Suceava, Romania

The Book of the Jews from Suceava (Shotz)
and the Surrounding Communities
(Suceava, Romania)

47°38' / 26°15'

Translation of
Sefer Yehudei Suceava (Shotz) vekehilot hasviva

Edited and designed by Benzion Fuchs
and the Editorial Board

Published in Israel 2007

Our sincere appreciation to Benzion Fuchs and Simcha Weissbuch
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

(Note the Association of Former Residents of Suceava (Shotz) maintains a web site at: http://shotzer.com)

This is a translation of: Sefer Yehudei Suceava (Shotz) vekehilot hasviva
(The Book of the Jews from Suceava (Shotz) and the Surrounding Communities),
Edited and designed by Benzion Fuchs and the Editorial Board,
Association of Former Residents of Suceava (Shotz) and Surroundings, Published: Israel 2007 (H, E)

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
This material may not be copied, sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be reserved by the copyright holder.

JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.

Edited and designed by:
Benzion Fuchs
and the Editorial Board:
Israel Huebner, Meir Kostiner, Yehuda Tennenhaus and Simcha Weissbuch
This Book was written to document and relate the story of
the Jews from Suceava/Suczawa (Shotz)
and surrounding communities:

Arbore, Balaceana, Bosanci, Burdujeni, Cacica, Comăneşti,
Costina, Dărmăneşti, Ilişeşti, Iţcani, Mărăţea, Mitoc, Pătrăuţi,
Solca, Todireşti, Zahareşti.
along their generations and their fate.
All rights reserved. Published by:
Association of Former Residents of Suceava (Shotz) and Surroundings
Non-profit Foundation No.:58-040-626-2 P.O. Box: 3742, Haifa, 31037 Israel
Directing committee: Menachem Fischler, Benzion Fuchs, Mordechai Gross,
Israel Huebner, Meir Kostiner, Yehuda Tennenhaus (Chairperson) and Simcha Weissbuch

Printed in Israel 2007 Production and Printing: Teper Publishers Ltd.

Volume 1
	Page
Acknowledgments - Laudatio	15
Foreword - Editors and Guests	17

Suceava & Surroundings & their Jews	23
Introduction (Simcha Weissbuch)	23
History of the Bucovina Region	23
Jewish Life in Suceava (Simcha Weissbuch)	24
The beginning of Jewish settlement	24
Zionist, Cultural, and Sport Organizations (Simcha Weissbuch)	27
The Revisionist Movement & Beitar (Simcha Weissbuch after Dr. A. Weitmann)	29
The “Zionist Youth” Movement in Suceava (Yehuda Tennenhaus)	31
The Mizrahi and its movements in Mordechai (Shaul Weidberg, Mordechai Gross, Meir Kostiner)	37
Aliyah to Palestine before the War; (Simcha Weissbuch)	40
Jewish Sport Activity in Suceava (Simcha Weissbuch)	41
Jews and Various Parties in Suceava (Simcha Weissbuch)	41
The Communist Party	41
The Social-Democratic Party (Simcha Weissbuch)	42
The “League for the Protection of the Christian Nation”	42
The Jewish Party	43
Religious Life in Suceava (Simcha Weissbuch and Yehuda Tennenhaus)	43
Synagogues in Suceava	43
Organizing for Mutual Assistance	46
Famous Rabbis	47
Rabbi Ḥaim Hager OBM (Aryeh Ben Shlomo Kostiner)	47
Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lau of Piotrków, OBM (Meir Kostiner)	48
Rabbi Jacob (Yankele) Moscovicz, OBM (Mordechai Gross)	49
Rabbi Meshulam Roth, OBM (Mordechai Gross)	50
Rabbi Judah Meir Shapira, OBM (Mordechai Gross)	51
The Jews in Romania and Suceava Between the Two World Wars (Simcha Weissbuch)	52
The situation preceding WW II	54
The Surrounding communities	55
Burdujeni (Simcha Weissbuch)	55
Iţcani (Yosef Berntal, Simcha Weissbuch)	59
Hatna – Dărmăneşti	61
Bălăceana (Mordechai Haas,Meir Shafrir)	64
Comăneşti (Benzion Schaechter)	67
Professionals, vocations and businesses in Suceava and the surrounding area (Simcha Weissbuch)	70
Jewish professionals and business owners in Suceava & Surroundings	79
Businesses and workshops between the two world wars	81
Businesses and workshops in Iţcani	93
Businesses and workshops in Burdujeni	94
The Holocaust	96
The Summer 1940 Pogroms (Meir Kostiner)	96
Toward deportation	98
Deportation of Jews to Transnistria	99
The Deportation Process (Simcha Weissbuch)	99
Mogilev (Simcha Weissbuch)	102
Living conditions in the ghetto	103
Typhus epidemic	103
Transports to the camps	104
Forced labor	105
Self-organization	106
Welfare institutions	106
Religious and cultural life	107
Help and visits from outside	108
Phases of the liberation	109
Shargorod (Simcha Weissbuch)	110
The authorities and the regime	111
Living conditions in the ghetto	112
The epidemic	112
Internal organization	113
The orphanage as a cultural center	115
Help from outside	116
Forced labor	116
Traditional life	117
Self-defense	118
Phases of the liberation	119
Murafa (Meir Kostiner)	120
The deportees arrive in Murafa	121
The Convoy	121
The authorities and the regime	122
Forced labor	122
Living conditions	123
Living conditions	124
And a blood libel too	125
Judaism and culture	126
Manifestations of resistance and liberation	126
Djurin (Simcha Weissbuch)	127
The local Jews	127
Living conditions in the ghetto	127
Forced labor	128
The government and the regime	128
Self-organization	128
Religious and cultural life	130
Phases of the liberation	130
Cry and laugh, scream and sing (Three songs written/sung in the ghettos)	131
Songs for plays by Libi Schaerf	134
Life in Suceava after the Holocaust (Simcha Weissbuch)	136
General stories of people from Schotz and about them (Simcha Weissbuch)	139
A Schotz chess story (Simcha Weissbuch)	141
The Great Shabbat in Suceava (Yehuda Tennenhaus)	142
To Stalin's credit (Simcha Weissbuch)	143
Yizkor - remembering the dead	145
The list of Shoah victims	148
The Fallen Soldiers of Israel's Wars	214
References, Bibliography and Websites	225

List of association members	XXIII
Foreword - Editors and Guests [E]	XV
Acknowledgments - Laudatio [E]	XIII

Volume 2
Personal Stories of the People of Suceava and Surrounding Area	247
Sara Openheimer's Story on the Kerzner Family	247
Dr. Menaḥem (Freddie) Eidinger's Story	249
Dr. Colette (Cetta) Itzik's Story	254
Jetti (Ruckenstein) Ellenbogen's Story	255
Freddy (Friedrich) Antschel's Story	258
Hedva (Braunstein) Antschel's Story	259
Ester (Huebner) Efler's Story	263
Frima (Mozzie) Acks (née Glueckman)	264
Mimi (née Liquornik) Artzi's Story	266
Raya Bogen's Story	274
Michael Blumenfeld's Story	277
Leah (Hurtig) Ben-Dror's Story	278
Yitzchak (Isiu) Bessler's Story	281
David & Renate Bacal's Story	283
Dr. Mario Avraham Becker's Story	284
Gertrude (Schlaefer) Ber's Story	286
Myra (Zeidler) Baron's Story	288
Rachel (Rela) (née Sternlieb) Brandes' Story	289
Yosef Berntal's Story	290
Naomi (née Pelz) Gottlieb's Story	293
Dr. Shmuel Golden's Story	293
Martin Gidron's Story	296
Ester Glueckman's Story	299
Morris Glueckman's Story	304
Mordechai Gross' Stories	308
Rachel (Berl) Gruenberg's Story	318
Bluma Dinur's Story	320
Dr. Zvi Hoch's Story	321
Dr. Zvi (Harry) Holzer's Story	321
Akhim Hopfmayer's Story	325
Alfred Horowitz' Story	342
Carol Hurtig's Story	344
Yisrael Huebner's Stories	350
Sarah Hirsch's Story	358
Gerda Heller's Story about her Husband Ze'ev (Willy) obm	360
The Late Ze'ev (Velvele) Heller's Story	360
Meir Heller's Story	364
Friedrich (Fritz) and Regina (née Weitman) Herrer 's Story	366
Litzy Tekuchiano-Weiner's Story	372
Sarah Vigder's Story	375
Yosef Vizhnitzer's Story	375
The Late Dr. Adolf Weizmann's Story	384
Simcha Weissbuch's Stories	389
Mordechai Wasserman' Story	406
Dr. Harriet (née Ita Schmelzer) Vernia's Story	411
Yaakov Sommer's Story	412
Chita (née Wagner) Singer's Story	413
Jenny (née Schapira) Tennenhaus' Story	413
Yehuda Tennenhaus' Stories	416
The Story of Sherri (née Schlaefer) Yalon's Story	425
Sarah Yaron's Story	427
Yehuda Kohn's Story	435
Shoshana (née Rosa Lester) Kohn's Story	437
Carmen (née Dickman) Kahana's Story	438
Reizi (Shoshana) Kahana's Story	444
Ruth (née Klein) Caspi's Story	445
The Late Yisrael Katz's Story	446
Yossele Carmin's Story	447
Dr. Rudi Lupovici's Story	450
Ilsa Leibowici's Story	451
Yosef Leinburd's Story	452
Paul Leinburd's Story	454
Shmuel (Sasha) Lechner's Story	470
Mina Moses' Story	471
Norman Manea's Stories	474
Moshe (Niederhoffer) Nadir's Story	486
Ada and Ḥ (Zuniu) (Neuberger) Noi's Stories	490
Solomon Sulchiner's Story	492
Yaakov Smotrici's Story	494
The Story of Natanel (Wax) Amit	496
The story of Rachel (Shela) Etzion (née Schweizer)	500
Shlomo Fuchs's Story	502
Benzion Fuchs's Story	504
Zvi Fuhrer's Story	522
Ḥaim Fischler's Story	523
Menaḥem (Manio) Fischler's Stories	525
Dr. Avraham (Abe Bartfeld) Peled's Story	536
Ruth and Meir (Fallenbaum) Palmon's Story	537
Nelly (Aspler) Fallenbaum's Story	538
Tzviya (Herme) Pelz-Fuhrer's Story	539
Frederica Pasternak's Story	542
Martha (née Matti Marilos) Freund	543
Martin Zwilling's Story	547
Carol Zwilling's Story	548
Aryeh (Ben Baruch) Kostiner's Story	549
Yehuda Leib (Aryeh) Kostiner's Story	553
Meir Kostiner's Story	555
Shoshana (Radia Altman) Caesari's Story	561
David Klinger-Smotrici's Story	562
Ḥayya Croitoru's Story	565
Sarah Krell's Story	565
Santa Krams's Story	567
Poldi Kern's Story	569
Anna Koerner's Story	570
Dr. Sasha Koerner's Story	571
Idit (Edith Feller) Reuveni's Story; Die Kleine Feller	572
Briti (Lebzelter-Schneider) Rubin's Story	576
Martin Rosner's Story	577
Jerry (Yosef) Ruhm's Story	580
Karl (Bibi) Ruhm's Story	582
The Late Adv. Dr. Rivka Ruckenstein-Zinowitz's Story	584
Marietta (Coca Freier) Reisman's Story	592
Ilsa Reif-Weininger's Story	595
Henry Shauer's Story	596
Schaumann Family's Stories	598
The Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Schwarz Tribe's Story: Der Poilesher (The Pollack)	606
Simcha Stettner's Story	612
Frizi Sternberg's Story	617
Miriam (Miki) (née Rudich) Shimron's Story	619
Bella Schiff's Story	619
Zalman Schaechter's Stories	620
Shmuel Schaechter's Story when Elected “Distinguished of the City”	625
Freddy (Roth) Shani's Story	625
Gisela (Lupovici) Schapira's Story	640
About those who were with us and are no longer	643
About the late Shmuel Oberweger	643
About the late Zvi Orni	644
About Yitzchak (Iso Fallenbaum) Ilan	649
About the late Erich Heitel	651
About the late Moshe Mordechai Herling	652
About the Late Marcel Wagner	653
About the Late Emanuel (Manio) Michalovici	654
About Professor Emanuel Merdinger obm	655
About Avigdor Nussbrauch obm	656
About the Late Yaakov (Janio) Fuhrer	658
About the late Kehat Flick	659
About the Late Yaakov (Jacqui) and Erika Strominger	661
About the Late Dr. Sylvia Sternlieb, Shlomo	661
About the Late Yosef Schaechter	663
About the late Professor Libby Schaerf	665

Index of names, locations and pictures	669

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