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We met Jurek at the Youth Section of a Labor Union when we all were
still in our early teens, in prewar Lodz. Even then, Jurek's keen
awareness of social issues and eagerness to study them, His
sensitivity to social injustice, were outstanding. We met again after
the war and became close friends. This bond of friendship was not
interrupted when Jurek went to Moscow to become a student at the
Moscow Institute of Economics and Finance. He visited with us often
when back home for vacations, as one visits with family. And when he
married Nina, Jurek and Nina were not just our friends, they became
our family. They were among the closest we had during our twenty years
in Warsaw.
There was also a professional bond. Gabriel was frequently meeting
Jurek at conferences at the Office of the Council of Ministers in
Warsaw, which Jurek attended as a representative of the Planning
Commission, and where assorted ministers and their senior staffers
listened attentively to His expertise. He was rather soft-spoken and
perhaps even a bit shy, but He commanded attention when He spoke
thanks to the acutness of His mind, solid knowledge, and -- what was
characteristic of this man of rather few words -- His fine sense of
humor. We always admired these qualities of His, as well as His
devotion to His beloved Nina and Grazynka, and to his many friends. We
deeply miss Him.
Hanna and Gabriel Temkin
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