Translation of the
First Ghetto to Revolt-- Lachwa

Project Synopsis

Complete the translation of the Yizkor Book, which is mostly in Hebrew, but has portions in Yiddish, to English with images (photos, maps, etc.) and post as permissions allow. The material will be available to all visitors to the JewishGen website once completely translated, the book will also be a made available in print on demand edition from JewishGen.

Brief Description of the Book: The book is titled “ראשונים למרד לחווה“ which translated means “First Ghetto to Revolt-- Lachwa” was originally published in 1957. It is a 505 pages of material including history, narratives, poems, and tributes, all authored by more than 30 survivors who share their first hand experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. It chronicles, the history of the Jews of the Town of Lachwa (alternatively spelled Lakhwa or Lachva) which was in Poland until 1939 and after which it was incorporated into Belarus.

Key Audiences

The primary audience for this book consists of the descendants of those who lived in Lachva and surrounding areas. Many of the descendants live in the diaspora with English as their primary language. It will also be of interest to academics and historians. It is a record of a centuries old community of Jewish people by the few who survived who preserved in writing. The Jewish community had many religious, charitable, cultural, educational, and diverse political organizations that flourished until the Holocaust.

This an important record that includes personal accounts of the uprising of the residents of the Lachwa Jewish Ghetto which began on September 2, 1942 which predated the well documented  Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It is an earlier example of Jews who refused to passively submit to systematic mass murder by the Nazis the cooperating local and regional police.

There are few if any of those who escaped the ghetto who remain alive. This is a record that must be translated, preserved and available for informing the descendants of the martyrs and the survivors, and all of those who lived there and left for a better life before the Holocaust.

It is also a record that needs to be translated and known to the English speakers of the world and Jews of the Diaspora who are living in comfort and safety. The vibrancy of the organizations and politics of Jews of Lachva and successful wipe out of the vast majority of them no matter what their affiliations and beliefs were demonstrates Antisemites do not distinguish between Jews who support Israel and those who do not.

Translation into English of the portion of the Lachva Yizkor Book that have not been translated yet. The resulting translations will be posted, as they are completed, on the Yizkor Book Translations site at https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/lakhva/lakhva.html

Estimated Cost

$15,000. (This is only an estimate by the Project Manager). Translations will begin as funds become available.