Svir, Belarus

Our Townlet Swir
(Svir, Belarus)

54°51' / 26°24'

Translation of
Ayaratenu Swir

Editor: Dr. Chanoch Swironi (Drutz)

Published in Tel Aviv 1959

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Lee Harrison z”l

Our sincere appreciation to Zev Swironi, son of Dr. Chanoch Swironi (Drutz) z”l,
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for the submission of the necrology for placement on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation of: Ayaratenu Swir (Our Townlet Swir),
Editor: Dr. Chanoch Swironi (Drutz), Former Residents of Swir in Israel and in the United States, Published: Tel Aviv 1959 (H,Y 240 pages)

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Svir (1959)

Purchase details for a printed copy of this translation can be found at http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/ybip/YBIP_Svir.html

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Translated by Gloria Berkenstat Freund

Introduction
Upon the Publication of the Book [H]	Dov Joel	5
A Book - A Monument [H]	Heshl Miller	6
These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me [H]	Shmuel Dobkin	7
The Town of Svir [H]	Dr. Chanoch Swironi	8
To the offspring of former residents of Svir [H]	Dov Joel	10
Upon the Publication of the Book	Dov Joel	11
A Book - A Monument	Heshl Miller	12
A Book about Svir	Aaron Koury	13

Chapter One
The Historic Development and Geographic Situation
Our Small Shtetele [Town]	Chanoch Drutz	19
Highlights of the History of Svir	Herzl Weiner	21
The Geographic and Economic Situation	Berl Alperovitz	24
General Appearance	Herzl Weiner	27
The River	Herzl Weiner	28
The Bridge	Herzl Weiner	29
Svirer Life According to the Vilner Pinkes [Vilna Register], YEKOPO [organization to aid war victims]		31

Chapter Two
The Cultural and Social Life
A Cultural and Social Shtetele	Chanoch Drutz	35
The People's Library	Herzl Weiner	48
The First Elementary School in Svir	Shmuel Dobkin	51
The first Hebrew School in Svir [H]	Chaim Rugovin	53
The Svir Gymnastics and Sports Club	Berl Alperovitz	62
The Svir Jewish Defense	Dr. Ch. Swironi	68
The Svir Journals	Herzl Weiner	71

Chapter Three
Terrible Cases of Misfortune
Avremele Yoel	Chanoch Drutz	87
Misfortune in the Hachshara [training for pioneers to Eretz-Yisroel]	Dr. Ch. Swironi	95

Chapter Four
Memories
Memories of a Kheder-Yingl [religious primary school boy]	Aharon Koury	101
Toiling Jews	Matityahu Bogdanov	102
Memories of Svir	Ben-Tzion Gold	105
Remembrances of Svir	Joe Salav	110
My Birthplace [H]	Shoshana Drapkin	111
From the days of my childhood [H]	Arye Gur-Arye (Pekel)	113

Chapter Five
The Destruction of Svir
Memorial Candle [H]	Shmuel Dobkin	119
Destruction and Revenge Poems	Fanya Fisher	120
Last Letters [H]	Shlomo and Yitzhak Rabinovits	125
The Demise of Svir	Dr. Chanoch Swironi	127
Memories of an Eyewitness	Tsivye Dobkin	137
A Svir Partisan	Chanoch Drutz	146
Christian Angels	Dr. Chanoch Swironi	153
From the Poem: In Shkhite Shtot [In the City of Slaughter]	Haim Nachman Bialik	170
Svir After Hitler's Downfall	Chanoch Drutz	172
List of the Martyrs from the community of Svir [H]		176

Chapter Six
The Svirer in America and Other Lands
Svirer Social and Aid Association in America		191
List of Active Members of the Svir Organization in New York	Matityahu Bogdanov, Avraham Chayat, Malekh Levin and Aharon Koury	198
List of Former Residents of Svir in America		199
List of Former Svir Residents in Other Countries		201

Chapter Seven
The Svirer in the Land of Israel
At the Annual Svir Gathering	Shmuel Dobkin	207
The Svir Immigrants in Israel, their Association and their Interest-Free Fund	Dov Joel	210
The Svirer in Eretz-Yisroel	Dr. Chanoch Swironi	224
A memorial prayer for former residents of Svir [H]		236
List of the Svirer Jews in the Land of Israel		237

Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page Svir, at KehilaLinks

Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
Emerita Yizkor Book Project Manager, Joyce Field z”l
Contact person for this translation Lee Harrison z”l
This web page created by Lance Ackerfeld