Gołda GRUSZKA, née SZAJEWICZ

Gołda Gruszka, née Szajewicz, was born on October 20, 1888 in Radomsko, Poland. She was the daughter of Frajda (called Franciszka from 1963 onwards) Szajewicz (née Cymerman in 1868) and Herszlik (first name changed to Henryk in 1963) Szajewicz (1856-1906). Her father was a rope maker and her mother a homemaker.

A LARGE FAMILY

Gołda, who had three brothers and two sisters, was the eldest of the siblings. She was 3 years old when her brother Szmul Szajewicz was born in 1891.

The next to be born, in 1893, was Abram Ber Szajewicz. He later became a merchant and was a member of the Radomsko City Council, representing the Bund “party”. He married Alta from Tomaszów (it is not clear which one). He died in 1942.

 

Gołda’s sister, Rywka (Regina) was born two years later, on March 18, 1895. She married Szmul (Samuel) Haze, born in 1894, who was a goldsmith. They had three sons, Israel (1922 – 1943), Henryk Tzvi (1918 – 2004) and Jerzy, who was born in 1933 and later lived in Sweden. Regina (Rywka) died in 1971.

 

 

The next brother was Izrael (Iser) Szajewicz, born in 1900, a rope maker, like his father. He married Frimeta Stopnicka. He died in Buchenwald in 1944.

The youngest sister, Sura (Sara) (1902 -1943), married Yaakow Zalman Rys (1906 – 1942). They had two children, Chana Rys (1934 – 1942) and a second child whose gender is not known.

Golda’s brothers and sisters and their families all died in the concentration camps at Treblinka and Buchenwald. Only Rywka, her husband and two of their three sons, Henryk and Jerzy, survived, while Israel perished in the horror of war.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

In 1911, at the age of 23, Gołda married Abram Gruszka, born on July 21, 1885 at Wikłów in Poland. He was a tinsmith by profession. He died on July 31, 1939 in Paris. He was the son of Rywka Gruszka, née Łagrzycka and Nisen Gruszka. They had three children, Hersz, Rywka and Suzanne. Hersz (Henri) Gruszka was their eldest. He was born on June 21, 1912 in Kruszyna. He was an accountant by profession. Their daughter, Rywka Gruszka, was born on August 5, 1920. She was a seamstress and married Charles Biger.

FRANCE AND NATURALISATION

Before leaving for France, Gołda and her son Hersz, then 9 years old, and little Rywka, lived in Radomsko, at 10 Rynek Square (market square), while her mother lived next door, at number 4 on the same square, with her brothers and sisters, Sura and Iser. In the 1920s, Gołda, her husband and two children emigrated to France, which was highly regarded by Eastern European Jews. The family settled in the 11th district of Paris, at 10, rue Basfroi, a district that was home to many poor Jewish families. Their youngest daughter, Suzanne Gruszka, was born there on April 24, 1925. She married Jean Kadyszewicz and was a homemaker.

Under the French Nationality Law of August 10, 1927, Gołda Gruszka became a French citizen on April 29, 1933.

AUSCHWITZ

Gołda and her daughter Suzanne arrived at the Drancy transit camp on June 29, 1944. On July 31, 1944, they were deported from Drancy to Auschwitz aboard Convoy 77, which was the last of the large convoys from Drancy. It was made up of Jews from Paris, the suburbs and the rest of France, but most came from the 11th district. The prisoners were transported in inhuman conditions. Upon arrival at Auschwitz, after the selection on the Judenramp, Gołda was immediately sent to her death. She died in the gas chambers on August 5, 1944. She was 55 years old. Her daughter managed to survive her time in the camp.

 

THE SHOAH MEMORIAL

The Shoah Memorial is in Paris and Gołda Gruszka is included on the Wall of Names. Her details can be found on the wall in the first row, sixth column, on plaque No. 16, in the section for those deported in 1944.

We are including at the end of this biography a short film, “Survivor of Radomsko, Jerzy Haze, visiting the Kesselman Museum in Radomsko” (August 2019), in which Gołda Gruszka’s nephew, Jerzy Haze, a Holocaust survivor, son of Samuel and Regina Haze, recalls his wartime experiences.

Biography researched and written by: Anna Rak, Karolina Majak,
Zespół Szkół Elektryczno-Elektronicznych technical school in Radomsku.

Bibliography:

1. 1. National archives at Piotrków Trybunalski (ci-après : APPT). Digital document. Birth certificate (184/1888)
2. APPT. Digital document. Civil status registers of Jews from Radomsko. Birth certificate (87/1895)
3. APPT. Digital document. Acte de mariage (34/1911)
4. APPT. Digital document. Entries in the Radomsko address register after 1920.
5. APPT. Digital document. Civil status registers of Jews from Radomsko. Marriage certificate (30/1917)
6. https://www.geni.com/people
7. https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/szmul-szajewicz-24-108ttlr
8. Mieczyński, Grzegorz. Les entreprises de Radomsko dans l’entre-deux-guerres. Catalogue.[en ligne]. https://cutt.ly/wgzLjeI
9. http://lesmortsdanslescamps.com/monde.html
10. https://cutt.ly/VgzKYOM
11. Tartakowsky, Ewa. La France au cours de la 2e guerre mondiale – convois et déportations des Juifs de France. Available online at: https://cutt.ly/MgzKLGM
12. Kuczyńska, Dorota. Les Français au KL Auschwitz. Available online at: https://cutt.ly/MgzKLGM
13. https://cutt.ly/BgzKX3m
14. https://cutt.ly/igzLq9m
15. https://cutt.ly/WgzLoQ5
16. http://ressources.memorialdelashoah.org/index.php
17. Survivor of Radomsko, Jerzy Haze, visiting the Kesselman Museum in Radomsko (August 2019) – https://cutt.ly/UgzLaGZ