Visit of David Teitelbaum to Wielopole Skrzynskie

David Teitelbaum (1891-1972), an amateur photographer who was born in Wielopole, emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s and became a successful businessman. He would return to his hometown almost every year to visit his family, and in Summer 1938, he filmed his trip. He traveled on the SS Normandie, arriving back to the United States on August 1, 1938. In June or July 1939 he traveled to Wielopole again, but only stayed for a short time, fearing that war was imminent. It is possible that some sequences of the film were filmed on that last visit. David was the fourth child of Oizer Teitelbaum, one of the leaders of the community, murdered in June 1942, and his wife Leah née Blattberg, who may have died of illness before the mass killing and deportation, but was possibly murdered in June 1942. Altogether, they had nine children: Raizel; Chiel (b. 1882, emigrated to the US); Sheindel (b.1889); David (b. 1891); Chaya Klara (b, 1895, emigrated to the US); Shaya Sam (b, 1896/7, emigrated to the US); Gusi (b, 1904); Yankel (emigrated to the US); and Eliezer. During his visit in 1938, David arranged for his niece, Channa's departure to the US. She left Wielopole in September or October 1938. Juda Redel, Oizer and Leah's neighbor and landlord, was murdered in June 1942. His wife Eidel was Moshe Aaron Rappaport's stepsister. Nathan Lipschitz (1918-2011), a survivor, was the son of the town Rabbi, Yehuda Zindel Lipschitz , and grandson of the Hassidic Rabbi Yitzhak Lipschitz. David Teitelbaum visits his family in his birthplace of Wielopole Skrzynskie, Poland. The film shows members of the Teitelbaum, Rappaport and Sartoria families, their neighbors, and acquaintances. Individuals appearing in the film include: Oizer Teitelbaum and his wife Leah née Blattberg; the filmmaker David Teitelbaum and Chiel Teitelbaum; Rachel Sartoria née Teitelbaum and her husband Moshe; Sheindel Rappaport née Teitelbaum and her husband Moshe Aaron and their children, Simcha, Chiel, Shlomo, Channa, Chaim, and Etla; Juda Redel and his wife Eidel; and Nathan Lipschitz. Camera rotates, CU of woman outside her home. A family poses for the camera in a doorway. Another young boy, older man outside of a home. A group of children pose. Church with gated courtyard. People peer out of their windows in the shtetl. Red sign: "Schicht." Horse-drawn carriage. Sign: "Handeltowa [...] Mieszanych [...]." More people pose for the camera. A group poses outside their home, two men tip their hats to the camera. A woman carries two metal pails in a field. Older woman with cane. Houses [unclear film]. A well-dressed group outside a shop, walking in a grassy field. Tombstones. Horse-drawn carriages pass on a country road, Polish countryside. Sign: "Wielopole." Views of the shtetl, countryside. CUs of men. A group, including a woman with a baby. Women stand next to a pile of logs. CUs of men, women at a train station. Men in a cemetery. Pan of tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions. More views of the countryside, young boys, horse-drawn carriages. More shtetl views.