Proposal
Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland Yizkor Book
Project Name. Translation of the Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland Yizkor Book
Project Leader
Lance Ackerfeld
JewishGen Yizkor Book Project Manager: Lance Ackerfeld
Project Synopsis
The “Book of the Jewish Community of Dąbrowa Górnicza and its Destruction” was published in 1971 in Hebrew and Yiddish. Certain sections of the book have already been translated and all the pictures from the book have been scanned and appear online at http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/dabrowa/dabrowa.html; however, considerable portions of the book still remain to be translated.
Key Audiences
Jewish genealogists seeking to trace their roots in this town constitute the primary audience for the material. However, the material has the potential to be of broader interest to scholars specializing in Jewish history and society in this region.
Project Importance
Yizkor books are unique sources of information on once vibrant towns, primarily in central and eastern Europe, whose Jewish populations were destroyed in the Holocaust. Written after World War II by émigrés and Holocaust survivors, yizkor books contain narratives of the history of the town, details of daily life, religious and political figures and movements, religious and secular education, and gripping stories of the major intellectual and Zionist movements of the 20th century. The necrologies and lists of residents are of tremendous genealogical value, as often the names of individuals who were taken to extermination camps or shot in the forests are not recorded elsewhere. Usually written in Hebrew or Yiddish, these important books are not accessible to most users, who cannot read these languages. Thus, the translation of these books into English unlocks this information to many more researchers all over the world. The JewishGen Yizkor Book Project received the award in 2002 for outstanding contribution to Jewish genealogy by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
Before the Holocaust, Dąbrowa Górnicza boasted a vibrant, thriving Jewish community of over 5,000 souls (out of a total population of around 36,000) with very active cultural and social activities. Being close to the border, it was one of the first towns to be occupied by the Nazis in September 1939. During the war, many of its Jews were taken to forced labor camps. In September 1942 numerous “selections” of Jews were sent to Auschwitz, from where they never returned. Only about 300 Jews from Dąbrowa Górnicza survived the labor camps and made it to Liberation Day.
Project Description
The book has 696 pages. Around 208 pages have been translated leaving a further 488 pages to be translated – 165 in Yiddish and 323 in Hebrew. In addition to the translated sections that have been prepared, all the pictures and captions from the book, as well as the necrology are presently online at http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/dabrowa/dabrowa.html.
To complete the translation, JewishGen will hire a professional translator. The project coordinator will select the order in which to translate the chapters and will work closely with the translator to ensure a grammatically correct and idiomatic translation. Specific tasks the project coordinator will perform include proofreading, editing, and preparing the work for submission to the Yizkor Book Project.
Estimated Cost.
Direct costs only, $14,640
Back
Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 22 Sep 2009 by LA