[Page 721]

[Page 722]

[Page 723]

The disastrous news of what happened to the Jews of Europe and Poland in particular began to come to Israel already during the days of Hitler's war in Europe. It was difficult to imagine that these abominations were real, but unfortunately, they were verified through the letters of the first survivors that arrived in Israel and were published in the newspapers.

Suddenly, we were placed in the face of reality that was greater than any vision of horror. The first list of the survivors among the residents of Korets, which arrived from Tchelyavinsk, which is deep in Russia, proved to us all that the tragedy and the fracture that had flowed through our city had not skipped over even a single house.

After we recovered a little from the huge shock, the desire arose to help the survivors, at least, who were living in conditions of hunger and cold in the wilds of Siberia.

The first initiators and organizers of the Former Korets Residents Association were Zimron (Singerman) Avraham, Finer Moshe ben Yehoshua, Yaniv (Yentis) Pinchas z”l, and Golod Yehuda.

The activity committee, which took upon itself the task of organizing residents of our city throughout Israel, visited Jerusalem on July 8, 1944, called a meeting of former residents of our city, and chose there a local committee consisting of: Ozerinsky Shlomo, Brovender Yaakov z”l, Gilman Yocheved, Harpaz Miriam, Melamed Chaim, and Shafak Yitzhak z”l.

The committee in Haifa was made up of Broda'i (Broder) Aryeh z”l, Bar'am Shmuel, Góralnik Moshe, Charbash Aharon, Kornblit Alter, and Shilon (Gilman) Avraham.

The first goal that the committee set for itself was collecting the names of the survivors, in Korets and throughout Russia, a collection of addresses, connecting the survivors among themselves throughout Russia^[a] and with their relatives in Israel and in other countries, sending packages to offer help and encouraging letters.

The liaison committee, which was under the leadership of Zimron Avraham, was greatly aided by Yaniv Pinchas z”l and Kesselman Frieda. This committee was especially engaged in collecting addresses and writing letters to the survivors and to their relatives in both North and South America.

Private letters that came to a resident of the city were copied and shared with the rest of the city residents.

[Page 724]

The liaison committee corresponded with the anti-fascist committee that was founded in Moscow and searched for addresses and names of survivors through its means.

The addresses that we succeeded in gathering were passed on to the Search Bureau for Missing Relatives of the Jewish Agency, which helped greatly to make contact between survivors and their family members.

The first national meeting of the Former Korets Residents Association in Israel took place on April 26, 1944 at Strauss House in Tel Aviv and the foundation of the organization was laid there. The first national committee was chosen, which was made up of Yaniv (Yentis) Pinchas z”l - chairman, Golod Yehuda - treasurer, Zimron Avraham - secretary, Eshel Aryeh - dues collection, Finer Moshe ben Yehoshua, Melamed Chaim, Jerusalem representative, and Broda'i (Broder) Aryeh z”l, Haifa representative.

The first activity of the chosen committee was to collect dues in order to send packages to the survivors. Day by day, the number of addresses that came to the committee grew. At first packages were sent

The First Committee in 1944 From right to left: first row (above): 1) Pinchas Yaniv (Yentis) z”l, 2) Chaim Melamed, 3) Moshe Finer Second row: 1) Avraham Zimron (Singerman), 2) Yehuda Golod, 3) Aryeh Broda'i (Broder) z”l

[Page 725]

through the Organization of Polish Immigrants. These were standard packages. Every package, even the cheapest, cost 6 lira, which amounted to more than 30 dollars at the time. More expensive packages cost 9 lira and even 12 lira.

It was necessary to collect large sums of money for this purpose. Members of the committee and many activists who volunteered for this holy activity helped greatly. The packages that were sent were often truly life-saving.

The committee looked for ways to make the shipments cheaper in order to help even more and it gathered necessities, packaged them, and sent them by itself. But this form of shipment ended up being expensive because the recipients had to pay high customs taxes in Russia, money that they didn't have.

Each package required an accompanying personal letter, which was, in those dark days, no less encouragement and help than the package itself.

During this period, the suggestion was made to send packages through the Jewish Agency, which was connected to the Joint, which had opened offices then in Teheran in Persia and caused much help to flow to survivors of the Holocaust. It also paid the customs to the Soviet authorities up front and the survivors did not have to add anything.

The response of the residents of our city was enthusiastic and the stream of packages that began to flow, which included clothes and food, mostly arrived as documented and served as valuable help to the survivors in the difficult conditions in which they lived.

Member Melamed Chaim, who served as national secretary after Member Zimron, was a kind of “consul” in Jerusalem and took care in particular of the shipment of packages through the Jewish Agency.

Resident of our city, Shimon Finklestein, who worked then at the Jewish Agency and did much to save the remnant of the residents of our city, helped greatly. In addition to packages of food, Member Finklestein sent, through the Jewish Agency, packages of matzas to every city resident whose address was known to us.

A circular in Yiddish, published by the national committee, was sent to former residents of our city in America, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil, in which there were details of the huge tragedy that had befallen Korets and a call to give help to the survivors.

Former residents of our city in Boston in America, organized as “Ahavas Achim Anshei Korets Society in Boston,” which has been in existence for 66 years and had significant funds at its disposal, signed on with us to an activity under the auspices of the accomplished businessman

[Page 726]

Lewis Osher (Leibel Acher) z”l, who devoted himself to the holy purpose with all the warmth of his heart and his communal fervor and, together with us, carried the yoke of help for the survivors.

The committee in Boston collected stuff, packed it, and sent it straight to Korets and, indeed, it arrived, but it fell into the hands of the Ukrainian murderers. Only afterwards did it begin to transfer money to our organization in order to ship packages under the auspices of the Jewish Agency in Israel.

Over time, about two hundred packages were sent by the committee, in addition to the packages that were sent by the Jewish Agency.

The Korets survivors, like all those remaining, yearned to escape from the killing valley where every stone and step reminded them of the spilled blood. When the war ended, they began to move from Russia to Poland and from there, by circular means, through Germany, Austria, France, and Italy in order to come to Israel.

Former residents of Korets who served then with the Jewish Brigade in Italy met for the first time with Holocaust survivors, among whom were former Korets residents. Shlomo Broder, who was serving then in Italy, did much to offer help to survivors from the monies of the committee that were transferred to him for this purpose.

The British, who ruled then in Israel and prevented the emigration of the remnants to Israel, incarcerated them

Standing (from right to left): 1) Shmuel Zuker, 2) Yitzhak Vilner, 3) Dov Bernstein. 4) Shmuel Bar'am, 5) Yosef Wachbroit, 6) Yosef Kligerman Sitting: 1) Aryeh Eshel, 2) Dr. Yaakov Wolf, 3) Moshe Hadas (Bliman), 4) Yehuda Golod, 5) Meir Gilman z”l

[Page 727]

in concentration camps in Cyprus. Former residents of our city were also among the imprisoned. With the coming of the first information about this, the committee sent a package with letters and 2 or 3 lira to each one.

With the coming of the survivors to Israel, first support was given in the amount of 5 lira each, except for those for whom it was decided to increase their allotment due to their special circumstances. These sums were given to them as a loan until they got settled. Similarly, the committee offered help in securing work and housing for the new immigrants, due to the excellent connections of some of us with the institutions of the Jewish Agency.

With the end of the war, most of the survivors came to Israel, but some continued to wander and arrived in the countries of North and South America.

With the end of the aid activities of the national committee, a tradition of assembly from year to year of the former residents of the city was created

The Current Committee in Haifa From right to left standing: 1) Avraham Shilon (Gilman), 2) Netanel Ben-Shalom (Vovis), 3) Avraham Vidro, 4) Moshe Gurewitz, 5) Yitzhak Gutnik Sitting: 1) Shmuel Bar'am, 2) Dr. Yaakov Wolf, 3) Eda Bar'am, 4) Simcha Baraz

[Page 728]

in order to arrange a memorial, which mostly took place at the end of Shavuot - a memorial day for the first slaughter in Korets.

This memorial was arranged annually in Tel Aviv because the largest number of former residents of our city are concentrated there and in the surroundings. On this memorial night, former residents of the city from all over the country gather and the memorial serves also as a meeting place for friends and relatives.

In addition to this, a memorial is arranged in Haifa by Ha-Rav Yosefov, who is the grandson of Rav Michal'eh of Korets.

At these memorials, the committees deliver a report about their activities over the years and new committees are chosen.

The committee activists over the years were: (in alphabetical order) [=Hebrew alphabetical order]

Ozerinsky Shlomo, Eshel Aryeh, Ben-Shalom (Vovis) Sagyeh, Basyuk Eliezer, Basyuk Chana, Brovender Yaakov z”l, Broder Bracha, Baraz Simcha, Bernstein Dov, Bar'am Shmuel, Gutnik Yitzhak, Golod Yehuda, Gurewitz Moshe, Góralnik Moshe, Gilgon Avraham, Gilgon Nachman, Gilman Yocheved, Gechman Moshe, Dagoni Noach, Hadas (Bliman) Moshe, Harpaz Miriam, Vidro Avraham, Vilner Yitzhak, Dr. Wolf Yaakov, Wachbroit Yosef, Zimron (Singerman) Avraham, Charbash Aharon, Tur Mordechai, Lev (Lieberman) Pola, Levi Meir, Lieberman Moshe, Lidski David, Melamed Chaim, Smolier Moshe, Finer Zelig, Finer Moshe Ben-Baruch, Finer Moshe Ben-Yehoshua, Finklestein Aharon, Finklestein Sonya, Zuker Shmuel, Kornblit Alter, Kligerman Yosef, Kesselman Freyda, Schulman (Segal) Chaya, Shilon (Gilman) Avraham, Schorin Avraham-Yitzhak, and Shafak Yitzhak z”l.

And let us remember the members of the committee and its activists who have died during the lifetime of the organization:

First and foremost, Pinchas Yaniv (Yentis) z”l, the first chairman of our organization, who worked much and put many to work, who knew how to compromise and to bring the ship of our little organization to calm waters.^[b]

Member of the committee Meir Gilman z”l, the teacher, the man of culture and work as one, initiator of the idea of memorializing our city, who worked much and did not have the privilege of seeing the realization of his idea.^[c]

Member of the committee Aryeh Broda'i (Broder) z”l, the teacher, the man of great energy, the great activator for aiding any need, who was cut off by a malicious hand during the War of Independence.^[d]

Member of the committee and the board of our book Shraga Zawdi (Zabodnik) z”l, the writer

[Page 729]

in secret, the man with the phenomenal memory in whose memory life in Korets in all its aspects was preserved clearly, and knew how to dredge up from this well memories and details that were very helpful to us in publishing the book.^[e]

The activist Sarah Idsis (Yentis) z”l, the accomplished go-getter, who, despite her great public work, dedicated time to the aid operation for the survivors of our city and did much work helping them through the institutions in which she worked.^[f]

Yitzhak Finer, on whom all the terrors of Hitler's war fell, and, while he was living in the concentration camp of the British in Cyprus, took care to put down on paper, while his memory was still fresh, the list of the holy ones who died in Korets, and when it came to edit the book, sat with us night after night to update the names of the lost and his lists were a great help to us.

Yaakov Melamed, the humble man, modest in his ways, but hurried to help whenever the time presented itself, who quietly and humbly helped the activities of the committee through his many errands and help to survivors.

May their memory be blessed.

Yaakov Melamed z”l		Yitzhak Finer z”l

[Page 730]

The Commemorative Plaque on Mt. Zion

[Page 731]

Commemoration on Mt. Zion

Together with all the community committees whose remnants survived and who are present in Israel, the committee set up a marble memorial plaque in the Chamber of the Holocaust to mark the destruction of our city.

The Chamber of the Holocaust, found on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, has become, in the last years, sort of a museum of the immense destruction of the Jews in Europe and a place of pilgrimage for communion with the holy ones who were lost in the genocidal war against our people.

May this memorial plaque serve as a symbolic gravestone for our dear ones who were murdered by the Nazi enemy and never properly buried.

The current national committee decided a few years ago to establish a Kupat “Gemilut Hasadim” in order to give aid to the new immigrant and for the needy among former residents of our city whose economic condition is weak.

A fund was established, which is, however, still small and modest, but we hope that over time it will serve as the kernel for a serious fund that will be able to fulfill the task of real help in time of need.

The office set for itself the goal of maintaining a connection among former residents of our city, to unite them and to organize everywhere they live, both in Israel and in the diaspora.

It keeps in constant contact with former residents of our city, sharing in their joys and in their sorrows.

It is concerned with new immigrants, visiting them and encouraging them in their first steps in Israel.

It receives former residents of our city who come to Israel from abroad as tourists, arranging meetings with former residents of the city and trying to establish a feeling of personal closeness.

After much work, the office went from 150 addresses to an updated file approaching 600 addresses.

A strong connection was established with organizations of former residents of our city in the United States and with more than 100 former residents of our city in 8 countries of the diaspora.

[Page 732]

Commemoration of the City

Already at the meeting of the national committee on May 19, 1945, it was decided to memorialize the city by publishing a booklet of memories. A notice was published for the former residents of our city to send material and photographs to the address of Member Meir Gilman z”l, who was set as the assembler of the material.

Member Shraga Zawdi z”l turned then to the poet, Segal z”l, a former resident of our city in Canada, that he would take upon himself the task of editing the literary portion of the commemoration operation.

While the pain was fresh and the wound still dripped blood, it was difficult to put these terrors down on paper and the matter was postponed for several years.

During the tenure of the current committee, which was chosen in 1955, the idea of the memorialization took shape.

This committee dedicated most of its time and efforts to establish a pile of testimony and memory of the city and its holy ones, about which earlier committees had dreamed and this committee had the privilege of making happen.

The committee dedicated tireless time to collecting the huge financial means required to carry out this holy task.

The committee, which had never experienced an action like this before, did not imagine ahead of time what efforts were required to bring this about. The four years of attention to establishing this testimony prove how great the work that was invested in it was.

The committee did not have material that was already prepared and it was necessary to stimulate the former residents of our city in order to raise up from the depths of forgetting what was remembered.

We set up a marker for the dear souls, told the history of the city, described the lifestyle of its inhabitants, the unforgettable figures of scholars and city movers and shakers, the livelihood of the community and the activists of the youth movements, the beginnings of Zionism and the first of its implementers. Much work was dedicated to assembling the names of the killed in order to preserve their memory. And if we did a lot, the committee does not pretend to say that it arrived at completion and this is because some of the former residents of our city did not fulfill their obligation and did not sent the names of their relatives who were killed. The committee and the Editorial Board of the book worked in good faith and to the best of their ability. The labor of ants was dedicated to deciphering names that appear in photos and many months of work were dedicated to preparing a detailed and basic name key containing about 2,100 names.

We must praise the holy work of the editor of the book, Member Eliezer Leoni, who invested in this book not only unlimited work, but also part of his soul.

May the members of the Editorial Board of this book be blessed who, with tears in their eyes, dealt with the painful material, soaked in blood and pain, and prepared it for publication.

[Page 733]

The Current Committee - 1955-1960 Standing (from right to left): 1) David Lidski, 2) Yitzhak Vilner, 3) Chaya Schulman (Segal), 4) Avraham Gilgon, 5) Mordechai Turchinskij Sitting: 1) Zelig Finer, 2) Shmuel Bar'am, 3) Noach Dagoni, 4) Eliezer Basyuk, 5) Yosef Kligerman, 6) Meir Levi

With a feeling of pride and an anguished heart, the national committee and the Editorial Board offer this book to the former residents of Korets in Israel and in the diaspora. May they read it and take some solace from it concerning the wonderful glory of man and holiness of life of our families who were lost by the hand of the murderers, for no fault of their own.

May our children read this book, those that never got to know their grandpa and grandma; to whom all the past of their parents is strange; those for whom the diaspora town is a literary chapter that is learned in school, for whom the great epic of the source of the growth of the root of Judaism is strange - may they read in this book, please, and from it learn the recognize the source of the suckling of their parents.

Original footnotes:

1. There were instances where two people from the same family had survived, both in Russia, and the one didn't know about the other. Return
2. See the appreciation article on pages 741-742. Return
3. See the appreciation article on pages 742-744. Return
4. See the appreciation article on pages 744-745. Return
5. See the appreciation article on pages 745-746. Return
6. See the appreciation article on page 746. Return

[Page 734]

In the year 1936, I presented a proposal to the society, saying that we should help the poor Jews in Korets. The proposal was accepted. We collected several hundreds of dollars, sent it all to Korets, and it was distributed to the needy.

That year, the committee was comprised of the following members: Chaim Boruch Anapolski, Dovid Neuterman, of blessed memory, Yeshaya Shapiro, Pinchas Stokman, Yosef Terk (from Seliszcz), Hershel Silbert (from Sebetowko), Eli Berezov, and the author of these lines.

At that time, a Maos Chitim [funding for Passover food] committee was established to provide money for poor Jews. This committee was comprised of the following people: Beryl Anapolski, Vove Berezov, Dovid Ronis, Moshe Krasnostovski, Yehoshua Reizer, Shia Acher, Moshe Gildenman, of blessed memory, Dovid Reizelman, Ashe Blubstein, and Yakov Reiz.

The money was distributed to 253 families (897 individuals) and also to the following institutions: “Talmud Torah,” “Tarbut” school, “Taz” [healthcare organization], a “Women's Committee for Clothing,” and a committee for meat distribution for Passover, and a fund for manual laborers.

The last time that we sent money for “Maos Chitim” was in the year 1939.

[Page 735]

Standing from right to left: 1) Harry Luftman, 2) Morris Zlotnik, 3) Nussen Hofman, 4) Nussen (Nushke) Vasserstrum, 5) Pinchas Stokman, 6) Chana Drem, 7) Yisroel Zilberstein, 8) Gottel Herr, 9) Hershel Silbert, 10) Morris Rosenberg, 11) Dovid Feldman, 12) Jack Klein, 13) Sam Desatnik, 14) Eddy Karsner, 15) Lewis Osher, 16) Yisroel Landstein, 17) Frank Glozband, 18) Yosef Terk, 19) Lewis Goldman, 20) Shaya Shapiro, 21) Sam Sedoff, 22) Yerachmiel Kritchmer, 23) Nussen Katz Sitting: 1) Eli Berzoff, 2) Dovid Zokloch, 3) Hyman Heims, 4) Morris Malta, 5) George Golob, 6) Allan Anapol, 7) Morris Anapolski, 8) Bernard Nirenberg, 9) Alfred Beker, 10) Albert White, 11) Victor Gonik, 12) Karl Shuster

[Page 736]

Then came the great destruction, and understandably, we were helpless, and unable to provide any assistance to our dear Korets Jews.

Throughout that time, we looked around and saw that our friends were aging, and the younger people were not coming in with us. So, we decided to buy a small piece of land in order to set up a small cemetery with the name of the “Ahavas Achim” Society.

Thanks to that cemetery, our society became much stronger, because this connected the members through the donation of a regular membership payment.

Officers of the Cemetery Corporation From right to left: 1) Morris Anapolski (vice-president), 2) Sam Medoff (secretary), 3) Morris Zlotnik (president), 4) Lewis Asher, of blessed memory (vice-president), 5) Yerachmiel Kritchmer (treasurer)

[Page 737]

The monument in memory of those who perished (Lewis Asher, of blessed memory, and Rav Shmuel Yitzchok Korf at the memorial)

[Page 738]

in memory of those who perished, with an eternal candle that would burn day and night. We also drew up a list of the names of the martyrs.

But we were not satisfied with just memorializing the martyrs, we also felt a holy obligation to help those who survived and who were left with no life means.

To that end, we selected a special committee under the direction of the society. The committee was comprised of the following members: Yosef Terk (from Seliszcz), Chaim Boruch Anapolski, Morris Zlotnik (from Lithuania), Boruch Hofman, Dovid Neuterman, Yerachmiel Kritchmer, Moshe Rosenberg, Hershel Zilbert (from Szepetovka), Pinchas Stokman, Zalman Sedoff, Shaya Shapira, my brother-in-law Leib (Faigele's son), Eli Berzov, and the author of these lines.

We began looking for means to acquire food and clothing for our brothers and sisters. To assist with that, we summoned a mass meeting of those from Korets who were now in Boston and its surroundings. We amassed as many as we could.

Meanwhile, we received letters from Korets that some of the Jews returned to Korets from Russia, and they were poor and naked.

We immediately began to gather aid. We went from one house to the next and collected shoes and clothing, sorted them into packages, and sent them off to Korets.

But unfortunately, when the shoes and clothing arrived in Korets, there were already no Jews left there, and the murderers used up all of our hard work.

From a letter that arrived from Tel Aviv, we learned that there were people from Korets in Siberia, and they were pleading for help. At that time, some Korets refugees arrived to the camps in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, and also to Cyprus. They all asked for greatly needed help.

We held a special meeting for providing aid, and we sent hundreds of packages to every place that there was a Jew from Korets.

[Page 739]

The need continued to grow and this placed a heavy responsibility onto us. With great effort, we collected $700, but with this money we had to support the Korets compatriots who came to Boston.

We hold on to the memory of our martyrs, and each year we commemorate them with a memorial evening. Rav Shmuel Yitzchak Korf recites a eulogy for them.

With this, I conclude my presentation about the tasks of our society. I hope and I believe that as long as there will be a Korets person living on American soil, he will carry in his heart the light of our dear and unforgettable town of Korets.

The current officers of the Society From right to left: 1) Sam Sedoff (financial secretary), 2) Eli Berzov (treasurer), 3) George Golub (president), 4) Chana Dres (vice-president), 5) Alan Anapol (Anapolski) (recording secretary)

1. Lewis Osher, of blessed memory, sent us the article a short time before his passing. With great regret, he did not merit to see our Yizkor Book. Return

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