Translation of
Seyfer Lutsk

Project Description

This project is being initiated to fund the translation of the Lutsk Yizkor Book. Editor: N. Sharon, Published: Tel Aviv, 1961; Publisher: Irgun Yotzey Lutzk Be'Israel; Former Residents of Lutsk in Israel. Pages: 608. Languages: Hebrew, Yiddish, Polish. Limited sections of the Memorial Book have been translated and are available on JewishGen at https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Lutsk1/lutsk1.html

The original book, in Yiddish and Hebrew, is available online at the New York Public Library: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/126ccbf0-662a-0133-1604-00505686d14e

Or at the Yiddish Book Center Site: https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yizkor-books/yzk-nybc313871/sefer-lutsk

The goal is to provide an English translation for significant portions of the Yizkor book, focusing on the history of the Jewish community, its major institutions and organizations, and personal testimonies and memorials. Close to 600 pages need to be translated, Approximately 450 from Yiddish and 125 from Hebrew, with a few sections with Polish text. The translated text will be made available online on JewishGen.

Key Audiences

English-speaking descendants of the Jewish community of Lutsk who are interested in learning about their ancestral community and lost relatives and want to contribute to the preservation of their heritage and make it accessible for future generations. Another key audience includes researchers around the world who are studying the history of Lutsk and interested in learning about the details of the community's destruction in the Shoah.

Project Importance

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. See: https://www.jewishgen.org/ukraine/GEO_town.asp?id=501

This Yizkor Book, is a first-hand account by those who knew the Jewish community before its destruction. Its value now is that most of the contributors are either gone or elderly. For genealogists, a translation of the book is likely to reveal names and biographical details that are not available anywhere else.

The earliest references to Jews in Łuck date to 1409, when it belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From 1569 to 1795 it was a district center of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and from 1796, a district center of the Russian Empire. Between 1921 and 1939, it was the provincial center of Volhynia in independent Poland.

The Soviets annexed western Volhynia in September 1939. German troops occupied the town on 25 June 1941, and the Jewish community was destroyed. Following the Soviet liberation of Łuck in February 1944, only about 150 Jews returned.

Project Details

This project will produce an English-language translation of the Lutsk Yizkor book. The translation will be completed in accordance with the guidelines of the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project, though fundraising will be done through various means, separately from the organization. The Project Coordinator will work with the translator to ensure high quality work and completion of the project.

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

Estimated Cost

A full translation is currently estimated to cost $18,000. The estimated cost for each section will be itemized on the Index page. This cost assumes a translation cost of $25-30 per translated page.

You may donate to this translation project here: JewishGen-erosity — Yizkor Book Translations

Timeline:

The project will begin once approved by JewishGen. At that point, a translator will be hired and the translation will commence.

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Updated 17 May 2023 by LA