Proposal
Rafalovka, Ukraine Yizkor Book
Project Name. Translation of Rafalovka, Ukraine Yizkor Book
Project Leader
Mark J. Schwartz
JewishGen Yizkor Book Project Manager: Lance Ackerfeld
Project Synopsis
This project is being initiated in order to fund the translation of the one volume, 530 page, yizkor book. This book has English title of “Memorial Book for the Towns of Old Rafalowka, New Rafalowka, Olizarka, Zoludzk and Vicinity.” This book was published in Tel Aviv in 1996. Permission for translation of the Book from Hebrew to English was received from Ms. Shlomit Mizrachi, representative of the Rafalovka organization in Israel. Translated portions of the book are online at http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/rafalovka/rafalovka.html
Key Audiences
Jewish genealogists seeking to trace their roots in Rafalovka or the vicinity constitute the primary audience for the material. However, the material has the potential to be of broader appeal to scholars interested in the region or specializing in Jewish history and society.
Project Importance
Yizkor books are unique sources of information on once vibrant towns, primarily in central and Eastern Europe, whose Jewish populations were destroyed in the Holocaust. Written after World War II by émigrés and Holocaust survivors, yizkor books contain narratives of the history of the town, details of daily life, religious and political figures and movements, religious and secular education, and gripping stories of the major intellectual and Zionist movements of the 20th century. The necrologies and lists of residents are of tremendous genealogical value, as often the names of individuals who were taken to extermination camps or shot in the forests are not recorded elsewhere. Usually written in Hebrew or Yiddish, these important books are not accessible to most users, who cannot read these languages. Thus, the translation of these books into English unlocks this information to many more researchers all over the world. The JewishGen Yizkor Book Project received the award in 2002 for outstanding contribution to Jewish genealogy by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
Rafalovka is a town in the Volhynia region of Ukraine. According to sources, the earliest known Jewish Community was 16-17th century. According to the JewishGen website, the Jewish population of Rafalovka in 1900 was 1,054. According to former residents there were two synagogues, both Chassidic in the community.
The Jewish community of Rafalovka was liquidated in August 1942 by the German Nazis.
Project Description
As funds become available, all Hebrew and Yiddish pages will be translated. To accomplish that JewishGen will hire a professional translator. The project coordinator will select the order in which the chapters will be translated and will work closely with the translator to ensure a grammatically correct and idiomatic translation. Specific tasks the project coordinator will perform include proofreading, editing, and preparing the work for submission to the Yizkor Book Project.
Estimated Cost. $15,000
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Updated 7 Jul 2010 by LA