize
the Jewish
history of Radom,
for
both Poles
and Jews. Learn
more about
these efforts. Read more.
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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.
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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 to get to the
name index. The Name Index notes and
frequently links to a
particular name in a
variety of sources - ads,
school, synagogue
members, property
owners.
If
you are looking for
addresses go to the Names
tab
for property owners
or the telephone
directory. On
Links you will find
info on the 1930 and
1932 business
directories.
Also check to
see if there is
an ad
for a
family
business
from Names or
Pictures.
If
you would like
to add information
on your
family, or
have questions,
please contact Susan
Weinberg
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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.
Pre-War
Radom
Pictures
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. The
exhibition occurred as
part of the Traces
series, a focus on the
former Jewish
community that the
Resursa has sponsored
for several
years. We
found great interest
in Radom about the
former Jewish
community that lived
in their midst.
Family
Histories
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.
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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.
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.
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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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