Tomashow-Mazowieck;
a Memorial to the Jewish Community

(Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland)

51°32' / 20°01'

Translation of
Sefer zikaron le-kehilat Tomaszow Mazowiecki

Edited by: M. Wajsberg, Tomashow Organization in Israel

Published in Tel Aviv, 1969




 

 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Ada Holtzman z”l


Our sincere appreciation to Benjamin Yaari z”l, Tomaszow Mazowiecki organization in Israel,
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Sefer zikaron le-kehilat Tomaszow Mazowiecki. Tomashow-Mazowieck;
a memorial to the Jewish communty, ed. M. Wajsberg. Tel Aviv: Tomashow Organization in Israel, 1969.

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Tomaszow-Mazowiecki (1969)


This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
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Translated by Yocheved Klausner

 

A Memorial Book for the destroyed Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Community Moshe Weissberg 9
With the Publication of the Book Yakov Ullman 12
How this Memeorial Book was created [Y] Gedaliahu Kosherovski 14
Foreword in English Max Gershonowitz 17
Foreword in French Max Gershonowitz
 
Yiddish
 
Historical Overview of the Town
 
Tomaszow-Mazowiecki in light of the distant past YIVO Archives - presented by Pinchas Garfinkel 20
Jews were not allowed to live in Walborosh   21
The first Jewish settlement in the Tomaszow region   22
Tomaszow-Mazowiecki during 1789-1914] Moshe Weissberg 24
Graf [Count] Anthony Ostrowski is building Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Pinchas Garfinkel (YIVO Archives) 31
The first Jewish Landowner in Poland YIVO Archives 32
Count Wladislaw Ostrowski in 1830 Pinchas Garfinkel 33
Tomaszow after the November uprising YIVO Archives 34
The first Jews in Tomaszow A. Bogayewitz 35
Founding the Tomaszow Jewish Community P. Garfinkel 37
On the history of the town Excerpts from the book by Yakov Steinman
   The Count Antonius Ostrowski   39
   The first homeowners   40
   R'Yakov Steinman, the “'industrialist”   40
   Traces of the Polish revolt in the cemetery   41
   The Russian Czars visiting Tomaszow and surroundings   41
   Political and national demonstrations   44
The First World War and the German occupation Yakov Steinman 46
The Enlightenment Movement in Tomaszow A. Bonayewitz 55
History of the Jews in Tomaszow Moshe Feinkind 57
 
Rabbis, Tzadikim, Hassidim
 
The Rav and great scholar R'Eliahu Wilitchker Yakov Steinman 60
Rav Zvi Izraelewitz Yakov Steinman 61
Tzadikim [heads of Hassidic courts] Yakov Steinman 63
Tomaszow rabbis YIVO Archives - presented by Pinchas Garfinkel 64
A Rav without opponents   65
The Rav from Nieshawe   66
The old Rav z”l, leader of the Shacharit Prayer [morning prayer]   67
The Dispute A. Bogayewitz 68
Rav Shmuel Halevi Bratt A. Bogayewitz 68
Rav Yerachmiel Moshe Rapaport   70
Hassidism in Tomaszow A. Bogayewitz 71
The 25th memorial day of the destruction of Tomaszow Pinchas Garfinkel 72
Religious life in Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Shimon Ben-David Luft 73
 
Jewish Life in Tomaszow
 
A walk through the Jewish streets of my ruined hometown Zalman Zehavi (Zholtowski) 74
Life in my town Leib Yanushewitz 106
A Jewish home half a century ago Yakov Leiner 111
In the past [H] Yakov Steinman
   The wild railroad builders in our town [H]   113
   Thieves and robbers [H]   113
   Converts to Christianity [H]   114
   The Chevra Kadisha [Burial Society] [H]   115
Moshe Dloshnowski (biographical notes) Max Gershonowitz 117
Tomaszow, my far and my near home-town Moshe Dloshnowski 118
A rare blessing Moshe Dloshnowski 131
Pawning the Chanuka Lamp Moshe Dloshnowski 137
Tomaszow in Moshe Dloshnowski's writings S. D. Singer, New-York 141
The Tomaszow Town Council M. Weissberg 142
The river Walburke Bella Cohen 144
The blue water-spring Moshe Weissberg 145
Tish'a Be'av (reflections) [H] Yakov Ullman 147
 
Education and Culture
 
Excerpts from the book by I. Steinman
 
   The movement toward a better education [H]   149
   Melamdim and teachers [H]   150
   R'Moshe Hardomski [H]   151
   R'Yitzhak Shkamowitz [H]   152
The Hebrew Gimnasia [High-School] [H] Leon Marcowitz 154
Jewish education in my times Moshe Weissberg 158
An attempt to establish a Jewish school during the German occupation S. Meldung 161
The Cultural Society HaZamir [The Nightingale] Eva (Chava) Weinrot 164
The Jewish Theater in Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Zalman Zehavi (Zholtovski) 165
 
The Jewish Press
 
Local chronicles from Tomaszower Wochenblatt [Tomaszow Weekly]  
Photo-Montage Yiddishe Presse [“Jewish Press”] 167
The Talmid-Chacham [Torah Scholar]   168
Jubilee festivities   168
40th anniversary of Eyn-Ya'akov and Gemilut Hasadim Societies   168
“Do not buy by Jews”   169
Grandiose Gymnastics and Sports show   169
The income from a theater performance   170
Festive opening of a Library and Theater-Hall by right-wing Po'alei Zion   170
The 20th anniversary of the Jewish Legion   171
Tomaszow Jews make Aliya to Eretz Israel   172
Mr. Yakov Steinman's departure   172
Farewell banquet of Hashomer Hatza'ir movement   173
Farewell banquet of the Gordonia movement   173
 
Institutions
 
Jewish life is blooming in Tomaszow N. Goldkranz (editor of Tomaszower Wochenblatt) 175
Ezrat Cholim [Helping the Sick] Society Peretz Beitel 185
The festive opening of The Home for the Aged Tomaszower Wochenblatt [Tomaszow Weekly] 186
Hillel Landsberg, founder of Bikur Cholim 188
100th anniversary of Hachnasat Orhim [Accommodation for guests] Tomaszower Wochenblatt/ 189
 
Sports
 
The Jewish Gymnastics and Sports Association Yewshek Spiewak 191
The first Yahrzeit [memorial day] of Aharon Lichtenstein z”l S. Mordkowitz 193
From dream to reality S. Z. Mordkowitz 194
Jewish sports in my home town Meir Amsel 197
The Sports-Club Hakoach Moshe Steinman 199
 
Industry, Commerce and Craftsmen
 
Excerpts from I. Steimnan's Book:
 
Where and how the towns residents spent their free time   201
The weavers   202
Tailors: R'Moshe Feitel   204
   R'Naftali Nissboim (Shmerge)   204
Cobblers: Nachman the big one - “the uncle”   205
   Zalman Trapelowitz   206
The history of the Weaving Industry Wladislaw Landsberg 207
Twenty years of Tomaszow Industry (1907-1927) Moshe Weissberg 210
The Jewish craftsmen and their organizations Israel Frenkel 216
The Tomaszow merchants Chaim Benglerowitz 220
 
Parties
 
Parties and Youth Movements Moshe Weissberg 222
The first Zionists [H] Y. Steinman 223
Ahavat Zion [Love of Zion] [H]   223
Hovevei Hasafa Ha'Ivrit [lovers of the Hebrew language] Society [H] Yitzhak Gilon (Zhelinski) 224
My Zionist activity in Tomaszow Chaim Cohen (Kagan) 225
Tze'irei Zion and Po'alei Zion in Tomaszow (As told by a group of friends) 227
The Po'alei Zion Left group [H] Aharon Sheps 232
The Hit'achdut and Gordonia parties in Tomaszow Gedaliahu Kosherowski 233
History of the Revisionist Movement in Tomaszow Yakov Ullman 239
The Labor-Party “Bund” Y. Steinman 242
Activists in the “Bund” Binyamin Weissman 244
“With my shattered people” (excerpts from a book) Yakov Tzelemanski 245
The Jewish-Labor section in the Tomaszow communist movement Hersh-David Weissberg 247
The left-wing professional unions Yakov Steinback 248
The Hechalutz Branch [H] Aharon Sheps 250
The struggle for Aliya G. Kosherowski 251
 
Youth Movements
 
“Scouting” in our town [H] Yitzhak Gilon (Zhelinski) 256
Reminiscences from the Hashomer Hatza'ir branch [H] Dov Granek 257
Hashomer Hatza'ir in our town [H] Aharon Scheps 259
In memory of my friend in Hashomer Hatza'ir [H] Moshe Weissberg 263
The Gordonia movement in our town [H] Eliahu Borowski 269
The pioneering movement Benei Akiva [H] Mordechai Tennenbaum 271
Brit Trumpeldor (BEITAR) [H] Leon Markowitz 272
The Zionist youth movement Freiheit [Freedom] Shlomo Bierenstock 280
Youth Association Zukunft [Future] Chana Lender-Kligerman 282
 
Personalities
 
The second generation of Jewish industrialists in Tomaszow   284
Moshe Aharon Steinman   284
Hillel Landsberg   284
Alexander Landsberg   285
R'Yitzhak Weiss   287
Baruch (Boleslav) Scheps   287
The agent Aharon Neufeld   288
Mordechai Slomonowitz   288
 
Famous Personalities
 
R'Chaim Zelig Slonimski   289
Michel Halperin   289
Dr. Ian Rode   290
Dr. Yakov Glass   291
Asher-Moshe Issers   292
Our teacher Nachum Sokolov z”l   293
Aharon Dreizin   293
Shlomo Wasserman   294
Yitzhak Meir Zheshewski   295
Smuel Steinman   296
Aharon Lichtenstein   297
Zelig'l   298
David Hoffman   298
Dr. Lea Pinsker A. Bogayewitz 299
Chaim Zelig Slonimski M. Beirachowitz 300
Boleslav Scheps A. Bogayewitz 301
Imanuel Borenstein A. B. 303
Dia Max Gershonowitz 305
Yehuda Toppel Pearl Toppel 308
Moshe Sagina Moshe Amsel (Poland) 309
Shimshon Kosherowski Gedaliahu Kosherowski 310
Menachem Lifschitz G. Kosherowski 311
My Father Chaim Benglerowitz z”l Yitzhak Benglerowitz 312
David Yakobowita G. Kosherowski 313
Menachem Steinman A. Bogayewitz 314
Menachem Steinman unveiling of the memorial [H] Y. Steinman 315
Zev Parush Tzila (Kibbutz Ganigar) 316
R'Dov Berish Gewirtz Jack Landau 317
In memory of Lippman Weissberg [H] Aharon Scheps 318
My friend Shalom-Baruch Stchopak z”l Shalom 318
Shalom Stchopak z”l Yosef Marcusfeld 320
A tear for a friend who is gone [H] Dov Granek 320
 
Tomaszow Personalities and Types
 
Yosef Marshelik   322
Sara-Lea “the yeast”   323
Moshe the Watercarrier   325
Zaken the teacher   327
David Novyzhentch   329
R'Zeinwel-Leib the tea maker   330
Shulik Klezmer   332
David the blacksmith   334
The Tomaszow Lamed Vav'nik [one of the 36 “hidden Tzadikim”] A. Bogayewitz 337
R'Shlomo Eliezer the Shofar Blower A. S-N 338
Heroes of the Chevra Kadisha [burial society] A. S-N 339
 
Remarkable types in Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Elimelech Garfinkel  
 
The “Yellow” Baruch   341
Itche Bik   341
Shiye the Mashiach [the Messiah] (Koplowitz)   342
R'David Drechsler A. S-N 342
Avraham Lichtenstein A. S-N 344
To take and to take away Israel Frenkel 346
 
The Holocaust
 
Cover Page Painted by Shlomo Kronheim 349
El Male Rahamim [Memorial Prayer]   351
The Ghetto map Moshe Weissberg 352
“I Accuse!” Moshe Weissberg 353
The Germans are coming [H] Moshe Weissberg 356
The year 1939 Leib Yanushewitz 357
The decline of the Jewish community Elimelech Garfinkel 358
Deportation of the Jews of Tomaszow Mazowiecki in 1942 M. Grossman 364
The last Jews in Tomaszow Michael Grossman 379
Ghetto and ruin S. Meldung 381
The deportation S. Meldung 386
I shall never forget Eliahu Skornitzki 388
The death of my mother Sara, may she rest in peace Yitzhak Hoppe 389
My Mother Yosef Perlstein 393
The first “Aktzia” in Tomaszow-Mazowiecki Avraham Killstein 394
The Ghetto Doctor Dr. Moshe Zlatolow 397
The last Yom Kippur in the Tomaszow Ghetto Dr. Moshe Zlatolow 401
War episodes Shmuel Tallman 403
Testimony [H] Wolf Goldberg 408
One of the Holocaust survivors [H] Rachel Zohar nee Bietel (Kibbutz Ramat Hashofet) 413
Pages from a Diary [H] Sara Rosenfeld-Kirschbaum 414
One young boy's path of torment [H] Yakov Silberstein 418
How I escaped from Lizhin Camp [H] Noah Grinspan 427
After the destruction Moshe Weissberg 429
The first orders and ordeals Chana Borenstein 430
Crumbs of sad memories Sonia Sonabend (Herzstein) 434
Hard labor and hunger Leibish Kligerman 435
The “Palestina Aktzia” Avraham Singer 435
Blizshin concentration camp Moshe Niemetz 436
Memories of a child Tova Grossman 442
In the concentration camp Shmuel Meldung 442
Rosh Hashana [Jewish New Year] in Auschwitz Wolf Garfinkel 443
A Seder night [Passover night] in Landsberg Camp Zev Barkat (Wolf Garfinkel) 445
The terrible days Chaim Machowanski 446
The death-march from Buchenwald Zalman Zehavi (Zholtowski) 448
The animals are brought to justice   455
One of the murderers of the Tomaszow Jews Tennenbaum-Romanowitch 456
The German criminal Betich   458
Historical facts about the Jewish life in Tomaszow   458
Questionnaire No. 1 [H] Moshe Niemetz 459
Questionnaire No. 2 [H] Rachel Salem (Zohar) 460
The destruction of the Jewish cemetery in Pleshow D. Laznowski 461
Jewish children in the Blizshin camp Chaim Rosenberg 461
Yom Kippur 1944 in Auschwitz W. Shayowitz 463
David Goldman z”l Peretz Beitel 464
Yosef Tennenbaum L. Marcowitz 466
Zestawienie [Polish] Ch. Kantorowicz 469
Pictures from the Holocaust   470
 
Tomaszow Anti-Nazi Fighters
 
Tomaszow Anti-Nazi Fighters Moshe Weissberg 472
Courageous fighters H. Bernstein 474
Pictures of fighters   475-483
A trip in the wake of victory [H] Avraham Savir 484
 
Tomaszow Jews in Israel and in the World
 
A cry on deaf ears Bella Cohen 487
Tomaszower after the war Zev Garfinkel 489
Upon the ruins of the old home Shmuel Meldung 491
Return Sabina Wishlitzki 491
After the liberation Shmuel Meldung 494
The German Exile [H] Shmuel Meldung 498
Finding the last Tomaszower M. Weissberg 498
We were two friends A. M. Reiz 501
Dov (Bernard) Kron Moshe Weissberg 504
Sketches of the Jewish life in Tomaszow S. L. Schneiderman 506
One of the survivors Z Zehavi (Zholtowski) 508
A baby is born in the camp [H] A Savir (Srotor) 510
After the liberation in Germany Moshe Weissberg 511
The organization of former Tomaszow residents in Israel [H] Yakov Ullman 514
Overview of activities 1942-1969 Yakov Ullman 519
Nizkor [We shall remember] Yosef Marcusfeld 525
A short history of the United Brothers of the Tomaszov Benevolent Association in New York [English] Morris Korn 526
The Relief Committee in New York Leo Liess (Lisoprowski) 528
Leo Liess (Leibish Lisoprowski) G. Kosherowski 530
The Tomaszow Society in Paterson (New Jersey) Leo Liess (Lisoprowski) 531
Tomashower Society Paterson NJ [English]   532
Tomaszow Jews in France Max Gershonowitz 533
The Tomaszow Landsleit in Toronto Chaim Samelson 540
With the Landsleit in Australia Binyamin Weissman 542
 
Memorial Album   544-553
The holy martyrs [H] Yakov Ullman 554
 
Necrology   555-622
The Memorial for the murdered in Treblinka   623
In memory of the Holocaust victims in my town [H] Leib Yanoshewitz 624
Partial list of the victims   625-648
Died in Israel (until 1969)   649

 



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

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