Poles

A Brutal Occupation​

Decimated Population

The Nazi occupation of Poland was incredibly brutal and resulted in the death of over 1.8 million Poles, without counting the 3.3 million Jews and people of other ethnicities. Poland was one of the primary targets for Nazis according to some speeches from 1939.
 
Germans mainly focused on eliminating intelligent figures, socially prominent individuals and influential people. In this particular case, the cleansing operation wasn’t about Jews only, as many Catholic and Orthodox Poles were also sent to concentration and death camps.
 
Warsaw was almost destroyed. The idea was to eliminate about 85% of Poland’s population, with the remaining 15% to be used for forced labour.
 
Throughout the occupation, Germany established multiple camps around Poland, which also hosted the prominent settlement in Auschwitz. Jews from all over Europe were sent to Auschwitz. Many of them walked straight into gas chambers and were gassed before realising what was going on.

Holocaust Museum of Corfu
Holocaust Museum of Corfu
Items

Learn More About Poles

Thimble​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

This thimble was found in a devastated tailor’s shop from Kolomyia, while many other belongings were looted after the owner Aureliusz was killed. According to locals, Aureliusz wasn’t Jewish, but helped Jews hide inside his shop when hunted publicly. His son was only 10 years old. He kept the thimble to remember his father.

· Donated by the Galecki family

Stethoscope​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

Stanimir Danzon was a Jewish doctor from Bydgoszcz. He was also one of the 192 executed Poles between the 3rd and the 10th of September, 1939. His stethoscope was found by Godzimir Gorecki in his abandoned house. It was saved to keep his memory alive and kept in the family as a war relic over the past decades.

· Donated by the Gorecki family

Alexander The Great Coin​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

The Tykocin Synagogue was disused during the Nazi occupation. Some say it had a few artefacts on display, like a museum. This Alexander the Great coin was found buried on its grounds. The Greek King was positively disposed towards Jews and refused subjugating them, mainly due to Aristotle’s teachings. Maik, who found the coin later, kept it as a relic.

· Donated by the Dąbal family

Many More Items​

Holocaust Museum of Corfu

Our collection has countless other items to display. We are currently in the process of saving donations to open a physical museum, so we can display the entire collection. Any donation through the button below will be greatly appreciated and can help us preserve the memory of the Holocaust alive. Thank you.

Rebecca Aaron was the last Holocaust survivor in Corfu. May her memory be a blessing.