Books published by Jewishgen.Inc

This is the Memorial (or Yizkor) Book for the destroyed Jewish Community of Roman, Romania. It was written by emigrees and survivors of the Shoah who gathered in their new homes and wrote their memories of their destroyed community.The Romanian city of Roman is situated in the northeastern part of the country, at the confluence of the Moldova and Siret rivers, on the great road of the Siret, which long ago connected the north of Moldova with the Danube ports. The Jewish population in the city is believed to date from as early as the beginning of 15thcentury. It is believed that a wooden synagogue existed in Roman at that time, on the same lot where the Main Synagogue was standing later (in the 20th century). It was but the first of what would become 18 synagogues serving a population of more than 6,000 Jews by the beginning of the 1940s, which along with a wide range of social, educational, and cultural institutions was a measure of the vitality of the community.In this scholarly volume, the rich portrait of the Jewish community in Roman that was about to be annihilated is painted in meticulous detail, covering every aspect of life over the centuries of its existence. This is a translation of: Obstea evreiascaä din Roman, originally published by Editura Hasefer, in Bucuress¿ti, Romania in 2001.

Often when we study the Holocaust the focus is on how Jewish life ended - the restrictions, the round ups, the ghettoizations, the transports, the deaths. But how much do we know about how these communities lived? Who were their members, their leaders? How were they organized? How did they understand their place in the world? What were their stories, passed from generation to generation?On December 8, 1941 the Nazis expelled the last Jews from Chorzel, a small town near what had been the Polish-Prussian border along the Orzyc River. On that day Jewish life in Chorzel came to an end. Fortunately, however, we now have a readily accessible window into the life of this community before the war. This complete English translation of theYizkor Book of the Community of Chorzel (Chorzele), formerly only available partly in Yiddish and partly in Hebrew, allows us to meet its personalities, its institutions and its livelihood both through memoir and photographs.For the descendants of the Chorzel Jewish community, December 8, 1941 was the beginning of their end. And yet, new family branches were already sprouting in the United States and Israel. For the Jewish descendants of Chorzel around the world, this book serves as a memorial to all that was lost.

The Germans invaded Poland on Friday, the 1st of September 1939 and entered Czenstochow on Sunday, the 3rd. This invasion was the beginning of the end of the Jewish community, which had existed in Czenstochow for hundreds of years. The Jewish population of approximately 30,000 men, women and children enjoyed an active economic, political, cultural and religious life. All of it was erased.Resistance and Death in the Czenstochow Ghetto tells the story of the brave but mostly unsuccessful fight for life by the Czenstochower Jews and of their tragic death, of the annihilation of a vibrant community. Their story is important as a historical tale of their existence and as first-hand evidence of what happened to them and to Jewish Czenstochow.

The Zbaraz Memorial BookYears ago, a small group of people, émigrés from Zbarazh, had the idea of establishing a memorial for this ancient community, whose generations and influence spread beyond its limited borders. They wanted to commemorate their community, this glorious community, whose Jews were lost in the Holocaust.It was difficult to attain the historical material needed to give an impression of the city, material that would testify to the cultural life of this community and its inhabitants. We know that this is the last chance to find and save documents and papers. We gathered very little, but we put together stories, descriptions, pictures and memories that will give some idea about our community.We had to search for all material possible to reconstruct Jewish and Zionist Zbarazh, to find documents that describe the destruction of the city and the extermination of its Jewish residents by Hitler's soldiers, and gather material about the deeds of blood and acts of might as related by the people who personally experienced the terror of those days and who were saved miraculously and who live today in Israel, Europe, the United States, Argentina and Australia.With the passage of time, people are passing away, and the survivors of Zbarazh and its environs who live in Israel are growing fewer. Our recognition of this fact intensified our feeling of urgency and inspired us to record what people have to tell. If we have succeeded in completing this mission, even if we have gathered little, we have done a great service for ourselves and for our children.We will tell our youth about our holy community, and that will be a small consolation for us: that we have established a memorial of all of our holy martyrs who were annihilated in the Holocaust, and whom we loved.May their memory be blessed.Moshe Sommerstein

Stryj was first populated by Jews in the middle 16thcentury. The permit to build the first synagogue was given in 1689. Since the beginning of their settlement in Stryj the Jews made their living by selling spirits, wholesale and retail merchandising, providing tax and customs services and banking for the nobles. After Poland was partitioned in 1772, Stryj became part of the Austrian Empire. At the time there were about 440 Jewish families in the town and its suburbs. After World War I, Stryj briefly became a part of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (a short-lived republic that existed from November 1918 to July 1919 in eastern Galicia). In 1919, the area became a part of free and sovereign Poland. The town had a Jewish population of 10,988 in 1921 and about 12,000 in 1939. Jews were merchants, craftsmen and many were professionals: doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. The Germans occupied Stryj on July 2nd, 1941 after breaking the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and hundreds of Jews were immediately killed. Murders and deportations followed and in August of 1943 the Stryj ghetto and labor camps around town were liquidated. When the Soviet army occupied Stryj in August 1944 there were only a few Jewish survivors. No Jewish community was re-established.This book tells the story of Stryj's Jews during a period of 400 years of the existence of their community: their struggles and achievements, their dreams and hopes, the institutions they established and the many great and famous personalities from town. This book serves to commemorate the once vital and flourishing community of Stryj that no longer exists.

This book tells about Brody's Jews during a period of 400 years of the existence of their community: about the changes they went through, the days of flourishing and glory and the days of lowliness and poverty, and the way Brody came to be called "Jerusalem of Galitzia", until its destruction during the Holocaust. The book begins with the history of the community from its establishment until its destruction (1588 - 1943). Then the description of the community between the two World Wars, including its destruction during the Shoah is presented, including a list of the "Righteous of the Nations of the World", who saved a few of our Brody's community Jews. The Yizkor chapter, containing the list of our community martyrs who were killed during the Holocaust at the hands of evil gentiles "For the sanctification of the Name," is actually a realization of the idea of the publication of a memorial book for those who were buried in mass graves in foreign soil, those who were not given a Jewish burial and those whose burial location is unknown. At the end of the book are: a list of Brody's young people who fought against the Nazis and were killed during the years 1939 - 1945; a list of Brody's natives who passed away in Israel; a list of Brody's natives and their descendants who were killed during the wars to establish and protect Israel; and finally an appendix containing the article "We the Polish Jews" by Julian Tuvim. This book serves as a fitting memorial (Yizkor) for the destroyed Jewish community of Brody, Ukraine.

Radzivilov was once a prosperous Russian frontier town connecting the Russian and Austrian Empires. Because of its location, it was a center for trade, and had a thriving Jewish community. During the first World War it became a front line for different warring armies, and was nearly destroyed. Later it became an arena for the war between Ukrainian Nationalists and Bolsheviks, until a new Polish government was established. With it came a rebirth of Jewish life, including a robust Zionist movement. By 1935, the town was home to 12,000, more than half of whom were Jews. The community supported three Jewish schools, a Talmud Torah, several private cheders, two synagogues, 14 houses of prayer, a Jewish hospital, and a home for invalids. Most of the Jews worked in commerce. They also owned several factories, a Jewish printing press, a brewery, a lime furnace, and a flour mill. After the Germans occupied the town in July 1941, the Nazis and their Ukrainian helpers began a program of repression and murder, culminating in the 1942 massacre of an estimated 4,000 Jews. When Radzivilov was liberated in March 1944, only about 50 Jews had survived. During the 1960s, a group of survivors and former residents met in Israel, determined to re-create in book form, their town that had been destroyed. This book, newly translated from Hebrew, is their tribute to the Jewish Radzivilov that was. 

Memorial or Yizkor or Book of the Jewish Community of Dusiat, Lithuania. Translation of Ayara Hayeta B'Lita: Dusiat B'Rei Hazichronot, compiled and edited by Sara Weiss-Slep, ©1989 Tel AvivAlternate names of the town are: Dusetos [Lithuanian]; Dusiat/Dusyat [Yiddish]; Dusiaty [Russian, Polish]Compiled by Sara Weiss-Slep. Edited and produced by Hedva Scop and Olga Zabludoff

This extraordinary book is a collection of memories from child survivors of the Minsk Ghetto, Belarus. These are rare and moving personal testimonies, and this is a book of some significance for it opens a window on the rarely told story of the Holocaust in Belarus, in particular the Minsk Ghetto. Between 1941 and 1943 approximately 80,000 Jews lived in or pass through that place of terror; as a result of starvation and repeated brutal pogroms most did not survive. A few were helped by brave Byelorussian locals who risked their own lives to save them. Others, many of them mere children like the narrators of these stories, managed to escape to the partisans living in the nearby forests. Having reached the relative safety of partisan camps, some even returned to Minsk to rescue their families and neighbours. Several of their dangerous missions are described within the pages of this powerful book. These stories which recount the memories of the Minsk Ghetto survivors are a testimony to the extraordinary power and resilience of the human spirit.

The Korelichi  (Korelitz, Karelichi) Memorial Book is the English translation of the Yizkor (Memorial) Book published in 1973 by survivors and former residents of this town, situated in present-day Belarus. Written originally in Yiddish and Hebrew and with some abridged English summaries, it commemorates their beloved families and town and provides a vivid portrayal of Jewish life in Korelitz before and during World War II. In addition, there is a section on the Korelitzer Society of America, which was very active from the early 20th century until the late decades.The book details in personal and authentic accounts, the history of the town and its people, the way of life, institutions, Zionist organizations, cultural activities, townspeople and leading personalities. The horrendous events during the Holocaust, when most of the Jewish population was brutally murdered in mass killings in the town are described, and lists of the victims are given. The remaining Jews were enclosed in the ghetto of the nearby city of Novogrudek. Some escaped to forests in the vicinity and joined the partisans.Descendants of Korelitzers who emigrated to the USA, South Africa, New Zealand, France and Israel have all contributed additional new information in this book. There are stories of Korelitzers who came to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century and joined the Korelitzer Society in New York, as well as a newly discovered list of its members. There is a detailed story of a partisan who joined the Bielski Brigade (made famous in the film "Defiance"). New family relationships were also uncovered during preparation of the book.This publication by the “Yizkor-Books-in-Print Project” of JewishGen, Inc., provides the English-speaking community and descendants of the Korelitzers with these first-hand accounts in book format as a primary resource for research and for individuals seeking information about the town where their families had lived.

Yeshayahu Drucker devoted a good part of his life to rescuing Jewish children from non-Jewish homes. Many parents had given their children to Polish neighbors for safekeeping during the war. Unfortunately most of the parents did not survive the Shoah. At the end of the war, there was no one to claim the children and they remained with the "adopted" Polish families. Following his discharge from the Polish army, Yeshayahu Drucker devoted himself to rescuing Jewish children from these homes and restoring them to their Jewish families or placing them in Jewish orphanages. He was a one-man operation but saved hundreds of Jewish children. This is the amazing story of one man's mission to save Jewish children and return them to their people.

Jews began settling in Rokiškis in the late 17th Century. During the 19th Century, the town’s importance as a regional commercial center increased with the completion of a railway line that connected it to the Baltic ports of Riga and Libau / Liepaja and to the interior of the Russian Empire. By 1897, the Jewish population had grown to 2,067, 75% of the town’s population. There was a strong Chasidic presence in the Rokiškis area, which was unique to Lithuania. Prior to the Holocaust, about 3,500 Jews lived in Rokiškis. By the end of August 1941 nearly all were murdered.In 1952, Jews from the area who had emigrated to South Africa before the war published a collection of Yiddish-language articles and related images under the title Yisker-bukh fun Rakishok un umgegnt (Memorial Book for Rokiskis and Environs). Countless hours of volunteer effort have been devoted to translating that work into English and recently to gathering additional materials that were not available when the original book was published. Together, these translations, images, and new material provide English-speaking readers a composite picture of the history, culture, institutions, and daily lives of the Jews of the Rokiškis area and will be a lasting memorial to them.

In the 19th century, Kishinev was the economic and cultural capital of Russian Bessarabia By mid-century, Jews made up almost half the population, the community supporting a synagogue, a Jewish hospital, and numerous schools. The Haskelah, Hasidic, Zionist, and revolutionary movements contributed to its lively intellectual ferment. In April 1903 and October 1905, two anti-Jewish riots took place that would forever link Kishinev with the word “pogrom.” The first was preceded by a series of vicious newspaper articles accusing Jews of a lengthy series of crimes. A violent mob attacked the community, killing 49 people, maiming 586, and destroying 1,350 Jewish houses and 588 shops. In the second pogrom, 19 Jews were murdered and 56 wounded.  The pogroms focused worldwide attention on the persecution of Jews in Russia, and started a major wave of emigration. Following the German-Romanian occupation of Bessarabia in July 1941, thousands of Jews were killed in mass shootings, deportations, ghettos and concentration camps. The Jewish community of Kishinev was nearly annihilated. Jewish religious and cultural life has slowly begun to rebuild in modern Chisinau. But in 1950, the writers of this book hadΓÇ¿ no way of knowing it would. In these ΓÇ¿pages, they tried to recreate the Jewish community they had known. 

Memorial Book for the13 destroyed Jewish Communities of Galicia: Dziedzilow, Winniki, Barszczowice, Pidelisek, Pidbaritz, Kukizov, Old Jarczow, Pekalowice, Kamenopole, Nowy Jarczow, Kamionka Strumilowa, Kulikow (Presently in the Ukraine) and Osijek in Croatia.This memorial (yizkor) book tells the story of 13 small Jewish towns that were eliminated without leaving a trace. Yet, Jews had lived for centuries in these small communities. They are gone and so are the people, the synagogues and Jewish monuments. The Germans and their local collaborators did a thorough job. No plaques or monuments were erected to memorialize these places so we decided to establish a "matzevah" (headstone) for them.

Located along the Skrwa River, Gostynin sits 65 miles northwest of Warsaw. The Jewish community was established in Gostynin in the 1760s, although Jews may have owned a brewery in the town as early as the 1620s. For the next 300 years, the Jewish population of Gostynin grew with Jews playing a major role in the economic, cultural, and political growth of the town.Written in 1960 by members of the Gostyniner Societies of New York, Chicago, and Israel, this book contains personal memories about the town, of religious leaders, religious practices, sports groups, theatre groups and activities of political organizations. There are also personal accounts of family life including many pictures of family members. A memorial section at the end of the book pays tribute to the town's citizens.  There are first-hand accounts of the destruction of the Jewish residents of the town in the Shoah.  This can serve as primary source material for scholars of the Shoah.  It is difficult reading, but very important.  This kind of material should be required reading for those convicted of anti-Semitic acts.  This English translation of the Pinkas Gostynin provides the descendants of the Gostyniner Jews and serious scholars of Eastern Europe Jewry with a picture of this once vibrant town in central Poland. It is a tribute to a Jewish community that no longer exists and the people of Gostynin who perished in the Holocaust. 

Remembering Dvinsk is a compilation of three sources.  First is a reprint of the 1965 book Dvinsk – The Rise and Decline of a Town by Yudel Flior, translated from the Yiddish by Bernard Sachs.  Second is the translation of the 1975 class project In Memory of the Community of Dvinsk, to memorialize the Latvian town of Dvinsk by the 8th grade of the Kol Haverim Junior High School of Haifa; it is a fine collection of history, recollections of former residents, essays, historic photographs, and artwork by the students. Third is an appendix of historic photographs assembled by Eilat Gordin Levitan. It is the desire of the Yizkor-Books-In-Print project of JewishGen.org that this new compilation of material in English serve as a fitting memorial for the Jewish Community of Dvinsk. Daugavpils, Latvia: 55°53' North Latitude, 26°32' East LongitudeAlternate names: Daugavpils [Latvian], Dvinsk [Russian], Denenburg [Yiddish], Dunaburg [German], Dyneburg [Polish], Daugpilis [Lithanian], Dzvinsk [Belarussian], Dzwin╠üsk [Polish], Dauhau╠åpils, Daugapils, Daugpil╠ºs, Daugava, Dynaborgs, Dynaburg, Dinaburg, Deneburg, Duenaburg, DwinskNearby Jewish Communities:Griva 3 miles SSW,ΓÇ¿Skrudaliena 8 miles ESE, Ilukste 11 miles WNW, Silene 13 miles SE,ΓÇ¿Viski 15 miles NE,ΓÇ¿Zarasai Lithuania 15 miles SW, Eglaine 16 miles WNW, Dubinovo Belarus 18 miles ESE, Plyussy Belarus 20 miles ESE, Okmyanitsa Belarus 22 miles SE, Zarachye Belarus 24 miles SE, Rimse  Lithuania 24 miles S, Kraslava 25 miles E,ΓÇ¿Dukstas Lithuania 25 miles SSW, Salakas Lithuania 26 miles SW, Subate 26 miles WNW,ΓÇ¿Braslaw Belarus 26 miles SE, Opsa Belarus 27 miles SSE, Dusetos  Lithuania 28 miles WSW,ΓÇ¿Obeliai  Lithuania 29 miles W, Slobodka  Belarus 29 miles ESE, Preili 30 miles NNE Other Yizkor or Memorial books in translation can be found at:  http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/ybip.html