[Page 1]

Justifiably, this is what the progenitors called it, because, it was not without an aura of the sacred, that we approached this mitzvah. And the heavy burden of producing this book was placed on my shoulders, and I carry it with love, and pull on the yoke with commitment, out of recognition for the sacred responsibility that I have taken on.

Apart from this difficult burden, I was laden with the spirituality and the complexity of explanation and organization, such that no item in the organization and explanation did not pass through my hands and be subject to my values in evaluation.

I tried with all my might, and even beyond my might, to do justice to the many, turning nights into days, in order to facilitate and erect this spiritual monument in an esthetic form, that it be worthy to serve as an eternal memorial to our martyrs in the community of Cieszanow who gave their lives in the Sanctification of The Name, the Nation and The Country.

I labored a great deal, I worked at the work of ants, and I did not stint in effort, or expenditure of energy, to uncover information and events in connection with the rich past of the Jews of our shtetl.

I wrote down every detail, I conserved and gathered every tale. Despite exhausting myself in this, I discovered very little, but important material from reliable sources, despite the fact that it is evident to me that the additional material is not sufficiently adequate to limn a complete picture that encompasses the history of our community.

Despite this, I have a spiritual satisfaction and an inner relief, that I have accomplished something that transcends my own spirit and capabilities – to discharge my obligation as regards the members of my community, and from all appearances – I think I have laid a foundation to memorialize the glorious past that the people of Cieszanow have left with us forever.

The community of Cieszanow was one of the links in the golden chain of the period of Jewish life in Galicia, that was;, as it known – the flour and oil of European Jewry, that stood as a model and wonder to all the members of the Diaspora during the hundreds of years up to the accursטd years of 5639-5705 [1939-1945].

The community of Cieszanow was, however, not one of the famous communities, not a ‘Mother City' among Jewry, [and] Gaonim, philanthropists, and famous people did not emanate from her. Her history was not recorded and retold from one generation to the next, but nevertheless, she made her own modest contribution to the affairs of the life of Jewry in the first eras, and her place was not submerged in the storms of life that inundated the Jews of Galicia, and she made her contribution to the community movements that enveloped the communities of Israel.

Cieszanow was a typical Jewish community, a shtetl of Hasidim, Torah scholars and community spiritual leaders, that guarded and observed its Hasidic-religious complexion, until the waves of internationalism reached even here.

After the First World War, the leaders of the community could no longer prevent that development, and to overpower the influence of the new era.

[Page 2]

An acknowledged contribution to the change in the complexion of the shtetl, in the direction of an international posture, was specifically made by the sons and daughters from Hasidic families, and the families of Torah scholars.

One of our important missions, was to awaken among the youth, the feeling of the course of Jewish history, and the obligation to work for the Jewish people, and along with this, to nurse along the feeling of being connected to all of humanity, and to engage in the struggle for the international Zionist and religious ideals.

The international movement introduced a spiritual revolution into the center of the ranks of the young people; instead of spending their time exclusively withing the four walls of the Bet HaMedrash, and to withdraw themselves from the realities of life and activities, we committed ourselves – after the international influence was infused into us, to education, to nurturing the Zionist awareness, along with a religious cognizance. Our motto was – the same as the proverb says: “It there is no Torah, there is no flour,” also says, “If there is no flour, then there is no Torah.” That is to say, flour {i.e. sustenance] and Torah are essential to us simultaneously.

After I had been asked to involve myself in the construction of this spiritual monument, to memorialize our Brethren and Sisters whose souls are in the Garden of Eden, who fell dead in the period of the Shoah, the first thing I saw fit to do, was to divide the spiritual material into three parts: Organizational, Historical, and General.

It was my view – that this organization was logical, and despite this, there is no doubt in my heart that part of the community will rebel against me for this, or that, but despite this, I assume the responsibilities of editing and the trials of criticism with affection, and I will not get upset:

If I heard with my ears,
And I will certainly know,
That a certain individual
Was burdened by my shortcomings,
Rebelled against my words –
I say, I forgive –
Because I was created for you.

When Nahum Sokolov,ז”ל, with his profound skills, fluent and at ease with all of the wisdom of the Hebrew language, and other languages, a scholar in Jewish literature and the literature of other nations, a genius of a writer, whose level is approached by only the very few, sent a piece to the editor of “HaTzefira,” he garnered the response of the editor in the columns of the paper, to the effect that, ”I did not find anything to print.”

The reason I included this story at the beginning of those entries that will be printed below, is that one cannot know, that it is possible that future generations, and possibly even our generation, will look upon us with admiring eyes, and will convey gratitude to us for this literary memorial that we are here erecting in memory of our heroes who fell mostly in Sanctification of The Name, at the hands of the German murderers and their Ukrainian and Polish accomplices, ימ”ש.

Lord in Heaven, remember favorably those pure souls, along with the remainder of the righteous of the world, and take vengeance, avenge the spilled blood of Your People.

[Page 3]

A feeling of the stirring of the soul, a feeling of sanctity, enveloped us at the time we approached the publication of this Yizkor Book [dedicated ] to the eternal memorialization of the Jews of Cieszanow who were cruelly exterminated by unclean Nazi hands with help from their bestial accomplices, in the years 5639-5705 [1939-1945].

Years have passed since that time, but the voice of that spilled blood called out, and calls still, from the mass graves, and demands of us to erect a monument in memory of the precious and sacred lives that they gave up.

We struggled with a variety of difficulties because Cieszanow, as a new town, was not blessed with historical monographic documents, and the little that did exist was lost.

We made every effort to gather the material that did remain, and also, we made the effort to stimulate people, who in the past were active in Jewish community life in our shtetl, to relate their memories, and in this manner, this book was created.

The soul of the commonplace, rooted, and unique Jewish populace is woven into its chapters, describing its committed, dedicated, readiness and fairness, its joys and sorrows, and its misfortune and annihilation.

For commercial, financial and also technical reasons, we were unable to meet all of the demands of our respected community.

We appear to have two lists:

1. A list of everyone in Cieszanow according to the recollection of native families.
2. A list of individual people, whose names were sent to us by relatives; and the names that do not appear in the book, are the responsibility of those people who did not convey the names of their relatives, either through oversight, or not taking this endeavor seriously.

From the many pictures that did come out well, the bright faces of fathers, mothers and children look down upon us , who up to their extermination carried in their hearts – each in their own way – the dream of their personal liberation, and also – the two-thousand year-old dream of the Return to Zion.

We wish to express our recognition to the landsleit of out shtetl in Israel and in the Diaspora, especially thanking Dr. Beryl Koenig of Antwerp, who, together with his sister-in-law Leah, helped to get this book published with their substantial contribution.

[Page 4]

R' David Langenthal		Dr. David Ravid		R' Shmuel Z. Tepper

R' Zvi Elimelekh Glanzer		R' Shmuel Lieberman		Ben-Zion Friedman		R' Sender Schmid

From Right to Left: R' David Langenthal, נ”י, R' Shmuel Tepper, נ”י, Dr. David Ravid, נ”י, The Chairman, speaking, R' Leib Geller, ע”ה, R' Shmuel Lieberman, נ”י.

R' Dov Koenig

May He, who dwells on high, give him his just reward in this world and the next.

R' Zvi Elimelekh Glanzer שליט”א, during his speech on Yom HaShoah in the year 5726 [1966] in Tel-Aviv.

I, and all the other members of the one-time committee, appealed to our gathering:

1. That pictures should be sent to us immediately from every location, that have any relevance to the town.
2. To write – biographies, incidents, suffering and joyous stories from the time that our now destroyed town still existed.
3. Financial contributions to cover the costs of printing the ‘book.’

However, as has been said – this concept gnawed away at me in my mind, and gave me no surcease.

For this entire time, I felt an emotional pressure, as though this was a sort of sacred obligation, so it seemed to me, that some Divine Oversight had put down the mitzvah of erecting this spiritual monument for the fallen among our near and dear ones.

Initially, I struggled only with myself, and asked only of myself – why specifically you? Why are you responsible for the future generations – more than someone else?

[Page 5]

Everything is already decided, and everything is divinely ordained.

On a certain Saturday, after midday, I am studying ‘Pirkei Avot,’ and among other decent and wise thoughts from Hillel ‘the Elder,’ I study also the familiar maxim, ‘In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man’ (Avot, B.). In simple language, what this means is:

‘In that place where there are no men, you must strive to be the man’

And it was in this fashion that the concept of a ‘Yizkor Book’ became crystallized in my mind.

The writer of these lines, upon whom our community, headed by our committee, laid the burden with responsibility for both action and development, became the central force in the creation of the book.

It is natural that in such a gigantic effort, mistakes are also made, and it is also known that the man has not yet been born who does not make any mistakes.

However, my comfort is – as one says in Yiddish:

‘When one makes a mistake, it is a sign that one has done some work.’

I immediately invited those members who had signed the announcements to our landsleit, and not thinking a great deal, on that very night, we decided to step up to the task, and it must be said to everyone's credit, that we were immediately successful in our difficult but sacred mission.

Indeed, we alone – the members of the committee immediately took on the responsibility, and on the spot, immediately paid in 100 pounds, so that on the spot, the foundation was laid for the large expenditures that the ‘Book’ would, in time, absorb.

Each member of the committee received his assigned work, we immediately approached our landsleit in Israel, and also in the Diaspora.

Here are the three appeals to our community, all were printed in both languages, Hebrew – Yiddish.

[Page 6]

The Organization of the Émigrés of Cieszanow & Vicinity With the Help of the Almighty, Tel-Aviv, Nisan 5729 April 1969 Dear Friends! We are honored to inform you, that the committee of our Landsmanschaft in Israel, has decided to publish a ‘Yizkor Book’ to preserve the memory of the martyrs from our town and its vicinity. We need your help Send us a variety of pictures, of the deceased and also of those who are still alive, may they live to one hundred and twenty years. Letters, stories, incidents from before the War. The ‘Book’ will be printed in both Hebrew and Yiddish, and will be professionally bound, in which everyone will be able to memorialize his own name, the name of his family, friends and acquaintances. You may send your material in Yiddish as well. We are appealing to you – to help us in our sacred undertaking, with material and a substantive financial contribution. We note that the outlays have been estimated at approximately 10 thousand pounds. After the ‘Book’ has been printed, everyone will receive their original pictures back, and also a book. The material and financial contributions can be sent to one of the members who has signed below, who belong to the committee. With warm regards The Committee Hirsch Melekh Glanzer, Ramat-Gan HaTikvah 1 Shmuel Zeinvil Tepper, Tel-Aviv Rehov Hovevei Zion 31 Shmuel Lieberman, B'nai Brak Rehov Levi Yitzhak 7 David Langenthal, B'nai Brak Rehov BESH”T 30 Ben-Zion Friedman, B'nai Brak, Rehov Yehoshua 14 Dr. David Ravid (Shmukler) Derekh HaShalom 95 (Association Headquarters) Sender Schmid, Bat-Yam Rehov Perlstein 31 Donate for the Book !

[Page 7]

Notice Number 2 The Organization of the Émigrés of Cieszanow With the Help of the Almighty, Tel-Aviv, Sivan 5729 May 1969 (typo shows 1966) Effusive greetings to our friend! For an additional time, we permit ourselves to turn you respectfully as follows: the Committee has decided, that in another month, it will turn over the book material to the printer, along with the pictures that it has in hand. In accordance with our expectations, we anticipate that the book will appear within three weeks; If by July 15 of this year we will not receive a positive response from you, that is to say, a picture of relatives and a donation, we will take that as a sign of refusal to participate in this mitzvah. In this instance, we absolve ourselves of any responsibility, and caution against any complaints after the fact, or that someone should raise their voice that we did not provide a warning to this effect. Those members of our town that will not participate in this endeavor, will no doubt feel sorry that their families will not appear in this ‘Memorial’ Book, no picture of their dear ones, and no telling of their good deeds, and most importantly – that they should not be envious of those, whose pictures and words of eulogy about their families will be made known in this Memorial Book for all time. It is worth noting that the book will be decorated artistically, with bold lettering in Hebrew and Yiddish, in a beautiful binding. (Partly reproduced in Yiddish) With great respect In the Name of the Committee Dr. David Ravid, Chairman   Shmuel Z. Tepper, Secretary Members of the Committee Zvi Elimelekh Glanzer  Ben Zion Friedman  Shmuel Zeinvil Tepper Dr. David Ravid David Langenthal   Sender Schmid Shmuel Lieberman

[Page 8]

With the Help of the Almighty, Tel-Aviv, Sivan 5729 To our friend! We ask that you please immediately convey the names of those who died during the period of the Shoah, that you wish to have included in the Memorial Book. The Committee

In response to these three notices, 2-3 landsleit responded initially, and immediately responses began to appear from individuals, almost all of the Cieszanow residents in Israel and also from the Diaspora, with effusive acknowledgment and blessings for each individual separately, and for the members of the Committee in particular, and with heart and gratitude sent along their donations, many also wrote essays, which were published in the book.

A heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the members of the committee:

R' Zvi Elimelekh Glanzer
R' Shmuel Zeinvil Tepper
R' Shmuel Lieberman
R' David Langenthal
R' Ben Zion Friedman R' Sender Schmid

For their heartfelt dedication and for their assistance to erect this spiritual monument.

In my own name, and in the name of the Committee, we also thank you, our dear landsleit, for your trust in us, and we wish you and your families a long life, nachas from your children, peace upon you and on our dear Land of Israel.

[Page 9]

With respect, to my comrade and friend, the Chairman and Editor of the ‘Memorial Book’ of Cieszanow, Dr. David Ravid (Shmukler), our friend, scion of our town, may he live to a good, ripe old age.

The mission of organizing the Book was placed in your trustworthy hands, and it was of you that the line says, ‘for all the days when I grew up among sages, and I was covered in the dust of their feet,’ in that you demonstrated your power as someone skilled in the Hebrew style, as well as in the creation of the source material and organization of ‘The Cieszanow File.’

My dear friend Dr. David Ravid, may your candle burn brightly,

You are a scion of the distinguished Shmukler family, and outstanding scholar, you received your Torah and traditional education, and studied Torah in your youth with ardor, and your name went out to glory and praise. You absorbed Torah and the fear of God from the Rabbi and Leader, Rabbi Simcha Issachar Halberstam of Cieszanow, may the memory of this righteous man be a blessing, and in a like manner, you imbibed your knowledge from the well known teacher R' Zalman Lehrer, katz, in Cieszanow, and with the outbreak of the First World War, you and your entire family moved to Vienna, and there you continued your secular studies at Gymnasiums and Universities; With your knowledge and wondrous skills, you were privileged to earn a Doctorate in Vienna. After you returned to our town – you continued to be occupied in community matters, and in community and cultural activities, and because of this you extended a helping hand to assure the success of the endeavor to create “The Memorial Book of Cieszanow in Israel.”

In my capacity as a member of the Committee, I convey to you the sentiments of gratitude, and to all those who help with their hands, with money, and deed, in order to realize this agenda of memorialization.

Shmuel Sh. Lieberman^[1]
Member of the Committee

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