Drogichin, Belarus (page 223)

[Page 223]

Drohitchin [Drohitchin Immigrant Association], which still exists today.

[photo:] Bobba (daughter of R. Dov Grossman, wife of R. Gedaliah. She died at the age of 59 on July 27, 1935. At her gravesite are her children. From left, Yirmiyahu, Chaim Leib and Zelig.

Gedaliah was a type of interesting person that doesn't exist any longer. His wife Bobba, who followed in her husband's footsteps and who opened her home to all guests and people in need, died on July 28, 1935 in Drohitchin. R. Gedaliah perished in Drohitchin in 1942. May G-d avenge his blood!

The Grossmans had three sons: Yirmiyahu (deported by the Bolsheviks to Russia, [lives] in New York. His family perished in Drohitchin in 1942. May G-d avenge their blood!); Chaim Leib Herman (who [lives] with his family in New York; and Zelig (who perished in Drohitchin, may G-d avenge his blood!).

[photo:] Khomsk Alley. On left is the Grossman's wall.

Meir Yehuda Feldman

[Photo:] R. Meir Yudel and Chaya Feiga Feldman and children: Leiba (right), Peshka (grandchild), Bashka, may G-d avenge their blood!; Yosef, today in Chicago.

        Meir Yehuda Feldman was born in 1860 to his parents Michael and Heska in Drohitchin, and received a religious-nationalist upbringing. In 1881 he married Chaya Feiga, the daughter of Yaakov Hersh and Pesha of the Kaminetsky-Mishovsk family, and went into business.

        In 1892 Meir Yehuda went to the United States where he remained for 4 years in St. Joseph's, Missouri, and was deeply involved in community life. Among his achievements was the establishment of the Sha'arei Shalom synagogue, which still exists today.

        When he returned to Drohitchin, Meir Yehuda and his family settled on the Smolnik Estate, which belonged to Count Kontorov. From 1897 Meir Yehuda was the lessee and agent of the Smolnik Estate, a position he retained until 1914, when, due to residential regulations, the Czarist regime forced him to leave the Estate. The Feldmans

[Page 224]

then returned to Drohitchin.

        Meir Yudel, who was descended from an old veteran Drohitchin family, died with his wife Chaya Feiga. May G-d avenge their blood! The Feldmans had ten children:

        Avraham Mordechai came to the United States, married Rosa Boskov in Denver, Colorado, and who [has] three children.

        Velvel married Sarah Gutter, a daughter of Yitzchak the Kaiser of Antopolia.

        Esther Beila married David Friedman, Yosel Itsher's son, in 1908, and lived in St. Joseph's Missouri since 1910 and died there in September, 1954.

        Sarah Leah arrived in the United States and married in St. Joseph's, Missouri in 1907.

        Bashka, whose first husband, Yoshka Schwartz of Lechovitch, died in 1932, together with her children died in the Drohitchin ghetto, may G-d avenge their blood!

        Yosef [lives] in Chicago since 1937.

        Leiba died together with his wife, Lieba, a granddaughter of Moshe Isser's, and children in Drohitchin. May G-d avenge their blood!

        Sheinka was a teacher in the Moriah School in Drohitchin, and arrived in Palestine in 1934. She married there and died in 1947.

        Heska [lives] in Chicago since 1922, and married Sam Matz.

        Eliyahu died in Drohitchin in 1919.

[photo:] The Revisionist Zionist Beitar movement of Drohitchin in military training.

Betzalel Hershenhaus

[photo:] R. Betzalel and Ita Hershenhaus

Betzalel (Tzalka) Hershenhaus was born to his parents, Yehoshua Heshel and Malka Sarah in Dvien, near Kobrin, and received a strictly religious education.

        He later married Ita, the daughter of R. Moshe Poritsker, and was a resident of Drohitchin where he had a fabric and textiles store. Tzalka was actively involved in the construction of the Old House of Study, where he was also the treasurer until he left for the United States in 1926. As a token of their appreciation, the congregants of the Old House of Study gave Tzalka a thank-you letter, which is printed below.

        R. Betzalel died in Savannah on June 21, 1932. His wife Ita died on February 19, 1951. The Hershenhauses had three sons and two daughters who all [live] in the United States.

        Goodbye Letter [the first letters of each line spell out Betzalel, son of R. Yehoshua Heshel Hershenhaus, and then, House of Study.]

        Blessing on your head crowned with jewels,
        Your righteousness will endure forever, your rays will reach heaven,,
        To you, a public servant, thousands of blessings will be sent,
        Because you were a cornerstone in our town,
        Forever your memory shall be praised and glorified.

        With self-sacrifice you were active when the crown fell down,
        Your name is recorded among those who served faithfully.

Previous Page | Next Page

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
This material may not be copied, sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be reserved by the copyright holder.

JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.

Drogichin, Belarus Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page

Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
This web page created by Lance Ackerfeld