[Page 487]

Meir, son of Moshe-Aharon and Rivka, was born on Rosh Hodesh Nisan 5688 (March 22, 1928) in Ostrowiec. He was brought up in his parents' home in the spirit of Torah and tradition. In 1935, he immigrated to Israel with his parents who settled in Bnei Brak. He started studying in a yeshiva and two years later moved to“Etz Chaim Yeshiva” in Jerusalem. When he reached the age of 15, he turned to work and specialized in repairing knitting machines. He was a member of the youth movement“Brit HaHashmonaim” and also belonged to the Haganah^[1].

With the outbreak of the War of Independence he enlisted in the Palmach^[2] and was transferred to Gush Etzion. On 13 May 1948, he fell, together with all the fallen, on the defense of Gush Etzion. On 17 November 1949 his body was brought to Mount Herzl in Jerusalem for eternal rest.

Chaim, son of Avraham and Tzvia, was born in 1925 in Ostrowiec. With the occupation of Poland by the Germans he was imprisoned in Lodz Ghetto together with his family. In 1943, he was sent to a labor camp in Częstochowa and from there to Buchenwald in Germany. He endured many hardships but emerged unscathed from all dangers.

At the end of the war he engaged in smuggling Jews at the border points Gendewald in Austria and Merano in Italy.

With the outbreak of battles in Israel, he left his job and arrived in Israel on the day Haifa was captured by the Haganah forces. He immediately enlisted in the Israel

Chaya, daughter of Binyamin and Gitel, was born on February 9, 1933 in Oswiecim in southwestern Poland. In the manner of daughters of Hassidim in that environment she was educated: for general education at a Polish government school and for traditional life at home. Her family was exterminated and she was sent to a labor camp in Sudetenland where she held on until the end of the war. After liberation she joined Kibbutz Ichud in Ostrowiec, and with the kibbutz moved to the refugee camp in Deggendorf in the American occupied zone of Germany. There, they founded the Hakhshara^[3] Kibbutz“LaNegev” of Nochem (United Pioneer Youth) in the Minkofen farm. She immigrated to Israel on the Ha'apala^[4] ship“Bracha Fuld” and was deported to Cyprus. In the camp she joined Hapoel HaMizrach. When she was released in June 1947, and was allowed to immigrate to Israel, she went from the Atlit detainee camp directly to Kfar Ezion. Soon she was absorbed in work and gradually also in social life. She hoped to get a few vacation days to tour the country's settlements, but the siege period had begun. She participated in trainings, observations, guarding and providing food to the defenders in the positions.

When the enemy burst into the village, she lived with her friends in the headquarters' shelter under the German monastery. When the enemy could not penetrate the shelter they blew up the entire building, and there, the day before the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, she found her grave under the rubble. On November 17, 1949, she was brought for burial in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem.

Mordechai, son of David and Basha, was born on March 15, 1929 in Ostrowiec. In 1936, he arrived in Israel with his parents who settled in Tel Aviv. He was a high school student and from a young age was a member of the Haganah. He earned his living in the distribution of the daily newspaper“Ma'ariv,” and his dream was to be a geological engineer to discover oil sources in the Negev. He flew to America to study there. He stayed there for about a year, and returned to Israel at the at the beginning of the War of Independence

[Page 509]

as a pilot. He was in service from the beginning of the war, but in order not to deprive the source of the family's livelihood, he sold his newspapers every day at noon, and then he had time to arrive on his plane to the besieged settlements to drop ammunition and food for them. With the roads disruptions he flew to Haifa, and during the battles in the Castel - to Jerusalem.

Zalman, son of Avraham and Zahava, was born on December 1,1929 in Ostrowiec. During the Second World War he went through years of suffering and wandering which left their mark on him. He was the only survivor of an extensive family. He immigrated to Israel in 1945, and was added to a group of Aliyat Hano'ar^[5] in Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha. He was thirsty for knowledge and studied and worked with love. He was humble and quiet, spoke pleasantly in a low voice, and was hospitable and willing to help others. In 1946, he was recruited to Heil HaSadeh [Field Corps]. In 1947, he joined a recruited training of the Palmach in Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha.

When the War of Independence broke out, he moved with his training group to the Palmach battalion,“Harel,” and left for operations in the vicinity of Petah Tikva. From there, he was about to be sent to the battle on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line. On April 4, 1948, when he was in his base in Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha, he became entangled in an electric cable that was torn by a storm, was electrocuted and died. He was buried in Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha, and on 26 October 1950 he was brought to Haifa.

Chaim, son of Nechama and Gutman, was born on May15, 1925 in Ostrowiec. He studied in charedim and in an elementary school, and at the age of 14 the horrors of the World War descended on him. He went, together with his brother, through all the hardships and tribulations in concentration and extermination camps, and other camps in Germany and Austria. After liberation, when they found their hometown destroyed and none of their family members survived, he lamented his great lamentation in folk rhymes after arriving in Israel on the ship“Wedgwood.” Two days after arriving in Israel, the“Black Sabbath^[6]” descended on the yishuv^[7] (June 29, 1946), and the days of search and siege. But his faith in a better future was firm and he didn't lose hope. He worked as a laborer and tried to forget the nightmares of the past, he was a good and cheerful friend and ready to help others.

On March 1, 1948, he enlisted in the Defense Forces and served in the Givati Brigade. He participated in escorting convoys to the Negev, in the defense of Negba, in the battles of Beit Daras, Maghar, in the attacks on the Iraq Suwaydan police posts, and in the Ashdod front. After the first cease-fire he excelled in the battle in Julis and the breakthrough to the Negev. After the second cease-fire he continued in the attacks on the military posts in Karatiyya, on blocking the Egyptian road to Beit Govrin, and Givat Ya'akov. The conquest of Beit Guvrin and the cleansing of the Iraq Suwaydan^[8] police posts. Later, his company left from Lachish to purify the area of Dawaymeh in the Hebron Mountains from the murderers' nests. After a successful punitive action in the village of Sika, the company was attacked with fire. On December 2,1948, when Chaim wanted to put the machine gun into action, a bullet hit his heart. The next day he was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Kfat Warburg.

Shlomo, son of Zelig and Yehudit, was born on April 14, 1916 in Ostrowiec, in the Kielce Voivodeship, Poland. In his youth he joined the Zionist movement and underwent pioneering training. In 1939, he immigrated to Israel on the Ha'apala ship“Assimi.” He worked as an agricultural laborer and was among the first settlers in Kibbutz Nitzanim. He lent a hand to every job, easy or difficult, and his friends respected him as one of the central members of the kibbutz. He also fulfilled his duty in the Haganah, and was responsible for security matters and the commander of the Nitzanim area. For this, he enlisted to the Notrut so that he could bear arms openly and with permission. With the increase of the Arab attacks in the winter of 5708, the responsibility for the security of the place and its transportation was

[Page 510]

extremely difficult. As a commander, he had to send 2-3 Notrim^[9] to escort the transport and supply convoys. Even though he was already married and the father of children, his conscience did not allow him to impose this dangerous service on others, and on most trips he also accompanied the convoy.

On March 21,1948, he traveled with a convoy from Nitzanim to Tel Aviv. The convoy ran over a mine and was attacked by a superior Arab force. The attacked defended themselves bravely, and Shlomo returned fire even though he was wounded and bleeding. According to his friends' testimony, he managed to cause many losses to the attackers. When reinforcements arrived and rescued them from the difficult battle, they found Shlomo wallowing in his blood. They tried to bring him to a hospital, but he died on the way. The next day he was laid to rest in the cemetery in Be'er Tuvia. He left behind a wife and two sons, his second son was born a week after his fall and was named in his name - Shlomo. His memory was brought up in the booklet“Nitzanim under Siege and in the Campaign.”

Yehiel, son of Yosef and Rivka, was born on January 11, 1933 in Ostrowiec. His father was a Hasid and the Rebbe's influence was evident in his home. Yehiel studied in a cheder and was considered to be among the outstanding students. At the age of 12, he began studying in a public school and later continued with private education. He had an easy-going nature, and inclined towards mechanics and various arts since childhood. At the age of 14 he joined the“Bnei Akiva” movement, and later was a counselor and worked for the national funds. With the invasion of the Nazi armies into Poland he was active in the Zionist work in the district. At the beginning of 1941, he was transferred to a labor camp and there he managed to rally the youth around him. Upon liberation, when he could not find a remnant of his family he moved to Lodz, and there, he and his wife was the first Jewish couple in the city who got married after the Holocaust. He entered with all his vigor to work in the“Bnei Akiva” movement, and devoted himself to the education of the children who survived the camps and monasteries. He later moved to Germany with a group of children. He was active there in the public and in Jewish life, and his wife served as a youth counselor. In the spring of 1946, his wife immigrated to Israel to Kfar Etzion, where their first son, Yosef Mordechai, was born in Tevet 5707. At the end of 5706 Yehiel immigrated on the Ha'apala ship“Latrun” and was imprisoned in Cyprus. In the spring of 5707, he was able to reach his group and his wife. Also there he continued his public activity in the pioneer-religious youth circles. In Kfar Etzion he was well absorbed at work and in the society. He worked in land preparation, in construction, and for that continued to study and read.

At the beginning of the War of Independence, Yehiel worked at the weapon warehouse and his wife as a medic. They sent their only son to Jerusalem and stayed with the defenders of the place. On May 12-13, 1948, they fell on their guard next to the German monastery building when the enemy troops infiltrated the village and captured it. On 25 Heshvan 5710 (November 17, 1949), they were brought for eternal rest in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. They left a son. After his fall, he was promoted to the rank of Segen [lieutenant] by the order of the Supreme command of the Israel Defense Forces.

Yakov, son of Rachel and Yerucham, was born in 1928 in Ostrowiec. He was one of the survivors of the Second World War. After he was liberated from the Nazi camp, he was transferred by the Jewish Brigade to Italy. In 1945, he was sent from there to Israel with the members of the“Dror” movement, entered the framework of Aliyat Hano'ar in Kibbutz Givat HaSlosha and worked in the banana plantations.

With the outbreak of the War of Independence he was drafted into the army left the kibbutz. In 1946, he joined the Haganah and participated with Heil HaSadeh [Field Corps] in operations against Etzel^[10] in Petach Tikva. In 1947, he joined the Palmach. He served, with his fellow battalion members in the Harel Brigade, as a convoy escort on the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem road during the siege of Jerusalem. He remained in the besieged city and participated in its battles. He was sent to a platoon commanders' course and specialized in anti-tank weapons. He fell in Operation Horev^[11] at the entrances to Rafah. On January 7, 1949, during a patrol among the enemy vehicles that fell into our hands, he was shot from an ambush by an Egyptian soldier.

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