[Page 8]

Memorial and candle lighting in memory of the martyrs of Kamenetz by our fellow townspeople in Israel at the dedication of the Memorial Plaque (p. 9) [Hebrew]. Our fellow townspeople in Israel at the Yizkor Service and candle lighting in memory of our martyrs, at the dedication of the memorial plaque on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem [Yiddish][2].

[Page 9]

Memorial Plaque. Certificate[3][4]

[Page 10]

Let us remember and not forget: Our townspeople at a memorial service in Tel Aviv

[Page 11]

With tremulousness and reverence, we are publishing this book in memory of the martyred innocents of our town.

We shall not forget you, dear parents, who in spite of hardships and burdens of your day–to–day lives, and despite persecutions by various regimes that came and went in our town, you did not refrain from toiling to educate your children in Torah and good deeds. You sent your sons and daughters to the Land of Israel so that they should build up the Land and live there freely as proud Jews. How great your contribution to the establishment of the State of Israel has been, even though the Nazi murderer prevented you from ever seeing it established and developed.

We shall not forget you, brothers and sisters, you and the little ones of our town, gentle and innocent, who were brought away to be slaughtered, though blameless of any wrong.

We shall not forget you, Jewish religious scholars and teachers, headed by Rabbi Reuven Burstein and Rabbi Boruch–Ber Leibowitz, who educated the youth for a life of religion and tradition, for good deeds, and for love of fellow Jews.

We shall not forget the community leaders of Kamenetz, whose concern for their fellow man led them to establish and sustain institutions for Torah, culture and social welfare.

We shall not forget the youth organizations, which in spite of their ideological and political differences remained loyal to their people; they aspired to immigrate to Israel, to participate in its upbuilding, and to ensure its independence.

[Page 12]

We shall not forget the common folk of our town who toiled by the sweat of their brow to support their families.

We shall surely remember all of you.

We shall not be silent nor be silenced in recounting what the savage Nazi beasts perpetrated.^[5]

This book will serve as a historical document for researchers and scientists who will someday, when the time is right, delve into it; and from it they will be able to understand the character of the communities of Kamenetz, Zastavya and the Colonies, all destroyed, never to arise again.

This memorial book will be an eternal lamp for those who were annihilated, for their spirit and their memory; and it will connect us and our children after us to our origin. From it they will learn about their parents and ancestors, about their lives and the circumstances of their lives, about their suffering during various periods.

This book will tell the story of annihilation and valor, of the struggle against the bloodthirsty Nazi beast, of their longings, during their last moments, for a life of freedom in Zion. The future generations will know where they came from; they will be proud of their ancestors, and they will bind their souls forever to the bond of the life of our nation.

Footnotes

1. From Kamenetz–Litovsk, Zastavije and Colonies Memorial Book, edited by S. Eisenstadt and M. Galbert, published by the Israel and America Committee of Kamenetz Litovsk and Zastavya, (Orly, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1970), pp. 8–12. A Yiddish translation of the Hebrew text of this article appears on pp. 346–348 of this volume. It is nearly identical to the Hebrew; any differences are noted below. Return
2. As noted, the photograph on p. 8 has two captions, one originally in Hebrew and the other in Yiddish. Return
3. Text translates as follows:
   b.h. [b'ezrat haShem = with God's help].
   May God bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life [Ps. 128:5].
   This certifies that the following plaque has been placed on Mount Zion on the 30^th day of the month of solace [Av], 5723, August 19 1963.
   Peace upon Israel [Ps. 128:6].
   A remembrance plaque for the martyrs of the communities of Kamenetz–Litowsk, Zastavya and the surrounding area, who were murdered by the Nazis in the years 5700–5701 [1939–1941]. May God avenge their blood; and may their souls be bound in the bond of life. Immortalized by those in Israel and the Diaspora who hail from Kamenetz–Litowsk and Zastavya.
   Israel. [Signed,] Dr. S. Z. Kahane. Return
4. The plaque was erected in Martef haShoah, the Chamber of the Holocaust, the first Holocaust museum established in Israel (1949). It is located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Its walls are covered with hundreds of plaques, each of which memorializes the Jewish victims of a European community. Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Zanwil Kahane, who signed the certificate, had led the effort to establish this museum. See the following link (retrieved November 2019): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_the_Holocaust Return
5. This paragraph occurs in the Yiddish translation but is absent in the original Hebrew. Return

[Page 13]

In this Memorial Book we will return in our minds to the streets and alleyways of our town, so dear to us. We will peer into every Jewish household and recognize the faces of fathers and mothers, children and grandchildren, the faces of friends. We shall memorialize their names, engraved in our hearts, and we shall remember them in the bitterness of their despair, on the threshold of their terrible annihilation.

We, the few orphaned who have remained alive, will preserve in our hearts the memory of our dear martyrs and of our past, in all its diversity.

This Memorial Book will serve as a faithful testimony to future generations of the lives and actions of the members of our generation, and as an eternal monument to our martyrs.

Footnote

1. From Kamenetz–Litovsk, Zastavije and Colonies Memorial Book, edited by S. Eisenstadt and M. Galbert, published by the Israel and America Committee of Kamenetz Litovsk and Zastavya, (Orly, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1970), p. 13 Return

[Page 14]

Simcha Dubiner Faivl Shragai Dubiner Baruch Kotik Rachel Weingrod Chaya Krakowski Chana Wissotzky Pinchas Ravid Isaac Zlatas Perl Abramson Chaim Zlotnik Baruch Eliyahu Gurfein Shmarya Solnitza Asher Glezer Aharon Kotik Dov Shmida Yocheved Kotik Dov Tzedek Yaakov Kaminski

Leah Aloni-Bobrowski, z.l.[2] Chaya Krakowski-Karabelnik Leibl Goldberg / Levi Sarid Pinchas Ravid-Rudnitzki Simcha Dubiner P. Rabi-Rabinowitz, z.l. Baruch Kotik Dov (Bertchik) Shmida

1. From Kamenetz–Litovsk, Zastavije and Colonies Memorial Book, edited by S. Eisenstadt and M. Galbert, published by the Israel and America Committee of Kamenetz Litovsk and Zastavya, (Orly, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1970), p. 14 Return
2. z.l. is an acronym for zichrono/a livracha = of blessed memory Return

[Page 15]

At the very same time as the voices of Torah study and prayer rose upward from the yeshivas and study houses, they were joined by a call for immigration to the Land [of Israel] coming from the assembly and meeting halls—a call for hachshara [training], manual labor, and tikkun olam [pursuit of justice and liberation to improve the world].

The terrible Holocaust that destroyed the massive glorious Jewish presence in Eastern Europe also reached into the gates of Kamenetz-Litowsk and Zastavya, cutting down this beloved, humble branch from the great flourishing Jewish tree of Lithuania and Poland. This book can serve as a spiritual monument to the pure and innocent martyrs who perished by the hands of the perpetrators of this genocide.

Only a small number of the articles of this wide-ranging book have been composed by experienced writers who originated in the town. Most of the articles are instead memoirs—simple and honest accounts—true-to-life descriptions of the day-to-day, modest and troubled life that once existed and has vanished. For our generation and future ones, this can serve as a faithful memorial book containing a series of essays on the bloody history of our people in Europe during the twentieth century.

From my father, of blessed memory, who was born in Chemeri, located near Kamenetz^[3], I heard stories about the life of the town during my childhood, and I willingly took upon myself the task of completing the editing of this collection of memoirs that my good friend Mordechai Galbert had put a great deal of effort into, having collaborated with the honored committee members of the Kamenetzers of Tel Aviv. Each of them contributed his part to the success of this collection. And a special mention must be made of the members of the Committee of Kamenetzers in the United States—headed by their president, Avraham Shudroff—who actively volunteered so much of their time. All of them worked hard and contributed generously to support memorializing their fellow townspeople. They also raised funds from the Kamenetzers of the United States to make it possible to publish this Memorial Book.

[Page 16]

May this book serve as a perpetual memorial lamp for all who have been faithful to their destroyed native town and to their fellow townspeople who were exterminated by the oppressors of the Jews. May it also serve as a reminder for the next generation—the generation of redemption—which continues to struggle with a proud bearing and great devotion to the life of our people, to their land and their martyrs.

1. From Kamenetz-Litovsk, Zastavije and Colonies Memorial Book, edited by S. Eisenstadt and M. Galbert, published by the Israel and America Committee of Kamenetz Litovsk and Zastavya, (Orly, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1970), pp. 15-16. Return
2. Brisk or Brest-Litowsk, located 40km south of Kamenetz. Return
3. There is currently (2020) a place named Chemeri about 8km east of Kamenetz. See the following essay by Eisenstadt, pp. 124-126 of this volume, “It Happened in Kamenetz-Litowsk”. Return

[Page 18]

Mrs. Rimon, Yeshaya Rimon, Avraham Shudroff, Y. Koscikiewicz-Grunt, Dov Aloni, Mr. Kamini, Esther Dubiner, Simcha Dubiner, when Shudroff participates as a delegate to the 25th Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, 1960

[Page 19]

				>
Laybl Goldberg (Sarid)		Chaya Krakowski-Karabelnik		Simcha Dubiner
				>
Bertchik Schmidt (Shmida)				Pinchas Rudnitzki-Ravid
Asher Glezer				Baruch Kotik

[Page 20]

Chaya Krakowski-Karabelnik during her visit to America in the years 1962-63 Chaim Rubin, V. Kustin, M. Visotzky, Rivka Liptzig, Chaya Hurwitz-Goldberg, Isser Goldberg, Ch. Kagan, Ch. Mendelson, S. Hurwitz, A. Shudroff, Y. Sheinfeld[1]

Footnote

1. The visitor from Israel, Chaya Krakowski, is sitting, 2nd from left. The others are listed from right to left, first those standing, followed by those sitting. Return

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