Kalisz, Poland

The Kalish Book
(Kalisz, Poland)

51°45' / 18°05'

Translation of
Sefer Kalish

Published by the Israel-American Book Committee

Tel Aviv 1964

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

This is a translation of: Sefer Kalish (The Kalish book),
Published by the Israel-American Book Committee; Tel Aviv 1964 (H,Y 598 pages)

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Kalisz (1964)

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
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Translated by Yocheved Klausner

Hebrew Volume

The Town and its Inhabitants

Memorial Stones	Baruch Tal	5
A Town of Blessed Memory	Dr. Shaul Zalod	8
The Jews - Harbingers of Industry and Commerce in Kalisz		23
The Manufacturing of Lace and Embroidery		26
The Professional Movement	Yitzhak Kaltcevski	28
The Sound of Machines	Shimon Horontchik	32
1904-1920	Peretz Walter	36
Our Town	Leon Solnik	39
Institutions and Associations	Alim	41
The Odzjalobi Bank	Dov Zilonka	44
Five Years of Community Work	Y. M. Haber	45
The Hospital	A. Even-Tov	46
“Linat Tzedek” [charity sleeping quarters for the needy]		49
30 Years of the “Linat Tzedek” Activity	M. Warshawski	50
The 30th Anniversary of “Linat Tzedek”		51
The Opening of the Pharmacy		52
A visit at the Home for the Aged	A. R.	54
Do not Forsake Me in the Time of Old Age	M. Davidovitch	55
A Jewish Kindergarten		56
The Committee for the Aid of Jewish Refugees from Germany	Eng. S. Sintchevski	57
Belaszki		60
Belaszki 1920-1957	A. E. Kafeman	63
Stawiszin	Shraga Engel	64
The Religious Life in Town	Rav Dr. Meir Schwarzman	65
The Press in Kalisz		65
The Sons of Kalisz and the Bearers of its Name	Yosef Milner	66
“Magen Avraham” [Avraham Gombiner]	Moshe Feinkind	67
Notes on the History of “Magen Avraham”	Shmuel Zvi Weltsman	69
The Great Torah Scholar R'Abele Charif	Mordechai Weiss	69
A Living Soul	M. Kalishay	71
The Rav Yehezkel Lifshitz	A.K.	72
Torah and Prayer	Arie Bornstein	74
Kalisz's Cantors	A. Kratijenski	75
I Remember them	Y. D. Wagensberg	77
In the Yeshiva	Shlomo Yehiel Nobel	79
The Anniversary of the “Eruv” in Kalisz	M. Ben-Menachem	79
The Pogrom in Kalisz 5638 [1878]	M. Menachemay	80
The Blood Libel in Kalisz	Chenski	81

The Social and Cultural Life

The “Hibat Zion” Movement in Kalisz 50 Years ago	S.Z. Weltsman
The Young Men of Zion	Eliezer Birnbaum	85
The “Poalei Zion Left” Movement	L. K.	86
The “Jugend” [Youth] Organization	L. Makowski	86
My Work with “Poalei Zion” in Kalisz	Chaim Brand	87
The United Party	S. Bejzvinski	89
The “Hashomer Hatza'ir” Movement	Shaul Zalod	89
The Bund	Y. Kaltchevski	92
The “Zionim Klaliyim” [General Zionists] Organization	Z. B.	92
“Poalei Agudat Israel”	P. A.	95
The “Poalei Zion” Party	Yissachar Kot	97
The Time I was a Member of “Poalei Zion”	Yakov Bienstock	97
The Youth of “Zionim Klaliyim”	Gershon Wrotzlavski	98
“Hechalutz”	S. R.	99
The “Lamif'al” Kibbutz in Kalisz	Adzja	99
Beitar	H. B.	101
“Hehalutz Hamizrahi” and “Hashomer Hadati” Movements	Binyamin Zvieli	102
In the Spanish War 1936-1939		102
Seeking the Right Road	Chaim Stein	103
Jewish Cultural Life	Meir Pakntreger	104
Cultural Activities and Institutions 1918-1939	S. Baum	105
The Borochov School	Lea Chmilewski	107
The High-School	Micia Yedwab-Katzir	109
The Jewish Theater and the Group of Amateur Fans	Z. K.	110
YIVO and the Geographical Society	Zalman Kaplan	112
The Gymnastics and Sports Organization	Yitzhak Kalcewski	113
The Sailing Club K.W. 30	S. Pincewski	116

Reports of a Decade

Kalisz in 5687 [1927]		119
1928		121
1929		124
1930		126
1931		128
1932		130
1933		132
1934		134
1935		135
1936		136

The Last Years

Results of the Elections to the City Council in 1927		142
Teach your Children a craft	A Rubin	142
The Competition	M. Warshawski	143
Livelihoods	Ben-Gershon	144
It is a Sin	M. Warshawski	144
The Ruins of a Town	M. Warshawski	145
“Hanuka Money”		146
The “Budget Meeting” of the Community Council 1930		146
Results of the Community Council Elections 1936		149
The Jewish Hospital	Dr. P. Beatus	150
Help, while there is still Time!!	Y. K.	152
The Cry for Help of the Small Businesses	K. H.	152
The Bloody Assault on the Merchants at the Fair	K.W. Bagrodzisk	153
The Terrible Fate of the Visitors at the Fair	A. Avnevicz	154
The Desperate Situation of the Merchants and Peddlers in Kalisz	P. Weisskal	155
“That your Brother may Live with You”	A Resident of Kalisz	156
There is Just One Way Out	Yedidya	157
Let us Continue on our Way	Litay	158
Images of Kalisz	Ba'al Davar	159
My Town	S. Rubin	160
On the Bridge in Kalisz	An Observer	161
I am not at Home	B. Ch.	162
Until When Shall we Wait?	Yakov Litman	163
The Etrogim [Citrus Fruits] from Israel	Rav Yehezkel Livschitz	163
The Herzl Commemoration Assembly in the “Shomer” Camp	Bar-Saba	164
The Lag Ba'omer Outing	M. B.	165
The Lag Ba'omer Outings	The Note-Taker	167
Our Community - to the Contrary	Shabtay Buki	167
Rosh Hashana [the New Year] 5692 [1931]	S. K.	168
The Donation Collectors	S. B.	169
At A Jewish Wedding	R'Yakov Meshulam	170
A Visit at the Halutzim [pioneers]	Ch. M.	171
Memories	B. K.	171
The last Sounds	Y. Kaltchevski	173
At the Beginning of the Century	Moris Walter	176
The Days of the First World War	Katriel Stein	178
Fears and Livelihood	Wolf Tzibusch	179
The “Herem” [excommunication] of the Benei Brit organization		180
On the Island	L. Sorek Halevy	181
Rosh Hashana [the New Year]	M. Packentreger	183
“Tish'a BeAv” in those days	H. Solnik	185
Tales from those Days	Dr. Y. Klinger	186
A Funeral is Passing	S. B.	187
Coffee Houses and their Guests	Y. Holtz	187
My Eyes are Seeing You	Meir Packentreger	189
Experiences of the Way of Life	G. Wroclawski	189
Venice in Kalisz	Yoshe"r	190
The Old Bridge in Kalisz	Y. Sheradzki	191
Nova Street 3	Bluma Wroclawski	193
Tziasna Street 19	Y. Holtz	194
The Old Woman	S. Z.	195
The Oppenheim House	B. Zvieli	196
A Kitchen for the Soldiers		197
How we Began Acting	A. Poznanski	198
Language and Folklore	Z. Kaplan	199
Malke'le	Y. M.	199
The Town in Solitude	B. Tal	201
The Organization of Former Residents of Kalisz & Surroundings		203
The Activity of the Kalisz Olim Committee in Jerusalem		208
The Organization of Former Residents of Kalisz in Haifa		210
A Mission to Poland 1946	Y. Arnold	211
General Relief - Organization of Former Kalisz Residents in USA	Kalman Aronowitz	219
Former Kalisz Residents in Australia

Figures From The Past		226-246

To the memory of the Fallen in Israel's Wars		247-250

Errata First volume, article “The end of the Town” by Moshe Gros (Zeligovski), Hebrew translation, the following errors: The name of the head of the Gestapo is Schenrogen. Those murdered in the deportations in the “gas trucks” were buried in the Winjary Forest, and not as written. In the last stage, after the deportations, in the labor camp in Kalisz 150 Jews remained, not 50. Second volume, p. 86, the author of the article “Poalei Zion Left” is Chava Sorek. p. 102, the author of the article “The Spanish War 1936-1939 is P. K.

Yiddish Volume

The Town and its Inhabitants

The memory of the Town	Dr. S. Zalow	258
The main industry	A, Sticker	283
The professional movement in Kalisz	Yitzhak Kletchewski	285
The sound of the machines	Shimon Horontchik	291
1904-1920	Peretz Walter	297
Our town	Leon Solnik	303
Institutions and Associations	Alim	305
The Odjalowi Bank	Dov Zjelonka	309
Five years of community work	Y. M. Heber	310
The Jewish Hospital	A. Even-Tov	312
“ Linat Tzedek” [charity sleeping quarters for the needy]	Alim	316
30 Years of the “Linat Tzedek” Activity	M. Warshawski	317
A visit at the Home for the Aged	A. R.	322
Do not Forsake Me in the Time of Old Age	M. Davidovitch	323
Children's home “Bet Yaakov“		324
The Committee for the Aid of Jewish Refugees from Germany	Eng. S. Sintchevski	326
Belaszki	Y. B.	329
Belaszki 1920-1957	A. E. Kafeman	334
Stawiszin	Shraga Engel	335
The Religious Life in Town	Rav Dr. Meir Schwarzman	336
The Jewish Press in Kalisz		337
Personalities with the name Kalisz	Yosef Milner	338
The “Magen Avraham” [Avraham Gombiner]	Moshe Feinkind	342
Notes on the biography of “Magen Avraham“	Shmuel Zvi Weltsman	344
The Great Torah Scholar R'Abele Charif	Mordechai Weiss	345
“ A Living Soul“	M. Kalishay	347
Notes on the figure of the Rav R'Yehezkel Lifshitz	A.K.	349
Torah and Prayer	Arie Bornstein	351
Things that I remember	Y. D. Wagensberg	355
In the Yeshiva	S. Y. Nobel	357
The Pogrom in Kalisz 5638 [1878]	M. Menachemay	359
The Blood Libel in Kalisz	M. Chenski	360

The Social and Cultural Life

The “Hibat Zion” Movement in Kalisz 50 Years ago	Shmuel Zvi Weltsman	364
The Young Men of Zion	Eliezer Birnbaum	365
The “Poalei Zion Left” Movement	Chava Sorek	366
The “Jugend” [Youth] Organization	L. Makowski	367
My Work with “Poalei Zion” in Kalisz	Chaim Brand	369
The United Party	S. Bejzvinski	372
The “Hashomer Hatza'ir” Movement	Shaul Zalod	372
The “Zionim Klaliyim” [General Zionists] Organization	Z. B.	376
The Bund	Y. Kaltchevski	377
“ Poalei Agudat Israel“	P. A.	381
The “Poalei Zion” Party	Y. Kot	382
The Time I was a Member of “Poalei Zion”	Yakov Bienstock	383
The Youth of “Zionim Klaliyim”	G. Wrotzlavski	384
“ Hechalutz“	S. R.	385
The “Lamif'al” Kibbutz in Kalisz	Adzja	386
Beitar	H. B.	387
“ Hehalutz Hamizrahi” and “Hashomer Hadati” Movements	B. Zvieli	389
Kalisz people in the battle against Fascism in Spain	Y. Keltchevski	389
Seeking the Right Road	Chaim Stein	391
The Jewish Cultural Life in Kalisz	Meir Pakntreger	392
Cultural Activities 1918-1939	S. Baum	395
The Borochov School	Lea Chmilewski	396
The High-School	M. Yedwab-Katzir	399
The Jewish Theater and Amateur groups	Z. K.	401
The drama section in the “Hapoel” Sports Club	Y. Tziwasz	403
YIVO and Geography	Zalman Kaplan	403
The Gymnastics and Sports Association	Yitzhak Kalcewski	404
The Gymnastics March		406
The Sailing Club in 1930	Eng. S. Pincewski	407
“ Hakoah” sports group	N. B.	408
The Kalisz Statute	Moshe Silberberg	409

Ten Years

Kalisz in 5687 [1927]		414
Kalisz in 1928		417
Kalisz in 1929		421
Kalisz in 1930		423
Kalisz in 1931		426
Kalisz in 1932		428
Kalisz in 1933		431
Kalisz in 1934		433
Kalisz in 1935		436
Kalisz in 1936		437

The Last Years

Results of the Elections to the City Council in 1927		445
Teach your Children a craft	A Rubin	446
The Competition	M. Warshawski	447
Livelihoods	Ben-Gershon	448
It is a Sin	M. Warshawski	448
The Ruins of Kalisz	M. Warshawski	449
“ Hanuka Money”	K. L.	450
At the gates of Jerusalem	Rosa Yakobovitz	451
A “Budget Meeting” of the Community Council	M. M.	452
Results of the Community Council Elections 1936		456
The Jewish Hospital	Dr. P. Beatus	457
Help, while there is still time!!	Y. K.	459
The Cry for Help of the Small Businesses	K. H.	460
The Bloody Assault on the Jewish Small Businesses	K.W.	461
The Terrible Fate of the Visitors at the Fair	A. Avnevicz	462
The Desperate Situation of the Merchants and Peddlers in Kalisz	P. Weisskal	463
“ That your Brother may Live with You”	A Resident of Kalisz	464
There is Just One Way Out	Yedidya	466
Let us go on	Litay	468
A mirror of Kalish	Ba'al Davar	469
My Town	S. Rubin	471
I am not at Home	B. Ch.	473
Until When Shall we Wait?	Y. Litman	474
The Etrogim [Citrus Fruits] from Eretz Israel	Rav Yehezkel Livschitz	475
The Herzl Commemoration Assembly in the “Shomer” Camp	Bar-Saba	476
The Lag Ba'omer Outing	M. B.	477
The Lag Ba'omer Outings	The Note-Taker	479
To the Contrary	S. Buki	480
At A Jewish Wedding	R'Yakov Meshulam	483
A Visit at the Halutzim [pioneers]	Ch. M.	485
Memories	B. K.	486
The Last accord	Y. Kaltchevski	488
At the Beginning of the Century	M. Walter	492
The First World War	Katriel Stein	494
Fears and Livelihood	Wolf Tzibusch	496
The boycott at home		497
On the Island	L. Sorek Halevy	498
Rosh Hashana [the New Year]	M. Packentreger	501
“ Tish'a BeAv” 1914	H. Solnik	503
Tales from Kalisz of bygone days	Dr. Y. Klinger	505
A Funeral is Passing	S. B.	506
Coffee Houses and their Guests	Y. Holtz	507
In front of my eyes	Meir Packentreger	509
The Kalisz way of life	G. Wroclawski	510
Venice in Kalisz	Yoshe“ r	512
The Old Bridge in Kalisz	Y. Sheradzki	514
Nova Street 3	Bluma Wroclawska	516
Tziasna Street 19	Y. Holtz	517
The Old Woman	A group of friends	518
The Oppenheim House	B. Zvieli	519
The problem of the Kitchen for the Soldiers in Kalisz		520
How we Began Acting	A. Poznanski	521
On the eve of the Shavuot holiday in 1949	N. Menachamay	523
Regional Yiddish	Zalman Kaplan	524
Malke'le		525
A list of Kalisz institutions in 1939, arranged by streets		526
The map of the town		528
The Town in Solitude	B. Tal	529
Organization of former residents of Kalisz & Surroundings in Israel		531
The Activity of the Kalisz Olim Committee in Jerusalem		538
The Organization of Former Residents of Kalisz in Haifa		540
A Mission to Poland 1946	Y. Arnold	541
General Relief for Kalisz		544
Associations of Former Kalisz Residents in USA	Aronowitz	550
Former Kalisz Residents in Australia		557
Yizkor		558

Figures From The Past		560-589

To the memory of the Fallen in Israel's Wars		590-597

Errata Yiddish volume, article “The end of the Town” by Moshe Gros (Zeligovski), Hebrew translation, the following errors: The name of the head of the Gestapo is Schenrogen. Those murdered in the deportations in the “gas trucks” were buried in the Winjary Forest, and not as written. The deportation of old people took place on 27, 28, 29 October 1940, and not as written. The number of the murdered was 290. The date of the liquidation of the ghetto was 8 July 1942.

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