 |
|
|
by Tuvia Berger, Tel Aviv
Translated by Sara Mages
In memory of my dear parents and brothers who dreamed… and weren't granted…
About half a jubilee has passed since I left Lutsk, the city where I was born, raised and educated. If I want to remember my hometown, all I have to do is to close my eyes for a moment and here rises the image of Lutsk, a city like all other cities in Eastern Poland (Wolyn), but, in fact, it had a special charm. On one side it was crossed by the Styr River. The same river that in the summer we all dipped in its cool waters, while in the winter we skated on the ice. On the other side, large meadows at the foot of the ancient “Lubart” fortress that served us as a place for excursions. The city inside, and also around, was adorned by gardens and fruit trees.
However, it was not only the external charm that distinguished the city. Lutsk was a big city in Wolyn. Its inhabitants were mostly Jews. Therefore, the seal of the lively Jewish way of life was inherent in the city, and not just any Jewish way of life, but a distinct Zionist Jewish way of life. Starting from the “Tarbut” elementary school where the main language of instruction was the Hebrew language, the Zionist community center, the various Zionist institutions, the Zionist parties, and ending with the training of the halutzim [pioneers] who intended to immigrate to Israel.
The Hebrew elementary school “Tarbut “ that my parents z”l were among its founders, and my mother, Bina Berger z”l, was a teacher in it all the years, did not only teach the Torah, but educated its students on the lap of the Bible, Jewish literature and tradition, and, most of all, instilled in them the love for their homeland. It is no wonder that today you can find that most of the former residents of our city Lutsk in Israel, received their education in this school. In fact, the path of the school was not without difficulties. Besides its budgetary difficulties, it also had difficulties of another kind - the Polish authorities did not want to recognize it easily. I remember very well the struggle that my father, Yehusua z”l, the chairman of the Zionist organization in our city and the principal of “Tarbut,” waged with the authorities in order to gain recognition and grant the school full rights. My father came out of this struggle with
|
|
|
|
the upper hand. In the end, our school was fully recognized, just like any other Polish school, and its graduates were admitted to the gymnasium without additional exams. In connection with this, I also remember that my mother, already at a rather old age, sat and memorized Polish history and literature. She traveled to Warsaw to be tested by the Ministry of Education in order to receive a recognized teaching certificate, even though she was a graduate of the Hebrew seminary in Warsaw and already had many years of practical work in teaching.
Our house was a meeting place open to all, in particular to people engaged in public affairs. Every emissary and Zionist activist, who arrived from a big city, or from Eretz Israel, came to us and remained as our guest all the days of his stay in the city. I remember that Avraham Herzfeld[2] visited us on a mission right at the time of my Bar Mitzvah and, of course, the joy was twofold. Therefore, it is no wonder that all Zionist activity was concentrated in our house. As stated, my mother z”l was a teacher at the school. My father z”l, in addition to being the chairman of the Zionist organization, Keren Kayemet LeYisrael[3] and Keren Hayesod[4], and the manager of the Zionist Bank in our city, was also a member of the Center of the Zionist Organization in Poland. At the time, he belonged to Al HaMishmar faction of Yitzhak Gruenbaum[5] and was one of his followers. Without a hint of exaggeration, my father devoted his entire life to Zionist activity and communal affairs. He was always busy, always in a hurry, always on the “road,” whether in a meeting of the center in Warsaw, or in Lwów (Lviv), or in Zionist activity in the city itself. My father was a passionate speaker and fought hard for the Zionist idea. He wholeheartedly supported the training of halutzim [pioneers] in our city and provided employment for the pioneers who were about to immigrate to Israel. When I visited Lutsk before the outbreak of the Second World War, I found my father lively and awake as ever, active in the Zionist work. He took care of the quota of “immigration certificate” for the Zionists in our city, and the immigration of Halutzim to Israel, but he was not granted to do so. My mother z”l managed to visit Israel in 1930 after her father was murdered in the 5689 (1929) riots of in Jaffa. My father, as mentioned, was not granted…The Nazi reaper, who rose on the Polish Jewry, also rose on our city and, together with it, the Zionist way of life that would never be forgotten…
Translator's footnotes:
|
|
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
Lutsk, Ukraine
Yizkor Book Project
JewishGen Home Page
Copyright © 1999-2026 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 28 Oct 2026 by JH
