Bereck Kofman
Encyclopedia
Bereck Kofman was a French Hasidic
orthodox rabbi
, independent from the consistory
, born in Poland, deported and murdered in Auschwitz
.
Rabbi Bereck Kofman was born in Sobienie-Jeziory
, located about 40 kilometers south of Warsaw
, on October 10, 1900.
Bereck Kofman was the father of a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, including the future professor of philosophy
at the Sorbonne
, Sarah Kofman
. The family settled in France in 1929 where they were granted French citizenship.
On July 16, 1942, Kofman was arrested by the Vichy police during the rafle du Vélodrome d'Hiver, together with about 13,000 other Jews
, and moved to Drancy internment camp
to wait for deportation
. According to his daughter Sarah, her father heard about the roundup through rumours and had left his residence very early to warn the other Jews of the danger, before returning home, ready to sacrifice himself for his family. He was arrested at four in the afternoon. His family, who never saw him again, received a postcard, written by someone else, from the camp at Drancy. He was deported to Auschwitz
by the Convoi (Convoy) No 12 on 29 July 1942. After the war, a death certificate
was sent from Auschwitz
. According to the testimony of a survivor from Auschwitz
during this time, Rabbi Kofman was at the camp for one year before his murder by a Kapo
on a Shabbat
because he refused to work. He was beaten up with a pickax and buried alive. The author of the crime, a Jewish butcher, returned from deportation
and reopened his shop, Rue des Rosiers
, in the Pletzl
.
Sarah Kofman has remarked that the only souvenir remaining from her father is a fountain pen and that this was the source of all her writings.
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
orthodox rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, independent from the consistory
Consistory (Judaism)
In Jewish usage, a consistory is a body governing the Jewish congregations of a province or of a country; also the district administered by the consistory...
, born in Poland, deported and murdered in Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
Rabbi Bereck Kofman was born in Sobienie-Jeziory
Sobienie-Jeziory
Sobienie-Jeziory is a village in Otwock County, Poland. As of 2000, the population was 700. From 1975 to 1998 the village was in Siedlce Voivodeship. It is the capital of a local gmina . It lies approximately south of Otwock and south-east of Warsaw....
, located about 40 kilometers south of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, on October 10, 1900.
Bereck Kofman was the father of a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, including the future professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, Sarah Kofman
Sarah Kofman
Sarah Kofman was a French philosopher, born in Paris.Kofman began her teaching career in Toulouse in 1960, and worked with both Jean Hyppolite and Gilles Deleuze. Her primary thesis, later published as Nietzsche et la métaphore, was supervised by Deleuze...
. The family settled in France in 1929 where they were granted French citizenship.
On July 16, 1942, Kofman was arrested by the Vichy police during the rafle du Vélodrome d'Hiver, together with about 13,000 other Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and moved to Drancy internment camp
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
to wait for deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
. According to his daughter Sarah, her father heard about the roundup through rumours and had left his residence very early to warn the other Jews of the danger, before returning home, ready to sacrifice himself for his family. He was arrested at four in the afternoon. His family, who never saw him again, received a postcard, written by someone else, from the camp at Drancy. He was deported to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
by the Convoi (Convoy) No 12 on 29 July 1942. After the war, a death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
was sent from Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. According to the testimony of a survivor from Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
during this time, Rabbi Kofman was at the camp for one year before his murder by a Kapo
Kapo (concentration camp)
A kapo was a prisoner who worked inside German Nazi concentration camps during World War II in any of certain lower administrative positions. The official Nazi word was Funktionshäftling, or "prisoner functionary", but the Nazis commonly referred to them as kapos.- Etymology :The origin of "kapo"...
on a Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
because he refused to work. He was beaten up with a pickax and buried alive. The author of the crime, a Jewish butcher, returned from deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
and reopened his shop, Rue des Rosiers
Rue des Rosiers
The Rue des Rosiers, which means "street of the rosebushes", is a street in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It begins at the Rue Mahler and proceeds west-northwestward across the Rue Pavée, the Rue Ferdinand Duval, the Rue des Écouffes, and the Rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais, before...
, in the Pletzl
Pletzl
The Pletzl is the Jewish quarter in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The Place Saint-Paul and the surrounding area were, unofficially, named the Pletzl when the neighborhood became predominantly Jewish because of an influx of immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century and the...
.
Sarah Kofman has remarked that the only souvenir remaining from her father is a fountain pen and that this was the source of all her writings.