GOSTYNIN
After April 1941, Warsaw ghetto, author unknown, testimony recorded
by Daniel Fligelman, “Gostynin.” The fate of the Jewish population from
the entry of the Germans until the establishment of the ghetto.
[1] Gostynin⁷³²
The history of all good homes is that of prosperous
peoples; it can be written in two lines,
and has in it nothing for literature.
Balzac, A Daughter of Eve⁷³³
It is disputable and questionable whether the above aphorism has been used
apropos here. Could the Gostynin inhabitants be regarded as happy only
because they suffered less than the remaining Jewry? I think so. I do not wish
to debate the issues from the scope of eudaemonism,⁷³⁴ so I will only say that
in my opinion avoidance (even partial) of tragedy is also happiness.
The fact that Gostynin (county seat [. . .] inhabitants,⁷³⁵ including
300 Jewish inhabitants [. . .]) ‘was born with a silver spoon in its mouth’ is
indisputable. Located more or less in between two incessantly bombarded cities
(Kutno and Płock), Gostynin itself remained unharmed during the military
operations despite being an important strategic point. Even though two
732 Before the outbreak of the war 2,269 Jews lived in Gostynin. The ghetto in Gostynin, where both the local Jews and those of Gąbin were confined (3,500 people in total), was established in January or March 1941. It was bordered by Płocka, Buczka, Wojska Polskiego and Bagnista Streets. Most of the inhabitants were murdered in Chełmno/ Kulmhof in April 1942.
733 Novel by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1838.
734 (Greek) teaching on human happiness or welfare.
735 In late December 1939 the population was 9,744 people, including 2,051 Jews.
