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The Second World War – the brand of the world which was impressed into the history of the Jewish people under the name of 'The Third Destruction,' -- ended in 1945, but we had to wait nearly a quarter of a century for the readers of a universal language such as English – and especially the Jews, who live in the spheres of the English speaking peoples -- for them to become familiar with the full extent of Jewish martyrdom, from the degree of the Sanctification of the Name endured by our people, of our heroism and resistance, beginning with the time that the Nazis began to carry out their objective of exterminating the Jews, up to the time of their downfall.

Our national-biological hygiene, so to speak, demanded that the upcoming generations of Jews should know why, and in what manner, the extermination of six million Jews was accomplished, and what Jews themselves did, in order not to allow the plans of the Nazis to be carried out to the fullest degree.

Finally, a work, designed for those Jews for whom English is their language of speech, reading, thinking, and feeling – has appeared.

I am referring to the 'Anthology of Holocaust Literature,' written by a variety of Jewish authors, published by the Jewish Publication Society in America.

In order that the reader should have a full grasp of the substance and content of this valuable anthology, it is worth pointing out that this collection contains translations of the memoirs and a variety of documents in a variety of languages, of which the principal one id Yiddish, because those who suffered the greatest from the German brutality were Jews from Eastern Europe, and because it is these Jews who were the principal fighters against the enemy.

We never need to forget the bitter truth, that the Germans had murderous accomplices among the degenerates of other peoples: Austrians, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Latvians, Byelorussians, etc.

Among the many documents of this 'Anthology' can also be found documents from those nations enumerated above, who took an active part in the annihilation of the Jewish people in the years 1940-1945.

It is insufficient for us to read about this martyrdom during the years of The Second World War in Yiddish, we have to see to it, that there will be many translations in all 'world' languages, and therefore, the anthology that has been brought out in the English language is a tool, to inform our brothers and sisters in the English-speaking world, about the great tragedy of murder and torture inflicted on the Jewish people by the nations enumerated above, during the time that the greatest enemy of the Jewish people reigned, the brown [-shirted] Asmodeus Hitler, ימ”ש.

We must be satisfied that such an anthology has been published in the English language, and as we hope that soon this work will appear in French, and also Spanish, such that our Jewish youth in those countries who do not understand Yiddish will familiarize themselves with the great heroes of their people, who with such heroic might stood up and defended their Jewish honor against a world of murderers, beasts with the faces of human beings.

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The city was bombed by air assaults and incendiaries, and there was nothing with which to put out the flames, and they came serially one after another.

In one of the bombings, many houses were hit, destroyed and razed to their foundations, and the residents fled the city.

As I did not manage to escape, I went down into the cellar of my house that served me as a shelter from the bombing.

In the cellar, it was a dark as the Egyptian plague, windows shut, it was difficult to breathe, and fear gnawed and burrowed into my body.

When the eruptions subsided, I also fled from the city, and with great difficulty, I reached the nearby village, and I observed, that on a large flat space, men, women and children were lying, sitting and standing crowded together, and beside them were packages, suitcases, hand carts, babies. A din and pandemonium stood in the air, and from within this racket, there still pierced through calls of encouragement, strength of spirit, until they swelled and overcame the sounds of despair, which gave testimony to the oppression, weariness and lack of sleep.

The bridge that was beside this field had been sealed off by units of the retreating Polish army, and along with the remainder of the refugees, I managed to head off to the east, not using a real road.

Suddenly, I see an elderly Jew dressed in silken clothing standing beside me, with a had in the design of the Sanz [Hasidim] and a walking stick in hand. He looked straight into my face and said: Do not cry, you will be privileged to see the fall of Hitler, and you will build your house anew together with your entire family in the Holy Land.

I had barely heard what he had said to me, and grasp its meaning, and he disappeared, and was gone – I searched for him, however in vain.

When my consciousness returned, I became aware that I had received a concussion from the explosion of a bomb that fell not far from me.

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When I proposed the idea to my comrades, who came from our town, that the time had arrived to commemorate those of our families that had fallen, and to erect a monument in their honor, they spoke up out of great astonishment.

From where are we to take literary material? -- they asked.

From where are we to take those means that such an undertaking demands?

Who, among us, will take upon himself all of the burdensome labors of publishing a Yizkor Book, the technical work, the literary work, and especially the assembly of the contributions for the contents of the book?

After agreeing to my idea, each individual contributed what they could and undertook the actual work.

The members: Mr. Tepper, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Glanzer, Mr. Langenthal, Mr. Schmid and Mr. Friedman, may they all live to ripe old ages, helped with all of their physical and emotional energies, in order to somewhat lighten the burden on me, of the yoke that up to that point had been placed solely on my shoulders.

Mr. Tepper was especially of assistance. I breathed a little easier when Mr. Tepper took control of the distribution of notices, etc. It was in similar manner that my burden was eased when Messrs. Lieberman, Friedman, Glanzer, Schmid, and especially Mr. Langenthal, advised me in constructive ways at the time that I was in need of it.

I am certain of this – that every person, whose heart aches and is filled with pain because of the terrible destruction that was visited on our people, will bless the members of this committee, for this work of memorializing the martyrs from our city, and may it be for them and myself, that in light of their endeavors, that we will soon see in the nearness of our days, the Comforting of Zion and Jerusalem, and peace for the People of Israel and the State of Israel.

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A Birthday Celebration for Cieszanow Children in Danzig Standing from right to left: Abraham Taubenblatt, son of Isaac, may they rest in peace, Feltzer, currently in N.Y., Ussi Shmukler, son of David, long life to him, currently ULSI Ravid, a lieutenant colonel in the IDF

The Jewish Youth Organization of Lubliniec, near Cieszanow, directed by Mr. Simcha Segal

R' David Michael Zurman ז”ל, a scion of Cieszanow – with his wife, Mrs. Bracha, the daughter of R' Mordechai Glanzer ע”ה from Cieszanow

His wife, Bracha, is a Woman of Valor, and garners praise for her good works.

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Nahum HaKohen Goldschmid
The Chief Rabbinate of Tel-Aviv
Rabbi of the Bitzaron Derekh HaShalom
Address: Yifrakh Street, 8, Bitzaron, Tel-Aviv
Tel: 36643

To my honored comrade, Dr. David Ravid!

I am responding to your request to participate in the documentation to memorialize the martyrs of the Holocaust in the book that will be published about the martyrs of the city of Cieszanow that you are putting together.

Even though much has already been produced with regard to this subject, the tongue will not relent from continuing the process of memorializing, even should the pen run out of ink, and the mind will not cease from contemplating those tens of thousands of holy and pure people, who sanctified the Name of Heaven with their lives and deaths, in the era when the beast in man manifested itself, under the name of 'Nazism.' During an era of world culture, and the advancement of technology to stratospheric heights, their high culture did not provide humanity the capacity to reveal a measure of morality. On the contrary, the technological accomplishments served as the means to implement genocide, tools and facilitators of mass murder, the extermination of a people, and the silencing of any echo of decency and morality.

Despite all this, the memory of the Jewish martyrs remains preserved for all time, in that, once again, the plan of the evil Son of Amalek to exterminate all of the people did not succeed, just as the plan of the first Amalekite – Laban the Aramean, 'who sought to uproot all.'

What then, is this eternal secret – of the descendants of that great patriarch, our Grandfather Jacob – the secret of survival? What is its source? – 'Eternal survival,' in which each word and syllable is full of little nuances and much quality, for these words have much broader connotation than their restricted literary meaning. These are words that contain abstract meaning with a very specific meaning that are unique to the Jewish people, the eternal people – that God, who is the One who makes Israel eternal, is the nation's Protector. The source of 'Eternal Israel' – as expressed by the greatest of the Jewish prophets, Samuel – is implied in the roots of our people, which are the roots of all humanity, as is explained in the Kuzari: 'Israel among the nations – is like a heart among the other parts of the body.' That is to say: Israel is the heart of the other nations of the world, and their refuge, the 'proving stone' for the spiritual elevation of the world. Despite the fact that the heart does not suffer the same maladies as the other parts of the body, it is the first to suffer if these other parts are injured, and vice versa. Just as there is no way for the body to sustain itself without a heart, humanity as a whole cannot sustain itself without the Jewish people.

If the physical existence of our people can be traced to our holy patriarchs, then the root of their spiritual existence reaches back to the beginnings of the human race itself – to Adam, the first man. Anyone who peruses the book of Genesis will be able to demonstrate that in all of the generations prior to the patriarchs, a single individual was selected in each generation that only through him, is the Torah narrated, and all others are subordinate to him, like leaves surrounding a fruit, or branches surrounding the main trunk. The wonder of this is that those very chosen individuals are not anonymous, but are specifically a direct descendant of the spiritual giant of the previous generation, and in this way, all the way back to Adam, and these individuals served as the mainstays to the humanity of their times. It is from here that the Jewish people obtain their designation as an 'Eternal People,' because its roots reach to eternity itself, that is to say: a

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creation that is itself completely eternal. Therefore, so long as humanity exists, this people will also continue to exist, because just like a body without a heart, without the Jewish people, all humanity dies, or reverts to the level of the beasts.

It is from here that we see that the continuity of the Jewish people is a law of nature that God imbedded in creation itself. 'The Eternity of Israel' is a metaphor for Divinity itself, and the intent here is not to say that God is eternal, but rather that the Name of God id attached to the people, that is, implying the eternal nature if Israel, on the permanent nature that God wrought in his creation, that it will not be betrayed, and it is not conceivable that this nation will be completely eradicated, because the Lord, Creator of the Universe carved a protecting law over Israel, to guard it throughout all generations, a protection that places responsibility on that aspect of the world that wants to be good and human. Therefore, there are no messages specifically directed towards the lives of Jews excepting that they are part of a greater whole. The Jew is a binding element, in the nation that has very specific missions to accomplish, that carries the international theme of the rectification of the [flaws of ] the world [sic: Tikkun Olam]. Because of this, the Jew has been endowed with the unique spiritual strength that is the discriminating and purifying element, of the first generations, for the creation of a praiseworthy spiritual people, and this in addition to the gift bestowed by God that was given at the standing beside Mount Sinai – and that is the Holy Torah. It is from here that the great responsibility that was placed upon the Jewish people in fulfilling its mission can be understood, a mission aimed at the elevation of the spiritual level of the world in its entirety.

With all that has been said, the question still nags in the body of the world regarding the stunning silence that existed during the period of the Holocaust. We will dedicate a few lines to this from the teachings of R' Eliyahu D' Raba Chapter 30: On once occasion, R' Zadok entered the Holy Temple, and saw it in ruins, He said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, My Father in Heaven! Did you destroy your city and burn your sanctuary? R' Zadok immediately fell into a sleep, and he saw the Holy One, Blessed be He, how He stands in mourning and His attending angels mourn with Him, and they said: O, how lost is Jerusalem…. Before he fell asleep, R' Zadok would wonder, and aggravate himself without end, and cry out: You sat at rest and were silent? But once he was privileged to see, and viewed the great sorrow of how the Holy One Blessed be He grieved and wept, and how he was preparing for the redemption. This instant of being transported, the nullification of the senses in this world, the instant when eyes were closed to the experiences of this world, given to a human being the power to elevate himself to the revelation of secrets in the World to Come, to see how the Holy One Blessed be He, yearns and longs for compassion to spread itself over Israel, and to redeem them. To the ache in our hearts, the full measure of this law is interdicted and delayed, however, we do hope that the time will come when all barriers will fall, and the measure of compassion will cascade over the entire world, like a great light, and will reveal His honor, may it be blessed, in the fullness of its power and glory.

In order that we bring our redemption closer, and to fulfill our mission – the mission of Tikkun Olam, which is our international theme, because of which we have been privileged to be the 'heart' of the nations, we have been given the boon of being eternal -- it is incumbent upon us to make use of the tried and true means, that is – the education in fundamentals and essentials, the essentials of faith and the traditions of the purity of our Holy Torah, whose roots are in eternity itself. As the words of Bereshit Raboh tell us, 60' 21, Sub-Section 11 : 'The flame of the transforming sword' – it transforms the man and burns him from his head to his feet, and from his feet to his head. Man says: Who shall save my sons from such a consuming fire? etc… And the Sages reply: The sword is the Torah, as it is said: And they have a sword with points in their hands.

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It is here that the secret of the continuity of an eternal Jewish people can be found.

ב“ה
10 Heshvan 5730
To my friend the scholar and researcher,
Dr. David Ravid, peace unto you and blessings

With my respects!

I have heard that you are publishing one of the books from your writings, on the subject of the 'Holocaust,' – to be sure, a subject that has been explored extensively, but is it not the case that to the extent that we get further away from the period of the Holocaust, we see more and more its satanic scope, in its brutal intent and its implementation, that has no peer in a Jewish history that is distorted by blood, and it is hard to believe that human nature could have tolerated a Holocaust such as this.

Everyone who was there, that saw or heard what took place there, knows – that it is not possible to extract and codify what had taken place there in the course of one generation or two.

We, the Jews, who excel in invoking six remembrances daily, and one of them is 'remember what Amalek did to you,' how much more so the Amalek of our generation, who, by deed, descended below all of the Amaleks of all generations, this was a coalition of almost all the nations and states of Europe that the Amalek inspired, with the Nazi Germans ימ”ש at their head, a cabal of one hand in unison, to exterminate, kill, and annihilate God's people, the Nation of Israel, and because of this, everyone who engages in fulfilling the obligation of 'remember' and everyone who donates to assure that the people of Israel shall not forget, and not forgive – will be blessed, and more power to you on the publication of your book.

At this opportunity, it is my wish to raise some comments with regard to an issue from the period of the Holocaust, concerning the question that has been bruited about in conversations and discussions, with those who lost their dear ones in the Holocaust – that is, on the apparent absence of oversight from the Divine One during the Holocaust era.

There are those that ask this question, either in their hearts, or even vocally, but the question has not altered their faith and their way of life, and there are others who designate this question as a reason to abandon the path of faith and an observant way of life.

In my opinion, it is possible to respond to the former, but not to the latter, because the former are searching for the answer, and it possible to assume that [an answer] is acceptable, but the latter seek an excuse in that question for the justification of their inner desire to leave the path of faith and therefore, there is a basis on which to assume that they will reject any reasonable reply, because having made a decision – they are decided.

Therefore – to the former, one is able to reply by saying that this question did not first arise in our times, during difficult periods in Jewish history, the question also arose in the Tanakh, in the Talmud as well, and in later generations.

In Judges 6: When the angel appeared to Gideon, and tells him: 'God is with you, hero of the host.' Gideon answers him: 'Pardon, my Lord, if God is to be found among us, why have all these travails befallen us, and where are his miracles that our fathers told us about, to say, for was it not that He took us out of Egypt, and

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now we are abandoned and given into the hands of Midian.' However, this was not a question posed in the form of a challenge or criticism, but rather in the form of a prayer, that beseeches God to help us in the hour of our need, as he helped our fathers when they left Egypt, and because of this, he was answered as follows: 'Go, and with this might you shall save Israel.'

In a like manner, we find the following: Jeremiah and Daniel did not describe God in the form of a mighty and terrible force, as he was described by Moses Our Teacher, ע”ה, in response to the apparent absence of Divine oversight during their difficult times, rather, tradition teaches us that the 'Great Assembly' returned the metaphor to its original glorious form, to designate God as Great, Might, and Terrible,' as Moses ע”ה said, here, here, his awesomeness, here, here, his power, because were this not the case, how could the people survive in the face of several other nations. The fact is, that from an historical perspective, we have endured and seen the downfall of those nations that have assaulted us, and this is the most cutting proof, that this is only an absence of Divine oversight, and a day of retribution and settlement will arrive.

Regarding the phrase in Psalms 4: ' You have gladdened my heart by giving them grain and wine in plenty,' I am certain that to those who anger him, and to those who do his will, even more so, that in the future to come, is the day in which they will receive their just desserts.

Also familiar is the legend of our Ancient Sages, about Rabbi Akiva and his companions, who were walking the Temple Mount, and saw foxes roaming there, and the companions of Rabbi Akiva wept when they saw he was happy, and they asked him why are you happy? He said – after having seen that all the prophecies of reproof have come to pass, I am certain that the prophecies of consolation will also come true.

And so, even we can say here, now that we have seen all of the trials of the era of the Holocaust come to fruition, were are also certain in the fact that this will only have been a temporary Divine oversight, and now, all of the consolations will come to pass, and God will shine his countenance upon us. And in this regard, we have been privileged, and have seen the fulfillment of the first of the prophetic visions, the establishment of the State of Israel, the capture of the Land of Israel in its entirety, a united Jerusalem, with the High Place in our hands, and because of this, we are certain that if , along we are faithful to the covenant that we have with Him, He will be faithful to fulfill his covenant with his Chosen People – Israel, and he can be counted on to reward those who love Him and who guard his covenant, and that they will be privileged to partake in a complete redemption, and the fulfillment pf the vision of the prophets, and our prayer is that this be in our day.

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In the European Diaspora, which was destroyed by the Nazis in the Second World War, the destruction of the Jews of Poland, and Polish Jewry, stands out sharply. There is nothing with which to compare it to in all of the decrees and exterminations that were perpetrated against the Jews at any other time. Polish Jewry existed for hundreds of years, at the head of the living, creative Judaism of the Hebrew people. The creative force and spiritual life of the Jewish people went over from Germany to Poland. The German Jews that settled in Poland during the fourteenth century received not only the German language, and they crafted the Yiddish language from it, but also the continuity and connectivity of the spiritual elevation of the Jews of France, Spain and Italy, who, in the Middle Ages, were the continuation of the Judaism of the Land of Israel and Babylon. And it was in this way that the Judaism of Poland advanced and evolved, into the fortress of strength and the spiritual bastion of the Jewish people. From there, rays of Torah light emanated, and the aura of its way of life, to all parts of the people and its far-flung elements. It was in her midst that the great intellects were raised and worked, cedars of Lebanon and exponents of Torah study, expert scholars in the Mishnah, Gemara, exponents of the interpretation of the Talmud, the interpreters of the Halakha, and great minds in Jewish thought, its interpretation and its explanation. Poland was the cradle in which the Hasidism of the BESH”T was born, the miraculous movement that revived the masses of despondent souls, that planted faith in their hearts in the Guardian of Israel, the power of patience, a pure faith and love. The Hibat Tzion movement grew in Poland, which was the foundation of the Yishuv in the Land of Israel in our times, of Zionism, the Aliyah of halutzim, and in the end, the establishment of the State of Israel.

It is not possible for us to describe the texture of the Jewish people of the last centuries, without Polish Jewry that strove and was creative, and in a like fashion, the texture of Polish Jewry without the Jews from the 'little Poland' that was called 'Galicia.' One credits the Jews of Galicia with a large and central role in all of the spiritual creativity and the revitalization movement for settling the Land of Israel in our times. We recall the communities of Cracow and Lvov who, for centuries, were 'mother cities' to Torah and scholarship, for accomplishment and learning, and along with them, thousands of sacred communities, large and small, among them centers for Torah study and Hasidism. All of these sacred communities that are destroyed and wiped out in Poland, have had the sound of Torah and the sound of Jewish life, with all of its nuances and expression, silenced. Along with the six million brothers and sisters who were incinerated in the extermination camps, the soul and the body of Polish Jewry were consumed in those same flames, the crowning glory of the Jewish people for hundreds of years.

In the schools of Israel, which is in existence for twenty-one and a half years, it is necessary to inculcate the youth using an explicit and recognized method, the facts pertaining to the Holocaust in general, and the destruction of Polish Jewry in particular. Israeli youth needs to know, that of all the destruction visited on the Jewish people, the destruction of our generation was the greatest and most frightening of all. It is up to us to remember glorious Polish Jewry that was razed to its foundation. The memorial to the destruction of Polish Jewry that was exterminated will be if we base our renewed lives in the renewed State of Israel, on the foundations of the legacy of the people, and the order of the continuity of the Jewish people.

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There was a shtetl One of many others, Far-flung between forests and fields, With small streets, and tiny plazas, A place for the Wandering Jew. * * * Children grew up here And played under trees, Young people married here Built a future, looked for happiness, And weaving like perpetual dreamers. * * * Cieszanow – was what the shtetl was called Built and wrought by Jews, Until the night came, Blood was spilled And happiness was buried in the deep. * * * In the place of laughter – graves, On the place f the streets – death, The ovens swallowed everything, The flames flickered high above Need was brought to an end. * * * A small remnant remained Having gone far away by chance, Spreading itself the world over, Approaching their new life energetically – Becoming great and proud once again. * * * But, in memory, there will always remain The shtetl, shtibl, house, and Schul, Grandfather, grandmother, Holy Ark – The precious graves – As it once was.

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Then – twenty-five years ago, Then – when t Holocaust was occurring, Then – Six Million Jews Fell heroically, fathers and sons, Hapless mothers, tender infants. Ach! The murdering Germans have no heart, Then – in the Holocaust – thousands were killed: Fathers, mothers, families and children, Then, all who were pursued, cried out Let the Messiah come to the Jews!… Even when the were already seated in the trains, They still prayed for miracles and wondrous deeds… Then – twenty-five years ago In the time when the Holocaust was occurring.

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Gates of Mercy, open your selves graciously, Guardian gates of our book, Guardian gates of our Mother City, Blood on the sacred pages of the Pinkas – Sealing wax on the little victory of generations. Take, scion of the city, and with desire and passion, Drink it like a hemlock, with eyes shut, drink it, And sense in its burning taste, the conflagration That consumed the bed and the cradle, How it burned up the prayer stand, and book rest Wedding canopy posts, and the first sleeping place of man-and wife Angry, crooked roofs, and difficult stairs. Make rust of chains from old gates(??) Let us bang on them three times, like we did in times past -- As the shames once did against the gate of the Schul, So that all the dead be frightened off and disappear, Because the rooster has already crowed to call us to morning prayer – The desecrated are exposed in the graves! Come out from under your fragments of grave stones, Torn out, where now dogs wander about, And on whom steps the Unspeakable One And the Tyrant and the instigator of false accusations. It is only in stone that the letters of your name, the essence, Which cannot be compelled [to be altered] by any effort: Which have not been rendered null and void, Erased by the scuffing of boots and the passage of years: Strewn and scattered over all the desolate fields – Roll hither and yon like rings From our ancient beautiful lineage, Its distant, distant ancestors become evident, Great and famous scholars and leaders appear From the dream, from imagination and thought, And its duelists, perpetual protagonists with want For the little spoon of warm food, and the tranquility of a roof [over one's head]: Her studious ones, sunk in a sea of casuistic discourse up to their heads, Those who burned and disgraced in the Tak”h Decrees, Those who dissolved from fear of death in cellars and caves, Those hacked apart on the chopping blocks of blood libel. Guardian gates of the old cemetery, Gates neglected, desolated fence

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As if the place of death was also put to death… Come out of there, you, our ancestors, Where the hearse had once stopped in times gone by, A guest house was constructed near the church And resting at the Schlossbarg, after the long, distant journey. Let us, now, cut through the years, as if with a saw Until we reach our own dark days of slaughter.

R' Menachem Mendl Yaroslavitz, ז”ל, Son of R' David of Lubliniec

May his soul be bound up in the bond of life, under the wings of the Holy Spirit.

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The High Holy Days of 5639 (1939) began much earlier before the fresh slate of the new year 5700 began. The upcoming days heralded their coming in advance by several weeks, when Berlin violated its non-aggression pact with Poland. Hitler demonstrated that his appetite had not been sated with the ingestion of Austria and Sudeten Czechoslovakia. The focus now came down on Danzig. Will there be a war or not be a war – the fate of Europe hung in the balance. It was this way – until a Black and Red wedding canopy was erected in Moscow – the Molotov-Ribbentrop -- Treaty. There was no longer any doubt: The global conflagration stood to erupt at any minute, Hitler had covered himself – he had obtained Stalin's consent to start. Both world dictators set themselves on the same platform, the knowledge of this Stalin-Hitler Pact reached me when I found myself, as was the case, each summer, at my sister's in Lubliniec for some vacation.

Memories of the Outbreak of the War in 1939

On August 1, 1939, the situation was bad, and Hitler fired the first shot.

The burning erupted, and a shudder ran through all of our bones, chaos reigned. Those who were mobilized from the surrounding towns and villages pressed with stuffed bundles and valises, crying women and children who escorted their near ones, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. [There were] sirens and alarms, and mothers wrung their hands. Herschel'eh Kaufman must go to be married under the wedding canopy, his wedding date having been planned for some time in advance. The mekhutonim had limited the extent of the wedding to only the wedding ceremony, a Kiddush, and the recitation of the Sheva Berachot, but now what to do? And, indeed, right in the middle of the wedding ceremony, a call-up certificate is brought to the groom, Herschel'eh Kaufman, to report for duty immediately. A fear and a fright envelopes everyone, the bride faints, the mekhutonim are pale and frightened, the father of the groom, R' Yitzhak Kaufman, who is still alive today, living with us in Tel-Aviv, to a one hundred and twenty years, was full of a black fear. The groom's mother, Dina Kaufman, wrings her hands with resignation. Herschel'eh went off to military service. With every passing day of the war, the storm grows more fierce. Tens of thousands of refugees passed through our shtetl of Cieszanow. Those who flee ask us where they should run to. The Germans bombard our shtetl. We all flee to the surrounding villages, one to Lubliniec, another to Novisil, etc. The conflagration spread over all of Poland and we have not heard anything about the bride and groom to this day.

May God avenge their spilled blood.

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I will remember my little shtetl forever, I will remember what was good about you, and also what was bad, in your flowering and in your destruction. Cieszanow – where I saw my first sunlight, and there, where my eyes were darkened, when for the first time, I heard the epithet, 'Zyd.'

O, my little Shtetl!

As if it were just yesterday, I began to attend Heder, played with the Heder students, and in which I wove my youthful dreams, and during the period of the Holocaust, was compelled to abandon you.

I remember everything – I remember your burgeoning youth organizations, I remember the large synagogue with its enormous hose of prayer in which we would gather to hear the Kol Nidre prayer intoned by the great Tzaddik, Rabbi Yekhezkiel Schraga Halberstam ז”ל. who with is leonine voice literally punched holes in the heavens. A fear and fright seized us at the time when he poured out his soul at the prayer of 'Malkhuyot-Zichronot-Shofarot' and I will never forget is Hoshanna Raba prayers or the great joy and happiness at the time of the Hakafot during Simchat Torah, it is these very sacred sentiments that lie deeply buried in my heart – forever.

As if in a dream, I see how R' Leibusz Melamed tears apples off of the Rabbi's Sukkah, throwing them to the little children, disguised with a fur coat turned inside out, like a bear, and crying out: 'sacred flock.'

I remind myself of the Bet HaMedrash, the Belzer house, the Husyatin house, in which almost all of the Jews of the town would gather day in and day out, in order to pour out their discourse before God.

I also want to recall, that when the balebatim of the shtetl would escort their children to the wedding canopy, stepping sprightly through the wide Ringplatz accompanied by musicians who played the familiar wedding march, all of this, I will not forget to my last breath.

I also wish to recollect our scholars, balebatim and Hasidim, the precious youth movement, the spiritually rich committed community activists who, in their most difficult days, never lost sight of the fact that they were wrought in the image of God.

I recall how we gathered in the evenings at the home of our important comrade Shmuel Z. Tepper, נ”י, and I will take this opportunity to wish him long life and great nachas from his children.

'Cieszanow- -- May your sons and daughters who were by some miracle saved from the Hitler beast be blessed, and may all of you who are found in our liberated Jewish Land be blessed, and everywhere where they may be found, because they defended Jewish honor in a loyal and decent manner.

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R' Aharon Paluh was known as a great philanthropist, there were times when, in his town of Lubliniec where he led with the extensive 'assets' of his Lemberger enterprise, almost all the paupers of the city and environs would gather. And R' Aharon had a good word, and foremost, an emolument for everyone, for one a wooden cart, for another a sack of flour, etc. In addition to all of his virtues, R' Aharon was also a nationalistic Jew, and additionally a very pious person who took note of avoiding religious transgressions both great and small.

It is these whom I wish to remember for good – a number of those who made aliyah from /the village of Lubliniec beside Cieszanow.

R' David Yaroslavitz, ז”ל was a Jew who was a Torah scholar and a teacher, a man of many qualities and exceptional expertise, a Torah reader of exceptional quality, who could split open the heavens when, on the High Holy Days he stood by his place to ask for mercy upon him, his household and for the entire people of Israel.

R' Chaim Sholom Yaroslavitz, ז”ל – One of the most important citizens of the town, a good-hearted, honest man, going about his affairs modestly and doing good deeds, an ardent Hasid and a God-fearing man.

R' David Lempel, ז”ל from Olozov, one of the most popular figures in the entire vicinity, intelligent, a formidable scholar; Whether summer or winter, he arose early for Torah study and prayer.

His son, R' Moshe ז”ל followed in his footsteps, who was a model to the entire area with is good talents.

And the last of this list, R' Nachman Fogel זצ”ל. R' Nachman was expert in both the revealed and the esoteric Torah, a righteous man and a Hasid. Thanks to his enormous dedication and talents – he became prominent on Torah study and its explication.

He was important and very respected in the eyes of Rabbi Simcha Issachar Ber ז”ל the Chief Rabbi of Cieszanow, and no less that this, also in the eyes of the Chief Rabbi Issachar Dov ז”ל of Belz.

The great ones among the Hasidim offered the view that the soul of R' Nachman was in the hidden interstices of the High Heavens before it came down to the Lower World, hidden away – together with the souls of the AR”I ז”ל, and the BESH”T, ז”ל

May their souls be bound up in the bond of life under the wings of the Holy Spirit.

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A holy shudder seizes me at the time I take up the pen in hand to write these few lines. The anger and pain has entered our body and soul since this great misfortune has befallen our people.

Our misfortune is as great and as deep as the ocean, and the wound is much larger and more searing that the sun in the month of Tammuz. The skilled artisan and writer has not yet been born, who is sufficiently skilled to describe even a part of the perverted misdeeds that the German Devil thought up for our brothers and sisters, whose last words were 'Shema Yisrael.' And' God will take vengeance for our blood, The blood of your brethren cries out from the earth.' Vengeance! Vengeance! Vengeance!

[Page 140]

In this article, I wish to convey a short accounting of the start and finish of the sacred and difficult work in creating our Book.

The Organization of the Emigres of Cieszanow turned over the creation of this great work to its member, Dr. David Ravid, [this same] comrade Ravid who is also the Chair of the Organization, threw himself body and soul into the sacred work, and he also has the greatest investment in the grandiose work which our committee created.

The Chair of our Organization, Dr. David Ravid (Shmukler) was, as all in the old days, a Yeshiva boy, he studied Torah first, in Cieszanow with the well-known great scholar among the Jewish people, R' Israel Lehrer ז”ל, who taught altogether only 3-4 students, the scions of wealthy parents from which he, R' Zalman, made his living all year around.

It is to this R' Zalman ז”ל, indeed, this precious Jew, that I wish to dedicate a few words in our book – in his honor.

Tall, and with a brad build, with a handsome and long beard, with a kolpak on his head – he looked like the BESH”T personified.

He did not seek, or aspire, to the East Wall in the synagogue like other so-called high-class Jews, but rather on purpose, stood by the oven, and held onto it tightly, in order that he, R' Zalman, should not, God Forbid, fall down from weakness, whereas in the winter, by contrast, he simply held his hands to the oven – to warm up his scrawny bones, large and small held him in tremendous respect, and he was regarded as the most accomplished scholar not only in Cieszanow, but also in the entire vicinity.

The Old Rabbi constantly took counsel with R' Zalman on a variety of points of law and tradition, and this was the view of the teacher of David Ravid (Shmukler), certainly – from such a teacher, one can expect that much knowledge of the Torah will remain in the mind of the pupil.

In the moment that the sun of the revival of the people began to shine in our shtetl, our David threw himself into the Zionist concept with his entire youthful fire. We had a very difficult struggle with our parents who did not want to depart so much as an iota from their old, primitive habits, but after a difficult struggle, they capitulated in our favor, and our comrade David was elected as the Dozor in the municipal government, and other comrades of ours took over the power in the other Jewish and municipal institutions. We also took over the house of worship called the ‘Padah-Schul’ in which R' Asher Dieler ז”ל and our comrade Dr. Ravid, long life to him, were the lecturers on Tanakh and Gemara. Among other languages, our comrade Dr. David has command of Polish and German, he had studied in Vienna, and completed the Teachers Seminary of Rabbi Prof. Hayot in Vienna. He also received his Doctorate in Philosophy and Jewish Studies from this same university.

[Page 141]

At the beginning of the year 5729 (1969), our Chair and comrade Dr. David Ravid began to write various articles whose subject was the past history of our shtetl, Cieszanow. In his articles, the life of the Jewish populace is described from top to bottom, their origins, education, occupations, political orientation, and so forth, and his material makes up about 80% of this book, and it was for this reason he was privileged to be the editor and the publisher of our book, which presents itself as a substantive and precious work and a jewel in everyone of the our Cieszanow survivors.

In the month of Nissan 5729 (April 1969) comrade Ravid suddenly notified us that in his opinion, the time had arrived to publish a Yizkor Book for the Emigres of Cieszanow, and without giving it much thought, the committee, despite its sense of being so overwhelmed, agreed on the spot, and indeed, turned the work over to him.

Comrade Ravid took to this work with his entire energy, and as you can now see, with God's help, the book was created. To tell the truth – we were awed by the scope of his project, because he had secretly prepared everything and we, his friends, didn't have a clue that the product was real, and so close to being actualized.

After we had made a review of the prepared material, at a meeting that actually took place in Dr. Ravid's home, we immediately decided that the book is to be published.

With trembling and dread we took on the sacred, difficult work in order to prepare a permanent spiritual memorial to our dear fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children who were exterminated by the German anti-Semite aided by his Polish, Ukrainian, and murderous accomplices from other nations.

In Israel, there are close to 200 families from our shtetl that went under. We approached the, as we did our landsleit in the Diaspora, and almost immediately, the first donations arrived with hearty blessings for the committee, such as, ‘may the hands who do this holy work be blessed.’

Along with funds, pictures were also sent, and on the second day of Hol HaMoed Sukkot 5730, the committee turned over the material to the printer, at a fortuitous hour, to have the book printed. The book will be an eternal memorial in honor of the precious, pure souls of our community that was brought down, which was once called the community of Cieszanow.

[Page 142]

In this small article, I will pause beside the sorrowful occurrence that took place with the outbreak of the war of 1939, and the extermination of European Jewry with its 6 million martyrs.

On that fateful Friday, when Hitler ימ”ש broadcast his declaration of war against Poland on the radio, at that same moment, his Messerschmitts penetrated deep into Polish territory, Cracow, and other western Polish cities had already been bombed.

On the third day after the assault, the first refugees from that area came traveling through Cieszanow.

A terrifying fear enveloped us all, naturally, thinking – who knows, perhaps the same fate awaits us too? Sadly, the instinct of that fear did not mislead us, and in only several short days, that occurred to us which we had feared, and the Germans broke into our shtetl.

We, residents of Cieszanow were more fortunate than our neighboring towns of Oleszyce and Lubaczow.

Our good luck consisted of the fact that the Russians had gone too far, because according to the treaty with the Germans, they had to pull back to Lubaczow, but after eight days, the Russians let it be known that they were abandoning Cieszanow and the Germans were to occupy the shtetl, and whoever wants to, can evacuate together with them, and equally placed for everyone the means of transportation, so that people could save themselves from the hands of the Germans.

At three o'clock afternoon, the shtetl became Judenrein down to several families, including Abraham Ber Starkman with his wife, Dwora Alter and Abel'eh Drucker the tailor, who for a variety of reasons, remained behind in the shtetl.

We went off in wagons, autos, and mostly on foot.

It is hard to forget the picture of ‘and they traveled – and they decamped.’ We dragged ourselves day in and day out, like gypsies, with the German Messerschmitts on our heads, with their murderous shooting of the people, the road from Cieszanow to Lubaczow was black, a wailing shuddering cry of children and women, the entire shtetl goes and goes… not knowing where to, and what sort of new and unanticipated surprises the morning will bring.

One had only a single objective, to protect one's self from the German bullets, and whether or not they are pursuing us.

When, people said to one another, will we ever see our dear little shtetl again?

At that moment, the star that was named Cieszanow was extinguished.

Into every corner, the new spirit penetrated that dominated the new Jewish youth, and Jewish life.

The young people were organized, the largest part having Zionist sympathies, also the Bund had its

[Page 143]

adherents, despite this, the struggle against the young people by the older, more primitive and backward facing generation, was partly so successful, and their success let to the fact that a quarter of our Jewish townspeople were killed by the Germans, and also through hunger and cold, and various diseases in the Russian steppes and jungles.

A limited number of people came out alive from the hands of the Red and the Brown [-shirted] Asmodeus. Among them – Moshe Mikhl Tepper who today lives in Brazil, and the two Singer brothers that live in Canada.

I was told that in the shtetl near Lemberg, in which our Rabbi, R' Yekhezkiel Schraga ז”ל was hidden with his family, people begged him to travel with them to Russia, he rejected the offer, arguing primarily – Russia is an unclean land, that is what I was told by Feivel Rosenstock – that one must by whatever means, distance one's self from this uncleanliness in order not to be compromised with trayf foods, and so forth.

In my next article, I will address the way of life and the cultural area.

A Zionist life bubbled in the shtetl, the young people, who were Zionist, committed itself to Keren Kayemet and Keren HaYesod, the Hebrew University, etc. with public assemblies.

We had a Hebrew School in which the presently known Argentine journalist, Mordechai Kaufman was the teacher and at the same time, the youth director. We also had our own library, and as the President of the Zionist Organization, I had the honor of helping to nurture the nationalist concept both with material and with my time.

As is known, the Bund was our political opponent, but when it came to defending Jewish honor, we stood together like a single piece of steel, united against our community foes. The Bund was blessed with good leaders, such as Tz. B. Berish Schuster ז”ל, Abraham Futsher, Leibusz Goldberg, his brother, the brothers Zusha and Shammai Goldberg, Hirsch Shmukler, may all of their memories be for a blessing, these were people of culture, despite opposing political points of view we respected and regarded each other well. The annual winter assistance for the poor was always carried out on a community basis, and theater presentations were always carried out in partnership.

Naturally, at election time to the community or municipal council, contests developed and despite all of the efforts, we Zionists managed to get our comrade, and the publisher of this ‘Yizkor Book,’ David Shmukler (today Dr. David Ravid) elected to the municipal council.

We also wrote a Torah scroll, and despite all the difficulties, we put on an event celebration for this mitzvah by escorting our Torah scroll into our own house of worship where Asher Dieler ז”ל, a Torah sage was the Gabbai and who tragically, along with his wife and several children, was killed in the Red Paradise under Stalin ימ”ש.

In the name of everyone, I will take this opportunity to call out that we should hold their memory for a blessing forever.

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