027: Feuerstein. Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich (1917). Prisoner's personal file
Abraham Bernardowicz Feuerstein was born in 1917 in Dobczyce. In 1917, Dobczyce was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was then fighting World War I. [Currently, it is a city and the administrative center of the urban-rural gmina of Dobczyce, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Republic of Poland.] He was Jewish, had a secondary education, was non-partisan, and unmarried. In 1939, he lived in Krakow and held Polish citizenship. He worked as an assistant winemaker at the Podgórski Market Winery.
In November 1939, after the partition of Poland between Germany and the USSR, Feuerstein, a resident of Nazi-occupied Krakow (the capital of the General Government), attempted to illegally cross the border. He was heading east, toward territories occupied by the Red Army, to escape Nazi persecution.
On November 4, 1939, near the town of Liskovo (Polish: Lesko, Ukrainian: Лисько), he was detained by the Soviet Liskovsky border detachment for violating the state border. On November 10, the prosecutor sanctioned his arrest under Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR (Violation of the rules for entry into and exit from the USSR).
On November 11, 1939, Feuerstein was imprisoned in Lviv Prison No. 1, and on February 1, 1940, he was transferred to a prison in Odessa. On November 20, 1940, the case of illegal border crossing was sent to the Special Council of the NKVD of the USSR for review. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, prisons were evacuated further east. Ultimately, on July 24, 1941, Feuerstein ended up in Prison No. 3 of the NKVD NSO Directorate in Tomsk. A prison officer conducting a search described him as a man of average height (166 cm), with dark eyes and dark hair.
The Feuerstein case did not reach the verdict of the Special Conference. On July 30, 1941, after Germany's attack on the USSR, the Sikorski-Maiski Agreement was signed between the USSR and the Polish government-in-exile. This agreement provided for an amnesty for all Polish citizens imprisoned in the USSR. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the amnesty was published on August 12, 1941 .
On September 5, 1941, prisoner A. B. Feuerstein was issued a certificate of release under the amnesty as a Polish citizen and a prison exit pass. His personal file was closed.
The subsequent fate is not traceable from archival documents.
Chronology of the case documents:
- November 4, 1939 - detained by an operational group of the Liski Border Detachment while crossing the state border.
- November 10, 1939 — the prosecutor authorized the arrest in accordance with Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR
- November 11, 1939 – arrived at prison No. 1(?) in Lviv, personal file of prisoner No. 965 was opened.
- November 21, 1939 - The prisoner's personal file was opened
- February 1, 1940 – arrived at Prison No. 38 in Odessa
- March 19, 1940 – a fingerprint card was issued in a prison in Odessa
- November 20, 1940 - the case was sent for consideration to the Special Conference of the NKVD of the USSR;
- July 24, 1941 – arrived at Prison No. 3 in Tomsk
- July 29, 1941 — a protocol of a personal search was drawn up at Prison No. 3 in Tomsk.
- September 5, 1941 – Prisoner A.B. Foerstein was issued a certificate of release under the amnesty as a Polish citizen, and a prison exit pass. His personal file was closed.
Persons mentioned in the case:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich - a defendant in the case;
- Lysov - head of the Liskovsky Border Detachment, major;
- Zuev P.N. - Deputy political instructor of the Liskovsky Border Detachment;
- Moximenko conducted a search in prison No. 3 in Tomsk.
The file was discovered by chance in the damp basement of Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, some 80 years after its establishment. It is in poor condition, its pages eaten away by fungus and falling apart. Museum staff attempted to dry the documents and make copies.
Names (1)
Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich, Фигурант дела / документа
A resident of Krakow. In 1939 he was arrested for crossing the border, in 1941 he was in Tomsk prison
Abraham Bernardowicz Feuerstein was born in 1917 in Dobczyce. In 1917, Dobczyce was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was then fighting World War I. [It is currently a town and the administrative center of the Dobczyce urban-rural commune in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of the Republic of Poland.]
He was Jewish, had a high school education, was non-partisan, and unmarried. In 1939, he lived in Krakow and held Polish citizenship. He worked as an assistant winemaker at the Podgórski Market Winery.
In November 1939, after the partition of Poland between Germany and the USSR, Feuerstein, a resident of Nazi-occupied Krakow (the capital of the General Government), attempted to illegally cross the border. He was heading east, toward territories occupied by the Red Army, to escape Nazi persecution.
On November 4, 1939, near the town of Liskovo (Polish: Lesko, Ukrainian: Лисько), he was detained by the Soviet Liskovsky border detachment for violating the state border. On November 10, the prosecutor sanctioned his arrest under Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR (Violation of the rules for entry into and exit from the USSR).
On November 11, 1939, Feuerstein was imprisoned in Lviv Prison No. 1, and on February 1, 1940, he was transferred to a prison in Odessa. On November 20, 1940, the case of illegal border crossing was sent to the Special Council of the NKVD of the USSR for review. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, prisons were evacuated further east. Ultimately, on July 24, 1941, Feuerstein ended up in Prison No. 3 of the NKVD NSO Directorate in Tomsk. A prison officer conducting a search described him as a man of average height (166 cm), with dark eyes and dark hair.
The Feuerstein case did not reach the verdict of the Special Conference. On July 30, 1941, after Germany's attack on the USSR, the Sikorski-Maiski Agreement was signed between the USSR and the Polish government-in-exile. This agreement provided for an amnesty for all Polish citizens imprisoned in the USSR. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the amnesty was published on August 12, 1941.
On September 5, 1941, prisoner A. B. Feuerstein was issued a certificate of release under the amnesty as a Polish citizen and a prison exit pass. His personal file was closed.
The subsequent fate is not traceable from archival documents.
Attached is a prison photograph, restored.
Source: Archival file of prisoner A.B. Foershtein // Archive of the Memorial Museum "NKVD Investigative Prison"
Documents (12)
001. Prisoner's personal file: Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich. Title page
Secret
Prisoner's personal file
Last name: Feuerstein
Name: Abraham
Patronymic: Bernard[ovich]
Started on November 21, 1939.
Completed September 5, 1941
Arch. No. 383
002. Prisoner's Personal File (Form No. 23), [Location not specified], [Date not specified]
Internal file sheet (form no. 23) with prisoner data and a table for recording movements around prisons.
Full transcript:
Form No. 23
Prison No. 38 of the city of Odessa - Arrival date: February 1, 1940 - Personal file number [empty]
Prison No. 3, Tomsk — Arrival date: July 24, 1941 — Personal file number: 10.054
PERSONAL FILE
on the prisoner
Last name Feuerstein (added at the top: Feuerstein)
Name Abram
Patronymic: Bernutovich
Source: typographic form, filled in by hand. Poor condition. Notes: Inscription at the top, handwritten (pencil): "21"; next to it, in pencil: "prov. <signature> 17/VI(?) 41"; top left: "from II"; left, under the word Personal File: "[illegible] Tomsk"; bottom left: "45".
Persons in the document:
- Feuerstein Abram Bernutovich is a defendant in the case.
003. Personal Title Page (Form No. 23, continued), Lvov, November 11, 1939
Continuation of the internal file sheet (form No. 23) with a table for notes on movement.
Full transcript:
Prison No. 1? — Lviv — Arrival date: November 11, 1939 — Personal file number : 965
PERSONAL FILE No. 965
on the prisoner
Last name: Feuerstein
Name: Abraham
Middle name: Bernatovich
Source: typographic form, filled out by hand. Note: Upper right corner, manuscript: " Odessa" (manuscript, pencil)
004. Resolution on the selection of a preventive measure for citizen A. B. Feuerstein, Border Detachment, November 21, 1939.
A decision was made to select a preventive measure – detention – for A. B. Feuerstein on charges of illegally crossing the border.
Full transcript:
"I APPROVE"
Head of the Border Detachment, Major, signature /Lysov/
November 9 , 1939
I AUTHORIZE ARREST
Regional Prosecutor
November 10 , 1939
Signature [Round seal: "308th Military Prosecutor's Office"]
RESOLUTION
Liski city, November 4 , 1939
[inaudible] next(?) group of the Liski Border Detachment [inaudible] Deputy political instructor Zuev P.N. having reviewed the received material on the person who illegally crossed the state border
Last name Feuerstein
Name Abrakam patronymic Bernat
Year of birth 1917 place of birth village Dobczyca Krakow Voivodeship ,
Profession and specialty of a worker, freedom of profession .
No party affiliation. Literate education.
Nationality: Jewish . Citizenship : Polish .
Marital status: single. Address: Krakow, Krakow Voivodeship.
Found that Feuerstein AB is suspected of crimes under Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR, and taking into account that Feuerstein A.B., while at liberty, may abscond from the investigation and trial and therefore be held in a pre-trial detention facility, therefore, guided by Articles 143, 145 and 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Ukrainian SSR,
RESOLVED:
As a preventive measure for the evasion of court and investigation, Feuerstein shall choose detention in custody, which shall be announced to the arrested person by a receipt in this resolution.
In accordance with Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Ukrainian SSR, a copy of the order shall be sent to the prosecutor and transferred to the prison director for inclusion in the prison personnel file.
(The lower part of the document, containing signatures, is illegible).
Source: Typewritten form, completed by hand. Signatures of the border detachment chief and the prosecutor are handwritten. The lower part is missing.
Persons in the document:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich is a defendant in the case;
- Lysov - head of the Liskovsky Border Detachment, major;
- Zuev P.N. - Deputy political instructor of the Liski Border Detachment.
005. Fingerprint card (Form No. 2). Odessa NKVD prison, March 19, 1940
Fingerprint card for recording a prisoner's fingerprints.
Full transcript:
Form No. 2.
Gender: Male
Last name: Feuerstein
Name: Abraham
Patronymic: Bernardovich
Place of birth: Germany
[Next is a fingerprint chart, illegible numerical markings]
Signature of the registered person: Feuerstein (signature in Latin)
Map completed: March 19, 1940
In the Odessa NKVD prison
The map was compiled by: Signature
Checked by: [empty]
Source: Form No. 2, fingerprints, completed by hand, signatures – autographs.
Persons in the document:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich is a defendant in the case.
006. Notification of referral of the case to the Special Council. January 29, 1941.
Typewritten document (cover letter) on the referral of the case of A.B. Foerstein for consideration by the Special Meeting.
Full transcript:
NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR
NKVD for [empty] region
1st(?) Special Department
No. 46153 29/I- 19 41
TOP SECRET
To the Head of Prison No. [empty] city [empty]
We inform you that the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich 20/11/1940 sent for consideration to the Special Conference of the NKVD of the USSR, about which you inform him.
Arrested Feuerstein is listed as being held at a special meeting of the NKVD.
CHIEF OF THE 1ST SPECIAL DEPARTMENT OF THE NKVD
Start 2 dep signature
Source: typewritten form, completed by hand. Signature – autograph.
Persons in the document:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich - a defendant in the case;
- Head of the 2nd Department of the NKVD - The official who sent the case.
007. Registration card of the arrested person, [Location not specified], June 27, 1941.
Full transcript:
REGISTRATION CARD
1. Last name: Foerstein
2. Name: Abraham
3. Patronymic: Bernardovich
4. Year of birth: 1917
5. Place of birth: Dobczyce
6. Address: Krakow, Wolnica(?) No. 11
7. Prof. (specialist): Winemaker
8. Place of work, position: Krakow, Podgórski Market No. 6. Winery - assistant winemaker
9. Port: no delivery
10. Nationality: Jewish
11. Nationality: Poland
12. Arrested: November 4, 19[unclear] (1939)
13. Nature of the crime: illegally crossed the state border.
14. Article 80 of the Criminal Code
15. The card is filled [empty]
June 27, 1941 signature
Arrested by: Border Guard, Liskovsky Department, Lisko
[Reverse side]
Under investigation
Form No. 1
Source: document on printed form, completed by hand, signature – autograph.
Persons in the document:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich, Arrested
008. Form (accompanying document) for the transfer of a prisoner
Full transcript:
Form No. 3?
Personal number of the person conducting the search: 6(?)
Certificate for personal file No. 1375 for convicted Abram Bernandovich Foershteyn
1. Year of birth: 1917
2. Specialty: winemaker
3. Destination: [empty]
4. At whose disposal should: [empty]
5. Reason for sending: [empty]
6. The defendant
7. By which judicial body, when, under what article of the Criminal Code and for what term of sentence, end of sentence: Special meeting of the NKVD
8. Convoy type: [empty]
8. Distinguishing features of the convicted person: [inaudible]
10. Doctor's notes: May be followed by <signature>
11. Notes on the inclusion of a fingerprint card in the personal file, as well as a photograph: a photo of the fingerprint in the file
Prison warden's signature (without decryption)
[In the lower left corner is a round seal. The text is difficult to read. Presumably: "NKVD Directorate for the O[desa] Region. Prison Department – PRISON No. 38..."
Source: red printed form, handwritten. Signatures are autographs. Note at top: "48." Poor condition.
009. Personal search protocol. Tomsk, July 29, 1941.
Full transcript:
Personal search report
Prison No. 3 , Tomsk
194 July 1, "29" day
During a personal search of prisoner Foerschein Abraham Bernandovich the following was discovered:
Nothing to hand over[l]
The search was carried out by /Moximenko/
Prisoner's signature: Feuerstein (signature in Latin)
[Back side:]
Height 166 cm
black hair
Eyes [inaudible]
There is a painful(?) spot on the right shoulder.
Source: document on printed letterhead, completed by hand. Signatures are autographs.
Persons in the document:
- Foerschein Abraham Bernandovich is a defendant in the case;
- Moximenko conducted a search.
010. Prison photos in the case. Unpublished
The case included two prison photographs of the inmate.
011. Certificate of amnesty and release of A.B. Foerstein, NKVD Directorate for Novosibirsk Oblast, 1941.
Certificate issued to prisoner A.B. Foerstein on release on the basis of amnesty as a Polish citizen.
Full transcript:
STAMP:
USSR. People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs.
NKVD Directorate for Novosibirsk Oblast
Prison No. 3
Tomsk
5/IX 1941
No. 291
IDENTIFICATION
The bearer of this is citizen Feuerstein Abraham Bernardovich, born in 1917 , a native of the town of Dobczyca, Krakow Voivodeship .
Based on the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, he was amnestied as a Polish citizen and has the right to freely reside on the territory of the USSR, with the exception of the border strip, restricted areas, areas declared under martial law, and restricted cities of the first and second categories.
With him are: No one.
Citizen Abraham Bernardovich Foerstein is heading to his chosen place of residence , the city of Tomsk, Novosibirsk Region.
The certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue and after this period is subject to exchange for a passport.
The above is certified by signature and seal.
Head of Tomsk Prison: <Signature>
In the lower left corner is a round seal with the inscription: “NKVD Directorate for Novosibirsk Oblast. PRISON DEPARTMENT – PRISON No. 3.
Back of document:
I received the certificate for No. 291 in person on 5/9-41.
Signature
Persons in the document:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich, Amnestied prisoner
012. A prison exit pass. Tomsk, September 3, 1941.
Full transcript:
Form No. 3
PASS # 1259
Last name: Foerstein
Name: Abraham
Patronymic: Bernardovich
Issued on September 3 , 1941 .
14 hours 15 minutes
Prison chief's signature
Source : A printed form with a wide red diagonal stripe, filled out by hand. In the lower left corner is a round seal with the inscription: "NKVD Directorate for Novosibirsk Oblast. PRISON DEPARTMENT - PRISON No. 3."
Persons in the case:
- Foerstein Abraham Bernardovich is a defendant in the case.
