Objects

Photograph showing members of the "Akiba" organization in Oświęcim

Taken in the 1930s, the photograph shows members of Akiba, a scout association-type Zionist youth organisation. Regina Grünbaum, one of the leaders of the movement, is standing in the middle of the upper row. Regina Grünbaum was born on 9 September 1916 in Oświęcim. Before WW2, she was an activist involved in Akiba, a Zionist youth organisation. In 1941, she was relocated to Sosnowiec, and then to a number of Nazi German camps: Annaberg, Gross Rosen, Mauthausen, and eventually Bergen-Belsen, from which she was liberated. After the war, she returned to her hometown and married Salomon Kupperman, whom she acquainted in the 1930s, when he was part of the World Zionist Labour Party Hitahdut (Hebrew: unity). With the outbreak of the war, alongside his brother, he headed eastwards, reached the Soviet Union, and spent the wartime in Syberia and Uzbekistan. After their return to Oświęcim, Regina and Salomon were actively involved in the rebuilding of the local Jewish life, working with a number of organisations and supporting the recently developed structures of postwar life. Their Jewish wedding took place in 1948 in Wałbrzych, followed by a civil one in Oświęcim a year later. The Kuppermans resided at 1 Parkowa Street in Oświęcim. Salomon worked in the Chemical Plant in the town as an office clerk. Their daughter Elinka, courtesy of whom the present photograph is on display, was born in 1949. She attended a local primary school, named after Jadwiga of Poland, a late-fourteenth century Queen of Poland. In 1962, the Kupperman family decided to leave for Israel. First, they reached Italy, and then they travelled by sea to Haifa. Finally, they settled in Holon. Once in Israel, they did not forget about their hometown, working in an association made up of former residents of Oświęcim (Irgun Jocej Oświęcim). Salomon was its treasurer. They also cultivated close relationships with their Oświęcim-based friends, including Jadwiga Marciniak. Marciniak was also the teacher of their daughter Elinka and both exchanged letters for years. To this day, Elinka Kupperman (married name Shaked) visits her hometown.

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Information about the object
Author / creator
unknown
Object type
photography
Place of creation
Oświęcim (Małopolskie Province)
Technique
scan
Keywords
Copyright status
the object is not protected by copyright law
Owner
Oshpitzin Jewish Museum in Oświęcim
Identification number
MZ-721-F