Ring Confiscated by Nazis Returned to Family
Relatives Travel to Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial to Receive Keepsake in Person
Camp Memorial, when a ring belonging to Czesław Drozdzyniak, a former inmate of
Neuengamme concentration camp, was returned to his nephew Michel Drozdzyniak,
who was accompanied by his wife and his sister.
On September 27, 2025, a poignant event took place at the Neuengamme Concentration
Camp Memorial, when a ring belonging to Czesław Drozdzyniak, a former inmate of
Neuengamme concentration camp, was returned to his nephew Michel Drozdzyniak,
who was accompanied by his wife and his sister. The family had traveled from Belgium
specifically for the occasion, and at their request, the ring was handed over to them in
person at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. The restitution was made
possible through the Arolsen Archives’ #StolenMemory initiative, which seeks to return
the personal belongings of victims of Nazi persecution to their relatives.
#StolenMemory
Wristwatches and wedding rings, letters and photos – the Nazis confiscated all their prisoners’ personal belongings in the concentration camps.
The Arolsen Archives still hold around 2,000 objects that are waiting to be returned to the
descendants of their owners. One of the many volunteers from across the world involved
in the initiative managed to locate the family of Czesław Drozdzyniak.
The Story of Czesław Drozdzyniak
The event began with a surprise for the staff of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp
Memorial and the Arolsen Archives: The family possess extensive documentation related
to Czesław Drozdzyniak’s life. The Drozdzyniak family brought numerous photographs
and documents with them, including work passes, a bonus voucher from the Neuengamme
concentration camp, and records attesting to his involvement in various resistance
groups. The centerpiece of the collection is a detailed report on his detention
and liberation, handwritten by Czesław in May 1945, shortly after he returned home. For
the family, for the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, and for the Arolsen Archives,
this eyewitness account is an important source of knowledge about what happened
to Czesław Drozdzyniak.
Czesław Drozdzyniak was born on July 20, 1922, in Chorzemin, Poland. He emigrated
with his parents to Waterschei in the Limburg province of Belgium after his father found
work in the local coal mine. He studied there, changed his first name to César, and eventually
got involved in the resistance against the German occupiers. On August 2, 1944,
he was arrested and interned at Hasselt prison. He was deported from the Breendonk
police detention camp to Neuengamme concentration camp on September 2, 1944. Towards
the end of the war, César/Czesław was sent on an evacuation march to the Wöbbelin
sub-camp near Ludwigslust, where British and American troops liberated him on May 2, 1945. When César/Czesław arrived back in his home town of Waterschei on May
18, 1945, he was gravely ill. He stayed at the Lembeek Repatriation Center from July 20
to September 4, 1945, but sadly passed away only shortly afterwards in his hometown
on October 14, 1945.
Last year, #StolenMemory volunteer Yarden Lenga managed to track down Czesław
Drozdzyniak’s nephew in Belgium.
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