Jankiel Wiernik

[Wetzelrad]

Some of them had likely died by 1939-1941. Others had been sentenced to prison terms that extended to or past 1939. No idea what Warsaw's policies were for early release, "good time," parole, etc., so it's speculative whether they were actually still imprisoned.

Aron Cukier may have served his full sentence from 1936-1943, because according to files at Arolsen he was first sent to a camp in 1944. He went to Auschwitz, then Mauthausen in 1945. He survived and was tracked as a DP until 1949. Contradicting that, he is also listed as a victim on a memorial at Ebensee, which was part of the Mauthausen complex.

[Wetzelrad]

He was a spy. It appears from the first map given by him, he is describing the Malkinia camp; here is the aerial view of that camp compared with Wierniks first map. He of course altered the future maps to align with the morphing of the stories.

Nazgul, do you perhaps have a link (or recall where I might locate) the source for the Malkinia air photo image shown above?

Here is the same comparison with clearer images. Source for Malkinia is Rudolf's Air-Photo Evidence. Nazgul could have a point, with that road going through the camp, but I'm not sure what the origin for this specific diagram is.

[Wetzelrad]

These papers also told the story of Wiernik's arrest. No new details that I can see.

Głos Narodu, August 16, 1935
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... _1935_222/

Dzwon Niedzielny August 25, 1935
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 5/page/n7/

These papers report that Jankiel Wiernik was selling hats in Lodz from 1918-1928.
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 97/page/18
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 11/page/41
https://archive.org/details/bc.wbp.lodz ... 2/page/n11

This paper reports that in 1922 Wiernik joined a credit cooperative with a number of people.
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 1a/page/14

Zarząd spółdzielni stanowią: Chaim Goldsztejn, Nusyn Zumer, Łejbko Wąsower, Matel Orensztejn, Chaim Wolman i Moszko Przepiórka. Zastępcami członków zarządu są: leek Rozenbaum, Lejzor Flechtman i Jankiel Wiernik.

Among them, the name Leek Rozenbaum stands out. He was the owner of the shoe factory where Wiernik was caught doing agitprop 13 years later.

I believe this exhausts everything on archive dot org.

[pilgrimofdark]

Some of them had likely died by 1939-1941. Others had been sentenced to prison terms that extended to or past 1939. No idea what Warsaw's policies were for early release, "good time," parole, etc., so it's speculative whether they were actually still imprisoned.

Aron Cukier may have served his full sentence from 1936-1943, because according to files at Arolsen he was first sent to a camp in 1944. He went to Auschwitz, then Mauthausen in 1945. He survived and was tracked as a DP until 1949. Contradicting that, he is also listed as a victim on a memorial at Ebensee, which was part of the Mauthausen complex.

I went back and looked more carefully at the papers. The people I thought were in their 80s were actually in their 30s. So poor OCR while going through a bunch of files, but correcting as much corruption as I can now.

These papers report that Jankiel Wiernik was selling hats in Lodz from 1918-1928.
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 97/page/18
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 11/page/41
https://archive.org/details/bc.wbp.lodz ... 2/page/n11

This paper reports that in 1922 Wiernik joined a credit cooperative with a number of people.
https://archive.org/details/jbc.bj.uj.e ... 1a/page/14

This is all good.

The only thing we're not finding is evidence he was a carpenter or cabinetmaker. The only mentions of that come from 1943 and later.

There are a few mentions of Wiernik in other contexts earlier. Non-digitized archives.

1913 - banned from Russia?
On the ban on living in four provinces of the country for Adam Bardziński and Jankiel Wiernik, who were found to be members of political organizations in the Petrograd Governorate.
- Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych

1928-1937 - sale of a factory. His hat factory?
Sale of the factory at Nowomiejska Street 2, owner Jankiel Wiernik
- Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi

[Stubble]

A clarification from the article, Wiernik was using 2 typewriters, Rozenbaum had a printing press in his shoe factory.

It is important to establish Wiernik as the Wiernik in question. This would be easy via a bookings photograph if he was indeed arrested in the sweep.

I have no idea how to get that information.

Going through the Polish Federal Archives with a search for his last name, I didn't turn up arrest records, although, I did turn up stuff linking him to Lodz in the '20's.

I'll try to keep digging with you guys.

I must admit, this is more rewarding than winnowing the mundane looking for missing jews.

Also might be worth trying to establish the connection with his handler prior to the war. This may come through looking at a figure like Rokhl Auerbakh. She arrived in Warsaw in '33 and I am going to guess that the circle she ended up in had overlap.

Looking for a parallel for their clandestine activities, if I were trying to describe what I am beginning to see, I'd think of it kind of like the weather underground. You've got academics, people in the news, all the way down to a simple shoemaker and a humble carpenter, I mean, hat salesman.