The beginning of the movement was in eastern Galitsia in 1928. Immediately after that, it expanded throughout all parts of Poland. In western Galitsia, it was called “HaNoar HaMa'aravi” [“The Western Youth”] and in Congress Poland, - “HaShomer HaLeumi” [“The National Guard”].

A few years later, these factions united all under one roof with the name “HaNoar HaTzioni” [“The Zionist Youth”]. It found fertile ground for its ideas, even beyond the Polish borders. The movement encompassed tens of thousands of adolescents from elementary and high schools to universities, as well as working youths.

Brzezany was one town out of many in Galitsia, not unlike the others. The economic and social distress among the Polish Jews, and the antisemitism, brought upon various strange laws that further impoverished the Jewish masses. The “Numerus Clausus” did not allow the youths to study at higher education institutions. The high birthrate and the fact that the Polish industry was still in its infancy formed a bleak unemployment reality for the proud Jewish youth that aspired to greatness. The flames of the neighboring nations' nationalism reached Jewish youth, who established the “HaShomer HaTzair” youth movement in the first 1920; However, that movement deviated quickly from its initial ideas of being a broad framework for the entire Jewish youth. It became a socialistic-Zionist movement, closing its doors for those who did not abandon religion and tradition and those who did not believe in revolutions that encompass the whole world. The “HaNoar HaTzioni” movement was established from the bottom, by the youths themselves and not by the adult leaders of the Zionist movement, according to their ideological orientations (parties). Only a while later did the “HaNoar HaTzioni” join the “General Zionists” party. At its core, it was a protest movement against the leftism of the “HaShomer” and against the apathy of the adults who lived in an illusion that they would have a satisfying future in the diaspora.

The leadership of the summer camp in Pivnitzna, August 1927: Herman Katz (in uniform), Laibush Froindlikh, and Isidor Laufer

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A ceremonial assembly for the dedication of the flag for the “HaNoar HaTzioni” branch – 1933

Our branch in Brzezany was established in the same year the movement was founded, 1928. Our friend, Mendel Meiblum, today a lawyer in Haifa, brought the news to us. Together with him, we mobilized into action. The following people were among the founders: Dr. Yosef Frid, Shimon Bergman, the author of these lines, Avner Klarer, Reikhshtein, T. Veinshtein, T. Mirberg, Giler, N. Shvartz, Redlikh, Lehner, Polber, and Gusta Hertz-Shmushkin from Naryov (initiated the establishment of the branch in her town). Thanks to the vigorous actions of these founders, the branch strengthened and became a social center.

During the 1930s, under the leadership of the brothers Herman and Fritz Katz, Yitzkhak Laufer (Nagelberg), Leibush Froindlikh, and others, the branch developed, grew, and doubled in the number of members. The place at the community house was too small to contain everybody. We rented four rooms in the house of K. Erik on “Nowy Rynek” where the branch continued to operate until the break of the Second World War.

Many of our members perished in the Holocaust. Our member, Rozhka Meiblum, who survived the Holocaust, told about them and their lives in the ghetto, hideouts, among the partisans, and in the killing camps.

The branch of the “HaNoar HaTzioni” resembled a scouting youth movement in advocating a simple life, smoking-free life, trips to the surrounding forests, and participation in one of the many summer camps throughout Eastern and Western Galitsia and the Carpathian Mountains (including the high Tatar Mountains). The movement not only educated for Aliyah to Eretz Israel but also treated every young boy and girl as a human being to raise their human and moral values.

The movement strove to deepen the knowledge of its members in various areas of literature, science, history, and sociology. We put a particular emphasis on Jewish history and anything associated with Eretz Israel. The Zionist youth movement saved many youths from a life of idleness and vacuousness and recruited them to the struggle for the Zionist ideology. Special efforts were invested in teaching Hebrew. Thanks to that, when we made Aliyah, we felt equal to those who came before us, at least as far as language.

I can't complete this review of my memories without remembering our young members, who were killed in many unconventional ways in the Holocaust. I look at pictures sometimes, that eternalized us together, and I am conscious about the loss of the best of friends and relatives and anguish that we must live without them.

“Beita'r” branch's leaders with a group of girls From left to right, standing: D. Fas, Sh. Riger Sitting: M. Mitelman, Sh. Bleiberg

If we are not mistaken, it was the last Zionist youth movement branch established in Brzezany. Therefore, its capacity to recruit members during its first two years was limited but stable. The members who joined the branch came mainly from poor homes that struggled to make a living. Most of them did not have any skills or occupations. Some worked in the city, and others in the neighboring towns. We can say that their true occupation was the activity in “Beita'r's” branch. The “Beita'r” ideology unified them all and created a solid brotherhood that proved itself at times of need, unfortunately – too often. The branch always struggled with its finances since the membership fees were insufficient to cover the expenses. Because of that, we were forced to move from one place to another until we finally settled in the home of Mr. Fassel [?], a specious club on a central street. The winter days were the most demanding until we received free firewood from the sawmill at Potutory. Their support lasted several years.

We were enthusiastic and dedicated in hearts and souls to Ze'ev Jabotinsky's ideas – establishing a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, and forming a Jewish legion for fulfilling that dream. That was why we accepted the offer by the Polish military to establish a premilitary Jewish company. We knew who our “partners” were, and there were heated debates about that subject. However, the view that we needed to train ourselves militarily prevailed. Looking back, it seems that the latter was the correct choice. Undoubtedly, only such big ideas could have excited the imagination of the youths, whose knowledge of their nation's history was quite limited, although, they were aware of the problems and troubles of the Jews and sometimes experienced them themselves. An educational activity among them was called a “discussion”, rather than teaching. That was conducted when a group of boys and girls of the same age gathered, most of the time - twice a week, for educational sessions under the guidance of the group leader. The main subject discussed in those gatherings was the pure Zionist idea, without the addition of any other ideology, regardless of how an exalted idea it represented. We thought the Zionist idea was sublime and meaningful enough to provide us with intellectual satisfaction. It seems that we have not erred. As proof, we note that even though the “Beita'r” branch consisted of poor youths who could have been influenced by promises of quick “salvation”, none left us to join an opposing anti-Zionist organization. If we are not mistaken, we were the only movement in that respect. That directly resulted from our education toward adherence to the Zionist idea and moral obligations.

Our spiritual nourishment to warm our hearts and strengthen our ideological inspiration were our discussions about Jewish history, the history of Zionism based on the book by A. Bohm, Palestinography [homeland lessons], “Beita'r's” pamphlets, particularly the Yiddish booklet “Di Beita'r Yungen Bavehgung” [Beita'r Youth Movement],

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selections from the Yiddish literature, and to the best of our ability, other topics associated the Jewish society.

We were very sensitive to the troubles of the Jewish people. They touched our hearts. I recall that we organized the boycott against Nazi Germany and German products and movies. In one case, the Starosta [district governor] himself threatened us to cease our “anti-state activities.”

Most of the discussions were conducted in Yiddish. In that aspect, we seemed to be different from other organizations, where the dominant language was Polish. In our national instinct, we felt that Yiddish was the language of the Jewish people in the diaspora for a thousand years and a language that united us all. Another reason for our devotion to Yiddish was that most of us came from “Amkha” [simple people of the Jewish masses], who did not really need to use the state language. Two Yiddish newspapers had a substantial influence on us. In the beginning, it was the “Heint” [Today], and later on, “Der Moment” [The Moment], both published in Warsaw. We read those newspapers, and in actuality, we studied their entire content. To be precise, we received just copy, which was passed from one person to another. You can guess what remained of the newspaper at the end of the day.

A few “Beita'r's” members took Hebrew curses in the local Jewish school. They knew to write and speak a little in Hebrew. We pronounced the following Hebrew words fluently: “sikha” [discussion], “hakhshara” [training], “ezra” [aid], “akh” [brother], “kvutza” [group], “tzav” [decree], “makhoz” [district], “medina” [state], “galil” [province], “netzivut” [commission], etc. Nevertheless, even though we were attached to Yiddish, the “cultural” language of some of the members, mainly the girls, was Polish.

We established a significant library, mainly in Polish, that served not only the members of “Beita'r” or the Revisionist Zionists but also regular people who could borrow a book every evening for pennies. Some borrowed books for free because they did not have a zloty for the monthly borrowing fee. It goes without saying that the library work, or for that matter, any other work, was done voluntarily. Today it sounds unbelievable! This is the place to mention our friend, Mordekhai Mitelman, who administrated the library dedicatedly for many years.

A group of “Beita'r” members in uniforms with their weapons

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We also tried our hands at a dramatic activity (obviously we did not intend to compete with the successful and accomplished drama club). The late Veisbeg encouraged us in that area. He was an educated man who had experience in dramatic direction. We vaguely recall a play in our community house, in which our member, Shalom Ginsberg, may G-d avenge his blood, played the main character.

The various Zionist youth movements collaborated in activities for KKL-JNF and “Ezra” [Aid]. We considered the work to benefit the JNF in the spirit of its slogan, “Geulah Titnu LaAretz” [Give redemption to the land – VaYikrah 25:24]. We ran around the town every month, to empty the fund's [blue and white] boxes. We should not forget that most of the donors were families who were not wealthy. We also worked dedicatedly for the “Ezra” organization headed for many years by Dr. Vilner. The methods used in soliciting donations were very original: from donation bowls on Yom Kippur Eve to contributions at family festivities. The “Ezra” organization supported poor pioneers by financing their Aliyah expenses. We considered it an important activity to collect money for that purpose. As far as we know, none of the “Beita'r' s” members who made Aliyah required assistance from “Ezra.”

We did not lose in the competition of collecting monies for the KKL-JNF. That was a worthy competition that yielded results. Over the years, including in our time, people ridiculed the rattling of the coins in the [Blue and white] box and the “Shnor” [begging for money]. We, on the other hand, considered that holy work. Selling the “Zionist Shekel” [certificate of membership in the Zionist Organization, given to every Jew who paid annual membership dues] was another competition. We took first place in selling the “Zionist Shekel” toward the 18^th Zionist Congress, although we were the poorest organization. We took pride in winning that competition and regret the quarreling between us [the Revisionist Zionists] and the Zionist Union and the KKL-JNF [following the 18^th Zionist Congress]. This is not the place to explain the reasons for that quarrel, however, one thing was certain - the Zionist ideology was the essence of our lives. “Beita'r” comradeship prevailed in our branch. It was enough for somebody from another city to visit our club for us to make sure the visitor was taken care of. We had dear friends in the neighboring towns with whom we corresponded and met often, mainly at conferences. We loved those conferences where we listened attentively to the lecturers and conducted vigorous debates. Friendships and relations were developed at these conferences. The preparations, the gatherings, and the subsequent analysis provided subjects for discussions and material for endless deliberations and activities.

The desire to conquer the heart of every Jewish youth for “Beita'r's” ideology was tenacious. Whoever succeeded in organizing a new “Beita'r” branch in our surrounding areas should have been proud of fulfilling a commandment of the first order, as we considered it then. Great and active Beita'r branches were organized in that way in the villages of Lipitsa, Gorna, Kuzhni, and Bzhokhovitsa. We organized events there, such as conferences, visits, and parties to strengthen their branches. We can't omit mentioning some of the projects of our branch, although it was not a strong branch. In one of the years, we organized a summer camp in Bzyaten. “Beita'r” members from several branches in the Ternopil District gathered there. We spent about three to four pleasant weeks immersing ourselves in beautiful nature. One of our organizational work records was the counselors' course in the Rurika forest near the village of Ulkhovtsa. Only the best of the Ternopil District's Beita'r members were allowed to participate in that course. The course was managed by counselors from Warsaw. At its completion, we organized one of the most impressive spectacles. We remember that evening, which left a big and pleasant impression on all of us, as a huge success.

The hunger for making Aliyah was enormous. It seemed that if the number of certificates available for the Brzezany branch would have been equal to the number of members, we would have probably closed the Beita'r branch and made Aliyah as a group. This is not the place to describe how hopeless our life in our city was. There was nothing we could have hoped for there. Beita'r members went to Hakhshara kibbutzim, often to faraway places such as Volhynia and various locations in Galitsia, mostly in sawmills.

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In a later period, we organized four Hakhshara kibbutzim in Brzezany itself, in the cellars and attic of the local community house. We recall the substantial effort required to find work for our pioneers. Hakhshara kibbutzim were also organized in Nartov, Kozova, and Bzovkhovitsa (in the last two years, only agricultural work).

We should note that the criterion for distributing the Aliyah certificates among the various movements was the number of pioneers in the Hakhshara kibbutzim. Looking back, we can surely say that the educational value of these camps was enormous. People learned to work in hard manual work! The joyous social life, economic distress, and lack of work or manual work while dreaming of a different and just life in Eretz Israel unified us and taught us an essential lesson. We understood the [Ravina's] song” “[Anu Banu Artza] LiVnot VeLehibanot Bah” [“We came to the land to build it and to be built”] literally, even though our opponents claimed that our movement was not sufficiently pioneering. We were sure in our righteousness. We believed in fulfilling the Zionist idea in the spirit of “Beita'r splendor” [in Hebrew Hadar- Jabotinsky's concept], based on which we were educated and tried to live. We took the expression “Beita'r splendor to mean a person who tries to live by orderly social life, is balanced, considerate of others, particularly in times of need, willing to scarify his comfort for the greater good, and tries to always give a thoughtful and serious response. Perhaps we did follow strictly, what was demanded of us, or perhaps we unknowingly distorted some concepts. However, we are sure that this education “penetrated our bones”. For example, the issues of punctuality and fulfillment of obligations. That education sustained us for many years. Even though the political views of some of us may have changed over time, we kept our basic attitudes.

In these notes collected from memories, which may be inaccurate, we did not mention the names of our friends and brothers. They perished along with the rest of our city residents, including our families. We loved and appreciated all of them. Every time we meet with the survivors, we bring up, again and again, countless times, the memory of the good and innocent people who did not live to see the fulfillment of their dream. May these lines serve as the gravestone for their holy memory.

“Beita'r” branch in Brzezany