Augustow, Poland

Memorial Book of the Community
of Augustow and Region
(Augustów, Poland)

53°51' / 23°00'

Translation of
Sefer Yizkor le-kehilat Augustow ve-ha-seviva

Edited by J. Aleksandroni

Published in Tel Aviv, 1966

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Hebrew Translator and Translation Project Editor: Rabbi Molly Karp
Yiddish Translators: Daniel Kennedy and Oliver Elkus
Photographic Reproduction: Jonah Karp Hurst

Emeritus coordinator: Yigal Rechtman

This is a translation from: Sefer Yizkor le-kehilat Augustow ve-ha-seviva
(Memorial Book of the Community of Augustow and Region),
ed. J. Aleksandroni, Assoc. of Former Residents of Augustow and Region, Tel Aviv, 1966 (H, Y 549 pages)

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The Gateway to the Book – the editor	11

A City in Its Life
This is the story^[1]
The History of the Town and its Jewish Community by M.S. Geshori	17
Rabbis of Augustów by M. Tzinovitz	89
The Rabbi ^[2] the Gaon Yitzchak Kosovski Yitzchak Kosovski	100
Rabbi Azriel Zelig Noach Koshelevski by Yitzchak Edelstein	101
Scholars in the City by M. Tzinovitz	104
The Rabbi the Gaon Reb Betzalel Ze'ev Gibstein by M. Tzinovitz	110
Learned Men ^[3] That I Knew in the Days of My Childhood by Rabbi Yekutiel Azrieli	114
Lipsk by B. Efrati	115
Sztabin by Leah Sherman	116
From My Diary by Dr. Nechemiah Aloni	117
From Days Gone By by Eliezer Markus	119

Way of Life and Lifestyle
My City Augustów by Akiva Glikstein	130
In My Wanderings by Tz. Z. Weinberg	134
The Jews in Augustow by Yaakov Frenkel	149
My Memories by Reuven Levi	158
In Those Days by Noach Borovitz	165
There Was… by Leah Sherman	167
Fathers and Sons by Daniel Kaplan	170
From the Days of My Childhood by Chaim ben Abba Orimland	173
Between War and War by Yishayahu Livni (Bialovitzki)	175
Talmud Torah (1920-1940), “Tiferet Bachurim” and More by Elchanan Sarvianski	176
In the Mirror of the Press Compiled by M. Tzinovitz	179
Greeting by Khaye Kalinsk	185
The Past that Does Not Pass Away by Abba Gordin (Yiddish, DK)	189
Abba Gordin (Yiddish, DK)	217
On the Old Path by Eliezer Aronovski (Yiddish, DK)	218
Mottinke the Sweet; The Saccharin Man by El. Aronovski (Yiddish, DK)	222

Some Personalities of Our City
In the Company of Meir Meizler and Yaakov Frenkel by Tz. Z. Weinberg	232
The Compositions of Yaakov Frenkel	240
A Penny by Tz. Z. Weinberg	241
The Keinan Family by Eliezer Markus	245
My Brother Sender by Akiva Glikstein	248
Lippe the Wagon Master by Akiva Glikstein	252
Abba Gordin by Chaim Dan	256
Members of the Enlightenment and Chovevei Tzion by M. Tzinovitz	257
Dovid Arieh Aleksandrovitz	261
Reuven Rotenberg by Zelda Edelstein	262
Fania Bergstein	264
My Parents' House by Mina Ampel – (Volmir)	266
The Name by Tz. Z. Weinberg	267
My Family by Faygl Rabinovitch (Mayzler) (Yiddish)	280
Ruven Sinai HaCohain (Yiddish)	282
Goldshteyn, Dovid (Yiddish)	283
Avrom Yankev Netter (Yiddish)	284
Liptsin, Sam (Shepsl) (Yiddish)	284

Secular Life
The Economy of the Jews of Augustow by Dr. Moshe and Eliezer Markus	285
The Status of the Teachers by Meir Meizler	290

On the Way to Zion
A History of Chibbat Tzion and Zionism in Augustow by M. Tzinovitz	293
My Ascent^[4] to the Land^[5] by Akiva Glikstein	294
The First Group of Those Who Went Up – B. Efrati	300
A History of “HeChalutz” in Augustow – Dr. N. Aloni	302
Friends Tell	323
“HeChalutz HaTzair” in Augustow by Moshe Amit (Drozinski)	325
My Way to “HeChalutz HaTzair” by Yishayahu Shadmi (Blechertzik)	331
HaShomer HaTzair by Zenya Riftin (Yones)	333
The Beitar Movement and HaTzohar in Augustow by Dr. Moshe Markus	341
HaMizrachi Moment 1934 (No. 96) (Yiddish, DK)	342

Institutions (Religion, Benevolence, Culture and Education)
Synagogues in Augustow by Rabbi Yekutiel Azrieli	343
The Great Synagogue by Elchanan Sarvianski	348
Linat HaTzedek (Yiddish pp. 353-355, DK, and Hebrew) by Mordechai Aharon Migdael	351
The Foundation of a Library in Augustow	357
The Library by Meir Meizler	357
The Education of the Jews of Augustow by Yaakov Bergstein	358
Our Communal Institutions (Yiddish, DK)	366

A City in Its Destruction
In the Struggle
The Germany-Polish War by Elchanan Sarvianski	373
Partisans: Noach Sarvianski; Shmuel Zufnitzki	403

How^[6] It Was Destroyed
The Town is Burning!!: (Yiddish) by Mordechai Gevirtig; Hebrew Translation by Mordechai Amitai.	406
The Destruction of the Jews of Augustow by Elchanan Sarvianski	408
The Destruction of Augustow by Dr. Shor	416
From the Testimony of Amiel Shimon	416
From within the testimony of Avraham Karasik in the Trial Against the Bitter Enemy Adolph Eichmann	417
The Voice of the Forest by Eliezer Aronovski	423

On the Ruins
A Visit in Augustow After the Shoah by Moshe Einat, (Zborovski), Attorney at Law	426
The Desecrated Gravestones by Aleksander Yosefsberg	436
Poems by Fania Bergstein	438
The Martyrs of Our City by Zelda Eidelstein	443
A Tear Shed for the Destruction of our Town by Khayim Lazdeyski (Yiddish, DK)	443
From “The Song of the Murdered Jewish People” by Yitskhok Katzenelson (Yiddish, DK)	449
Letters from Survivors (Yiddish, DK)	450
Testimonies of Ze'ev Kalshteyn, Yekheskl Fendzukh, Fania Landau (Yiddish, DK)	459
Poems by Eliezer Aronovski (Yiddish, OE)	467
After the Nightmare by Shmuel Eliezer Aplebaum (Yiddish, OE)	481
The Path of Sorrows by Yitskhok Bialobztski (Yiddish, DK)	485
A Letter to a Mother . . . by Esther Tuker (Glikshteyn) (Yiddish, DK)	489

Memorial Candle
Gad Zaklikovski by his wife Dina Zaklikovski; (Yiddish, OE)	490
Gad Zaklikovski by Esther Eilender-Veinberg	491
Fania Bergstein by Sarah Berliner	492
Yisroel (Zelyah) Bergstein by Chinah Shraga (Bergstein)	494
Shlomo Plotzinski by Chinah Shraga (Bergstein)	494
With Shlomekeh in Training by Rivka B.	494
Yisrael Levi	495
Tzila Bezant	496
Tuvia Rabinovitz by His Brother Yisrael Rabinovitz	497
Barukh Chositzer, May His Memory be For a Blessing	497
Father by Esther Eger (Ivriyah)	498
Father by Noach Varhaftig	499
My Father and My Brother by Esther Tuker (Glikstein)	499
My Father's House by Yitzchak Sherman	499
My Father, My Mother, My Brother, My Sister Leah, My Sister Vela, Rivka Yaffa by Elchanan Sarvianski	500
Shabtai Kaplan son of Yitzchak Eizik the Cohain by Pesya daughter of Yoel	501
Reb Shmuel Grinberg the Cohain, May His Memory be For a Blessing	502
Reuven Levi	502
Seven Martyrs by Binyamin Tzemekh (Yiddish, OE)	503
My Father by Khane Arimland (Yiddish, OE)	506

Yizkor
On Memorial Day by D. Kaplan	509
The Slain of the Holocaust, May God Avenge Their Blood	511
Passed Away in the Land and in the Diaspora	524
The Organization of Natives of Augustow and the Region in Israel by Binyamin Efrati	526
Natives of Augustow in the Land	530
Augustow Natives in the Diaspora	536
We Will Not Forget Those Who Were Lost!	538
Appendix A: Memories of Shalom-Naftali Soloveitchik
Appendix B: Glossary of Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic Terms

Name Index

Transaltor's Footnotes:

This is a biblical phrase, used to introduce a new story or section, as in Genesis 2:4, “This is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the LORD God made earth and heaven…” Return

“HaRav,” literally “the Rabbi,” is used for the title that in English is rendered simply as “Rabbi” Return

Literally, students of sages. Return

Immigrating to the land of Israel is always described by the word “ascent.” Return

“The Land” without any other qualifiers generally refers to the land of Israel. Return

Using the biblical form of the word “how” that is both the opening word and the name of the book of Lamentations, which laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Return

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