Bielsko is a town in southern Poland on the river Biala. Jews setlled in the town in the second half of the 17th century. By the start of the war, the Jewish population was about 6,000. Most of the Jews fled the town prior to the entry of the German army on September 3, 1939. However, many returned when cut off by the quickly advancing Germans, A Judenrat was created at the end of 1939, and a ghetto was established in the summer of 1941 and liquidated in June, 1942, when the remaining Jewish population (about 400 persons) was deported to Auschwitz.
Below are the thumbnails of the front and back of two postcards. The first is from Hermine Blumenfeld of Bielitz (Bielsko) postmarked February 14, 1942, addressed to B. Perlberger, for Miss Else Glasel, in Amsterdam. The second postcard is a Dutch postcard from Else Glasel to Hermine Blumenfeld postmarked July 5, 1942. Since the entire Jewish population of Bielitz had been deported in June to Auschwitz, the postcard was returned to sender. This card bears a "Zuruk" (return) handstamp dated July 16, 1942. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcards" in the left frame to return.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 146-47
Copyright © 2003 Edward Victor