In 2020 we recovered more than a dozen matzevot from backyards in Czarny Dunajec. It is hard to put into words what we felt. Soon, in Wojciech Szumowski’s film, you will be able to see how important the moment is when another life story carved in stone is read and so returned to memory. We appeal to the people of Podhale and Nowy Targ to contact us if they know anything about matzevot. The place of tombstones is in the cemetery: they belong to the dead, and after the Holocaust they are the only carriers of knowledge about our Jewish neighbours. Here is a text by Karolina Panz. Reading a name restores the memory of one more person who was meant to leave no trace and whom we were meant to forget.

The matzevah from the grave of Salomon Dröhlich returned to the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Targ around 2010. It is not known when or in what circumstances it was taken away, nor where Salomon’s grave was. He died on 1 February 1940 at the age of 69. A short pencil note on an official financial report sheds some light on the circumstances of his death.

Salomon Dröhlich was a tinsmith. Besides his workshop he had a shop selling kitchenware and tin goods, which he had run since 1896: first on the market square in Nowy Targ, and from 1924 in the family house on Sobieskiego Street. In January 1940 every business owner in Nowy Targ had to buy a card permitting any kind of trade. The price was twice as high as before the war, and on top of that the local occupation authorities banned Jewish trading firms from continuing. On 31 January 1940 Salomon Dröhlich learned that after 44 years he would have to close his shop and would be granted a permit only for his workshop. It was a blow he could not survive. The list of trade cards bought for 1940 records: “Dröhlich […] reported […] in order to buy a registration card. He paid 7.50 złoty towards the amount due, signed the declaration and went home for the missing 22.50 złoty. However, he did not return, as he died suddenly at home. The registration card was not issued; the business was not carried on any further.”

In the Holocaust, Salomon Dröhlich’s wife Rozalia was murdered, as were his son Gimpel Hirsch with his wife Lilli and little son Marceli, his daughter Hinda Liba with her husband Dawid Kark and their little sons Emil and Roman, and his daughter-in-law Chana Rosa with her children Szymon and Roman. Only the youngest Dröhlich son, Majer, survived, in labour camps.

Text: Karolina Panz.

W 2020 roku w Czarnym Dunajcu wydobyliśmy z podwórek kilkanaście macew. Trudno wyrazić emocje towarzyszące tym wydarzeniom. Wkrótce w filmie Wojciecha Szumowskiego będzie można zobaczyć jaka to ważna chwila kiedy kolejny życiorys wyryty w kamieniu zostaje odczytany tym samym przywrócony pamięci. Apelujemy do mieszkańców Podhala, Nowego Targu o kontakt jeśli znane są jakieś informacje na temat macew. Miejsce nagrobków/macew jest na cmentarzu to własność zmarłego a po Zagładzie to jedyny nośnik wiedzy o naszych żydowskich sąsiadach. Zapraszam na tekst Karolina Panz . Odkrycie jakie niesie ze sobą odczytanie imienia i nazwiska pozwala na przywrócenie pamięci kolejnego człowieka po którym miał nie zostać ślad a my mieliśmy zapomnieć.

Macewa z grobu Salomona Dröhlicha wróciła na cmentarz żydowski w Nowym Targu około 2010 r. Nie wiadomo kiedy i w jakich okolicznościach została z niego zabrana, nie wiadomo też w którym miejscu był grób Salomona. Zmarł 1 lutego 1940 r. w wieku 69 lat. Krótka, sporządzona ołówkiem na urzędowym sprawozdaniu finansowym notatka, rzuca pewne światło na okoliczności jego śmierci.

Salomon Dröhlich był blacharzem. Oprócz swojego warsztatu miał sklep z naczyniami kuchennymi i wyrobami blaszanymi, który prowadził od 1896 r. – najpierw przy nowotarskim Rynku, a od 1924 r. w domu rodzinnym przy Sobieskiego. W styczniu 1940 r. wszyscy nowotarscy przedsiębiorcy musieli wykupić karty uprawniające do prowadzenia jakiejkolwiek działalności. Ich cena była dwukrotnie wyższa niż przed wojną, a na dodatek miejscowe władze okupacyjne zakazały dalszej działalności żydowskim firmom handlowym. Salomon Dröhlich 31 stycznia 1940 r. dowiedział się, że po 44 latach będzie musiał zamknąć swój sklep i że będzie mu wydane jedynie pozwolenie na prowadzenie warsztatu. Był to dla niego cios, którego nie był w stanie przeżyć. Na zestawieniu wykupionych na rok 1940 r. kart przemysłowych odnotowano: „Dröhlich […] zgłosił się […], celem wykupienia karty rejestracyjnej. Wpłacił na poczet należności kwotę 7,50 zł, podpisał deklarację i udał się do domu po brakującą kwotę 22,50 zł. Jednakowoż nie powrócił, gdyż nagle zmarł w domu. Karty rejestracyjnej nie wydano, przedsiębiorstwo nie było więcej prowadzone”.

W czasie Zagłady zginęła żona Salomona Dröhlicha Rozalia, jego syn Gimpel Hirsch wraz z żoną Lilli i synkiem Marcelim, córka Hinda Liba wraz z mężem Dawidem Karkiem i synkami Emilem i Romanem, synowa Chana Rosa z dziećmi Szymonem i Romanem. W obozach pracy ocalał jedynie najmłodszy syn Dröhlichów Majer.

Salomon Dröhlich

In 2020 we found a dozen of matzevot in the yards of Czarny Dunajec. It is difficult to express the emotions we felt in that moment. Soon you will be able to see this important moment when yet another life story engraved in the stone will be read out and thus brought back from oblivion.

We ask the inhabitants of Podhale, Nowy Targ to contact us if you have any information about existing matzevot. The place of tombstones is at the cemetery, this is the property of the deceased person. After the Holocaust this is the only remnant of memory. We invite you to read the text by Karolina Panz below. To read the person’s name is a way to honor their memory.

The matzevah from the grave of Salomon Dröhlich returned to the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Targ around 2010. We don’t know when and how it had been taken away, nor where exactly Salomon’s grave was located. He died on 1 February 1940 aged 69.

A short note written by pencil on an official financial report might give us some clue about the circumstances of his death.

Salomon Dröhlich was a metalsmith. Aside for his workshop, he had a shop with kitchenware and tinware which he had been running since 1896, first at the marketplace of Nowy Targ and from 1924 in his family home next to Sobieskiego street. In January 1940 all the entrepreneurs’ from Nowy Targ had to buy cards entitling them to run a business activity. Their price was twice as high as before the war. What is more, the local occupying authorities banned Jewish trading companies from any activities.

On 31 January 1940 Salomon Dröhlich found out that after 44 years he would have to close his shop and he would only be permitted to continue running his workshop. He was literally devastated. On the list of trading permissions, which were bought in 1940, it was noted: “Dröhlich […] came […] in order to buy his registration card. He paid PLN 7.50, signed the declaration and went home to fetch the missing PLN 22.50. Nevertheless, he did not come back as he died suddenly at home.” The registration card was not given and the workshop stopped functioning.

During the Holocaust Salomon Dröhlich’s wife Rozalia died, as well as his son Gimpel Hirsch together with their wife Lilli and son Marceli, the daughter Hinda Liba with her husband Dawid Kark and their sons Emil and Roman, the daughter-in-law Chana Rosa with her children Szymon and Roman. Only the youngest son of the Dröhlichs, Majer, survived.

Tekst: Karolina Panz

Translated by Magdalena Macińska