Oyneg Shabbos (group)
Encyclopedia
Oyneg Shabbos was the code name of a group led by Jewish historian Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum
in the Warsaw Ghetto
during the Nazi-German occupation of Warsaw in World War II. The group, which included historians, writers, rabbis and social workers, was dedicated to chronicling life in the Ghetto. They worked as a team, collecting documents and soliciting testimonies and reports from dozens of volunteers of all ages. The materials submitted included essays, diaries, drawings, wall posters, and other materials describing life in the Ghetto. The collection work started in September 1939 and ended in January 1943.
The members of Oyneg Shabbos initially collected the material with the intention that they would write a book after the war about the horrors they had witnessed. As the pace of deportations increased, and it became clear that the destination was the Treblinka death camp and few of Warsaw's Jews were likely to survive, Ringelblum had the archives stored in 3 milk cans and ten metal boxes, which were then buried in three separate locations in the Ghetto. Two of the canisters, containing thousands of documents, were unearthed in 1946 and a further ten boxes in 1950. The third cache has yet to be uncovered, but is rumored to be buried beneath what is now the Chinese Embassy in Warsaw
. However, a search attempt in 2005 failed to locate the missing archival material.
On January 19, 1942, an escaped inmate from the Chelmno extermination camp
, Jacob Grojanowski, reached the Warsaw Ghetto, where he gave detailed information about the camp to the Oneg Shabbat group. His report, which became known as the "Grojanowski Report
", was smuggled out of the ghetto through the channels of the Polish underground, reached London and was published by June.http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%202494.pdf. Most all of the members of the Oyneg Shabbos were killed in the Holocaust. Emanuel Ringelblum did escape the Warsaw Ghetto, but continued to return to work on the archives and was eventually killed.
The name Oneg Shabbat means joy of the Sabbath in Hebrew and usually refers to a celebratory gathering held after Sabbath
services, often with food, singing, study, discussion, and socializing. This name was selected because the group tended to meet on Saturdays to discuss the progress of their collection and documentation efforts.
In 2007, historian Samuel Kassow
published Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabbes Archive. The publication accounts the Oyneg Shabes archives that have been found.
Emanuel Ringelblum
Emanuel Ringelblum was a Polish-Jewish historian, politician and social worker, known for his Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto, Notes on the Refugees in Zbąszyn chronicling the deportation of Jews from the town of Zbąszyń, and the so-called Ringelblum's Archives of the Warsaw Ghetto.-Before the war:He...
in the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
during the Nazi-German occupation of Warsaw in World War II. The group, which included historians, writers, rabbis and social workers, was dedicated to chronicling life in the Ghetto. They worked as a team, collecting documents and soliciting testimonies and reports from dozens of volunteers of all ages. The materials submitted included essays, diaries, drawings, wall posters, and other materials describing life in the Ghetto. The collection work started in September 1939 and ended in January 1943.
The members of Oyneg Shabbos initially collected the material with the intention that they would write a book after the war about the horrors they had witnessed. As the pace of deportations increased, and it became clear that the destination was the Treblinka death camp and few of Warsaw's Jews were likely to survive, Ringelblum had the archives stored in 3 milk cans and ten metal boxes, which were then buried in three separate locations in the Ghetto. Two of the canisters, containing thousands of documents, were unearthed in 1946 and a further ten boxes in 1950. The third cache has yet to be uncovered, but is rumored to be buried beneath what is now the Chinese Embassy in 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...
. However, a search attempt in 2005 failed to locate the missing archival material.
On January 19, 1942, an escaped inmate from the Chelmno extermination camp
Chelmno extermination camp
Chełmno extermination camp, also known as the Kulmhof concentration camp, was a Nazi German extermination camp that was situated 50 kilometres from Łódź, near a small village called Chełmno nad Nerem . After annexation by Germany Kulmhof was included into Reichsgau Wartheland in 1939...
, Jacob Grojanowski, reached the Warsaw Ghetto, where he gave detailed information about the camp to the Oneg Shabbat group. His report, which became known as the "Grojanowski Report
Grojanowski Report
The Grojanowski Report was written by Szlamek Bajler, under the pseudonym of Yakov Grojanowski, who escaped from the Chełmno extermination camp and described in detail the atrocities that he witnessed there....
", was smuggled out of the ghetto through the channels of the Polish underground, reached London and was published by June.http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%202494.pdf. Most all of the members of the Oyneg Shabbos were killed in the Holocaust. Emanuel Ringelblum did escape the Warsaw Ghetto, but continued to return to work on the archives and was eventually killed.
The name Oneg Shabbat means joy of the Sabbath in Hebrew and usually refers to a celebratory gathering held after Sabbath
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...
services, often with food, singing, study, discussion, and socializing. This name was selected because the group tended to meet on Saturdays to discuss the progress of their collection and documentation efforts.
In 2007, historian Samuel Kassow
Samuel Kassow
Dr. Samuel D. Kassow is an American historian of the history of Ashkenazi Jewry. He was born in a displaced persons' camp in Stuttgart, Germany. His mother survived because a classmate hid her and her sister in a cave underneath the barn on his family's farm, his father was arrested by the...
published Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabbes Archive. The publication accounts the Oyneg Shabes archives that have been found.
External links
- UNESCO: Poland - Warsaw Ghetto Archives (Emanuel Ringelblum Archives)
- “Let The World Read And Know” - The Oneg Shabbat Archives - Online Exhibition from Yad Vashem
- Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Poetry In Hell: The complete collection of poems from the Ringelblum Archives in the original Yiddish with English translations.