[Page 101]

And the war continued on,
And David went out to fight against the Philistines,
And he dealt them a grievous blow, and they fled from him.

(I Samuel, 19)

[Page 102]

With emotion and awesome trembling, we present this second booklet, “Our Town of Druzhkopol, Pages of Memory and Eulogy”, to all of those who are tied to our town with all of their bonds, who will never be severed from the Druzhkopol that once was, and from the holy people who are no longer here. This town lived in peace, like hundreds and thousands of towns throughout Poland and all of Europe. It gave up its life silently, and was wiped out in sanctification of the Divine Name along with hundreds and thousands of other towns.

The simple, heartwarming Jews of this town lived modestly. They were of many professions, including: shopkeepers, tradesman, rabbis, teachers, and small scale merchants. They gave up their lives in silence.

The youth of the movements, whose souls were given over to revolution – to knock down the moldy walls of ancient tradition – they attempted to take control of their fate and make aliya to the homeland of the Land of Israel, to actualize their desires. However, their dream melted and passed away.

At the time of the storm and tempest that overtook the entire world, when “the mighty of the world” were involved in a war regarding world hegemony, they did not pay attention to the fact that one third of a pure nation was brought up as a sacrifice in sanctification of the Name. Our dear fathers lived in peace and tranquility with our pure mothers, who more than once sacrificed their own lives to save their own children. They all gave up their lives with a still, silent voice…

The natives of our town silently died as their bodies were still writhing in their death throes, as they were moving in the dust of their graves in which they were buried alive, covered in clods of earth that muffled their cries that ascended heavenward.

This Jewish community lived quietly, supporting their simple souls with dignity, earning bread for the mouths of their children, and studying the Book to quench their thirst of the words of G-d;. They all departed silently.

They, in their silent deaths, commanded us to scream out their final scream to the entire world, for they were lacking in the means to do so. This will rob our rest forever. May this scream of ours serve as a memorial to the destruction and iniquity to this world that mortgaged our blood and gave over six million of our people to the hangmen and murderers. We will never forget their lives and their deaths. May their holy memory ascend and shine as a misty light with the memorial flame that will fill the hearts of those of us that remain.

After much toil, with the assistance of a few people, we succeeded in gathering the material, testimony, memories and photographs that are related to the existence of our town Druzhkopol.

We are not oblivious to the fact that the facts and experiences told in these pages are often repeated in different forms. We know that there are contradictions in dates regarding various facts. In our opinion, these personal stories are worthwhile as they are, in their simplicity and purity. We made an effort to not edit them more than necessary, and we present them as they were written, in their original language. We believe that words that come from the heart will penetrate the hearts of the readers, who will erect a monument in their souls to the martyrs of Druzhkopol. We believe that we are thereby fulfilling a double debt that we owe our martyrs. We cannot forget everything that was perpetrated against us. We will never forget “that which Amalek did to us”.

We will read this work, and, with eyes filled with tears, as we remember and replay in our imaginations the days of our childhood, the streets and pathways of our town that lead to the synagogue and to the river. We will certainly see in our memory the familiar faces of our dear relatives, who will never be forgotten from our hearts.

We hope that all of the Holocaust survivors will take this booklet into their hands, and a bit of the atmosphere of “father's home” will rest upon them.

I say the following to the readers of this anthology of memoirs. Do not look in it for “art”, fine literature, or an engrossing book by a thrilling author. These pagers were written and edited not by professional writers, but by simple friends who desired to describe the tranquil life of the people of our town, that was cut off in an untimely fashion, and thereby to perpetuate their memory among us.

We hope and believe that this booklet, our second publication, will be received willingly, with holy awe, as a precious memorial for what was and is no longer. To all of us, these pages of memories should remind us that we are all orphaned. We should all observe the bitter memorial day, which is

The 25^th of Elul
A memorial day to the martyrs
Of our town Druzhkopol.

[Page 104]

List of Druzhkopol Natives in Israel

[Page 105]

#	Family	Name	Former Family	Address
27	Wackman	Yisrael		Kfar Yehoshua
28	Walshber	Rachel	Mirocznyk	Meshek Ashdot Yaakov
29	Wolokita	Tzvi		Kfar Givaton near Rechovot
30	Wolokita	Yitzchak		Kfar Achim, Doar Na Tel Ashdod
31	Vardi	Rina	Wolokita	Ramat Gan, Rechov Harav Kook 26
32	Wecksler	Tzipora	Burstein	Meshek Yagur
33	Wackman	Yoel		Kfar Chaim
34	Wackman	Hinda		Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh
35	Wallach	Malka		Kiryat Chaim, Rechov Gimel 54
36	Zlotolov	Miriam	Peltz	Kiryat Amal, Rechov Hakarmel 42
37	Zylberberg	Esther	Fishman	Tel Aviv, Rechov Nachmani 52
38	Yanai	Tzvi	Yentis	Tel Aviv, Rechov Dizengoff 22
39	Yekutieli	Mordechai	Klatz	Tel Aviv, Rechov Antipolski 9
40	Yekutieli	Tzipora	Goz	Tel Aviv, Rechov Antipolski 9
41	Yaakovi	Meir	Pasternak	Rishon Letzion, Rechov Rothschild
42	Katz	Eliezer		Tel Aviv, Rechov Sderot Ben Zion 14
43	Linden	Yaakov		Rishon Letzion
44	Linden	Shlomo		Ramat Gan B', Rechov Hatichon 13
45	Lerner	Leibel		Tel Aviv Café Noga
46	Lebowitz	Gisa	Fishman	Rechovot, Neve Yehuda
47	Linden	Pnina		Kibbutz Givat Hashelosha
48	Margalit	Aharon	Burstein	Ein Hatchelet, near Netanya
49	Most	Chaya	Wahze	Meshek Ashdot Yaakov
50	Nachumi	Shoshana	Gelman	Kiryat Chaim, Rechov Mem Zayin 20
51	Selai	Tzipora	Kipper	Haifa, Rechov Sirkin 70
52	Safra	Shemaya		Tel Aviv, Yad Eliahu, Rechov La Guardia 23
53	Sapirstein	Mina	Linden	Ramat Gan B', Rechov Haroeh 110

[Page 106]

#	Family	Name	Former Family	Address
54	Anavi	Bluma	Horenstein	Haifa, Neve Shaanan, Rechov Hagalil 82
55	Parnas	Tzipora	Kaftzan	Kfar Givaton near Rechovot
56	Pek	Dvora	Klatz	Tivon, Rechov Hachoresh 25
57	Feibisewitz	Naomi	Fuchs	Rishon Letzion, Shchunat Hapoalim
58	Friedman	Keila	Wolokita	Haifa, Rechov Allenby 77
59	Fuchs	Avraham		Ramat Gan B', Rechov Hatzor 12
60	Fogel	Yehuda		Petach Tivka, Shikun Vatikim
61	Fogel	Yitzchak		Petach Tivka, Shikun Vatikim
62	Fishman	Bluma	Warnitza	Jerusalem, Kiryat Moshe, Shikun Chayalim, Block 2
63	Zweig	Tova	Klatz	Holon, Rechov Ovadia 22
64	Kaftzan	Yitzchak		Kfar Bilu near Rechovot
65	Kaftzan	Tzvi		Kfar Bilu near Rechovot
66	Kaftzan	Eliezer		Kfar Bilu near Rechovot
67	Kipper	Moshe		Tzfat, Shikun Chadash
68	Kornfeld	Tzipora	Schlein	Hadera, Shikun Vatikin
69	Kantor	Nachum		Tel Aviv, Chevrat Hachashmal LeEretz Yisrael (Israel Electric Company)
70	Kom	Dina	Honig	Kibbutz Givat Doar Nehelal
71	Reiter	Sara	Wahze	Kibbutz Afek near Akko
72	Shlaoni	Yehoshua	Schlein	Ramat Gan, Rechov Yoav 10
73	Schreier	Menachem		Kfar Bilu Near Rechovot
74	Shulminster	Pnina	Shargil	Kfar Chasidim near Haifa
75	Shachori	Henia	Shargil	Ramat Gan B', Rechov Chatzor 35
76	Schlein	Malka		Hadera, Shikun Vatikim
77	Schorr	Rivka	Teitelbaum	Haifa, Kiryat Eliezer, Block I/48
78	Shochet	Tova	Beker	Haifa, Rechov Hahar 50 A'
79	Tanchuma	Mordechai	Goz	Kfar Yehoshua
80	Burstein	Yitzchak		Moshav Ometz near Hadera

[Page 107]

{Page Photo: The first meeting of the natives of Druzhkopol in Israel on the Intermediate Days of Passover, April 20, 1946, at which it was decided to register the martyrs of the town in the Golden Book of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, to plant a forest in their names, and to publish a memorial booklet.

All of these decisions were actualized completely.}

[Page 108]

With the Presentation of the Book

“Remove the shoes from your feet – for you are standing on holy ground”.

A sublime splendor, a splendor from olden days rises from that which is written on the pages of memory and eulogy in “Our City of Druzhkopol” about our beloved and pleasant parents, brothers and sisters who perished and died the death of the mighty on the alter of our freedom, and upon whose blood is engraved the freedom of the Jewish Nation.

It is expected that this pure booklet will arouse in the hearts of the readers who are from our town or from another town, a bit of the traits and preciousness that were the soul of our city Druzhkopol.

It is our duty to express thanks for the boundless dedication and energy, physical and spiritual efforts that were dedicated to this booklet until it was published, by our friend Binyamin Ben-Aryeh (Shargil); to our friend Tz. From Kibbutz Metzuva for the cover illustration, To Dr. Malekman of Yad Vashem for his guidance and monetary support for the publication of this booklet, to the writer Z. Kachol for the poems that he dedicated to this booklet, and also to Mrs. Leah Shapira for her dedication to the success of this book.

May all of them be blessed and thanked.

The editorial board expresses its thanks to our friend Buni Adiri for the translation of several articles from Yiddish to Hebrew.

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