After hard work and many difficulties, we present the book to the former residents of our town. We do not claim that we produced a perfect work; two factors have to be considered: We are not professional writers. However, we wanted that the book be written by our own townspeople and not by strangers, even if they are professionals. We did not have certificates and documents, minutes and records, which could serve as historical material; we relied mostly on what was told us or written – all from memory. We worked hard to examine the facts in order to ensure accuracy. We do not ignore the fact that the book is probably deficient, but this is due to the small amount of material that we have received, and we could not postpone publishing any longer. Yet we are thankful that we brought our work to completion and we hope that it will become a living monument to our town that is now in ruins, to its people and its institutions – all that is not anymore. The writer K. A. Bertini helped us with arranging the material and editing, and we thank him for that. Some of the people that wrote articles for our book or that are mentioned in it passed away in the meantime. May their memory be blessed!

The Editorial Board

Translated by Yocheved Klausner

Title	Author	Page
Briceni Map
Introduction
Chapter 1
The public Life - Associations and Institutions		1-28
The Communal Life – The “Association”	Yakov Amitzur–Steinhaus	3
The Society (“Farein”)	Yakov Amitzur–Steinhaus	5
The Jewish Community (HaKehila)	Yakov Amitzur–Steinhaus	7
The Home for the Aged	Shmuel Khorish	16
How The Jews of Our Town Lived	Yakov Amitzur–Steinhaus	22
Chapter 2
Zionism and Youth Movements		29-66
The Zionist Organization	Y. Amitzur	31
The Maccabi Organization	Michael Tcherkis–Amitz	43
Memories of The Maccabi Years	Reuven Khorish	48
Days of Changes and Turmoil	Aharon Cohen	48
The Philip Vasilevitch School		50
The “Shoef” Society		52
Competition: “Hahaver” Society		53
Hashomer Hatzair	Aharon Cohen	54
Hatehiya in The Years 1924 – 1928	M. Amitz	57
Memories of the Youth Movements	Zvi Shchori–Shvartzman	60
Gordonia	Dvora Beinishes (Fischer)	62
Our Hachshara (training) Group	Arye Bary	64
Chapter 3
Education and Culture		68-98
Hebrew Education in Our Town	Y.E.	69
The New And Old Talmud Torah	Y. E.	78
The High School – Gymnasia	M. Amitz	84
Memories From High School – Gymnasia	Dina Fuchs	87
The Vocational School	Josef Horowitz	88
The School of Commerce	Nesia Goldberg–Rabinowitz	89
The Cultural Life - Institutions and Organizations	Y. Amitzur	91
The Zionist Library	Josef Horowitz	98
Chapter 4
Personalities		99-126
Y. L. Bershevski	Yakov A.	101
Rabbi Moshe Gevelder	Y. A.	103
Rabbi Shimshon Efrati	Shlomo Weissberg	104
Avraham Goldgal	Baruch Katmafaz	105
Klara (Sarah) Lankovski	Y. K.	106
Yehoshua-Isaac Ber”g	Israel Avner B.	107
Moshe Vizaltir	Y. E.	108
Yosef-Leib Schiller	Mordechai Axelrod	109
Natan Lerner	Yosef	110
Yehoshua Kahat	Dvora Sapir (Haramati)	111
Aharon Steinhaus	Yakov	112
Yechiel Tcherkis	Y. E.	114
Shalom and Keila Kilimnik	Y. E.	115
Ben-Zion (Beni) Melechsohn	Y. E.	115
Benyamin Bitzius	Y. E.	116
Mordechai Schneider	Y. E.	117
Yosef Feldsher	Y. E.	118
Peretz Grinberg	Y. E.	118
Shabtai (Sioma) Bookshpon	Michael Amitz-Tcherkis	119
Ephraim Tchak	Y. E.	120
Baruch Yakir	Y. E	121
Fania Khorish	M. A.	122
Moshe Zilber, May He Rest in Peace		123
Moshe Tsam	Y. E.	124
R' Shneur-Zalman Shneurson	Shmuel Khorish	124
Chapter 5
The Days of the Holocaust		127-169
Days of turmoil	Shlomo Weissberg	129
In the days of the Holocaust	Shlomo Weissberg	132
Memories from the deportation	Yakov Akerman	137
What I went through	Donia Sapir-Furman	138
My Grandfather's Visions in the Bloody Valley (a poem) [Y]	Yosef Lerner	141
The Chronicle of Transnistria [Y]	Yosef Horowitz	142
The Road of Pain [Y]	Tania Fuks	152
On the Bloody Road [Y]	Sh. Weissberg	158
In the Bershad Camp [Y]	Esther Rekhter	162
Back Home [Y]	Sh. Weissberg	164
Chapter 6
Brichany of old [Yiddish section]		171-230
Once There Was A Town…	Michael Tcherkis	173
Briceni: Fifty or Sixty Years Ago	Shlomo Lerner	189
Between the Two World Wars	Shlomo Serebrenik	197
How the Jews Lived with Us	Yakov Amitzur–Steinhaus	199
The General Assembly of the Loans and Saving Fund	Sh. Weissberg	208
Rabbis in Britshan	Khaim Milman	209
Moshe Kizhner (Moshe Reitzes), May He Rest in Peace	Khaim Melman	211
Moshe Rosenblatt, A Friend from My Youth	Avrohom Goldgehl	212
Remembrances	Borukh Hokhman	217
Memories from Bricheni	Dovid Beznassi	220
“Wheat Money” (Money given to the poor to buy Matzo for Passover)	Shloime Lerner	226
Remarks	Yakov Amitzur	230
Chapter 7
Some True Stories		231-266
The Interrupted Party	Y. E.	233
The Lynching	Esther Amitzur–Steinhaus	234
The First Keren Hayesod Delegation	M. Amitz	236
A Speech for an Audience of One	Y. E.	238
The Death of Dr. Hertzl [Y]	Velvel Kizhner	239
“We announce to the People”) [Y]	Y. E.	241
During the horror of the pogrom [Y]	Y. Steinhaus (Amitzur)	243
Episodes from My Little Town [Y]	Nelson Wainer	245
Organization of Former Brichany Residents in Israel [Y]	M. Amitz-Tcherkis	247
Brichener Relief in America [Y]	Yosef Keler (Kestelman)	251
Brichany Residents in Brazil [Y]		260
Friends from Venezuela [Y]		262
A Bit of Folklore [Y]	Y. Amitzur	263
He Bought Out Someone Else's Sins	Welvel Kizhener	265
Chapter 8
Our Townspeople Who Have Fallen in the War Of Independence		267-272
Meir Gelman z”l	A. Feinberg	269
Yasha (Yaakov Moshe) Gnesin, Z”L	(A collection)	270
Chanan Tepperman z”l	Sarah Reichmann	272
Chapter 9
A Memorial Candle for the Families		273-291
List of Martyrs
Chapter 10
Brichany Today		293-296
A Letter from a Brichenyer		295

 Yizkor Book Project    JewishGen Home Page     Brichany, at Kehilalinks

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 2 Mar 2017 by LA

There have been visits to this page since 8 Feb 2012