Translation of
Bessarabia he-yehudit be-ma'aroteha;
ben shtei milhamot ha-olam 1914-1940

Project Synopsis

This project is being initiated to continue the goal of finalizing and funding the remainder of the English translation from Yiddish and Hebrew of The Jews in Bessarabia; Between World Wars 1914-1940. Edited by: David Vinitzky, Published in Jerusalem-Tel Aviv 1973, 728 pages.

The goal is to provide translations for all the remaining pages. Up to now, a very small portion of some sections and some titles of the Memorial Book have been translated. The complete translated text will be available online on JewishGen at https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Bessarabia01/Bessarabia01.html

The original book can be seen online at the NYPL site: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=bessarabia

Key Audiences

The audience for this translation is:

• Family members and descendants of the Jewish communities of Bessarabia spread out in the world seeking to trace their roots, who are interested in learning and researching about this ancestral community, the whereabouts of their families in Bessarabia and want to contribute to the preservation of their heritage
• Genealogists, Holocaust researchers, professional researchers, historians and students of Jewish history
• Making this book accessible for future generations

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.

Moreover, the translation will allow us to:

• Pay respect and memorialize the lost Jewish communities of Bessarabia
• Fight Holocaust denial

As funds become available, Yiddish and Hebrew sections will be translated into English by professional translators. The project coordinator will review the translation and work closely with the translators.

Estimated Cost

A full translation is currently estimated to cost $10,000 USD

The project will begin once approved by JewishGen. At that point, translators will be hired and the project will begin, with an estimated length of one year.

Donations: JewishGen, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. People will receive a receipt for the donation of the material to JewishGen. The donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

We can include a credit with the translation “Donated by… or in Memory of…” to people who donate a minimum of US$250 for a particular article of the book. People donating US$500 and above will be entitled to a complimentary copy when the book is published.