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Sing! Take your harp in hand, hollow, stripped, and despised On its fine strings set your fingers, heavy Like hearts filled with pain, sing the song, the last song, Sing of the last Jews on Europe's soil. How can I sing? How can I open my mouth? When only I am left alone, alone in the ruins- And my wife and our two helpless children? - Oh! Horror! A horror appalls me…I weep! And in the distance I hear weeping. Sing! Sing! Raise your voice, your pained and broken voice, Search! Search for Him above, whether He is even still there- And sing to Him…sing to Him the last song of the last Jews To have lived, but who are now dead, unburied- gone. -How can I sing? How can I raise my head? My wife led away, and my dearest little Benji and, then, Yomele-only a child- I do not have them here with me, but they do not leave me alone! O dark shadows of my most radiant beloved ones, o shadows so cold and blind! Sing! Sing the last time while still on this Earth, throw Your head back, plant your eyes firmly on Him, And sing to Him for one last time, play to Him on your harp: Now there are no more Jews! Slaughtered off, gone forever!

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How can I sing? How can I raise eyes frozen In my head? A frozen tear has… Blurred my eyes…a tear wells up, welling up From my eye, but it cannot fall- oh God, My God! “Sing, Sing, raise your glance to the high and blind Heavens, As though there were a God there in the Heavens…wave to Him, wave- As though some great good fortune might still appear there and illuminate us! Sit on the ruins of the slaughtered people and sing! How can I sing when only a dismal world is left to me? How can I play with broken hands? Where are my dead? I search for the dead-my dead, God? -in every dunghill, In every small and little heap of ashes - Oh! tell me where you are? Cry out from every patch of sand, from under every stone, From all the dust, cry out from all the flames, from every puff of smoke- It is your blood, your lifeblood, it is your bone and marrow, It is your body and life! Shout, cry out loud!

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Show yourself to me, my people, appear, stretch your hands Out of deep graves, miles-long, and crammed full, Level upon level, drenched with lime and charred, Rise up! Rise up! Climb out from the lowest, from the deepest level! Come out, all of you, from Treblinka, from Sobibor, from Aushwitz, From Belzec come, from Ponar, and from elsewhere! Yes, from all the other places, With eyes torn open, frozen in a shout, a cry for help, and with a single voice- Come from the swamps, from the depths sunk in blood, from the rotting muck. Come all of you, dried up, crushed, and ground up, come and show yourselves In a circle, in a great circle around me, a great ring- Dearest grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers with little children on your laps, Come, Jewish bones, come from the piles of dust, from the little pieces of soap. Appear to me, show yourselves all to me, come all, come, I want to see you all, I want to look at you, I want To cast a glance at my People, my slaughtered off, silent, silenced people, And I want to sing…Yes…give me my harp- and I will play! 5-10-43

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I Play

I play. I sit down low on the ground I play and mournfully sing: Oh, my people! Millions of Jewish people stood around me, and heard, Millions slaughtered were standing, listened-a great success! A great success, a great camp Ezekiel Valley- Full of bones can hide in a corner- He alone, Ezekiel, could not hide, could not believe, The exterminated people, he would break his hands like me. Like me, like I would lift my head with disbelief, Disturbing the sky, grey, white and a wasteland, And again he descends with difficulty, down, down, A petrified stone buried in the ground, deep and silent. Ezekiel! Jew, you Jew in Babylon, you saw The dried up bones of your people, you saw And allowed this, Ezekiel…confused like a statue From the upper part of the valley and allowed those to be lead. And allowed themselves to be led: Ezekiel! Say, do you want To receive more bones? You know no yes or no- Do what you want, Ezekiel, what shall I say! Alas! A disaster! No bones from my slaughtered people are left! There is no place to put a lion[symbol of a Jewish grave], not a body to bury, In which a spirit can enter- See, see, my entire slaughtered nation, dead A nation killed, without anyone looking, without anyone caring.

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See, see, millions of heads and hands stretched out to us-count! See their faces and lips-a prayer and a cry! Go to them, touch them-there is no trace-a grave! I have invented a Jewish nation! I invented them! Not them! And they will no longer be here on earth! I invented them. Yes, I sit here and devise- Only torment can be seen, the pain, the pain, Their slaughter is true and obvious. See, see, they are standing all around me far and wide, And all of them-a shock goes through me-through my body, They look with Ben-Zion's, with Yomke's lonely eyes yearning, They look at me with sorrowful eyes of my wife. With my brother Berel's big blue eyes, yes! How does his glance come to them? Here he is! He alone! He looks for his children, not knowing they are here Among the millions here-I don't tell him, no… My Khanele was taken together with my two sons! My Khane knows, she took them with her- She doesn't know where Tzvi is, she doesn't know about me- She doesn't know about my disaster, she doesn't know, that I live…

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Come, silent ones, with so much to tell, come Khane, come Pay attention, listen to my voice and recognize me! Listen, my Benzik'l[Ben-Zion], my young one, my genius, you understand, Lamentations, I sing, the last of my last, of the last Jew- And you, my Yomele, my light, my heart, Where is your smile, YomOh smile, don't smile… I fear for him, my Yomele, like is necessary For me to smile, not to frighten…listen to my song… I threw my hand like my heart on a harp And let us ?!...Woe is me, woe is me! Eziekiel? Not him; Jeremiah…No, he is also superfluous to me, I cried out to them: Help me, give me a hand! But no more will I wait for them with my song-the last one to be sung Because they are one with their prophecy, but I am one with my grief. 15.10. 1943

I am the one who saw it all up close Children, wives and husbands, and Those hoary-headed old men of mine Like stones and slivers tossed on carts by an executioner Who flogged them without a shade of pity, Abused them with inhumane words. I looked at all this through the window And saw bands of killers- Oh God, I saw those who were beaten Marching to their death… I wrought my hands in shame… Shame and disgrace- Through Jewish hands the death Came upon the Jews-the Defenseless Jews! Traitors, those in shining bootlegs Who ran in empty streets Like a swastika on their caps-it was with David's shield that they Marched full of ire. With their mouths that wounded those words foreign to them, Arrogant and ferocious, Who threw us down the stairs and dragged us from our homes. Who tore doors open only to burst in with violence, those bastards, With a club raised high and ready to hit- Into the homes overwhelmed with terror. They pounded on us, hustling the Elders and shoving the youngest Somewhere into the streets overflowing with fear. And they spat straight into God's face. They found us in the closets and Pulled us from under the beds, And foul-mouthedly yelled: “Press On, to Hell, to umschlag, where it is That you belong” They dragged us all from our homes, Only to hunt inside them a bit longer. To take the last piece of cloth, a Bite of bread and groats. And once in the street-they went Mad! Look and cringe, for This dead street came to be a single cry of terror- From one end to another so empty And yet as never before- Lorries! Heavy with so much Despair and screaming… Inside them sit the Jews! Pulling Their hair and wringing their hands. Some remain silent-their silence Screams even louder. They stare…their gaze…is it for real? Or maybe it's no more but a horrible dream? Next to them are standing the Jewish police- Atrocious and savage scoundrels! Nearby-a German with a slight smile, Keeps an eye on them. The German stands at a distance and observes- He doesn't need to meddle in, For he kills my Jews with the Jewish hands! * Woe is unto me, nobody is left! There was a people and it is no more. There was a people and it is…Gone… What a tale. It began in the Bible and lasted till now…A very sad tale. A tale that began with Amelek and concluded with the far crueller Germans… O distant sky, wide earth, vast seas, Do not crush and don't destroy the wicked. Let them destroy themselves!

Itzhak Katznelson, born in 1886 in Karelichy near Minsk, Belarus:

To recall the circumstances in which this lament was written: between October 3,1943
and January 18, 1944, during his interment in the Vittel concentration camp, while awaiting deportation to Auschwitz, Katznelson composed this gripping poem.

He had been deliberately smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto with his son Zvi so that he
could tell the story of the murder of the Jews. On August 14, 1942, his wife Hannah, and two younger sons, Ben-Zion and Benjamin, had already been deported and murdered in Treblinka.

While in the French Vittel concentration camp, Katznelson buried one copy of the poem in glass milk bottles on the grounds and smuggled another copy sewn into a suitcase handle. At the end of April 1944, Katznelson and his son were deported to Auschwitz and murdered on May 1, 1944.

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My hometown Maków–Mazowiecki was situated next to the Orzyc River that runs into Narew River. It was the provincial town and its jurisdiction included the neighboring villages: Różan and Krasnosielc and many other surronding villages. The city had beautiful views, large meadows, vegetables–gardens and gorgeous orchards, clean air and sweet–river water. In addition to these treasures there was an old forest, healing and refreshing, filled with good air. Because of these qualities the forest served as a destination for excursions, entertainment and fun and during the summer vacation, it was a place for convalescence and tourists. Every ball or public celebration, including the annual parties of the local fire–department, which included Jews and Poles, lasted for several days; all were held in the forest.

The Jews were the majority of the Maków population. In 1897 the population of the city was 7,206 people, 4,448 of them Jews. And although their livelihood was not easy, they lacked for nothing[met their needs]. Mostly they were small merchants or craftworkers and they were content with a quiet and modest life, without great ambitions.

The laborers in town, mostly tailors and cobblers, excelled in their work and there was a large demand for their products in the fairs that took place in our city and its neighboring villages.

The sugar factory, that belonged to the Polish landowners in nearby Jusczyna, the two factories of leather processing belonging to R' Zalman Orlik and R' Matisyahu Raichik, the flour–mills of R' Bezalel Willenberg were important sources of income and these establishments employed quite a few Jews in labor, commerce and mediation.

Maków was famous and well–known in all of Poland and beyond, due to the products it produced, which reached faraway places and even across the ocean. It had a good reputation as a Torah city in which our Yeshiva was located.

The founder was the late R' The Genius Neta from Lomza, the father of Ben–Zion Hilonovitch [Chilinovitch], may he rest in peace, who was a member of the daily Warsaw newspaper “The Moment” and who perished in the Holocaust.

The Jews of Maków loved the Torah and were blessed by their Yeshiva and its students who came from near and far, and they maintained her as much as possible with contributions, paying for its students' lodgings and food. There was not a house in which a Yeshiva student did not get a meal.

The Yeshiva building had two stories and stood proudly downtown, close to the market square, which was surrounded by big houses. Nearby there were several Beit Midrashim for Torah and prayers as well as the “Shtiebel” of the Gur, Alexander and Amshinov [Mszczonów] Hassidim as well as buildings of other assistance and charity establishments. In their midst stood

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proudly the big magnificent synagogue, which inspired all with its beautiful design and its interior paintings, done by a famous artist.

The synagogues were full of praying people all day long as well as students and teachers of Mikra, Mishna, Halacha and Agada, that took place each dawn before the morning prayer and at sunset too, between Mincha and Maariv.

The city was often frequented by speakers and preachers who discussed and lectured about morals and Torah up–dates in the evenings. And if the speaker was famous many men and women flocked from all corners of the city to hear his Godly Words. They used to fill the Beit Midrash to capacity and after a mesmerizing speech, he was generously compensated.

After Maariv Prayers in the Beit Midrash, the studies began of Talmud, especially by Yeshiva students who lived at their father–in–laws and by youngsters who graduated from Cheder in GPT^[1] They were beginners and studied independently, in pairs, assisted by the older students who were fluent in explaining and guiding.

Indeed, the voice of Torah that came out of the Yeshiva and the Beit Midrash was heard as pleasant music all over town until the late hours of the night.

These Torah establishments infused the citizens with love for Torah and tradition and their blessed influence was reflected in their every–day life and mannerisms.

The main worry of Maków Orthodox Jews was the education of their sons in the spirit and devotion to the Torah, but this goal was not always achieved despite their many efforts, since many of the teachers were inadequate as teachers, not knowing the profession or for lack of pedagogical aptitude. They often had to use a stick, lash or other forceful means to let the Torah penetrate their students' minds, but they achieved the opposite result: by terrorizing them, they made their students hate them and the Cheder, where the students were held all day long, except an hour or two for lunch; this became the yoke and a painful burden for some. And if the children persisted, despite the harsh conditions, to carry the yoke, it was only due to their extreme dedication.

The exception was the Cheder of my Rabbi and teacher R' Mendel Warsawer, may his memory be blessed. He was a distinguished, well–mannered man and loved clarity and order, he transferred his wisdom to his students who excelled in their knowledge and behavior.

Although there were enough Cheders for sacred studies, there was only one municipal school for the Jewish children to study secular studies, which were taught in Russian.

This school excelled because of its multi–talented teacher–principal, my teacher R' Haykel

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Gutman, may his memory be blessed. He was an educated and knowledgeable man, honest and respected by all, except some ultra–orthodox who could not forgive the fact that his students were studying with no cover on their heads and girls and boys studied together. After this teacher–principial left Maków in order to become a county inspector of the schools, he was replaced by his student and mentor (who went to school with him) Shmuel Pianko, who perished in the Holocaust, may his memory be blessed.

In addition to this school there were also private lessons for Yiddish, Polish and Calculus which were taught to individuals and to groups by Mrs. Gutman, the aforementioned teacher's wife, and by R' David Rosenthal. The students in these classes came mostly from circles that avoided the municipal school for religious reasons.

Maków was proud of the great rabbis who served her. And, indeed, in the old cemetery there were many tents on the graves of the greatest rabbis and righteous, among them the famous Magid R' David Makower, may his memory be blessed, who was admired by everybody while he was alive. The elders of his generation praised him and described him as an outstanding man.

Because of its historical importance I will copy here an expert from the Russian–Jewish encyclopedia in my free translation:” Makower David Magid–Speaker was one of the first objectors to the Hassidic movement. He wrote a book

The members of “Haskalah” in Maków, 1912

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called “The Song of the Populist”. He lived in the last quarter of the 18^th century in Maków–Mazowiecki, fought the Hassidim by denouncing their way of life and beliefs and the behavior of their followers. He finished writing this book in 1798 but did not publish it in his lifetime fearing the revenge and persecution of the Hassidim. The hand–written book was distributed only after his death and it is an important source for researching Hassidic history.”

According to the hypothesis of the great historian S. Dubnow, David Makower is the writer of the book challenging the Hassidic “Zamir Arizim” (“Tyrant's Mockingbird”). The late Dr. S. A. Hordeski shares this opinion in his book “The Hassidim and the Hassid”.

The Maków families Jerozolimski and Gorlitz (my mother's family, may her memory be blessed) are its descendants.

Due to his energetic war on the Hassidic Movement, his followers saw in him as a distinct student of the Vilna Gaon, may his memory be blessed.

During his time in Maków Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart, may his memory be blessed, served as the great Head of Judges. He wrote and published in Maków his book “Havalim Baneimim”, Torah novelties about Shas dilemmas. He was famous as a wise and brilliant Torah scholar and was elected to become the Rabbi of Staszów. When the First World War broke the evil regime expelled him to Russia as a hostage. While in Russia for more than three years, he was very active in the educational and cultural arena and helped other exiled rabbis. After the war he wrote and published a book called “A Memory Book” where he depicted Jewish lives and their hardships during those years.

When he returned to his city of Staszów he found her destroyed and in rubble. Shortly after, he was invited to become a Rabbi in Toronto. He served there with respect and dignity until his last day and worked with faith and dedication for local public charities and general Jewish issues. He succeeded in founding institutions of Torah and charity. He died there accomplishing many endeavors with an excellent reputation. May his memory be blessed.

When this Rabbi left Maków he was replaced in 1903 by Rabbi Israel Nissan Cooperstock, may his memory be blessed. He was one of the most prominent followers of Alexander and was a great sage in Torah and faith. The local Alexander followers admired him. But the Gur Hassidim treated him very differently since he was appointed without their will and consent. They wanted their own candidate, a Gur Hassid. But their candidate lost the election for lack of votes. The Gur Hassid did not accept his loss.

The settlement of the Land–of–Israel was very important to Rabbi Cooperstock and he waited impatiently for the time when he would be able to fulfill this Mitzvah. When the fourth Aliyah came, he saw a window of opportunity to fulfill his life–long dream and without hesitation, he left the city and his rabbinical position, which he served for twenty years; he and his wife, the Rebbetzin, Haya Zipporah, their daughter Yehudit, her husband and their household all made Aliyah.

This bold step made a great impression on all. He was admired by all.

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People gathered and his departure was celebrated with great veneration and joy. Merchants closed their businesses, workers left their work and almost the whole city came to say goodbye to their Rabbi and his family, and wish them good–luck on their journey to the Holy–Land.

The Rabbi's farewell was emotional and touching, and his parting words to his congregation were moving. His many admirers danced and sang accompanying the Rabbi and his family to Pułtusk, the nearby city.

The Rabbi earned his respect with this daring step. Many Rabbis, who until then were indifferent and distanced from themselves from Zionism and settling in the Land–of–Israel; many were affected by what the rabbi did and changed their minds and some of them eventually followed him and made Aliyah.

Healthy and happy, the Rabbi and his family reached their destination in Holy Jerusalem. A short time after his Aliyah the Rabbi published a book called “The Love of Zion and Jerusalem” in which he discussed the four parts of the “Shulchan Aruch”.

Unfortunately, he arrived in Israel during a financial crisis and this, like other factors, prevented him from achieving the place he deserved. He had many deliberations in his struggles for his livelihood and status. Unfortunately, he got involved in an attempt to establish a separate slaughter–house, despite the objections of the local Rabbinate and to the dismay of the inhabitants.

This unfortunate affair, in which he failed miserably, caused him much sorrow, suffering and disappointment. The suffering and the pain took a toll on his frail health, he became ill and after a prolonged disease died, after many years of hardships. On 2/2/1840, at the age of 72, he was led to his burial on the Olive Mount. He rests among the righteous, may his Memory be Blessed, for his “ Love of Zion and Jerusalem” and his just ways inspired a generation of faithful people.

The Jews in Maków were proud that Nahum Sokolow lived in their city after his marriage to the local honorable and businessman R' Yitzhak Zvi Segal's daughter, may his memory be blessed, who hosted him for several years. During this time, Sokolow studied Torah and general studies and also wrote his geographical book, one of his firsts, “Mezukay Eretz”. After a few years he moved to Warsaw where he found a larger audience for his talents and became the president of the Zionist Histadrut.

By the way, I have heard that my uncle, the great scholar, the late Rabbi Rafael Hirsh Gorlitz (I am named after him) reviewed Nahum Sokolow and studied him before signing him up, as was the custom back then – he was deeply impressed by the young man's brilliance and found him very gifted. He also predicted him to have a great future in Israel in Torah, wisdom and science. When the businessman heard the examiner's praises, he grabbed the youngster as a groom for his daughter.

In the summer of 1898, a large fire broke out in the city and the local fire department was unable to contain it until firemen from other cities came to their aid, more than half the city burned down.

Assets and generations of hard work were gone in one night. Horrible and shocking were the sufferings

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of the burned people who remained without shelter and means. It took many years till they were able to bounce back, rebuild from the rubble and make a new life.

After a few years our Maków citizens endured more hardships: the Russian–Japanese war broke out and afterwards the Russian Revolution in 1904–1905, which decimated the economy and sacrificed the safety of Poland's Jews, especially in small places like Maków where the situation was far worse.

In those years of confusion and hardship, the Poles found an opportunity to renew their struggle for independence and at the same time to get rid of the Jews, which they hated, and so they used pressure to push the Jews away from their sources of livelihood. They declared an economic boycott and a total war, forbidding Poles from maintaining any commercial contacts with Jews. They led a vicious and relentless propaganda against the Jews, their labor and their commerce.

Antisemitism increased and the relationships between Jews and Poles deteriorated, to the point that it became intolerable. The livelihood of many Jews was destroyed and some had to leave their homes they inhabited for many generations and immigrate – mainly to the United Sates.

As God's will, in this case, they were lucky. The distress and sufferings of these brothers brought them advantages. And we now see that they escaped the Holocaust, which followed and they found refuge and safety in America.

The sons' of Maków were well organized in the US; they prospered and helped our people and our country[Israel] and like loyal brothers– they continued assisting their needy brothers. “The Organization of Maków Descendants” and the “Charity Fund” were sustained successfully in Israel due to their constant help and support.

The economic situation in Poland, prepared the groundwork for the Zionist ideology, which began to grow roots in Maków as well. Especially the youth who organized their Zionist groups– the first steps were cultural while preparing for the future.

At the initiation of Moshe Brjoza, Fishel Segal, his sister Sara, Yosef Hendel, Yehiel Meir Plato, Yosef Titonovitz, Shlomo Abelodeziner, Yitzhak Dobra and Israel Meir Menchikovsky, Israel Yosef Rosenman and the writer of this narrative, a library was created (the first in Makow), where Hebrew and other classes were given. We also held meetings, lectures, etc. For a while we had to manage the library and do everything in secret because of objectors from the right and the left. The committee was a convenient way to mange our activities. Under duress we fought the objectors and finally, after many efforts we managed to overcome the obstacles and with the money we received from the authorities we got a license to found the library and a club. We breathed a sigh of relief and energetically continued our work.

Our devoted work proved the objectors and the disrupters the importance of our activities.

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We even managed to convince the extremists, the deniers of our Zionist ideals and majestic dreams, not to ignore the importance of our activities and give us their blessing,[ believing it was intended as an act for assimilation], which were dangerous and destructive against Jews[many Chasidic groups were anti–Israel and there was also inter–sect fighting– if they did not adhere to the same beliefs and principles].

Our activities, which were essential and important, helped the youth gain National self–esteem, while still adhering to “old–generation traditions”. They realized that there was no future for Jews in antisemitic Poland. They got rid of the idle and decaying way of life and trained themselves [also physical training] to adapt to the new reality of Hebrew lives in a Jewish Homeland, those who were fortunate to make Aliyah before the Holocaust (I, who made Aliya in 1925, am one of the lucky ones) were able to be part of the country and contribute to its building and statehood.

“The fourth “Hagalil” Conference in Maków, 1930

Translator's footnote

1. Gemara, Rashi, additions Return

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