Self-organisation of the Wulkowers
After 1945, many of the former prisoners attended self-organised group meetings, supported each other, participated in the persecution of perpetrators and took part in commemorative activities. They referred to themselves as the Wulkowers. Although all former prisoners had already been incarcerated in other camps, Wulkow made a particularly strong impression as a shared place of experience.
After liberation, some of the former prisoners emigrated, with the majority leaving for the USA and Israel. Others remained in their home countries, Germany and Czechoslovakia. First contacts between the Wulkowers (this self-designation refers to all former Wulkow prisoners) often took place in the countries in which they lived. Later, the interactions became more international. Communication consisted of personal meetings, letter-writing, telephone calls and larger reunions.
There was an notable group of former prisoners in Czechoslovakia that was formed very soon after the end of the war. As early as 1947, Ervin Kosiner, the former construction manager in Wulkow, initiated the first documented meeting in Prague. This reunion was of particular importance to Kosiner, as he wanted to clear up any accusations against him. Due to his position in Wulkow, immense pressure was put on Kosiner and he subsequently demanded a great deal of discipline from his fellow prisoners, which also included issuing threats of physical punishment. Some former prisoners therefore accused him of abusing his power. From the 1960s onwards, the Czechoslovakian group met regularly in Prague. In the 1980s and 1990s, the group was involved in the international meetings of the Wulkowers.
In Germany, it was mainly Klaus Scheurenberg in West Berlin who initiated international contact and meetings. Scheurenberg collected the names and addresses of former Wulkowers, contacted them and, among other things, maintained a frequent and friendly correspondence with Eli Lichtblau-Leskly, who lived in Israel.
„I could go on for hours, you'd think I was still living in Wulkow. But I'm not, I'm a 'now' person. But you can't just wash away what we experienced.“
Klaus Scheurenberg to Eli Lichtblau-Leskly, 05 November 1983
Some of the Wulkowers were involved in the filming of the report "Gesucht wird ... Franz Stuschka" ("Wanted ... Franz Stuschka"). A journalist and a television crew of the German public broadcasting company "Westdeutscher Rundfunk" (WDR) set out to track down former Wulkow camp commandant Stuschka and documented their search on camera. As part of their research, they attended a Wulkowers' reunion in West Berlin in 1984, conducted interviews with some of the Wulkowers and followed up on their clues. The television crew found Stuschka in Vienna in 1985. The Berlin meeting organised by Klaus Scheurenberg was part of a larger transnational gathering with the motto "40 years after Wulkow". Initially mainly American and German Wulkowers met in West Berlin, where they also spent time with celebrity restauranteur and Wulkower Heini Holl. Together they travelled to Czechoslovakia and met the Czech Wulkowers in Prague with whom they visited Theresienstadt/Terezín.
Contact between the Wulkowers in the USA was established, among other things, at a reunion of former Theresienstadt prisoners. Herbert Kolb and Henry Frank were very active in the scene: in 1997, they organised a reunion in Paramus, New Jersey. Walter Grunwald, who lived in Sweden, also came to this reunion. He had made contact with American Wulkowers via a wanted advert in a newspaper that was read by former victims of persecution.
„Not only have I seen old friends again at these meetings, but I've also made new friends, which means so much to me.“.
Walter Grunwald, 1990s
„We spoke a lot and remembered things. Our entire family is dead, so this here is like our family.“
Fred Heiser, 1997
- © B.Z.
The surviving Wulkow prisoners shared many common topics after their liberation: the loss of family, the question of whether to stay or emigrate, dealing with post-war anti-Semitism, career opportunities and being alone. In 1997, Josef Klenka, who documented the Czech group meetings, described the importance of the human support that the Wulkow prisoners gave each other:
„At first we met individually, later in groups. In addition to memories of the difficult time in the camp, we talked about experiences and exchanged information about various opportunities that were available in the liberated republic. Some helped each other to solve personal problems, especially by providing moral support to those who were still alone.“
Josef Klenka, 1997
At each meeting, they also remembered those who were no longer able to attend. In addition, the Wulkowers discussed contemporary anti-Semitism and how to deal with it. For example, they campaigned for Eli Lichtblau-Leskly to travel to the ČSSR (Czechoslovakia) so that the Wulkower who was living in Israel could attend the reunion. However, all efforts were in vain:
„For the time being, I can't promise you today that I will come to Pilsen [Plzeň], because we Israelis can't get visas to the ČSSR. The policy is anti-Semitic - the Nazis called us Jewish Bolsheviks and today's communists call us Zionist imperialists. As an Israeli, I do not feel welcome in such an atmosphere.“
Leskly to Scheurenberg 1984
The anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist sentiment in the 1950s surrounding the Slánský trial in the ČSSR affected the lives of the Wulkowers. They were thrown out of the Communist Party and lost their jobs.
- © Private
- © Private
- © Private
- © Jewish Museum in Prague
In letters and stories, the Wulkowers emphasise their strong bonds and describe themselves as "camp comrades", "barrack friends", "Wulkowaners" and "Wulkowers across the globe". But why do the former prisoners refer to themselves as Wulkowers? What made this place of experience so formative that it gave the survivors their name?
Wulkow was a relatively small camp. The prisoners often knew each other and had shared common experiences. The conditions in Wulkow were better compared to other camps. Most of the prisoners survived. These aspects were the reason why it was even possible for the former prisoners to organise themselves.
The extreme abuse by camp commandant Franz Stuschka was a specific experience of violence in Wulkow. The majority of the prisoners experienced direct violence at his hands, and all were exposed to the unpredictability of his actions.
Most of the prisoners were young. In total, 59 percent were under 30 years old. They spent a part of their young adulthood in Wulkow. The memory of Wulkow is therefore also a memory of their youth. By calling themselves Wulkowers, the former prisoners appropriated this word, which is synonymous with many traumatic experiences. They turned a forced community of Jewish prisoners into a self-defined community.