Anti-Semitism in Poland!
Polish courts stonewall claims of Jewish Survivors from the Holocaust to their property
In World War II the Germans exterminated three million Polish Jews during the German occupation of Poland. After the war, Polish Communist authorities seized possession of all Jewish assets, including, but not limited to, real estate and other valuables owned by the Jews of Poland.
The following account is the story of Sam Silberberg, a Holocaust survivor and the rightful heir to the ancestral assets listed below. Moreover, this is the story of a man who won’t give up even in the face of extreme difficulties blocking his attempt to reclaim the family properties.
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| The town of Jaworzno, Poland |
I managed to survive the war when, after two years with my father in the Blechhammer concentration camp, I escaped. This came about during the infamous “Death March” of the Blechhammer camp in January of 1945.
Luckily I knew where my mother, Bajla Silberberg, was working. It was good fortune that I knew her whereabouts, working under the cover of Aryan papers. Her job was as a nurse’s aide in the Catholic Convent at Neisse.
The rest of my immediate family, my father, my two brothers and my only sister were exterminated by the Germans.
In late March of 1945 the Red Army liberated Neisse from the Germans. Mother and I returned to Jaworzno. We carried great hope to be reunited with other members of the extended family. We had a home at 11 Mickiewicza Street, this being an inheritance from my mothers’ side--whose name was Siegman. My father’s family, the Silberbergs, owned the house at #10 Rynek.
Both my mother and a surviving aunt (my father’s sister Sara) registered their claim to the properties of #10 Rynek and #11 ulica Mickiewicza with the courts in Jaworzno.
At the time mother and I arrived, both houses listed above were occupied by tenants. Jaworzno, was under communist rule that did not allow the survivors who were legal owners to enter, live in, or claim rights to their property. Indeed, that unjust enforcement demanded we share occupancy of an apartment occupied by the Laufer’s and other survivors of the Holocaust.
My mother told me that during the war she gave Mr. Pierzchala a sum of money to pay taxes and maintain the building at 11 Mickiewicza. After the war she asked Mr. Pierzchala to recover some heirlooms, which were hidden in the wall of the basement. When they recovered the items, it seemed that Mr. Pierzchala had taken some of the valuables. When she demanded their return his response was to slap her in the face.
Life under the Communist regime in Poland was intolerable for survivors of the Holocaust. Therefore I joined a Zionist organization (which was outlawed by the Communists) and left for Palestine. My mother went to the American Zone of West Germany and eventually emigrated to the U.S.A. I joined her in August of 1952.
During the Communist occupation of Poland it was impossible to reclaim our properties. It came to pass that Poland won its liberation from communism. People were stepping forward to claim that which was taken during the war and confiscated by the communists.
Bajla Silberberg, my mother, passed away at age 92. Now it was time for me to begin the process of claiming the Silberbergs’ rightful inheritance, which my mother was unable to do while the communists ruled Poland.
Currently the owners of the properties are listed thusly:
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| 11 Mickiewicza, Jaworzno, Poland |
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| Rynek Główny 10, Jaworzno, Poland |
In the year 2000 I paid the attorney, Mr. Arthur Zlotowski, approximately $2000 to represent me and my interests in court in the above matter.
In early June 2000 I personally appeared in the courts of Jaworzno intending to establish and reclaim my rights to the Silberberg properties. Records for some of
There were many witnesses testifying on my behalf. During the proceedings the son-in-law of Mr. Pierzchala, Mr. Miller, made blatant anti-Semitic remarks. He was overheard to say that Hitler didn’t do a good enough job.
One can only wonder if anything at all was learned from the events of WWII. One can only wonder what children are being taught after the events of war, after the shame of Polish behavior. Is this behavior stupid? Is it greed? Is it Anti-Semitism to again play this out in the courtroom where a pitifully small number sit? Are a small number of survivors, who remain from a once large family, to be prevented from attempting to reclaim their property?
My attorney promised that everything would be taken care of, my property would be returned to me, very soon, he said.
That was more than ten years ago.
I fired Arthur Zlotowski and hired a new attorney, Ewa Szewczyk from Katowice.
Now the building at #10 Rynek is in complete disrepair and abandoned. The building department of Jaworzno has determined the structure will be demolished. This after collecting rent for 65 years, after neglecting the ongoing upkeep of the building, after denying that it was my property, after all of this, to add insult to injury, there is now the demand that I pay for the cost of demolition.
One could laugh at such a miscarriage of justice. One could laugh if it weren’t so sad, if it didn’t seem to represent another blot of anti-Semitism yet again in Poland of the 21st century.
The war ended 65 years ago. What happened in the town of Jaworzno? What is happening today? Can this be true? First the town doesn’t return the property to its owners, the Silberbergs (those that are left, that is, after the camps didn’t return many) and now Sam Silberberg gets a bill for demolition.
I am making an appeal to the conscience of human beings to intervene on my behalf, and by extension on behalf of the entire family of the deceased. Intervene and correct the injustice perpetrated by the president and the mayor of Jaworzno. Don’t just give me a bill, act responsibly. Use the money you collected over the years to restore the property to its original state or demolish the building at your expense. Return the property to me in the same condition it was when you took it over.
Laguna Woods, CA
