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Some of the participants in a haskore in honor of the Tishevits martyrs that took place in Germany, in the Neu-Ulm camp in 1947

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The cantor recites the el maleh rachamim for the martyrs

Some of those gathered in the hall

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The Tishevits landsleit in America at a haskore in 1965

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On Har Zion in Jerusalem, 1963

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The haskore in the basement of the Shoah at the monuments to the destroyed communities in 1963

On 15 August 1950, the former residents of Tyszowce: 1. Yitzchak Kolenberg, 2.Yehoshua Weinberg, 3. Hanoch Chavkin, 4. Yehoshua Hertzberg, 5. Moshe Sachar, 6. Pinchas Landau, gathered for the purpose of founding the “Association of Former Residents of Tyszowce in Israel.” With the consent of all present it was decided as follows: -

1. To found the aforementioned association.
2. To call all former residents of our city who are in Israel to a “memorial” meeting.
3. According to the testimonies of former residents of Tyszowce who had fled the city before the extermination, the Nazis liquidated Tyszowce Ghetto the day before Rosh Hashanah 1943, and annihilated all the Jews who were then in the ghetto. Therefore, it was decided to hold a “memorial” meeting every year on the aforementioned day for the martyrs of our city, and this year we will hold the “memorial” on September 10 1950, 29 Elul 5710.
4. To inform all the former residents of our city about the “memorial” meeting. Since we do not know all the addresses of former residents of Tyszowce, it was decided to publish a notice in the newspapers and to ask everyone who will read the notice - to inform all the former residents of Tyszowce with whom they meet about the aforementioned “memorial.”
5. On the night of the “memorial” to inform those gathered about the establishment of the association and its purpose, which is: A. to maintain a constant contact between all former residents of our city, and mutual aid. B. in order to maintain the mutual aid, it is desirable that the organization will have at its disposal Kupat Gemilut Hasadim [charity fund] and with it to help those in need of financial help.

About one hundred and twenty people from Tel-Aviv and Haifa, all natives of Tyszowce, gathered at “Beit Hachalutzot” hall in Tel Aviv. After the introductory meeting of the former residents of our city, who had not seen each other for a long time, even before the World War, the elders of our city who survived the annihilation by fleeing to Russia, from there to Germany and from there after the war to Israel, got on the stage. And they are: Pinchas Wachsbaum, Yakov Becher, Pesach Sherer (three in total), and Lemel Weinberg an Israeli resident since before the war. The gathered elected the member Yitzchak Kolenberg to conduct the

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memorial meeting. When he got on the stage, he eulogized the martyrs of our city with a few words. After the recitation of El Malei Rachamim by Yitzchak Gelber, and the recitation of the Kaddish by our city's elders, the first part of this meeting was ended. The second part of this meeting was opened by the member Pinchas Landau who explained to those gathered the necessity for an association of former residents of our city, and the need to create means for mutual help. A. to elect a committee that will handle the affairs of the association. B. to establish Kupat Gemilut Hasadim [charity fund] of former residents of Tyszowce, and each of those gathered would contribute a sum of money for this purpose according to his/her ability. The member Hanoch Chavkin spoke about the purpose of the association and the fund. The members, Yehuda Ginzburg, David Chavkin, Shlomo Roth, Moshe Sachar and Shmuel Knobel, also spoke about the nature of the donation and its size. After a short debate between several speakers, it was agreed that each person would contribute according to his ability and generosity.

With the consent of all those gathered, the members of the committee for Tel Aviv and Haifa were chosen under the name, “The Committee for the former residents of Tyszowce.” The five committee members for Tel Aviv - Hanoch Chavkin, Yehoshua Weinberg, Mordechai Miller, Moshe Sachar and Pinchas Landau. And the five members of the committee for Haifa: Yitzchak Kolenberg, Yehoshua Herzberg, Tzvi Kiesel, Pesach Sherer, and Moshe Burg.

The meeting closed with the singing of “Hatikvah.”

Tel Aviv, September 10 1950

After the end of the Second World War, as soon as the first rescued Jews began to appear bringing the terrible news of the destruction of Tishevits, the survivors who came back from the Soviet Union and other places met up in Poland, later in the DP camps in Germany, and finally in the land of Israel.

Wherever they were, they organized memorial gatherings dedicated to the memory of the martyrs. It is worth noting that in all the gatherings everyone had the same desire–not to rest until the memory of our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters who died al kiddush-hashem was immortalized.

The 1949-1950 wave of aliyah brought with it a larger number of Tishevitsers, at which point the work of the committee really began. This was actually the organizing committee, at the head chaverim: Pinchas Landau, Itzchak Kolenberg, Yehoshua Weinberg, Moshe Sachar, and Yehoshua Herzberg. The main job of the committee at that time was to help the newcomers in any way possible. Of course we had little financial ability, but the newcomers felt they were with their own, originating from the same shtetl. In the meantime we established bonds with our landsmanschaften in America, Canada, Argentina, Peru, and other countries, wherever there were Tishevitsers. And thanks to the help we received at that time, we organized a Gemiles Chesed bank, and we were able to help the new olim by granting loans, understandably within our small means. And with time a living bridge was created, like brother and sister, between the old-timers and the new olim.

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The first general assembly took place on October 9th 1950. It was a moving reunion after years of being apart. We related and shared memories–of various tragic experiences in the dark war era. Everyone felt as if we were one family. The yearly meetings are, for all the survivors in Israel, treated as a holy obligation even today. On the designated day, all the surviving Tishevitsers in Israel come together to the annual meeting and haskore in order to commune with the souls of our dear martyrs.

At the annual general meeting of 1964, a new committee was elected: Moshe Zamri (Singer), Pinchas Singer, Moshe Sachar, Pinchas Landau, Michal Bergman, Zvi Naor, Shmuel Knobl, Berl Spiz, and Berl Rov. The newly elected managers, at the first meeting, set as the only goal in their main work: immortalizing the memory of our obliterated community by producing a yizkor book as a monument for our martyrs. Naturally, work continued in all areas as before, but with more energy, searching for various ways to strengthen the contact among all Tishevitsers living in Israel. For that reason, we sometimes organized Purim celebrations, where we used to meet over food- covered tables and enjoy an intimate, pleasant atmosphere that brought happiness to all the participants. As mentioned above, the committee at the celebrations continued to pursue the same goal: what can we do so that, in our lifetime, a memorial to our shtetl shall remain? We convened a special conference with a larger number of chaverim. We co-opted chaverim: Ephraim Kuperstein, Meir Zwilich, Bat-Sheba Nir, David Goldman, Yoel Gam, and still years passed without any particular success in the task set.

In 1965, with the visit of our distinguished fellow townsman, Yakov Zipper from Canada and his wife, we again returned to the work of the pinkas. With the feeling that Yakov Zipper would edit our Tishevits “pinkas,” we again took to the work. With a special zest and stubbornness the writer of these lines approached all the landsleit with the call to write what they were able to, and to collect all the materials they had, and send them in. Yakov Zipper also put out an announcement in the newspapers, and wrote to the landsleit about it. In particular, we worked especially hard on those who miraculously survived, and

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urged them to write about their terrible, tragic experiences in the bunkers and forests. We approached all the social institutions in the country and elsewhere in the world, libraries, archives, anywhere we could find material for the book. And after years of intense work, we were able to acquire important materials, and writing, and interesting photos.

And thanks to our distinguished fellow townsman–the author, and cultural activist, Yakov Zipper, who undertook the responsibility for this task, in spite of his daily intense work in the school system in Montreal (Canada), and did the most important job: editing the material for the book.

The committee of the Tishevitsers in Israel would like to thank and acknowledge all the chaverim in the country and abroad who shared their interesting articles for the book, and also those who expressed interest in, and helped in the publication of our Tishevits “yizkor book.”

Photo: The first group of Tishevitsers in Eretz-Israel in 1933.

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Pinchas Singer		Moshe Zamri		Moshe Sachar
Shmuel Knobl		Pinchas Landau		Zvi Naor
Ephraim Kuperstein		Michal Bergman		Dov Spiz

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Our thanks and acknowledgment to all who helped in putting together this pinkas both for their direct involvement, and for their help in acquiring materials. Particular mention goes to the researcher and wonderful chaver and noble person, Mordechai Bernstein, z”l, who gave us very important instructions for the historical sources regarding Tishevits. Thanks also to the chaver We very much regret, however, that with the best of intentions, we were not able to present a full and comprehensive look at all circles and levels of society. Certain institutions, old and new, especially those connected with traditional religious social life and a number of deserving individuals, are not properly pictured. We tried really hard to get the materials, and that is the main reason it took so long to put together. The fact is, however, that from certain sectors in general very few survived, and those we approached either promised and did not keep their word, or in general did not demonstrate an understanding of the whole enterprise. We strongly believe that what we did succeed in producing is an honest, respectful contribution to the immortalization of the holy congregation of Tishevits. Chaval al de'avdin v'lo mishtakchin^[1]

May their souls be bound in the bond of life.

Translator's footnote:

1. Woe unto us, for he cannot be replaced Return

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