Photos of Klodawa

[robhouse]

Here are some photos I took on my trip to Aaron Kozminski's home town Kłodawa, in Poland. Kłodawa is located east of Poznan, it was about 1 hr by train. When I got off at the train stop, there was no "town" anywhere in sight... just fields, and a lonely looking street with some tumbleweeds drifting by.

I found an old man on this street and asked in my phrasebook polish, "where is the town square?" "What town square?" he replied. "Kwadava" I said. He then began talking and pointing, and held up his 5 fingers, "5 kilometres" he said. Well, so I started walking. There was no sign indicating the direction of the town, but I followed my instincts and got there. I passed some fields, and cows, some old people on bikes and a couple teenage girls walking. I asked them "Do you speak English?" "Yes, sure" one replied. "Is this the way to Klodawa?" I asked. "Yes, it is just 1 kilometer that way". "OK." I said. They were looking at me like an alien. "Is it a nice town?" I asked. "Yes". I continued on....

These photos start at the train station and continue up to the town itself.

[robhouse]

These are some streets and buildings around the town center. The second photo is the town square. The 4th photo is the police station.

[robhouse]

This is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the 18th century. Behind the church was an enclosed field, that I wondered might be an old cemetery, but I couldnt tell. This was right next to a school, that was just getting out, and all the kids were looking at me. As if they'd never seen a tourist before!

The third photo is the back of the church.

I was also trying to find any old looking buildings that might have been from the 19th century. I took photos of the older looking buildings around.

[robhouse]

These are some photos of an old crumbling house. If this was in the US, I would say 19th century, but in Poland, I am not sure. These are all the same place, from the back, then a detail of a moulding, then the interior, then the front. The last photo is a park on the south side of town.

The whole town is very small, and I got some strange looks as I was walking around taking photos. A teenage girl was following me around, spying on me.

[Sam Flynn]

Nice pics, Rob. Did you take in Koło - Kłosowski's home city - as well? It's only some 20km from Kłodawa.

[robhouse]

Here are the last ones. The first pic is a small stream near the park. Then back at the train station. Funny story here... I went and bought a hamburger and a coke from a little stand, the girl handed me the thing, which was more like a meatloaf in a bun with mayonaise all over the top of it.. I took one bite and spilled the coke all down my pants. The I asked the girl what time it was. She reponded "My English very bad. It 20 past two." My train was scheduled for 2:40, and it had taken me almost an hour to walk the 5 kilometers from the train station. Well, to make a long story short, I didnt want to miss that train, so I literally ran the 5 miles, in pants and a denim jacket, on a hot sunny day... and I am not in shape. Needless to say, when I got to the station, it was about 10 minutes BEFORE 2 oclock. So I had some time to kill... I took some more photos around the station.

[c.d.]

Nice pictures, Rob. I have to ask though...did you make a specific trip to see Aaron's home town or were you in Poland for some other reason?

c.d.

[Celesta]

Wow. What a nice surprise. This was in the spring?

Did the area feel as desolate as it seems? It makes me think of so many of the small towns one sees in rural parts of Texas, the coastal plain, and plains region here in the US. Much of that area is flat.

Thanks for these. They are excellent. They are the first photos I've seen of Poland except for those in books.


Celesta

[Observer]

Thanks for sharing those photo's Rob, it is quite true, a photo is worth a thousand words.

PS

I now know why my home town is festooned with Poles.

all the best

Observer

[robhouse]

Kolo

Hi Sam,

I didnt stop at Kolo, but we passed through it on the train, and I took a few shots. Here they are.

In response to questions. I went to Poland this spring, the end of April, as part of a trip I took visiting Germany, Poland, France, etc. I wanted to visit Krakow and see Poland in general, but I also made a special point of visiting Klodawa. I also visited Poznan, where I visited the archives office through which I have been doing research of Kozminski's family. I spent an afternoon looking through microfilms trying to find Aaron's mother's birth certificate, but had no luck. (this is Golda, born circa 1820)

Yes, the area did seem very desolate. It felt very distant from the modern world, almost like from another time. There was a sense that you could still feel the influence of communism. I don't think they get many tourists there. It was mostly older people...

RH

[robhouse]

Here are a few from Poznan...

the first photo is the interior of the Archiwum Państwowym w Poznaniu, the archives office that I have paid to do research and that sent me photocopies of all the birth certificates, etc. The other photos are just random shots...

[robhouse]

forgot the photos. Here they are...

[Natalie Severn]

Terrific photos Rob......what a backwater though! The pogroms against Jews of the 1880"s from which Aaron Kosminski and his family were most probably refugees, may have decimated the town of its population ofcourse .
In fact I remember seeing a TV series quite recently describing how some of the inhabitants of certain Polish towns collaborated with the Nazi"s in WW2 creating another wave of wartime pogroms-could Klodawa have been one of those towns?
Anyway many thanks for sharing these Rob, it really starts to create an understanding of the background of Aaron and allows us better insight into why Aaron might have found the difference between the quiet but threatened village life in Poland and the poverty and mass prostitution of the East End more than his fragile mental equipment could cope with.
Best
Norma

[Observer]

Hi Rob

Chelmno extermination camp is only 9 miles from Kolo, the Poznan ghetto was cleared and sent to Chelmno via Kolo railway station. I wonder if any of Aaron Kosminski's family ended up in Chelmno?

all the best

Observer

[joelhall]

if he had descendants there at the time its almost a certainty.