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From left to right: B. Kirschner, M. Lifschitz, Kh. Serber, N. Lichter, Y. Katz, Y. Shlitin, P. Katz, Z. Rapaport, Y. Hystein, R. Lichtnberg
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[Page 569]
[Page 570]
By Zutra Rapaport
(1956 - 1966)
A. In the Land
Jewish youth became oriented to the idea of a place where one could build a home and an independent nation of Jews as the reverberations of the Balfour Declaration began to reach the Diaspora in the early twenties of the 20th century. This realization was also prevalent among the Jewish youth of Zolkiew who were among those who came to the Land. They left their city and tried to make aliyah to the Land of Israel and to take part in its reconstruction. Their abilities did not always align with the difficult conditions of The Land, however, and there was no other alternative but to return to the world from which they came. A large group of Halutzim made aliyah to The Land ten years later, and succeeded in greater numbers than their predecessors. Many of them settled in The Land and few returned home as the ranks of the Halutzim movement in Zolkiew grew. The youth arose from their places, one after another, for aliyah, encouraged by their participation and membership in aliyah movement groups. There were individuals as well who were moved by the urge in their hearts to make aliyah and to live in the Land of Israel.
The spiritual awakening of the Jewish youth began principally because of the difficulties of living in exile, and these difficulties continued to increase over time. The anti-Semitism of the Polish government, the Polish Endekist movement and the nationalist movement of the Ukrainians, intended to dispossess the Jews in the south of Poland from their strong commercial and economic position in the area. Jewish youth felt that their place in the Diaspora would no longer be recognized. Out of a need to devise a solution that would allow them to live a normal life without expecting a collapse, there was only one solution: to the east, to The Land of Israel.
But even in making aliyah, after the difficulty of their suffering in alien surroundings, and by their rapping on the gates of The Land, they were forced to struggle to enter in the face of the limits set by the Mandate government. But if the intention of the limitation was meant to damage aliyah, this did not happen, especially in the years 1934-1939, until the outbreak of the war. There were tens of arrivals who came from the ranks of the Zolkiew Halutzim. Many of them reached the Land of Israel during the Aliyah Bet, which took place in those years. Some came as students who wished to enrich their knowledge in the higher institutions of learning in The Land of Israel. Some came at the invitation of their relatives who were already citizens there. People of means were better equipped to establish themselves and they experienced an easier aliyah. All who came were permitted entry through certificates issued by the Jewish Sokhnut, which they received from the HeHalutz Center.
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From left to right: B. Kirschner, M. Lifschitz, Kh. Serber, N. Lichter, Y. Katz, Y. Shlitin, P. Katz, Z. Rapaport, Y. Hystein, R. Lichtnberg |
[Page 571]
The motto of ‘Conquest of the Jewish Labor’ in the settlements found a ready ear among those coming to The Land. Many people began in agricultural work, but after a short tenure in the settlements, they left for the big cities of Tel-Aviv and Haifa, where they were engaged in the building trades. This sector had a surplus of jobs, and the salary was higher than that of agricultural workers, which encouraged young people to move to the city. The vibrant life of the city also created the desire to leave the settlements. Tel-Aviv at that time was called Little Tel-Aviv. It served the arrivals with a domain and an international feel that was so sorely missing for the Diaspora Jews, and which they sought from the moment of their arrival. You will not wonder why they were so happy to live in these circumstances. Only a small group of Halutzim from Zolkiew went off to the kibbutzim, even though their aliyah did not obligate them to do so.
As this group of young people from Zolkiew settled in Tel-Aviv and its surroundings, they were encouraged by their family to maintain their group identity. They did so at that time through frequent meetings in the streets of the city, at the beach, or at friends' homes. They were especially happy to visit the Samet family on Prague Street in Tel-Aviv. Most of the émigrés from Zolkiew knew her from their town in Poland, and they were anxious to visit in The Land. We were privileged to enjoy a warm reception on Prague Street, where we documented memories of days past, caught up on the news about whose aliyah was imminent, who had already arrived, and where newcomers planned to settle. The sense of fraternity and the willingness to help the people at large were important to the scions of Zolkiew in The Land, and many of those who arrived were helped with a full embrace. This fraternal bond continued for a long time until almost all of the olim from Zolkiew established families and permanently settled in various places, after which the bond among them began to weaken.
A large wave of olim from Zolkiew arrived in Israel after the nation was already established. These people were part of the remnant population from the destroyed town, often survivors of the camps in Europe. Even those who wandered about after the war packed up their belongings and went toward The Land. Many of them were exhausted by their tribulations, but after a number of years of living in Israel, they became acclimated to their lives there. Today, there are about 170 families in Israel who came from Zolkiew, and they play a large part in the work of the nation: in commerce, manufacturing, government, agriculture, journalism, in the army and police force. People from Zolkiew live in all parts of The Land, and they are spread out as follows:
| Tel-Aviv | 54 | Yarkona | 2 |
| Haifa | 36 | Ramleh | 1 |
| Ramat-Gan | 9 | Ness-Ziona | 1 |
| Bet-Yam | 8 | Rishon LeZion | 1 |
| Holon | 7 | Ashkelon | 1 |
[Page 572]
| Jerusalem | 6 | Hadera | 1 |
| Be'er Sheva | 6 | Atlit | 1 |
| Netanya | 5 | Tivon | 1 |
| Givatayim | 4 | Gav-Yam | 1 |
| Herzelia | 3 | Kfar Hasidim | 1 |
| Rehovot | 3 | Kfar Atta | 1 |
| Petakh Tikva | 2 | Acre | 1 |
| Ra'anana | 2 | Hatzor | 1 |
| Bnei Brak | 2 | Nazareth | 1 |
| Masimya | 2 |
| Nir-David | 2 | Hama'afil | 1 |
| Kvutzat Geva | 1 | Mishmar HaSharon | 1 |
| Ramat-Yokhanan | 1 |
The first news about the fate of the Jews of Zolkiew started to surface in 1945 at the end of World War II. There was a small group of survivors who were left in the city (which was, in the meantime, annexed by Russia) and also people who returned from Russia and settled in the cities of western Poland. The question of how to provide help to the survivors arose. The first news from Zolkiew reached the Land by way of Moscow. Immediately, several Zolkiew people in Israel gathered together and formed a temporary committee to raise money and collect clothing from among the émigrés of Zolkiew in Israel, in order to send it to the refugees from their town in Poland. The committee sent an announcement to most of the Zolkiew residents in The Land, and attempted to tie them down to how they were prepared to help, but these efforts failed. The scions of Zolkiew were apathetic. There was minimal response to the circular sent out by the committee, and so the committee stopped functioning after a short while. However, refugees from the city who came to The Land, found an attentive ear for their issues in Israel among other Zolkiew natives.
There was no other apparatus for organizing the people of Zolkiew in Israel after the dissolution of the temporary committee, and each further attempt seemed to fail. After ten years, in 1955, David Tuviahu, one of the émigrés from Zolkiew, and (a past) mayor of Beersheba, returned from a visit to the United States and invited a number of Zolkiew people to tell them about his encounters with Zolkiew scions in the United States. It was their intention to raise money among themselves to send to Israel, in order to erect a memorial of remembrance for the destroyed community of Zolkiew. Several proposals grew out of that meeting in Israel, and they even raised a symbolic donation to start the project. However, the fervor of the group was extinguished
[Page 573]
at this time, and the substantive initiatives were not carried out. David Tuviahu then created an agenda for the erection of a central synagogue in the city of Beersheba, mirroring the architectural plan of Zolkiew's Great Synagogue, and he began to build it.
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(From left to right): Ephraim Waldman, ז”ל, Chaim Serber, Zippora Kirschner, Jonah Katz, Zutra Rapaport, Batya Cohen, Yehudit Samet, Shevach Lieberman, Mrs. Leah Samet ז”ל, Mr. Yaakov Samet, Joseph Shlitin |
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(From left to right): Reuben Lichtenberg, Zutra Rapaport, Malka Reziali (Schweitzer), Zvi Buber, Aryeh Acker |
[Page 574]
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[Page 575]
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following the plan of the Great Synagogue of Zolkiew |
[Page 576]
A year later, in 1956, two of the Zolkiew people in Israel assumed the effort to bring all of the scions of their city together in a general meeting to create a permanent organizational group. These people even announced that they formed a committee, and reached out to all of the people from Zolkiew in Israel through notices in newspapers and on the radio, to invite them to the first ingathering. The first meeting of the Zolkiew émigrés in Israel took place in Tel-Aviv on March 28, 1956. A large number of the scions of Zolkiew took part in this gathering, and there was great interest from the rest. A committee was formed to manage the organization, and it was decided to collect donations to prepare a book about the community of Zolkiew. The idea went from a concept to implementation ten years after this assembly.
Every year, all of the émigrés from Zolkiew in Israel are invited to an annual gathering in one of the auditoriums in Tel-Aviv. This event takes place on 18 Adar, the day that was set by Yad Vashem as the day in which the Nazis carried out the liquidation of the Jewish community in Zolkiew. The gathering is dedicated as a memorial to the martyrs of the city. After lighting the traditional candles, the Cantor arranges the religious presentation, and those present recite the Kaddish in unison.
During this gathering, an annual presentation is made about the future work planned by the committee. Those in attendance are afforded an opportunity to have group conversations and to discuss memories from their youth. Sometimes tourists from outside of Israel, also emigrés from Zolkiew, participate in the gathering, and actually plan the timing of their trip to the Land in order to attend. This annual meeting is important as a means of binding the refugees together, confronting the past, assembling to maintain the memories of our brethren, and to stand for the fact that the community of Zolkiew, which was brought so low, has not been broken in spirit. The time spent at this meeting raises the hearts of the attendees as they remember a chapter of tumultuous chaos in their lives.
B. In the Diaspora
Similar to the Jewish migration from other cities and towns in Poland to the United States after the First World War, many Jews from Zolkiew also migrated to America, which at that time had few limitations on those coming to its shores. After the First World War, those who left destroyed Jewish communities in Europe encouraged even more people to emigrate. A small community of Jews from Zolkiew were already living in the United States during the years 1920-1930.
Despite limitations which came later, more Jews joined those who emigrated from Zolkiew, thanks to the grace of their relatives who brought them over to the United States. Most of these immigrants did well in commerce and retail businesses, but many achieved stability after some difficulty, before they were able to assist their relatives who remained in Zolkiew.
[Page 577]
There was also emigration from Zolkiew to France, especially in 1937, particularly by several tens of people in the fur trade, who traveled to Paris to see the World's Fair. Mostly really went out of interest to see the exhibitions. In reality, many used the opportunity to consider permanent residence in Paris, and they continued to engage in, and develop their fur business there. Even though their residence in France was illegal, very few were apprehended by French authorities or returned to the land from which they came. Most of them got their affairs in order with the government and continued to do their business.
The émigrés of the small Zolkiew community in Paris also paid the war tax for their sons who were martyred in the Second World War. Many who sensed that they might be apprehended by the Gestapo felt it was better to flee across the ocean, and they continue to be in business today. Some went to the United States, some to South America. Those who reached Paris as refugees after the war, earn a living from the trade of their youth to this day.
The Zolkiew communities in the United States and France grew larger after the Second World War, with the addition of survivors, many of whom came from refugee camps, and those returning from Russia. A small group made it to Canada, South America, and countries further away in northern Europe. Certainly, there are others, living in other cities and countries, not even known to the Zolkiew émigrés in Israel. The Organization of Zolkiew Émigrés in Israel, tried to identify émigrés from Zolkiew in the Diaspora over the course of many years, and to make contact with them, but many difficulties arose. Only tourists who came in groups to visit Israel, brought news and hearsay about the fate of these former Zolkiew residents.
Scions of Zolkiew in the United States and Paris, and other cities in Europe, tried to create permanent organizations for the émigrés known as landsmanschaftn. In France, they arranged annual get-togethers for the Zolkiew émigrés living there, but they did not have the reach to create such an organization that would unite them. There was a similar situation in the United States, where even in New York, they tried to create a permanent organization, but the distances between the places where people lived made it difficult to do so.
When the idea of writing Sefer Zolkiew began to take shape, we sent out announcements in Yiddish to all known Zolkiew émigrés around the world, in about 137 locations, in order to solicit financial donations and to ask people to provide written material bearing witness to Zolkiew's past. Most people were apathetic and interest was minimal. However, some of our people in New York, Paris and Canada, proved to have a great deal of interest and commitment in providing help collecting donations and eye-witness accounts, in order to get the book written and published.
The dry statistics of the survivors of the émigrés from Zolkiew in the world speak for themselves. The community numbered about 5,000 Jews at the outbreak of the Second World War. The population increased to 6,000 during the Nazi conquest because of the concentration of Jews from the surrounding area and other Polish refugees in the city, yet only 400 people from Zolkiew remained alive across the world. This meager handful of a community, which numbered in the thousands twenty-five years ago, began the final chapter of the chronology of the community of Zolkiew, as they forged a new chapter in the lives of the Zolkiew survivors in Israel and around the world.
[Page 578]
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[Page 579]
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By Z. R.
Ephraim Waldman was my friend from childhood. Our friendship began in Zolkiew, in Poland, continued in the Land of Israel, and now Ephraim Waldman is no longer with us. I socialized with him a great deal in our city. Together, we used to visit his father's store, which had a permit or concession to run an inn. It was managed by my mother ז”ל and was listed under the name of his father. Even his active membership in the Hitakhdut did not prevent him from getting together with us, the people of HeHalutz.
Ephraim made aliyah to the Land of Israel in 1936. He spent the first days after his arrival in rooms on Feinberg Street in Tel-Aviv. Those were the days of economic depression, and many difficulties in the world. Unemployed people sought to find a place to work in order to make a living. I advised Ephraim to try his luck with David Tuviahu, a Zolkiew scion, who had settled in the Yarkona settlement, and was already an engineer in the Solel-Boneh group. Perhaps with Tuviahu's help, Ephraim might be able to get work paving the roads, a job that was highly sought after at that time. Armed with an explanatory letter from his brother, the oldest who remained in Zolkiew, and from friends of David Tuviahu from their school days, Ephraim came to Yarkona, where he was able to obtain work. This was Ephraim's first step in Solel-Boneh. Even then, Ephraim's connection to his friends was not broken, and we would frequently meet at the home of the Samet family, which was on the street near the shore.
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[Page 581]
When I moved to Jerusalem in 1938, our friendship thinned a bit. Ephraim married a woman from the city of Gorlice, and they settled in Hadera. I was received with great warmth when I visited them, and I lengthened my stay with them by several days. Even after the war, when Ephraim's sister came to us from France to visit in Israel, the two of them surprised me by appearing at my house in Jerusalem, and we enjoyed a pleasant get-together.
Ephraim excelled at his work, and after a few years he was promoted to the position of a supervisor. I ran into him on the roads of the Valley, the Galil, the Shfeylah, and even outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel. In every remote and distant place, there was work in road-making. After the State was established, he was in charge of opening roads in Sodom.
Ephraim worked for twenty years on Israeli soil until his last day of work on October 4, 1956. Ephraim did not stop working because of his age. He was only 49 years old at the time. Rather, his death came about from the bullets of murderers who monitored Ephraim's travel, and that of his workplace friends, from their homes to their work location.
Ephraim Waldman, the committed father, the faithful husband and beloved friend, fell, ambushed on the road. Only a silent headstone on the road through the Arava on the way to Sodom remains as a memorial to him and the four friends who fell with him. Sorrowful memories are etched on the memorial, and fill the hearts of those who know him.
A decade after our comrade fell, his name was memorialized in Sefer Zolkiew. May his memory be for a blessing.
By Z. R.
It is hard to write about a precious person who was close to me, but lives no more. The Sefer Zolkiew is a suitable place to record my memory of her. I remember Malka from our childhood, and we spent many years together both inside and outside The Land. I can picture all of the years we worked together in the HeHalutz movement in our city and the years after we made aliyah to the Land.
While still in the movement in the Diaspora, she was among the first who went out with training units, and was among the few who successfully achieved their heart's desire and made aliyah to The Land.
Even while living in The Land, she did not sever her bond to the émigrés from our city. It goes without saying that Malka was among those who were called to volunteer and donate funds for the publication of a memorial book about our city. To our sorrow, she did not live to see it.
[Page 582]
The privilege of memorializing Malka has fallen to me. We worked jointly in the committee that we organized. After she was taken from us, we realized how much support she provided in our work. She is missed by those who worked with her and by her friends. She exhibited attributes of a good person. She knew how to cultivate loyalty in everyone she met. She was honest in all connections with the public, and extended her efforts to help. In the case of disagreements, which happened more than once through our work, she would try to convincingly persuade us to accept her ideas.
That is how we knew Malka. She poured out her love and the joy of life. We will always picture her standing among us, and her memory will not disappear from our hearts.
| Shayndl Eikhl | Yitzhak Zimmerman |
| Sabina Gabbel | Moshe Keifer |
| Joseph Dagan | Zvi Redler |
| Shlomo Dagan | Malka Razieli (Schweitzer) |
| Yehoshua Halbkram | Sabina Reichman |
| Ephraim Waldman | Leah Reitzfeld |
| Avraham Khayot | Yehoshua Schweitzer |
| Chaim Eli Lieberman | Meir Berisz Schwartz |
| Aryeh Myess | Leib Sztekhenberg |
| Leah Samet | Moshe Schlein |
| Israel Zimmerman | Israel Szprutzer |
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