Kaloshyn Association in Israel - In Memory of Dr. Avraham Gamzo

Kalisz is a town located approximately 65 km east of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The Jewish settlement in Kalisz is documented from 1714, but it likely began in the 17th century. Over the years, Jews of Kalisz contributed to the development of the town as millers, wood and metal merchants, tailors, furriers, tallit organizers and manufacturers. The town of Kalisz was also home to great rabbis, Admorim (Hasidic leaders) and scholars over the years. Before World War II, approximately 5,200 Jews lived in Kalisz, comprising about 60% of the local population. The town was attacked by the Nazi enemy in the first days of the war. Jews of Kalisz fought the Nazi enemy with courage and firm resistance and even compassionately and warmly received their Jewish brothers who fled burning Warsaw and made their way toward the border. The humiliation, torture, and even murder of Kalisz Jews began then, in September 1939. During the war years, Kalisz Jews suffered greatly; the Nazis established a ghetto in the town, conducted mass executions in the cemetery and nearby, and finally expelled the remaining Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp. Few of the town's Jews survived the Holocaust. Dr. Avraham Gamzu, may his memory be blessed, was an enthusiastic Zionist and dedicated public servant who served as chairman of the Judenrat (Jewish council) in Kalisz. Dr. Gamzu was required during the 1942 actions to hand over lists of Jews to the Nazis, may their name be blotted out