"Poland, Tremessen and Me"
What do I know about Trzemeszno? Never heard of it! Or, should I say, almost never? Before she died, my mother wrote her family history. Family history means Berlin. Of course, Berlin – was there anywhere else? Of course not. For them Berlin was the capital of the world. And then there was the Great Exodus From Berlin of the 1930s. My grandmother and all five of her brothers and sisters (and their spouses and children) made it out of Germany alive. Now, that’s history. An incredible history of resilience and pluck and a fair amount of good luck. Why dig back further than that?
Especially since the further back seems so pathetic. Further back was the 1826 “Meisterbrief” allowing Mom’s ancestor Nathan Arzt to practice the trade of bookbinding. “Meister” meant he was a master of his trade. But Nathan also needed a “Duldungs Certificat” – a Toleration Certificate permitting him and his family to reside in Trzemeszno (photo 1). This is the kind of humiliation I have always associated with the Jews of Poland.
Poland! Oh, my God, Poland! Just saying that name sends shivers up my spine. The graveyard of European Jewry! Of course, it isn’t all the fault of the Poles. The Poles didn’t exactly invite the Third Reich to invade their country. Stuck between the warring giants, Germany and Russia, Poland has been drawn and quartered throughout its history.
Then in March 2021, out of the blue, I got an email from a lady called Agnieszka from Poland. Agnieszka knows a great deal about my family. She knows the names of some of my ancestors and knows the town, the street, the house in which they lived (photo 2). Agnieszka is trying to breathe a living memory into a Jewish community that has disappeared. As far as I can tell, she is trying to give some dignity to a vanished Jewish presence; to make real people out of the ghosts.
Agnieszka also sent me some articles she had written about the Jews of Trzemeszno. My “aha” moment came when she explained the concept of the Toleration Certificate; explained that there were various levels of permission to work or reside in the town. As a Jew, my blood boils. As a lawyer, I understand the concept of visas and permits. I understand borders and residency requirements. I understand that at the time the town was called Tremessen and was under Prussian rule. That’s why all this documentation is in German. And as a Jew, my blood still boils.
Now Agnieszka is trying to salvage part of the Jewish cemetery of Trzemeszno, to rescue the old gravestones. Suddenly, I want those old gravestones to stand again, to bear witness to what was. I will send a small donation to help make this happen. And maybe – maybe - I’ll even come to see them one day.