18_Letter
1958 October 6, Front side - Letter handwritten on Jankiel Ajzensztat and Wichna Kagan.
Tan letter with printed text in French using black ink. Cursive handwriting in French using black ink is present. At the bottom left, a purple overprint stamp appears.
Name/Title
18_LetterEntry/Object ID
2026.6.18Scope and Content
1958 October 6, letter handwritten on Jankiel Ajzensztat and Wichna Kagan.Context
Born in Grajewo, Poland in 1913, Jankiel studied medicine at the University of Nancy in the 1930s. With the outbreak of the war, he moved to Paris, married dentist Wichna Kagan, and in 1940, fled with her and their infant daughter to southern Fance (the Free Zone). The family settled in the Lozere department. The documents in the collection reveal the daring mobilization of Pastor Joseph Bourdon (recognized by Yad Vashem in 1983, file no. 2698) on behalf of the family, and his attempt to save them in real time. The peak of this effort is reflected in a document dated March 7, 1943 - two weeks after Jankiel had already been arrested by the Gendarmerie (on Feb 20, 1943). In this document, the Pastor declared to the authorities that the detainee was a "devout Protestant," in a desperate and final attempt to extract him from the claws of the Gestapo before being sent to the East. Despite the effort, Jankiel was transferred to the Drancy camp, and on March 6, 1943, was ent on Convoy 51 to the Majdanek extermination camp, where he perished. His wife and daughter survived.Collection
Pastor Joseph Isaac BourdonCategory
Letter
Philatelic Material