A MILE FROM AUSCHWITZ
THE LOCAL JEWISH MUSEUM
CREATES DIGITAL CATALOGUE
OF ITS COLLECTION
The Holocaust destroyed this family and Oświęcim’s Jewish community, which made up 60% of the prewar population. Of the Klugers, only three siblings survived: Szymon, Bronia, and Moses. Szymon was the only family member to return to the town and lived there, from 1961 until his passing on May 26, 2000, as the last Jewish resident.
In 2014, the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF) renovated Szymon’s home and opened Cafe Bergson, a popular spot for locals and a cultural scene. When Szymon passed away, the AJCF received his large collection of personal belongings that contribute to a greater understanding of the Jewish history of the town. In its most recent project, the Center is digitizing this unique collection together with Małopolska Institute of Culture in Kraków to preserve the historical record and make it more accessible to the public.
In 2022, the artifacts from the Kluger collection will become part of the planned online database of the museum’s holdings. This project will give public access to a bilingual Polish-English listing of about 600 artifacts, 3,500 photographs, and 4,500 documents, which tell the story of the local Jewish community of Oshpitzin (Yiddish for guests). Among them are also 400 excavated Judaica from the Great Synagogue of Oświęcim, which was destroyed by the Germans in 1939 and artifacts from the world renowned Jacob Haberfeld Liquor Factory, whose products won international recognition in interwar Europe and the USA.
“We want to ensure that everyone in the world is able to browse our collection and engage with the story of Oshpitzin” says Tomasz Kuncewicz, Director of the AJCF. “To accomplish that before the pandemic you had to come to our physical site and that usually meant taking a detour from a visit to the neighboring Auschwitz Memorial. This is no longer a limitation as people are becoming more used to digital experiences and we want to offer them one.”
The online catalogue, a digital inventory of the collection, is the first step in AJCF’s digital transformation. With support from the local government of Małopolska province and international donors, the Jewish Museum in Oświęcim is planning to digitize its entire collection and provide free access to its holdings in the next three years.
“Through these efforts, we hope more people will get to know the Klugers and other families who were part of 400 years of vibrant Jewish life in the town,” says Kuncewicz.
The project of digitization of the Kluger Family collection was made possible with the support from the Cultural Promotion Fund of the Polish Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport.
The Klugers were an average Polish Jewish family in 1930s Oświęcim, a town southeast of Krakow. Symcha and Fryda had nine kids and lived in a two-story house behind one of the synagogues in the old town. In addition to being a melamed (educator), Symcha was known in the community for his Saturday afternoon sermons, which he delivered in Oświęcim’s Great Synagogue. The family also ran a small chicken store on the ground floor of their house.
Maciej Zabierowski, the Jewish Center