Abram Kashtan collection

The Abram Kashtan collection contains various documents relating to Abram Kashtan, a Holocaust survivor who hid in a barn for a year before joining with anti-Nazi partisans. Included in the collection are his diary filled with partisan and camp songs, health documents such as an immunization record and health certificate, and identification documents such as identification cards and a certificate of service. Also included is a newspaper copy of an article detailing the story of Cezary Chorążyczewski, who was awarded Yad Vashem’s Righteous Among the Nations for his family’s role in saving Abram Kashtan. Abram Kashtan was living in Poland when his family was killed by Nazis. As a twenty six year old with no family, Abram traveled to the village of Perspa, near Sarny, Poland, where the Chorążyczewski family lived. Ignacy Chorążyczewski had conducted business with Abram’s father in the past, and Abram could think of no one else to turn to. The family agreed to let Abram hide in their barn, despite certain death if he was discovered. Cezary, the eldest of six children in the Chorążyczewski household, would visit Abram daily to talk with him and keep him informed of events. The family also provided Abram with food and clothing. In 1942, after living in the Chorążyczewski barn for a year, rumors were spreading that Nazi collaborators were burning nearby villages. Abram asked Cezary to go with him to the nearby forest, where anti-Nazi partisans were operating. After wandering several kilometers in the forest, Cezary located some of the partisans, and Abram joined with them. Sometime later, the partisans were absorbed into the Soviet Army, where Abram served until the war’s end. He later joined relatives in the United States and lived in Washington D.C.