Radomsko was rightly considered a Zionist city, and the aspiration for Zion was deeply rooted among its Jewish residents. One of the most prominent signs of this aspiration was the immigration to Israel of some of our citizens even before the First World War. Among the immigrants at that time were: Yechiel Landau (son-in-law of “Tiferet Shlomo”); Hanoch Alpert (the melamed from Pashdeborz); Aharon, the son of the Hazan Shlomo Zaks; Zerah the brother of Kapel Shemesh; Yitzhak (Itche) Grossman, who lives in Haifa.

The Zionist movement appeared in our city in all its nuances. Except for the General Zionist Party, which existed in Radomsko for only a short period of time, shortly after the Balfour Declaration was issued and in the 1930s before the Holocaust, all the Zionist parties were found in it on their wings and ideological views.

The first buds of Zionism were seen in our city back in the period of Hibat Zion, and its representatives later joined the Zionist movement founded by Dr. Herzl. The first influencers of the Zionist idea in Radomsko are well remembered by many of us, and they include: B. Stetler, the Hebrew teacher; Mandel Feinzylver, Yaakov Brill, the first one who was authorized by the Jewish National Fund in our city, the Hazan Shlomo Zaks; Yaakov Sakorki (comb manufacturer); Capel Shemesh; Moshe Levkovitz; Meir Shitenberg; Reuven Lieberman; Shlomo Krakowski; Avraham Minsky; Shlomo Yitzhak Epstein (Kukiski); Zanvil Goldman, the teacher from Lalov; Moshe Rechterman and others.

During the first period, the Zionist activity was mainly focused on collecting funds for the Jewish National Fund, distributing shares of the Colonial Bank and distributing shekels to the Zionist congresses.

Despite the opposition of the religious circles to the Zionist movement, at the end of the last century and the beginning of the current century – organized Zionist circles were active, which would gather on Shabbats to talk about the Land of Israel and to plan immigration to it.

One of the first ideological views of the Zionist movement that operated in our city was the “Poalei Zion” party. This party was headed by B. Brochov and Dr. Nachman Sirkin, and aimed to organize the Jewish worker for the benefit of his social status and the struggle for national liberation through territorial concentration in the Land of Israel. It was founded in our city by a group of young people, which included: Melech Grossman; Mordechai Zelig Rosenblatt and his wife Chaya Sara; Yaakov, the son of Berl Wittenberg; Zusman Tiberg; Avraham Beser; Leiche Wolinsky; Hirschel Epstein and his wife Sara; Reuven Okrant and his wife; David Kroiza; Dvora Voloshchovski, the daughter of Yosef Bar the melamed, and others.

At that time, the “Bond” dominated the Jewish labor movement; It preached in the Jewish street about nationalism and a social revolution to be carried out in cooperation with the Russian worker, and vigorously fought against any Jewish national action. It was only natural that “Poalei Zion” movement, that served as a Zionist-nationalist labor movement, struggled hardly with the “Bond” and the war on its influence on the Jewish Street was one of its main actions.

The revolutionary awakening that arose in Russia following the defeat it suffered in its war against Japan at the beginning of this century and the attempts to bring down the Tsar's rule and grant freedom to its people were suppressed forcefully by the government. A ban was imposed on all public party activity and this ban also applied to the Zionist movement and severely hurt it.

The persecution of the revolutionaries by the tsarist regime and the imprisonments among them particularly hurt the Jewish laborer businessmen. Added to this were disturbances, which were organized at that time by the reactionary circles against the Jewish population, and which caused a large emigration of Russian Jewry to America and other countries.

As a result, the Jewish parties were emptied of their activists and there was “silence” on the Jewish Street. Nevertheless, the Zionist activity in our city did not stop at all, and every Shabbat the loyal members of the movement would gather at the house of the late Moshe Levkovitz for a friendly meeting and conversations about Zionist issues, which gained strength and hope in the future of the Zionist movement.

Moshe Levkovitz, who played the violin very skillfully, used to end every Jewish wedding by playing “HaTikva”, and the sound of his violin caused all the participants to tears.

It was an interim period, which did not excel in major actions, but in the hearts of the loyal members of the movement, hope was hidden and at every opportunity they cherished it and nurtured it lest it be lost.

This situation continued until the outbreak of the First World War.

As soon as the war broke out, Radomsko was occupied by the German-Austrian armies and the city was under Austrian rule for the entire period of the war. Among the many high-ranking Jews who served in the Austrian army, there were activists of the Zionist movement in all its nuances. And these activists, in the uniform of Austrian army officers, sought a way to establish ties with Polish and Russian Jewry in the Austrian occupation territory and helped it in organizing and managing cultural and educational activities among the Jewish population.

At that time, a permit was received from the occupation authorities in our city to organize the association called “Kultura” for cultural activities among the city's Jews. “Kultura” was headed by a group of activists with national recognition, which included: Moshe Levkovitz; Ludwig Weinberg; Yaakov Aronovitz; Itche Orbach; the Kroiza Brothers; David Kunizfuler; Itche Grossman and others.

The “Kultura” ran a very extensive cultural and social activity: a rich library was founded near it and a dramatic circle was organized, which presented Jewish plays with great talent. On Shabbat eves, lectures were held on various topics. The youth, who were cut off from the outside world because of the war and had desire for knowledge, found their spiritual home in “Kultura”. The activists of the parties were not satisfied with only cultural activities and used “Kultura” framework for party activity. Among the parties that were active at that time were “Poalei Zion”, “Tze'irei Zion”, “Parayinikte” and the “Bond”.

At the end of the war, the unified framework came to an end, within which the parties in our city operated, and each of them established its own corner. It is worth noting that at that time “Poalei Zion” was the strongest party in the city. Under the influence of the events in Austria, the military government and the political parties weakened and the political parties began to conduct their activities openly, on the Jewish and Polish streets as one.

In 1918, with the end of the war and the beginning period of independent Poland, great enthusiasm gripped the Jewish Street due to the England's promises and the Balfour Declaration, and the parties, on their different ideological views, began to develop a lot of activity and prepared for “what was to come”.

At that time, there was a lot of multi-dimensional Zionist activity, that included the entire Zionist movement in all its nuances in the Jewish Radomsko.

The Jewish youth in the city, who were cut off from the world during the war due to the impossibility of emigration, were freed from their shackles when the war came to an end, and began to go out into the world. The leaders of the young state of Poland then got involved in a war with Soviet Russia and as a result, the country was hit by an economic crisis. As a result, most of the Jewish youth left the city and fled across the country's border, some out of anti-war recognition and some from a search for sources of income.


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Many of the leavers, members of Poalei Zion and Tze'irei Zion, immigrated to Israel at that time, as part of the third Aliya.

During the celebration of the “Balfour Declaration”;
In the yard of the public school (1917)

The decree to close the gates of Israel severely hurt the first immigrants who left Radomsko, and they had to linger for a long time on the way until they managed to reach Israel. Most of them acclimatized in Israel and remained there. Among the immigrants who emigrated at that time were: the late brothers Nachman and David Gold (Kalay); Dov'che Gold; Hanoch and Yehoshua Kalka; Shlomo Rabinowitz, the son of the rabbi, who was one of the founders of Kfar Hasidim; Grina Groysman Birnbaum with her husband the late Shlomo Birnbaum; The late Yankel Sofer; The late Yechiel Trahan and David Buchman and their families; Yaakov Lando; Avraham Lifshitz; Hela Aaronovitch; Tuvia Rubinstein and his wife; Sinai Feingold; M. Karpka: Shlomo and Yaakov Grossman (Zeira); B. Yemini and his wife; Noah Shapira and his wife; David Kroiza and his wife; Shlomo Waxman; Yosef Rosenzweig and his wife; Reuven Minsky; Yitzhak (Itche) Grossman and others. All of these participated in the building of the country, experienced its tribulations and worked in all the hard work that was required of them.

The closing of the gates of the Land of Israel and the curtailment of aliya were a severe blow to the Jews of Radomsko, many of whom were preparing for aliya and some even liquidated their businesses in the city. There were those who studied a special profession adapted to the conditions of the Land of Israel, and with the elimination of the possibility of their immigration, they had to start all over again. The embarrassment among the city's Jews, and especially among the Jewish youth, was great and everyone expected the cancellation of the decree and the opportunity that would allow them to immigrate.

Such an “opportunity” was brought to Radomsko by attorney Zukin, who organized the “Fusgeyer”, that is, the immigration to Israel by walking. I still remember the meetings that took place in the Beit Midrash of Kapel Shemesh, in which hundreds of Radomsko Jews participated and listened attentively to the initiators and organizers of the “pedestrian” movement. Of course, in this large crowd there were also quite wise and intelligent people, who grasped the lack of realism that was in the proposals that were made and understood that the possibility of going to Israel on foot for the audience of hundreds, among them old men and children, is extremely remote. And yet, each of them paid 5 coins as registration fees and all of them participated in the selection of representatives for the delegation to Warsaw in order to gain support for the plan. This fact can testify how strong was the desire for immigration among the Jews of Radomsko.

The leaders of the Zionist movement in Warsaw worked hard until they were able to influence the initiators of the “pedestrian movement” to stop misleading the masses of Jews in Radomsko in a false plan, which could cause a disaster to hundreds of families.

The matter ended when attorney Zukin and his assistant Shmuel Haza obtained immigration permits and immigrated to Israel, but they did not stay there; Attorney Zukin emigrated to the USA in the 1930s and his assistant returned to Poland not long after his emigration.

Aliyat Gravski, that was named after the Polish Minister of Finance in 1924/25, that its main goal was the expropriation policy towards the Jews, brought with it to Israel many immigrants from the middle class from Poland. Many of these immigrants did not adapt to the conditions of the country and were not able to stand the burden of hard work that was needed to build the settlement and a significant part of them returned to Poland.

They put the blame for their failure and leaving the country on the leadership of the Israeli settlement. And this caused a serious crisis in the Zionist circles in Poland. The situation in our city was particularly difficult due to the large number of immigrants from our city and due to the fact that most of them returned, although among the returnees there were good Zionists, Zionist activists and even pioneers who traveled to Israel to build it, but could not adapt to the hard work. The return of these to our city caused a bitter disappointment to the Zionist parties in the city.

At the same time, the company for the “It'achzut” (settlement) in Eretz Israel was founded in our city, which in the end also brought demoralization to the Zionist movement in our city and caused a lot of “bloodshed” for the founders of the company. The purpose of the company was to purchase land for the settlement of Radomsko Jews and it was headed by veteran and dedicated Zionists, such as M. Finzilver, M. Frenkel and A. Moshe and Waksman. The first two were sent to Israel as representatives of the company and purchased an area of 700 dunams of land from “Nachalat Israel”.

Upon their return, when the members of the “It'achzut” began making payments for the plots purchased in their name and planning immigration plans, the economic crisis broke out in Israel. The first "emigrants" arrived in the city and many of the members of the “It'achzut” came to their senses and stopped paying their obligations to the company, and it reached a difficult financial situation and the inability to meet its obligations towards “Nachalat Israel”. Some demanded their money back from the heads of the company and leveled accusations against them and even went to court.

This matter caused a lot of damage to the Zionist movement in the city and especially to those who dealt with the public matters. It was only at the end of 1926 that things were settled – the land was soldto “Kehilat Zion” and the funds were returned to their owners.

During this period of time, the Zionist movement in our city was at a considerable depression period. The atmosphere that was created in the city with the arrival of the “emigrants” and the accusations against the leaders of the Israeli settlement for their failure aroused anti-Zionist feelings in the city. The Keren Hayesod emissaries returned empty-handed in 1926, and it was only a few years later that the fundraising was renewed. The donations for the Jewish National Fund were reduced due to the lack of donors and there were also those who stopped donating at all.

At that time, the Communist Party increased its activity among the Jewish youth in the city and the Zionist parties did not withstand the burst, they were unable to change the situation and in fact ceased to operate.

The “Mizrahi”, which had a bright success in the history of Zionism in our city, ceased to exist during the crisis years. Its school on Krakowska Street stopped its activities and the chairman of the “Mizrahi” party, Mr. Avraham Moshe Waxman, who was one of the founders of the “It'achzut” company and suffered a great deal due to it – immigrated to Israel with his wife.


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The general Zionists, which have never been excelled in our city in the organization of their party were indeed represented in the municipality by their representative, but he did not deal with Zionism…

The “Hit'achdut” party continued its existence even during the years of the crisis and brought together good and dedicated Zionists to its lines, such as: Chaim Kreindler, M. Volkovitz, David Hashtzebtzky, the brothers Shmuel and Yitzhak Lachman, M. Y. Shitenberg and others. But the influence of this party in the city was limited.

The left-wing Poalei Zion party excelled in our city with its good organization and gathered youth and adults around it, but its activists abstained from Zionist action in these years. The communists secretly infiltrated their ranks and they fought hard against them, but without much success, because they did not offer the Jewish youth a clear alternative path.

The communist propaganda therefore wreaked havoc among the Jewish youth in the city, especially among the studying youth. As an illegal movement, its leaders preferred to infiltrate to existing organizations in order to “conquer” them from the inside. This is how “Hashomer Hatzair” in our city fell victim to a communist group that wreaked havoc among the young children that attended this Zionist youth movement and were eventually poisoned by anti-Zionist incitement.

But during this depression period, our city also went through positive events, which later changed the occurrence of things, renewed Radomsko's Zionist tradition and recruited hundreds of youth for Zionism. These events were: 1. Founding of the “HeChalutz”, “Poalei Zion”, “Freiheit” and the movement Eretz Israel HaOvedet; 2. The establishment of the youth battalion for the Jewish National Fund by the Zionist activist M. Volkowitz, a member of the “Hit'achdut” party and the editor of the Radomsko section of the weekly newspapers “Onzar Zeitung” which was published regularly in Pioterkow, and starting in 1924, a special section for Radomsko was established in it. This weekly newspaper was Zionist in its spirit and it fought hard against the “Bond”, which Pioterkow was one of its fortresses.

M. Volkowitz was born in the village of Krushin near Radomsko. He was among the Zionists for many years and when he arrived to Radomsko at the beginning of the 20th century, he joined the “Hit'achdut” and was active in this movement, especially in the National Fund for Israel and for years he served as its authorized person. M. Volkowitz fought hard during the “depression” period against the atmosphere of public indifference that prevailed in the city and did a lot for the Zionist idea and especially for the National Fund for Israel, and he did not back down even when he was alone in his action. His persistence finally succeeded and he found faithful assistants, such as: Yitzhak Lachman, Chaim Goldberg, Chaim Hartman, D. M. Kornberg, A. Legzitzky. All of them were devoted with all their hearts to the actions of the National Fund for Israel in our city and contributed a lot for its success.

The Youth Battalion for the National Fund for Israel, which consisted mostly of high school students, also served as a barrier against the communist propaganda, which pervaded the high school students. The members of the battalion, and especially the female members, were very dedicated to the operation of the National Fund for Israel and the amounts that were collected by them always exceeded the quotas that were set by the national committee. Thus, Radomsko finally served as an example for other Polish cities, where they formed youth battalions for the National Fund for Israel.

The initiative to establish the “HeChalutz” in our city in 5684, 1924, came from Mr. Vershetski, who belonged to the “Tiferet Shlomo” family on his mother's side. During the weekdays, he worked in Lodz in one of the factories that belonged to the late Rabbi Shlomo Hanoch, and on Shabbats and holidays he would return home to Radomsko. Being close to the “HeChalutz” circles in Lodz, he initiated its establishment in Radomsko. According to his invitation, several dozen girls and boys of various ages gathered at the Zionist synagogue “Beit Yaakov” and after hearing an explanation from him about the goals of the “HeChalutz”, they decided to join it.

Most of the members of the “HeChalutz” were young people aged 17-20 who previously did not belong to any youth organization and had no experience in organizing. Among its older members, the late Aryeh Zipler stood out. He seriously devoted himself to the organization of the branch. A temporary committee was elected and the branch managed to create a contact with a center of “HeChalutz” in Warsaw.

The activity of A. Zipler, who had experience and organizational ability, and also knew how to appear in public, was extremely important and during the short period he was in Radomsko until he moved to Lodz, he contributed a lot to the development of the “HeChalutz” branch in our city. Yitzchak Winterter (now in Australia) served as the first secretary of the branch.

Among the young people of the “HeChalutz” branch, who stood out for their dedication and activity, were: A. B. Eisen (perished in the Holocaust), the late Chaim Goldberg, Yehuda Lieberman and Moshe Shitenberg (lives in Israel). In the first period, the “HeChalutz” conducted its operations at “Beit Ya'akov” and breathed a spirit of life into this place, which was closed during all days of the week and was only opened on Shabbats for public prayer. The “HeChalutz” gathered many young people around it and the halls of “Beit Yaakov” were full of life. Every evening, Hebrew lessons were held there by the teachers David Erlichman, Leah Talman and others. The rooms hummed with songs from the Eretz Israel's songs and the singing could be heard far and wide and often provoked the anger of the neighbors, who were used to the silence of the synagogue.

The owner of the building, David Bugeiski, did not view with favor this “commotion” either, but in retrospect he agreed to endure the inconvenience of a youth that is preparing to immigrate to Israel.

The members of the “HeChalutz” were active in National Fund for Israel and contributed their part in purifying the atmosphere of indifference in the city. Among the “HeChalutz”, a Socialist Zionism movement was organized, and at the end of 1925, the Socialist Zionism movement united with members of the right-wing of Poalei Zion party. These retired after the split in the Poalei Zion party in 1921 from the local branch (which remained left-wing). Most of them were veterans and had a position and were among the founders of their party in the city. In the union with the Socialist Zionism movement, veteran members of Poalei Zion party, such as M. V. Rosenblatt, Itche Orbach, Wolf Shapira, the Waxman brothers and more, united with young members of the Socialist Zionism movement, who were full of energy and ambitions for public activism and this union was successful.

After the unification, the united party rented a spacious club in the Holzberg House on Peszborska Street. The “HeChalutz” branch also moved to this club.

Among the first actions of the united party were: the organization of a youth movement that was later called “Freiheit” and the establishment of a library named after Shalom Aleichem. The party club gathered around it masses of youth and adults. Every evening, and especially on Shabbats eves, there were lectures and discussions on various topics. This increased activity sparked “heated” debates with Zion haters of all kinds, who until then controlled the hearts of the Jewish youth in the city and saw the new party as a serious danger to themselves.

The members of Poalei Zion, the Socialist Zionism, “Freiheit” and “HeChalutz” were all active partners in operations of the National Fund for Israel and Keren Hayesod, and were vigorously engaged in all the activities of the working Israel movement. It is worth noting that during the depression period for the Zionist movement in the years 1921-1930, the club on Peszborska Street, in Binyamin Holzberg's house, was a strong fortress against the destroyers and those who “despaired” of Zionism. Thanks to this energetic activity of the Poalei Zion and the Socialist Zionism in the city, the youth began to join Zionist youth movements, which were established in the city after the events of 5689, that resulted a revival in the pioneering movement in Poland.

With the beginning of the renewal of aliya in 1929, even though it was small in size, the training places of the “HeChalutz” movement in Poland expanded. Members of the “HeChalutz” from our city also left for training in Klosova and other places. At that time, the Zionist idea began to recapture the Jewish youth in Radomsko, and youth movements of other Zionist parties were also established in the city. In the year 1930, a youth movement of the “Hit'achdut” party was organized in the city of “Gordonia”, as well as a branch of the Zionist Histadrut, that most of its members belonged to the radical Zionist faction founded by Yitzhak Greenboim. In the same year, the “HaNoar HaZioni” (Zionist Youth) movement was organized in the city, which gathered the learning youth around it. This movement excelled in its dedicated work for the National Fund for Israel.


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In 1930, Yitzchak Greenbaum, the well-known Zionist leader of the Polish Jewry, visited in Radomsko. His visit was an important event and the activists of the Zionist movement in the city in all its nuances considered his visit as a true national holiday that contributed to the strengthening of the movement and its prosperity.

The turning point that occurred during this period in the Zionist movement gave its signals in our city as well. The Zionist idea took on real content and the Zionist youth was preparing mentally and physically for the immigrating to Israel. The “HeChalutz” and “Freiheit” movements obliged their members to this and dozens of members from Radomsko were scattered in various training places throughout Poland waiting for immigration permits. Even the veteran members of Poalei Zion and Socialist Zionism considered it their duty to immigrate to Israel and fulfill by themselves the Zionist idea that they had been spreading widely for years.

And so, the Zionist Radomsko was privileged to renew the immigration from it in the 1930s. And although even during the depression period there were cases of relatives immigrating to Israel, such as the Chaim Grossman family, whose sons emigrated before it, Miss Lifshitz who went to her brother, and others, in the 1930s, the Radomsko emigration began to break through its limited framework. In 1931, Moshe Shitenberg (Shita), who was a veteran member of the “Hit'achdut”, immigrated to Israel; Aharon Fishlevitz, from Poalei Zion (Socialist Zionism); Yaakov Shmuel Moshkovitz (from the “HeChalutz”), a graduate of Klosova training. In May 1933, Y. Lieberman, who was one of the public activists of the Poalei Zion – Socialist Zionism since its inception, immigrated to Israel and other members immigrated after him. Despite the small number of aliya permits allocated by the mandatory government and despite the difficulties in obtaining a certificate, especially for those who did not belong to the “HeChalutz” movement, the Zionist organizations grew at that time in the city and included hundreds of members. The influence of the communist movement weakened considerably and many of its activists even found their way back to the Zionist movement and immigrated to Israel.

The Zionist movement found its devoted members among the Jews of Radomsko. Even at the beginning of its operation, a few people in our city joined it, nurtured the Zionist idea and spread it widely. During its existence, it went through ups and downs, but the desire for Zion never weakened in the hearts of the Jews of our city, and when the Zionist idea became a reality, this desire ignited and became a passion that surrounded the majority of the Jewish population in our city, youth and adults alike. The longing for Zion and the desire to immigrate to the Land of Israel became the desire of the multitudes of Jews in Radomsko until the Nazi oppressor came and hit them mercilessly. Radomsko Jewry was destroyed and with it the Zionist idea which it carried in its heart until its last breath.

It should be noted at the outset: as far as I remember, there were no riots in Radomsko. Cracked skulls and feathers blooming in the air were pictured in the minds of the Jewish boys and girls in Radomsko only from the numbers of the sad stories they read in books and newspapers. Of course, minor quarrels took place between the boys and the non-Jewish devils, but they happened on specific days, such as on the Day of Lag BaOmer, when the boys of Israel went out of the city with bows and arrows and returned – oh for that shame – some with an ear plucked and some with a garment torn. Or on Shabbat afternoons, when the fathers were sleeping and the boys were sneaking out of the house armed with sticks and stones, to gather together and make war "with the non-Jewish devils". But apart from these, there were no riots.

The Synagogue and the church stood next to each other. When the farmers used to come every Thursday of the week to sell their produce and buy for its consideration in the Jewish shops in the city, they usually behaved quietly and with good manners, except if someone was drunk. Even on the “green” Thursday, when the Gentiles set up Sukkahs (huts) outside the city and the son and the mother decorated them with portraits, images and flags – not a single case of harm to Jews happened.

The Jewish boy in Radomsko walked upright, the gentile boy felt that it is not worth for him to provoke the “Z'hid” and so he did. Here is a story that happened at the end of the First World War, when General Haller's troops harassed the Jews and tortured their elders, and these foreigners wanted to try their luck with the Jews of Radomsko as well when the train that transferred them was delayed at the city station, the youth immediately burst out of the workplaces and shops, hit back and chased them all the way to the train. If I remember well, one of the soldiers was stabbed with a knife on the side and ran away.

The Jews lived in the city area and the gentiles – in the suburbs. When the Jews finished the reading in the Torah or when there was a wedding at the courtyard of the rabbi, the Jews filled the streets of the city, and the face of not a single gentile was seen.

The Jewish boy in Radomsko was not one of the type of boys who were quiet and scared of the “non-Jewish devils”. A “non-Jewish devil” who stumbled into the Jewish Street, the Jewish boy smelled him from a distance and without any delays he “treated” him with his hands and feet and the “non-Jewish devil” ran away as fast as he could. The Jewish boy wondered: What did this gentile boy has to do in my house? Will he let me leave harmless if I will enter into his court?” Certainly not. Therefore: an eye for an eye is suitable in this case.

This was the situation before the outbreak of the First World War. There was not a single proper national movement among the city's residents. Of course, there was no shortage of outstanding individuals. The Jewish boys heard about a guy named Shtatler, who was a Zionist. Indeed, when they got to know him closely, he was revealed to be a fastidious and a sensitive person; Humble and shy. He spoke a little, but his words were meaningful. As he walked every morning to his work (he was a bookkeeper for the forest merchant Rosenbaum) his image made people respect him. He was knowledgeable in the ancient literature and loved his people and the ancient language very much. He spoke of Herzl out of awe and nobility.

The second guy that the Jewish boys heard of his Zionism was the violinist and singer Moshe Levkowitz. He was invited to every wedding and every ball and before it ended, he used to play the Hatikvah. I remember that one day, on our way home after finishing the prayer in honor of the tsar and after singing “God, besieged the king” that the children of the cheder were ordered to participate in, in the presence of a fat policeman with a sword close to his thigh, my friend pointed out at a Jew who was tall, fat, beardless and wearing a hat and said: Last night, at the time of my cousin's wedding, I heard him play the prayer in honor of our king… and after that, I was privileged to hear him play “Hatikvah” from time to time. There were a few more, but the Jewish boy only vaguely heard of them.

The waves of the national awakening and the aspiration for Zion fell on our city at a fateful time, full of vision and hope. In the distance there was an echo of the Balfour declaration and near – the end of the war.


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Poland that was enslaved for many generations, was finally released; Other small nations struggled and strived for freedom and aspired to renew their glory. At such a time the Jewish youth in Radomsko woke up from their slumber. Suddenly they realized that the peace and quiet they were living in was nothing more than an illusion, and that indeed they were strangers and despised in the eyes by the people of the country they live in. The idea of creating a Jewish nation that lives on its own land found a way into the hearts of many. A Zionist movement arose which surrounded the youth and the ancient language was heard in the streets of the city.

Over time, confusion arose on the Jewish Street as different parties emerged, and those who led the Zionist idea and supported it had to fight hard against the ideas of the other parties. The victory of the Zionist movement on the Jewish Street in Radomsko, its strong influence on the youth and the spread of the Hebrew language among them can only be attributed to few individuals.

The first to deserve this praise are the Gold brothers. Both of them: Nachman and David. They were differed in their characters, traits, habits and their attitude towards their opponents, but despite all the differences between them, they were united in the idea of working Zionism and in mastering the Hebrew language in the Jewish Street.

Nachman's whole being radiated a battle spirit. He was imbued with this spirit all his life. Unlike other Israeli boys, whose transition period from the old world to the new world was accompanied by mental shocks, contradictions and heartbreaks, Nachman did not encounter any of these. He did not have any complexes. He withdrew from the old world with a spit and a slam of the door. And as soon as he withdrew from it, he began to ruin the old Jewish world. With teasing and witty and sharp jokes, he cultivated the hatred against the “bitter fruit” of the “den of exile”. “We should burn the entire exile past with fire, grind it to a fine powder and throw it away”, he said. Nachman hated the exile and all that it entailed a fierce hatred. And he preached “to uproot everything from its roots and start everything all over again in the Land of Israel…”.

Nachman was witty and sharp and a very astute scholar, well-versed in the secrets of ancient and new Hebrew literature, a dangerous polemicist, who had no mercy in an argument with his opponents, dismissed those who opposed his opinion as worthless: “In a place where there is a desecration of a nation – there is no respect for the rabbi”. As a person who demanded first of all from himself, he was among the firsts to fulfil what has been imposed on others. And so, he left the “exiled swamp” and immigrated to the Land of Israel.

Nachman's brother, the young David Gold (later Kalay), was different from his older brother. He was a warm-hearted and soft-tempered man, with a good soul. He tended to idealism and served as a model in his way of life. He preached the Torah, guided and taught it abundantly, connected the hearts, drew the best from the ancient blessed sources, as if he found a pomegranate, ate the inside and threw away the shell. He knew how to listen to the words of his opponents and understand them, he knew how to keep quiet when it was necessary, he knew how to love his neighbor.

Everyone liked David, even his opponents. The number of his acquaintances was the number of his friends. He was diligent, full of life and energy and creative spirit. He participated in the conferences of the youth of Zion in Warsaw and came back full of energy and enthusiasm. He excelled in his many actions in the field of socialist Zionism and in spreading the Hebrew language among the youth. His lectures fascinated and attracted a large audience of young people and there was a lot of listening. He did not speak arrogantly and without poetic phrase, always briefly and to the point, and in this he won the hearts of the youth. And indeed, his influence was enormous.

Like his brother, he also did not stay long in exile and immigrated to the Land of Israel.

It is not surprising, that due to the blessed actions of the Gold brothers, the Jewish street was conquered by Zionism. The call to action was indeed heard, a revolution arose in the hearts of the youth. Boys, whose fathers and great-grandfathers were merchants, members of the “respectable class”, left the ways of their ancestors and began learning a profession for the purpose of immigrating to Israel. Without depriving from the rights of the others, the Zionist movement in Radomsko owes thanks first and foremost to the brothers Nachman and the late David Gold for this.

The life path of the Jewish girl in Radomsko until the end of the First World War was strewn with toil and trouble. The daughter of a laborer grew up and matured in ignorance. When her father couldn't afford to pay tuition for a home teacher, he sent her to the “cheder” for a short period of time and was satisfied that his daughter knew the alphabet with dots. She sat at home, helped her mother with her many duties and waited until her father found her a partner who would marry her, or she immigrated to America.

The lifestyle of the merchant's daughter or the house owner's daughter was to some extent different from the life of the laborer's daughter. They were sent to the “cheder” when they were still very young.

In addition to the alphabet, she also learned to read “Mode Ani” and the “Shema Israel” prayer and sometimes even the Pentateuch. These included the entire “course”. She learned the state language by using it daily and sometimes from a home teacher who was specially invited to teach her some grammar. And she as well, like the daughter of the laborer, helped her mother with the housework and in the trade and waited for the arrival of her husband, whom she mostly did not know, to bring her the “happiness”.

It is true that the girl sometimes heard stories about “the sale of Yosef”, “the Exodus from Egypt”, “the destruction of the Temple”, etc., but she was not taught thoroughly about the history of Israel and its literature. She was devoted to keeping the holidays of Israel, she fasted on Yom Kippur, but the halachic explanation for this was not explained to her. So to speak: anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is as if she has learned rubbish. Such was the fate of every Jewish girl, except for a few exceptions here and there.

The Jewish girl in Radomsko was not privileged that her soul will be revealed in its magnificence in her noble deeds. Against her will, she shut herself at home. Her knowledge about the occurrence of things was blur, her vision of what was happening around her was impaired, and the unimportant things overshadowed the main thing. But when the end of the First World War came and the first news was received about the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of a Jewish ministry headed by Nahum Sokolov, the girl's dormant strings of the soul trembled, as if she had grown wings. News haunted news and with them came hopes and disappointments. The girl complaint secretly: here the boys organize into associations, gather, lecturers come and talk about changes in the Jewish world, about a life of freedom and a national home. A certain boy leaves his father's trading house and begins learning a profession; the second immigrates to Israel and the third changes his language to the ancient language. And what about her? Yes, she also changed her language, but, ah, in a foreign language, the language of the people of the country she lives in. Is this the change in life that she dreamed of? And what about Zionism? And what about the Hebrew language? The heart pinched and the eyes wandered in wonder: why should she be discriminated?

It is true that there were few girls who followed Zionism such as: Dubche Gold, Huche Englard and several others who could be counted on the fingers of one hand, but their actions did not stand out on the street either because of a lack of self-confidence or because of a lack of courage to speak publicly. The main thing: the traditional Jewish life shrunk in the heart of the Jewish girl and the new path she had to follow blurted out.

One person whose difficulties did not prevent her from sticking to her opinion and did not succumb to the pressure of circumstances – was Mrs. Leah Talman Birnbaum (lives in Israel).

She was a refreshing character, full of youth energy – these were the things that stood out in the first meeting with her. Like the rest of her sisters in Radomsko, she went to the “cheder” when she was young and learned the alphabet with dots. She also managed to know "tefilla". She was educated according to the Polish culture. She sat at home, helped her mother with her housework, and she shared the fate of the other girls in Radomsko.

And here came the sound of the times of redemption from afar. Her ears tried to capture the news coming from there and her eyes were opened to see what was happening around her. Little by little the realization began to enter her heart that the Jewish girl must be freed from the shackles of the past. With a clear mind she knew how to refrain from the whirlwind of the present and the mixing of languages. She threw away the foreign language, overcame the unpleasantness in her relatives' home, endured the ridicule and teasing of her family members, and concluded that she should completely detach herself from the burden of the past and start a new life. And first of all: learn Hebrew

She studied with the teacher Haschevtsky (born in Ukraine, came to Radomsko due to the war, married the granddaughter of the judge in Radomsko, Israel'ke;


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He did a lot in spreading the ancient language among the city residents). Mrs. Talman studied and taught. She taught others to enable herself to repeat the material so that she will learn even more. She was diligent and studied days and nights. There were girls who dared and also followed her. A movement arose among the girls for the Hebrew language. It didn't take long until the girls started speaking in the ancient language in the streets.

In the same period of time “Pina Ivrit” (Hebrew corner) was established. Under Mrs. Talman's initiative, boys and girls gathered at the Beit Ya'akov Zionist club in the city and decided to establish “Pina Ivrit”, a place where they could exchange opinions and read informative articles from Hebrew newspapers and literature books, and everything solely in the Hebrew language. They gathered twice a week and Mrs. Talman was the living spirit in the “Pina”. She was liked by everyone, she was always happy, she spoke with humor but not frivolously; She often fooled us for our “problematic” approach to everything, and would say: why complicate things, after all everything is very simple and straightforward.

I remember once, after reading “Chatzhi Nechama” of Ahad Ha'am, a debate broke out. Mrs. Talman took an active part in it. We, the boys who new Hebrew before, were surprised by her amazing perception and her thorough understanding of the words of Ahad Ha'am. She would reconcile the differences of opinion and settle everything very easily.

The news about the events in 1921 in Israel did not roil her spirit. She believed with complete faith in the victory of Zionism. There was not a single Zionist action in Radomsko that Mrs. Talman did not participate in. She was lively, agile and alert to every action.

Mrs. Talman's actions served as a guide for the girls in the city, which path they should follow. Indeed, many, many chose Zion and immigrated to Israel.

It goes without saying that Mrs. Talman waited anxiously for the first opportunity to immigrate to Israel and when it came – she immigrated.

It is a duty of honor to mention here one of the members of the “Pina”," who participated regularly and his opinion was respected there – Nahum Hocherman, a good guy, a dreamer, full of enthusiasm for Zion, polite and shy, quick and active, kind hearted*. In Israel he studied Torah at the seminary. He lived in poverty. He hurried to return due to a family reason. His tracks disappeared. Vi al hai shufra.
________
* Nachum Hocherman lived until the war in Warsaw and married the daughter of the late Reb Hillel Zeitlin.

It was around 1909-10, I remember one Shabbat in our home whose sanctity was completely violated. Father returned home after Shacharit (the morning prayer) from the “Shtiebel” of Gur chassidim, in an unusual restlessness. He did not start studying the Torah as he always did, but walked around the room back and forth in extreme nervousness.

Mother also came back from the synagogue very upset, and when they met at home, the bitterness erupted from the two of them… in the synagogue and in the “Shtiebel”, a man stood up in anger and announced in public: In a room in an attic somewhere in the city, there were found many “improper treif” books, as well as photographs on the walls as it is customary among the gentiles. And in this room gather the Israel-haters, may God avenge them, that because of their sins and misdemeanor, kosher Jewish mothers and babies die. “Gentlemen!” He shouted – “a burning fire is burning in our city, and it is necessary to burn the leaven right away!” And the speaker proposes to expel from the “Shtiebel” the fathers of the following guys:

Nachman Zvi Gold – the main organizer, Leibish Rabinovitz, Shlomo Rabinovitz, Yaakov Rabinovitz (Kuty), Eliezer Shcheransky, Israel Yitzchak Shapira, Shoshi Sternfeld, Yaakov Rubinstein (the butcher's son).

These guys were then going to add Pinchy Litmanovitz to the gang, who was apparently a fool, and through him the conspiracy was discovered and leaked out…

Nachman Zvi Gold was a source of comfort and respect for his parents – and was the favorable boy in the “Shtiebel” and in the Rabbi's court. This Nachmal'i used to study the Torah days and nights, and when he was thirteen years old, he participated in writing questions and answers in honor of the famous great rabbi, Rabbi Nachman Zvi Gold, may he live long, in the rabbis' journal “Sha'arei HaTorah” that was published in Warsaw at the time, after they addressed him in an exchange of letters between him and the editor. “And suddenly such a disaster” …

The other sons also mostly belonged to the rabbinical dynasty in Radomsko. Grandchildren and relatives of Rabbi “Tiferet Shlomo” – “Chesed Le'avraham” etc. To the sorrow and shame of the unfortunate parents – the Jewish aristocracy in our city at the time had no limits.

The most brutal means were used by these God-fearing Jews against these boys. The library was destroyed, the belongings in the room were burned, and the relationship between the boys was cut off completely.

But the sparks of passion for Torah and progressive culture were not extinguished among the hearts of the young with the scandal the old zealots made. But on the contrary, for a while they did indeed suffer from the dispersion, the loneliness without a place of concentration, but each and every one continued his studies in his remote corner. Out of feelings of rage and anger they studied, read very persistently general science books and the young Zionist literature of those days, such as Ahad Ha'am, Sokolov, Max Nordau etc.

Years passed, in the meantime they grew up, some of them fulfilled their parents will and married as was customary. And only a few (the Gold sons in the lead) together with the youngers who joined them later, formed after that, a huge intellectual youth group, and among them were the creators of the “Tze'irei Zion” era in Radomsko after the outbreak of the World War in 1914.

With the outbreak of the war, our city was surrounded by military posts. The closeness of the front to the city and the constant battles for about a year and a quarter, disrupted all public life and completely destroyed commerce. Depression and fear prevailed in the city.

And when the miracle – which all the Polish Jewry at that time expected – finally happened, and the ranks of the Western armies (Germany and Austria) occupied our city of Radomsko, then its inhabitants began to breathe a sigh of relief. Jewish trade soon recovered, with the flow of war capital through the heavy consumption of the army. Profiteers and merchants became rich. Along with this, circles were formed for hedonist youth and adults with card games, in cooperation with the invading Junkers that were chasing after Jewish girls and women…

And in the middle of this vortex of immorality, the spiritual power inherent in this handful group of intellectual boys, rose and pierced the compressed atmosphere.

In the late winter of 1915 and the beginning of 1916, they began to organize, with the initiative of the Hebrew teachers: Feinzilber, Shtatler (my teacher and Rabbi) and Erlichman, the old Zionist scholars, and “Beit Yaakov” was founded in our city in the form of a modern synagogue with a Torah book and also a very rich library, of all kinds of books, also in foreign languages.


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The late Nachman Zvi Gold (my brother) contributed quite a bit from his spiritual powers and his organizational talents to the development and existence of the aforementioned institution. My blessing for the opening of the institution was followed by a request for help in organizing a branch of “Bnot Zion” (Daughters of Zion) in our city. The request was written in a clear Hebrew and made a great impression, both because of the demand itself and because of the Hebrew level (At that time I was the only one in the city in that). In their official reply I was informed that it was decided to write in the protocol to take care of my request.

Nachman, Zvi and David Gold Kalay, (our brother, who was at the beginning of his adolescence after his return from the “Gur Yeshiva”), did not find satisfaction for their stormy souls for a long time, within the walls of this “Beit Yaakov”, among the senior prayers.

At the beginning of 1917, the idea about the urgent need to capture the youth around the Zionist vision in our city emerged in the minds of the Gold brothers. And so, the two brothers, Nachman and David, started to act on a very wide scale in this field, in recruiting members with the same opinion – for action: Nachman among the older circles, and David among the youth studying in high schools and among the class engaged in craft. I was also there to help them among the girls and young women. The organizational propaganda work progressed at a rapid pace. By the magic power of that atmosphere, of the high spirits that prevailed at the end of the war and the belief that the day of peace to the world is not far off, we managed to bring a fairly strong camp of youth in our city closer to the socialist Zionist idea.

On one of the days during this period, the organizing committee announced and invited a founding meeting of the Tze'irei Zion branch in Radomsko. The participation in the meeting was huge. Hundreds of young people signed declarations for membership in the above-mentioned organization, a council of 12 members was elected, 3 of the Gold family, Hava, and Yosef – Englard Krauze, Visotska-Kreindler and others.

We started vigorous cultural activities, such as Hebrew courses, scientific, literary and class lectures. Our empresses were influential on all circles of the residents and attracted even the assimilated in our city. Nachman Zvi Gold's content-filled educational lectures at member gatherings were truly born from a noble and friendly spirit and penetrated deeply into the hearts of all the members present.

Members of Tze'irei Zion in 1919 Standing (from right to left): Yaakov Aharonovitz, David and Rachel Krauze, S. Feingold, Englard Yosef, Zombek Hillel and Hayah Blumstein and Birnbaum. Seated: Rosenblum. Zimberknop Belche, Gold Nachman, Englard Huche, Wiener Abba, Gold (Carmelit) Dvora.

With the legal approval of the “Balfour Declaration” at the San Remo Conference in 1920, a popular celebration was organized by the “Tze'irei Zion” in our city, under the open sky, which encompassed almost all of the city's residents. And whoever did not live this moment, did not feel in his life what is true joy that erupts from the passionate heart of a youth who sees in his mind his goal being fulfilled.

This is how we continued to act and conquer different social positions and also in the field of education. We founded a children's daycare in the Hebrew spirit, under our influence the Hebrew language was introduced to the high school for girls in our city, etc.

At the end of the war, and the liberation of Poland, in 1919, we already started to prepare our “luggage” for the immigration to the Land of Israel…

In the years 1916-1920, there was an active Zion youth movement in our city. The founders of the party and its living spirit were the brothers Nachman and David Gold.

With the beginning of the third Aliyah, the two Gold brothers, along with the rest of the activists, immigrated to Israel or moved to other places and the movement was emptied of its activists and ceased to exist as a movement except for a few members whom we met from time to time in actions for the Zionist foundations.

It should be noted that the Zionist movement in our city did not know how to establish educational institutions in the Hebrew language (such as “Tarbut”), which in other cities constituted the natural reserve for Zionist youth organizations and the next generation for the Zionist movements.

The high school that was founded by Mrs. Weintraub was actually a Jewish high school with a group of Jewish teachers, but it contributed very little to national recognition, because the language of instruction was Polish, except for the Hebrew subject that was taught by the teacher D. Ehrlichman. Assimilation captured the studying youth at that time and did not skip this high school as well, and many of its students fell into the hands of opponents of Zion.

At that time, there was no active Zionist youth movement in our city that could stand against the wind of assimilation that was blowing from the East and the West. This situation continued for several years until the founding of “HeChalutz” in the year 5684 (1924).

The initiative to establish “HeChalutz” in our city – training the youth for the immigration to Israel, was the initiative of the member Warshatsky, one of the grandchildren of the rabbi's house.

On weekdays he worked in the trading house of the late Rabbi Shlomo Hanoch HaCohen in the city of Lodz and on Shabbat he would return to his parents who lived in Radomsko.

One of the days there was an advertisement in the Beit Midrash of Kopil Shemesh that Mr. Warshatsky was inviting youth to a lecture he would give at Beit Ya'akov on Shabbat evening on “HeChalutz” topic. At the set time, dozens of youths aged 17-28 of different social classes gathered at the Beit Midrash. There were wealthy people who had never worked in their lives and others who had worked since their early childhood due to their The committee of Tze'irei Zion branch (S.Z.) in social position, or those who saw the need to study a profession before immigrating to Israel.1925.


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Standing (from the right): Kornberg David Meir, Eisen Avraham Binam, Neiman Shmuel,
Shitenberg Moshe Yitzchak, Dimant Avraham.
Sitting: Goldberg Chaim, Offman Zissman, Karp Yitzhak.

The S.Z. movement was organized among those who wanted to study a profession before immigrating to Israel. Among them stood out a group of members that was called “The Four” and they were: A. B. Eisen (perished in the Holocaust), the late Chaim Goldberg, Y. Lieberman, M. Shitenberg (all of them are in Israel).

The group considered itself close to the? Avoda (Labor) movement in the Land of Israel, to Ahdut Ha'Avoda movement and also to the S.Z. movement in Poland.

During the visit of Pinchas Rashish (now serves as the mayor of Petah Tikva) at the end of 1924 – on behalf of the “HeChalutz” Center, we had a conversation with him about the movement's ideological issues in Israel and abroad and as a result we decided to establish a branch of the S.Z movement in our city.

The main part of our activity remained within the “HeChalutz” and we devoted all our time and our ambition to it. We were a young group that could not be a meaningful factor in the Jewish public in the city. Our main ambition was to immigrate to Israel as soon as possible.

At the time of the opening of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in 1925, we found a congratulatory notice in the weekly magazine “Onzer Zeitung” that appeared in Piotrkov Radomsko, by 25 members of S.Z whose names were as follows:

Offman Zisman		Zandberg Mania
Eisen Avraham Binam		Zachs Regina
Bogeisky Yitzhak		Tiger Sara
Bogeisky Bella		Lieberman Yehuda
Bloom Yitzchak		Sabatovsky M. S.
Besser Yaakov		Kamalgarn Moshe
Grossman Yaakov		Kornberg David Meir
Goldberg Meir David		Karp Yitzhak
Goldberg Chaim		Shatz Avraham
Glicksman Meir		Stein Laivish
Herbet Avraham		Shitenberg Moshe Yitzchak
Hella Wiener		Shmolevich Hana
Wadislavsky Fishel

In order to maintain the non-partisanship of the “HeChalutz”, we rented a club for the S.Z. at David Erlichman's school, on Bezzanitska Street. “HeChalutz” stayed at the “Beit Yaakov” Zionist Synagogue.

To inaugurate the club, we held a party for members and fans with the participation of our member Yaakov Melz from Piotrkov (located in Israel). His connections with the movement in Radomsko began as early as 1916-1920 and he responded positively to every invitation to visit us.

On the eve of the union of the Right-Wing of Poalei Zion with S.Z., the branches argued in favor and against the union. We were in favor of the union, which occurred at the end of 1925.

There were few members of the Right-Wing of Poalei Zion in our city. An organized branch did not exist at all and the majority of Poalei Zion members in the city were left-wing and joined the left wing of the movement. The opponents did not join and remained loyal to the World Union, among them were members with seniority and influence who joined the movement, after the union with S.Z. I will mention some of them: Mordechai Zelig Rosenblatt, Itche Orbach, Wolf Shapira, the Waxman brothers, Lazer Glicksman, Shmuel Tanhum, and others. With them also joined Zaken Schreiber and Mordechai Aharon Reicher, both former members of “Bund”.

The union was held at Erlichman's club. The statement of the union on behalf of Poalei Zion movement was read by M. Z. Rosenblatt and the statement on behalf of S.Z. was read by A. B. Eisen (who came directly from the synagogue of the Alexander Chassidim located in the nearby courtyard, wearing Chassidic cloths: capote and a velvet hat).

3 delegates from the local branch participated in the union conference and they were: Aryeh Zipler, Zissman Offman and Chaim Goldberg.

After the unification, we rented a new club on Peshadborska Street, in the house of Binyamin Holzberg.

Excerpts from “Episodes in the History of “Tze'irei Zion” - S.Z.”, written by Israel Ritov, one of the chief speakers and leaders of this movement in Russia, who later worked in Poland in the main institutions of the S.Z. movement and visited Radomsko several times on their behalf. S.Z. movement in Poland was based on the origins of this movement in Russia, whose policies and principles were formulated at the third conference of the “Tze'irei Zion” in Kharkiv (May 1920). In the decisions of this conference, which defined the framework of the action of “HeChalutz” and its ways of struggle for freedom, democracy, socialism, national Jewish revival , a socialist Land of Israel, and all this under the flag of the revolutionary pioneering – it has been said, among other things: The establishment of the territorial center in the Land of Israel is the most necessary condition for the national liberation of the masses of Jewish workers and is a necessary phase on the journey to socialism; In continuing its struggle for favorable conditions for immigration and settlement in the Land of Israel, the S.Z. movement will strive for the concentration of working Jews in the Land of Israel even under the conditions of an unfavorable political conjuncture; * S.Z. period is one of the greatest and most dramatic periods in the history of Zionism and the nation. Its history is written and sealed in sweat and in blood on the pages of the golden book of the nation. Surely these days, in the free State of Israel, which is being built, which brings together our scattered people and fulfills the best of our vision, are beautiful and bright like the radiance of the sky and the hidden light. Nevertheless, much was the beauty and much was the happiness and spiritual wealth in those days of our youth – days of searching and exploring, days of storm and burst…

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