[Page 5]

The “Kolo Book” is a book of testimonies and a memorial candle. In it, we have recounted the events and deeds of ten generations of the Jews of Kolo in the distant and recent past. The few remnants that remained after the Holocaust, present in it the greatest of disasters, in which the saints and the pure perished. The words of remembrance are an order to the remnants of the city that are in Israel and in the diaspora: Remember! Create a certificate!

We sought to give expression to what was done in the strata of the people, and especially in the last century, a period of trials and struggles. The description is incomplete because it is not possible to summarize the plots in all their full horror with the loss of so many of our saints that fell victim to them. The lack of clarity of some events during the Holocaust prevented us from judging various phenomena and individuals: Cases in which people lost their humanity and denied their Jewishness were not mentioned in this book.

Most of the survivors who found a home in Israel initiated the publication of this book. From the extermination camps, the partisan forests, and the suffering of their torments, only a little of the much has been revealed. Many questions that once served as a “bone of contention” have now been removed. Amid the flames of destruction, life has now taken a “new turn”. We were called upon to answer the question: How will we, the survivors, revive the memory of the community that was once bustling with life?

Five years ago, we set our minds on several commemorative projects, including the publication of this book. Many difficulties arose along the way, and it was not easy to gather this vast material, which contains a reflection of reality, which has passed and is no longer exists, and has become a chapter in history. We checked the veracity of every detail and distanced ourselves from doubtful details, and therefore not all the material that came to our hands has been included in this book.

In this book, which is a memorial to the people of our city, we saw a need and obligation to also remember the fallen of the War of Independence, who sacrificed themselves for the building of the State of Israel and were among those who paved the way for its establishment.

The three partners in this enterprise are: The Kolo Expats Organization in Tel Aviv and its committee members: H. Hirschbein, A. Duvdevani, M. Neumann, S. Butzker-Neumann, S. Izvitska and A. Yilovsky; The Kolo Expats Organization in Haifa and its committee: G. Volkowitz, A. Koninsky, Zvi Nadir, the brothers A. P. Peshdetsky, H. A. Schultz, A. Neshelska Bandler, B. Stern and Y. Vogel; M. Zelkind: The Kolo Expats Organization in the USA and its committee: S. Morrison, R. Brand, A. Klein and R. H. Rauch.

We would like to thank the Yiddish Historical Institute in Warsaw and Berl Mark, YWA in the United States, the New York City Libraries, the L. Katznelson Lohamei HaGeta'ot House in the Lohamei HaGeta'ot farm, who provided us with the material we needed for our work.

Our deepest gratitude goes to the workers at the Achdut Printing House in Tel Aviv.

[Page 6]

Aharon Koninski

In the estate of the historian Emanuel Ringelblum z”l, which was found in a basement in the Warsaw Ghetto, is also recounted of the final journey of the great educators in the ghetto, who sanctified the name of Israel in the world. Among them was our city's resident, the loyal and dedicated teacher Aharon Koninski, who from his youth was associated with the socialist Zionist movement.

…The Jewish pedagogues perished on their watch. From the news that came from the provincial towns, it became clear what had been done to the orphans of the institutions there. These institutions were the first to be eliminated, and yet the teachers and technical workers did not hesitate to remain on their watch until the last moment, until the Aktsia reached them.

…Entire institutions were liquidated one after another, and the children, as well as the entire staff, were taken. Thus, the renowned pedagogue, the talented children's writer Janusz Korczak, was taken to the Umschlag. He and Stepa Wilczynska, his faithful assistant, went - as is narrated - at the head of the children's convoy, while singing, to the cars that took them to Treblinka.

And so, it happened to the director of the exemplary boarding school at 18 Milena Street, Aharon Koninski, who did not leave his pupils until the last moment, and went with them to Umschlag, and from there to Treblinka.

We bow our heads to this road of torture, a road that is not beneficial but perhaps necessary, of the best of our educators.

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