Last Sunday I paid a visit to the towns Sosnowiec and Będzin. Both are located in the region called by communities of Jewish survivors and emigrants Zaglembie (spelled Zaglembie Basin quite often). Polish name would be Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%85browa_Basin). At the time of Warld War 2 Sosnowiec-Będzin townships were incorporated into Oberschlesien as Ost-Oberschlesien. Prior to WW1 the area belonged to Russia and was a Russian-developed coal mining region within the so-called Polish Kingdom. The attached map shows you the historical borders in the area. Until 1914 borders of 3 empires met next to the places. Between WW1 and WW2 it was Poland.
One local story shall become same famous as the story of Anne Frank. A diary of Miss Rutka Laskier (born same day as Miss Frank) has survived in the hands of her best fiend, a Polish girl Stanisława Sapińska. The heart-breaking testimonial of Miss Laskier has not been published until 2006. The script describes 3 months of her stay in the Bendsburg-Ghetto. The manuscript, as edited by Stanisław Bubin, was published in the Polish language by a Polish publisher as late as in early 2006. In June 2007, Yad Vashem Publications published English and Hebrew translations of the diary, entitled Rutka's Notebook: January–April 1943. Purchase it through Yad Vashem Publications online store.
While visiting the local museum in the castle I could also see a temporary exhibition about local Righteous among the Nations. It is uplifting to know that there have also been some more-than-just -good people in this dark time. As the exhibition is gone by now I present amateur pictures I took while visiting. The descriptions were provided in Polish only. As usual.
What is totally unusual is having a coffee and gingerbread cake in Cafe Jerusalem (! יְרוּשָׁלַיִם), a Bedzin place run by a group of local activists. I felt very privileged to be able to talk to them and establish a contact. Behind their main room there is a charming fairy-tale-like exhibition of artifacts left over from our Jewish Landsleute.
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