Warta, Poland

Book of Warta
(Poland)

51042' / 18038'

Translation of
Sefer D'Vart

Edited by: Eliezer Astrin

Published in Tel Aviv by Artzi Press, D'Vart Society, 1974

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Emerita Project Coordinator, Madeleine Okladek

This is a translation from: Sefer D'vart; Book of Warta, ed. Eliezer Astrin,
Tel Aviv: Artzi Press, D'Vart Society, 1974 (567 pages H,Y)

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Devart

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Translated by Yocheved Klausner

Editorial		7
A word from the Editor	A. A.	8

Part 1: History of Devart (Varta)
Devart (Varta) – a geografical–historical review	Magister Eliezer Esterin	11–20
Four hundred years in the history of the Devart Jews	Dr. Yakov Goldberg	20–32

Part 2: Between Two Wars
What once existed will never be again [Y]	Mordechai Mintus	35–78
Times and Events [Y]	Chanan Shoten	78–118

Part 3: The Zionist Movement in Devart
Seeking the right path	Michael Scheinik	121–124
From the memories of a teacher	David Kochav (Stern)	125–129
The Zionist activity	Scheinik Michael	130–132
The Zionist movement in Devart (memories)	Yahalom (Diamant) Meir	133–141
Pioneer training	Sheratzki Mordechai	142–144
Yitzhak Nitke z”l	Nitke Chana	144–147
Yitzhak Nitke	Yahalom Meir	148–149
Shalom Prusk z”l	Meir Yahalom	150–151
Zalman Scheinik z”l	Meir Yahalom	152
Zalman Scheinik z”l	Scheinik (Fruch) Chana	153–154
Hashomer Haleumi [the national watchman]	Sheratzki Mordechai	155–158
The Gordonia branch in Devart	Ozerowitz Chana	159–160
The Mizrachi in Devart [Y]	Miriam Reizel Schlesinger (Cohen)	161–164
Hashomer Hadati and Torah Va'avoda in Devart	David Kornovski	165–166
Hashomer Hadati and Torah Va'avoda	Eliezer Sheps	167–168
Benot Yaakov and the Beit–Yaakov School	Golda Biatus (Yoskowitz) z”l	169–171
Expectation and hope	Lea Sandek	171–172
Adventures of Aliya	Sheratzki Mordechai	172–175
Pains of Aliya	Neuman Arie Leib	175–178

Part 4: Torah Study in Devart
From Devart shall the Torah Shine…	Esterin Eliezer	181
R'Meir Dan Plutzki z”l	Esterin Eliezer	182–190
The Rav R'Eliyahu Laskovski	Katriel Munitz	190–191
R'Menachem Mendel Kasher	Eliezer Esterin	192–193

Part 5: My Home
My home	Meir Yahalom	197–199
Memories from home	Arie Leib Neuman	201–203
I remember [Y]	Ozerowitz Chana	204–207
From my old home [Y]	Bluma Sandberg (Herzberg)	208–212
R'Mendel Sandberg and his wife Luba [Y]	Miriam Reizel Schlesinger (Cohen)	213
R'Michael Zalman HaKohen [Y]	Miriam Reizel Schlesinger (Cohen)	214–216
R'Michael Zalman HaKohen [Y]	Malka Imber (Cohen)	216–217
R'Michael Zalman HaKohen [Y]	Shlomo Ben–Yehoshua (Cohen)	218–219
The harmonic, perfect family [Y]	Tzila Yankelewitz (Diamant)	220–222
The Munter family [Y]	Zelig Munter	222–227
The home of my grandfather	Mandelbaum Yona	228–230
The Arzon family	Yitzhak Mordechai Arzon	230–234
The Pavlowitz family	Meir, Avraham and Gideon Pavlowitz	235–240
My home	Sara Zeifa (Meirowitz)	240–243
R'Yakov Yehuda Kozhol	Lea Sandek (Kozhol)	243–244
On the threshold	Reuven Gelbert	245–252
One family	Moshe Shoten	252–257
Four generations	Yehoshua Berkenwald	257–260
Yitzhak Eisner z”l	Rivka Freund (Eisner)	260–261

Part 6: Stories and Memories
Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in Devart	Mordechai Mintos	265–276
My Shtetele Devart [Y]	Michael Scheinik	277–295
Bendit Feuerman	Michael Scheinik	295–299
Anti–Semitism in Devart	Freida Rachel Kestcher (Kolton)	299–300
Desecrating the Sabbath [Y]	Rivka Freund (Eisner)	301–303
I have not forgotten [Y]	Pesia Shoten (Neuman)	303–311
Fragments of memories	Katriel Munitz	311–313
Avraham Yosef Kolten	Ozerowitz Chana	314–315
The Fruch family	Chana Scheinik (Fruch)	315–318
Thoughts, reflections	Tzipora Packentreger (Skorka)	318–322
The story of the Mister–Lady, by the joke tellers	Tzipora Packentreger (Skorka)	323
The first movie in Devart	Tzipora Packentreger (Skorka)	324
From Devart, through Australia to Eretz Israel		325–329
From Devart to Israel	Obreznik Shlomo	330–332
A ray of light in the darkness	Moshe Shoten	333–337
Figures, landscapes and events	Mordechai Mintos	338–355

Part 7: The Holocaust and the Lodz Ghetto
The history of the Holocaust	A. Esterin	359–361
YIZKOR	Chanan Shoten	362–370
There once was a town named Devart	Moshe Shoten	370–372
During those terrible days [Y]	Aharon Meirowitz	373–382
Devart in the claws of the predator	Nechemia Gelbert z”l	382–390
From bad to worse	Shmuel Sandberg	390–399
The Jewish community in Devart before its annihilation	Gershon Kozhol	399–404
The Jewish community in Devart before its annihilation	Natalia Kozhol	405–409
The Jewish community in Devart before its annihilation	Zelig Munter	409–411
The beginning of the Holocaust	Shoten Moshe	412–414
The remedy that disappointed	Ozerowitz Chana	415
"Yid, where is your star?"	Shoten Moshe	416–418
The ten martyrs of Devart	Shoten Moshe	418–422
In the shadow of the hangings	Reuven Gelbert	422–427
In the church	Feige Lea Adler	428
Shmuel, give a slice of bread!	Moshe Shoten	429–431
And the first were the children	Ozerowitz Chana	431–435
The boy from Belashki	Ozerowitz Chana, Shoten Moshe	436–367
The execution in Rasseshitz [Y]	Ozerowitz Chana, Shoten Moshe	438–439
The hand of fate	Moshe Cohen	440–443
The separation	Moshe Shoten	444–449
In the Lodz ghetto	Eliezer Sheps	450–452
Two brothers	Shoten Moshe	453–456
A mother's heart	Shoten Moshe	457–459
Continuing the journey	Shoten Moshe	460–462
Thin, but strong	Shoten Moshe	462–464
In the camps	Gershon Kozhol	464–467
In the ghetto and in the camps	Katriel Munitz	468
The annihilation of the Lodz ghetto, and in the camps	Chana Ozerowitz (Kalinovski)	469–477
In the Halbstadt camp	Golda Dina Biatus (Yoskowitz) z”l	478–481
In the camps	Reuven Gelbert	481–482
The shoes that saved me	Eiger (Ayke) Menachem Mendel	483–485
Terrible times	Yehoshua Berkenwald	485–487
Days of darkness and death	Israel Eisner	487–490
The annihilation of the Devart ghetto	Natalia Kozhol	491–492
The last days in camp	Shoten Moshe	493–496

Part 8: Pains of Salvation and Liberation
Pains of salvation	Gershon Kozhol	499
With the liberation	Ozerowitz Chana	500–501
Liberation	Shoten Moshe	501–504
Reality	Shoten Moshe	505–506

Part 9: In Devart, after the Destruction
The road of suffering	Zelig Munter	509–511
A brother in suffering	Moshe Shoten	511–515
Returning home	Moshe Shoten	515–518
The last visit in Devart	Gershon Kozhol	519–520
I returned home	Ozerowitz Chana	520–523
Again without a home	Shoten Moshe	523–527
The land is burning under our feet	Shoten Moshe	527–534
On the way	Yehoshua Berkenwald	534–535

Part 10: Somewhere in Russia
Far, far in Russia [Y]	A. Esterin	539
In the far North [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	539
Memories from the war [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	539
In the deportation camps [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	540
Far in Russia [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	540
Tchivie [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	540
Novy Troitzk [Y]	Shlomo Ben Yehoshua (Cohen)	540–541
Greetings from far–away Siberia	Shoten Yehuda	541–543

Part 11: The Illegal Aliya
The illegal Aliya	Eliezer Sheps	547–548

Part 12: Israel Wars
The road of the sons	Mordechai Montos	551–552
Yechiel Mendel Auerbach	David Shoten	553–556
Captain Shmuel Keren z”l	Eliezer Esterin	556–557

Part 13: Organization of Devart Jews in Israel
Organization of Devart Jews in Israel	Meir Yahalom	561–564
List of people from Warta who died in Israel up to 1974		567

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