About This Project
TThis project will translate the Hebrew-language Sefer Linshits (the Łęczyca Yizkor Book), edited by Yitshak Yedidyah Frenkel and published in Tel Aviv in 1953. The vast majority of the book is untranslated and thus, for consistency, this project assumes a full translation.
Historical Significance
In an essay on Łęczyca during World War II, Holocaust scholar Dr. Adam Sitarek notes that the Sefer Linshits is an underutilized source for scholars, noting its inaccessibility due to its language of publication. Likewise, more casual researchers and individuals interested in genealogy are likewise limited by the book's language. Furthermore, while there is a plethora of Polish-language archival material going back centuries that illuminates some aspects of Jewish life through quotidian official records – loans, trials, etc.–there is very little in the way of “color commentary” that gives the Jews of Łęczyca life beyond names and numbers. The Łęczyca Yizkor Book, as a first-hand account by those who knew the Jewish community before its extermination, is incredibly valuable as a unique source in that it breathes life into a once-vivacious community that can no longer speak for itself. Furthermore, for genealogists, a translation of the book is likely to reveal names and biographical details that are not available anywhere else.
Project Details
This project will, at the very least, produce a complete English-language translation of the Sefer Linshits, with a Polish translation contingent on fundraising needs. The work will be completed following the standard guidelines of the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project, although fundraising will be done independently. The project coordinator, in consultation with scholars, the translator (a professional hired through JewishGen), and other interested parties, will select the order in which the chapters will be rendered. In the final stage, the coordinator will proofread, edit, and prepare the definitive text for approval by the JewishGen Yizkor Book project and electronic publication on its website.
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