[Page 7]

For a year and a half, we worked to bring the idea of this book to fruition.

We attempted to cover all aspects of Vishnevets and its martyrs so that the book will illuminate the town and its people, who envisioned a good and fruitful society and established its institutions for the betterment of that society.

We wanted to bring to light …

[Translation Editor's Note: The remainder of this page has not been translated.]

[Page 8]

Several sections of the book relate the history of the village as it is known through historical research and its beloved citizens' lives. Among them are people whose characters represent the jewels of values and ethics – a certain purity of soul that lived and walked in Vishnevets and lent the town the human charm that characterized the last days before its destruction. Those were the days in which death was imminent and unavoidable. Thus, this book becomes the last testimony of the holy community of Vishnevets, which should never be forgotten, as well as an enduring blemish on those who helped bring down the butcher's knife on it – those who found pleasure and delight in torturing the finest of people.

This book will be useful to researchers of communities, history, and society as a meticulous and comprehensive diary.

As a testimony written in blood and tears, the book will also serve those who research the annals of the hideous crime perpetrated by one nation against another.

Nor have we forgotten to include sections that perpetuate the memory of those who died for the sake of our nation.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this venture and helped overcome its difficulties. Thanks to these individuals, this book has become a treasure of combined effort, and all credit is due to them.

We would like to ask forgiveness in advance for any mistakes or oversights that have inevitably found their way into the book, as those are part and parcel of a venture that is the work of many and that encompasses so many pages and such a broad scope of time.

We, in turn, forgive those witnesses of the disaster who could not participate in the making of this book; we understand their reasons, and they are excused.

Finally, we thank Mishe Koren, a Vishnevets survivor living in Argentina, who contributed his memories of Vishnevets and, in so doing, contributed a dimension of its spiritual splendor. His role in the book is of the utmost importance.

We also would like to thank our colleagues in the Vishnevets Society of the United States, who made every effort to facilitate our financial needs in publishing the book and also presented us with a unique chapter for the book, without which the picture of Vishnevets would not have been complete.

Bravo to the people of Vishnevets in America; you have shown us that Vishnevets and its people are still alive in your hearts even after so many decades. Thank you for enabling us to build this tome of remembrance to our martyrs.

It is not an easy undertaking to ask people who must do the daily chores of human existence to add hours upon hours of work recounting and remembering in order to bring our village, its people, and its society to life through these pages. It was even more difficult to convince those who witnessed the Holocaust – those who experienced firsthand in their souls and on their bodies the very things they long to forget – to go back and tell their story. Those moments of remembrance brought waves of shock, fear, and horror along with them.

For all who put their shoulders to the task of making this book happen, this has been a period of much effort and soul searching. But a deep consciousness of the need for the book helped us along our difficult path. Finally, we see the book as a culmination of much effort and many questions that at times seemed to be more difficult to answer than …

[Translation Editor's Note: The remainder of this page has not yet been translated.]

[Page 9]

[Page 10]

A person who engages in the creation of a memorial book immerses himself in a continually painful autumn that separates him from the reality of life in our country's spring, and melancholy is his constant companion.

Therefore, a memorial book is created only by talented individuals with a deep sense of responsibility to their generation – a generation of children to the destroyed generation of parents, and we bless their emotions.

One individual whose excellent work is in this book is Meir Or, who showed initiative and energy and did not rest until he had found material on all the topics covered here. Thanks to him, the fearful, majestic book project began, and thanks to him, it ended.

As an editor, I want to thank him for helping me, but as a man who has invested many years in creating a memorial to those who conceal their painful memories, I send all the best wishes of all our organization's members to Meir, a beloved man from Vishnevets who is loyal to her memory.

And Yehoshue Ron, who provided his services to this book and took part in our mission, is also counted among the blessed.

And along with those two, blessings to Moshe Segal, whose gifts and talent added a personal touch and substance to the book.

To the women who brought about this book, Sore and Yone, a special blessing for their efforts and for understanding the importance of the book.

Those who assume the lead in and dedicate themselves to such a weighty, intense mission are few. Therefore, in keeping with public opinion and in the names of the martyrs memorialized by this book, we are inspired to bless them in the pages of this book, since their part in it is the reason for its existence and a part of its contents.

  Vishnevets, Ukraine     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 27 Apr 2012 by LA