Translation of
“The Pultusk Memorial Book”

Project Synopsis

The Israel Pultusk Organization published The Pultusk Memorial Book, Pultusk: sefer zikaron, in 1971, with combined Yiddish and Hebrew text, totaling 683 pages. A 592-page Hebrew-only version was published in 2007. An English translation of the Index and Necrology is online the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project site, http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pultusk/pultusk.html This project will support the translation of the entire book.

Key Audiences

Jewish genealogists seeking to trace their roots in this town constitute the primary audience for the material.  However, the material has the potential to be of broader interest to scholars specializing in Jewish history and society in this region.

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 20^th 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.

An English translation of Pultusk: Sefer Zikaron will offer English readers historical information and personal recollections and insights into the rich and often tragic history of Pultusk's once thriving Jewish community, whose Jewish presence dates back to 1483. Despite the atrocities the Jews of Pultusk endured from the hands of an endless list of invaders, they adhered to Jewish practice and ritual. The tragic end of a Jewish presence in this once vibrant and socially-conscious community was eradicated by the 1939 Nazi occupation. At war's end, 75-80 percent of Pultusk's memorable Jewish community, roughly 7,000, had been exterminated.

Project Description

This proposed English translation will be done by a professional translator. The Index and Necrology have already been completed. The project coordinator will select the order of chapters to be translated, and will work closely with the translator to insure 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: $14,500-$17,000

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