[Page iii]

Yizkor Books, that sought to preserve the memory of those Jewish communities in the Diaspora that were wiped out by the Nazis, began to appear by the late 1940's. About seven hundred books were published then, because every organization of émigrés from a city or town [living] in Israel saw a need to preserve the memory of the city or town from which his comrades came. Therefore, the appearance of this book may seem surprising – to the memory of the Jewish community of Volkovysk and its environs – forty three years after the Holocaust. It appears to me that some explanation is in order for this surprising work, in view of the fact that two volumes appeared in the United States in 1949, by Dr. Moses Einhorn, entitled Wolkovisker Yizkor Book, and many of the scions of Volkovysk were satisfied with that, because the publisher has succeeded in assembling a great deal of informative material in his books, from various sources, and also availed himself of the eye witness accounts of those who survived the Holocaust.

By and large, these books were written in Yiddish (several tens of pages in English also), and as can be understood, only those who understand this language can access them. In one of his letters to the Organization of Émigrés from Volkovysk in Israel, Dr. Einhorn conveyed his hope and request that one day his books would be translated into Hebrew, however, for a variety of reasons, this never came to pass. Only a folio put out by the Organization of Émigrés from Volkovysk in Israel was published in Hebrew, in the year 1945, with the first news of the fate of the Jews of Volkovysk, but not much else.

When I reached Israel after the war, I heard a great deal from the Volkovysk émigrés, that there was a need to preserve the memory of our Jewish community, in a book written in Hebrew, however, for whatever reason, this never got past the talking stage or the realm of wishful thinking.

I am compelled to admit that never in my life did I believe that I would be the one to realize Dr. Einhorn's hope, and of the older people from Volkovysk, in the creation of a Yizkor Book in Hebrew about our city. When I came to Israel after the Holocaust, like the proverbial smoking ember rescued fro the fire, a remnant of a large family, I was in a state of mental and physical exhaustion, after years of battle in the partisan camps, and activities in the illegal immigration. My disposition during those years was to forget the past, not to preserve the past. I wanted to free myself from te terrible trauma that clung to me, and as the case with all survivors of the Holocaust, to normalize my life and raise a family in Israel. Because of this, and for other reasons not relevant here, it never occurred to me to take on this task. In particular, I could be satisfied with Dr. Einhorn's books in Yiddish, a language with which I was facile. And for this reason, I felt an emotional need to read every book about the Holocaust. In the midst of reading these books, I always had a perception of deficiency, in particular as it applied to our city, a city and Mother to Jewry, with a large Jewish population, that it hadn't been worthy of having a Yizkor Book in the same manner as many other smaller cities and towns, but let it be said that the matter did not bother me a great deal. I had hoped, and perhaps was certain, that in the end, the elders of Volkovysk, who were found in Israel would be aroused, and publish a Yizkor Book in Hebrew, or that they would have Dr. Einhorn's book translated into Hebrew.

Many years went by. The injustice subsided, and the partisan of bygone days, who took his revenge upon the Nazis who sought to leave no trace of Jews, because of this reached his homeland, raised a family, and was privileged to see children and grandchildren. And it was specifically from their interest, that the issue of a Volkovysk [Yizkor] Book was re-kindled with me. They would frequently urge me to tell them about my past and my origins, and that I should research the family genealogy. One time, when my granddaughter, Yael, was

[Page iv]

watching me read the many Yizkor Books (and I do this frequently) she was forward enough to ask: “Grandpa, why is there not a Yizkor Book about Volkovysk by you?” She began to pester me even more, after she was given an assignment in school to write about the subject related to the Holocaust.

What could I answer her? I could not refer her to the books of Dr. Einhorn in Yiddish, because for her, these are books that are out of bounds and sealed off, because of a lack of language facility? I tried to duck these serious questions by virtue of having contributed to tens of Yizkor Books, and I said to her: read these books. The Jews being described in these books are like “two drops of water” when compared to the Jews of Volkovysk. Their way of life does not differ in any way from the way of life of your grandmothers and grandfathers. All the institutions, branches and youth movements that were in these cities and towns, those that are memorialized by these Yizkor Books – were in my Volkovysk as well.

“But why, after all, is there no book about your Volkovysk in Hebrew?” My granddaughter replied stubbornly – “You, after all, have told me, that the young people spoke Hebrew in the city streets, because practically every child spoke Hebrew, because there were many Hebrew schools?”

These surprising questions from my granddaughter moved me a great deal, and when I relayed them several days later to my friend Noah Tzemakh , he said: your granddaughter is right, and our Sages of Old have said, 'In the place where there is no man – try to be a man.' That is to say – it is your responsibility to take on this work, and I will help you. I reversed his words on him immediately – that he should do the work, and I should help him, but at the end of the discussion, we agreed that it would be: both of us together. Tzemakh, ז”ל began to write down chapters of memories ('Reb Tevel in Volkovysk' in this book), and even I was able to dredge up stories from my very depths about my days in the partisan movement, and I stimulated others of my friends to do the same. To our great sorrow, Tzemakh passed away, and it is certainly given to say of this dear Jewish man as the poet said, “...and the song of his life stopped in its middle...” I was left alone. I had two choices then: to return the handwritten materials to those who had responded to my urging, and cancel the publication of the book, or – to continue in this work by myself. I took the second choice, and in large measure thanks to Aharon Podolinsky.

I must admit, that in my entire life in Israel, I engaged in many businesses, but I had not once engaged in the job of publishing a book, and I have no experience in this area, and not even the required skills. I knew from the outset that I would need the help and guidance of an accomplished professional in this area. One of the scions of Volkovysk (Rutchik, from Netanya), when I told him about my undertaking, showed me a Yizkor Book from Volhyn in Poland, and after reading this book, I had the feeling that the structure of this book could help me in my undertaking, as also did the structure of Sefer Ratno. I succeeded in locating the publisher (Nachman Tamir), and in our first telephone conversation, I told him of my desire to publish a book about Volkovysk, and that I would need his help. I remember his first reaction very well: “Volkovysk, you mean the city of Eliyahu Golomb, the writer Yaakov Rubinovich, of the actor [Raphael] Klatshkin of HaBima, of Azriel Broshi, who worked in my section of the operating committee of the Histadrut, of Yaakov Einstein from Ohel, with whom I lived in one house after I left the kibbutz, of Isser Pikarsky and Shoshana Panter, with whom I was together on the kibbutz? I no longer deal with publication, but come and let's talk, and we'll see how I can help you.”

After this kind of thoughtful reaction, I had no doubt that I had found the right man, and from now on – my path would be a smooth one.

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And that's the way it was. I arranged a meeting with the publisher, and after he went through the material in the folder that I had used to assemble the material in my possession, also including the books of Dr. Einhorn, he consented to assist me and even gave me a couple of good pieces of advice immediately: to rely on the substantial material in Dr. Einhorn's book; not to allocate a lot of space to the pre-history of Volkovysk, because there were very few left in Israel that still remembered Volkovysk, and even they won't have much interest in the various 'Grand Dukes' that ruled the city at various times; to acknowledge some debt to history, but not more than that; not to drown the book in rivers of nostalgia. Three of four chapters of memories will suffice and is permissible. “No matter how they write about the shtetl of Volkovysk – they will not write any better than Sholom Asch, Mendele, Sholom Aleichem, and other writers who have already performed this task” – Mr. Tamir told me, but he added, “Ask your Volkovyskers to write what they want to write, but that they should not be seduced into excessive idealizing, and not to create a 'tallis that is all blue.'” To this end, it is worthwhile expanding upon the Jewish education, the youth movement, the Zionist groups, the local support institutions, the contacts and relationships to Israel, etc. Subjects like these will interest children and grandchildren as well.”

In accordance with these directions, I began to encourage the scions of our city to produce material of the right kind, pictures, and lists. I distributed an 8 page prospectus on the basis that it would stimulate those with an inclination to write. Few responded, – and 'that's what we've got,”as they say in modern Hebrew, and it can be used to trace family roots – a thing that is now 'fashionable' in Israel.

The largest chapter in the book is the chapter on the Holocaust, and that is only natural, since only people who were survivors participated in the writing, or the Holocaust overtook them. I relied on the eye witness accounts that were provided to me by survivors, after the war (a number of them are included in Hurban Volkovysk, which was published in 1946), and the material conveyed in the books of Dr. M. Einhorn and Dr. Y. Goldberg, and also new material, to my knowledge, contained within, reliable testimony on everything that touches upon the last tragic chapter in the lives of the Jews of Volkovysk and its vicinity. It appears to me, that even nearly fifty years after the Nazi aggressor began to exterminate the Jews, the ancient commandment: “Remember What Amalek Did to You,” is still in force, and all the more so that there is movement afoot to turn a blind eye, to erase, or distort the deeds of this [modern-day] Amalek.

I must also clarify that various writings, that do not have a signature above or below them, were in general written by the publisher or the undersigned, or on occasion, both of them. In part, they are excerpts or summaries of writings taken from a variety of places.

I owe two people special thanks for the serious assistance they offered: to Daniel Lemkin and Philip Morse (Ephraim Mushatsky) in the United States. It is with great personal sadness that I must add the letters ז”ל, after the name of the first, because he passed away unexpectedly, before being able to carry out many of his plans, both in connection with translating this book into English, and also in connection with arranging for a tour to Israel of Volkovysk descendants in the United States. He was able to tell his story to myself and Mr. Tamir – the story of a Jewish boy who long, endless journey, full of traps and pitfalls, until he reached the United States, and began to “do America.” He loved Volkovysk greatly, its ambience and people, the good and simple Jewish people among whom he lived, Farber's school where he was a student, his many friends who helped him through those difficult times in the past. He also put together a book that will eventually be published – “A City that is A Legend.” Daniel was a dear and beloved man. May his memory be for a blessing.

[Page vi]

Philip Morse, set aside for long life, is the Head of the Scions of Volkovysk in the United States. When he last visited Israel, I told him about my plans to publish a book on Volkovysk in Hebrew, and I promised him we would do an English addendum. He promised his help – and he fulfilled his promise. I hope that until an English supplement appears, he will derive spiritual nourishment from the book in Hebrew.

I see a pleasant obligation to convey my sentiments of gratitude to the publishing house of Mala”n, who did not stint on work and attention to detail, provided direction and counsel in everything touching on the printing of the book, and did its best in order that its external appearance would be aligned with the nature of its contents.

Last, but not least, all blessings and thanks to Mr. Tamir, who did his utmost to see this book published, in accordance with his original direction.

If Dr. M. Einhorn were still alive, I would definitely invite him to Israel with the release of this book, and then convey to him my profound sentiments of gratitude for the assembly of the vast body of material in his books, of which I availed myself, but he too, has gone the way of all flesh, and how sad is our loss.

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