At the start of the war, the Jewish population of Bedzin was about 27,000. The Germans' occupied Bedzin on September 4, 1939, and renamed it Bendsburg. A Judenrat was established in the early stages of the occupation. Deportations to Auschwitz began in May, 1942. The final liquidation of the ghetto started on August 1, 1943.
Below is the thumbnail of the front and back of a cover dated April 4, 1943, from the ghetto in Bendsburg to Switzerland. The rear of the cover contains the cachet of the "Elders of the Ghetto". Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Cover" in the left frame to return.
Below is the thumbnail of the front and back of a registered postcard dated March 8, 1943 from Bendsburg to Switzerland. The card contains the four line cachet of the Judenrat. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcard" in the left frame to return.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Gutman, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust (1990), P. 157-59
Copyright © 2003 Edward Victor