Bochnia is a town midway between Krakow and Tarnow. The ghetto was created in March, 1942, and liquidated in September, 1943. There were about 15,000 Jews in the ghetto. By the time of the final liquidation of the ghetto, there were about 7,000 Jews left of which 3,000 were deported to the labor camp at Szebnia and the remainder sent to Auschwitz.
Below are the thumbnails of the front and back of three postcards from Bochnia. The first is addressed to a Jewish organization in Belgrade for transmittal to a refugee, Baruch Degan, who was a passenger on a ship, the "Pentcho", which was in port at Belgrade. The letter is from Barcuh's mother. For more information about the Pentcho and this refugee's fate, please go the Rhodes section of the Italy section of this site. The second is from the same mother to her daughter, Cyla Degan, who was interned at an Italian internment camp on the Island of Rhodes. The third is from the same mother to Baruch Degan and is addressed to the wrecked ship Pentcho. The card is postmarked January 31, 1942, and was subsequently readdressed to Camp Ferramonti in Italy (see Italy). 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. 160
Copyright © 2003 Edward Victor