These letters document the correspondence between Nathan Cytryn and his wife, Salomea (or Kaska) Kazimierski, from 1939 to 1942. The couple, who got married in Lublin in 1928, exchanged over a hundred letters while Nathan was detained in the Oflag VII camp, a prisoner of war camp (POW) in Murnau, Germany. They pursued their correspondence when Salomea and their son, Yasho, were sent along with Salomea’s parents (Moszes and Helena) to the Warsaw ghetto. These letters, written in Polish, describe their everyday life under the German occupation and include greetings and personal accounts from family members.
Letters written by Salomea in the Warsaw ghetto
“Darling, could you send us a photo? So I can at least see you in pictures, I miss you terribly, believe me life without you is unbearable." (January 15, 1940, Salomea)
“Darling, could you send us a photo? So I can at least see you in pictures, I miss you terribly, believe me life without you is unbearable." (January 15, 1940, Salomea)
"Dear Dad! Your picture moved my dear mother and me very much. I hold your picture close to my heart. You can't imagine how much we miss you. Love, your son Janek" (January 24, 1940, Yasho)
"Dear Dad! Your picture moved my dear mother and me very much. I hold your picture close to my heart. You can't imagine how much we miss you. Love, your son Janek" (January 24, 1940, Yasho)
Salomea's last letter to Nathan is dated July 8, 1942. She wished him a happy birthday and looked forward to celebrating future anniversaries together.
The first letters
Enlisted in 1923, Nathan was promoted to officer in the Polish army in 1929. He was then mobilized to fight against the invasion of Poland in 1939, leading to his arrest by the Nazis. From 1939 to 1945, Nathan was imprisoned at the Oflag VII POW camp. During this time, Salomea, her parents and Yasho were deported to the Warsaw ghetto. For three years, their only means of communication were these letters, which allowed the couple to share their feelings and describe their living conditions. Salomea shared the difficulties she and her family encountered in the ghetto. For her, the hardest thing to face was loneliness. Nathan sent her his portrait to help keep their spirits up and to comfort them in these uncertain times.
“You have no idea how much joy your picture has brought us.” (January 22, 1940, Salomea)
The last letter from Salomea
The letters between Salomea and Nathan came to an abrupt stop in 1942. On July 14, 1942, Nathan received a letter from Salomea wishing him a happy birthday and hoped to celebrate the “upcoming birthdays with joy” together. This is the last letter he received from his wife. Salomea and Yasho are believed to have been deported to the Treblinka killing center in August 1942, during the Grossaktion (the Great Aktion). Part of Operation Reinhard, the action was carried out from July 22 to September 21, 1942, by the Nazis to liquidate the Warsaw ghetto and deport and murder its inhabitants. Nathan remained imprisoned until the Liberation in 1945 and was transferred to the DP camp in Engelstadt. After learning that his wife and son had been murdered, Nathan decided to join in 1947 members of his family who settled before the war in Canada. He began a new life in Montreal and met Sarah Schacter, whom he married in 1948. Until his last days, Nathan treasured Salomea’s letters to commemorate his loved ones and keep traces of his past life. The letters provide an important and intimate account of a Polish Jewish family’s experiences and the consequences of the Holocaust in Poland.
To commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht on November 9, 2023, we shared the story of the Cytryn family through the letters Salomea wrote to her husband Nathan during the Holocaust. The letters were brought to life through moving performances by outstanding artists from the DoraWasserman Yiddish Theatre.
These letters have been translated by the Polish Institute of Science and Arts in Canada with assistance from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, supported by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future and by the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
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Other Cytryn family objects to discover
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Nathan Cytryn’s Suitcase (click here) |
