Meretch; a Jewish Town in Lithuania
(Merkinė, Lithuania)

54°10' / 24°10'

Translation of
Meretch; ayara yehudit be-Lita

Edited by: Uri Shefer, Society of Meretch Immigrants in Israel

Published in 1988



 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Renee E. Miller z”l

 

This is a translation from: Meretch; ayara yehudit be-Lita (Meretch; a Jewish Town in Lithuania)
Edited by: Uri Shefer, Society of Meretch Immigrants in Israel. Published in 1988

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Merkine

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Translated by Sara Mages

A word from the editorial board Yakov Miller 5
Background words about Lita's Jewry and its history Dr. Dov Levin 7
Meretch – a Jewish town in Lita Ori Shefer 9
Meretch – a Jewish town in Lita From the book “Yahadut Lita” Volume 3[1] 11
 
Chapter One – The town in the eyes of its residents   13
My town Meretch Dov Halperin 14
The town and its community Professor Yisrael Rabin 17
Meretch Bonka Brik (Dorit Blatshtein) 26
Memories HaRav Shlomo Schor 28
My town Meretch Yakov Miller 32
Memories Haviva Balon (Rotnitsky) 35
The great fire (1920) Tova Berezovsky (Gutka Kriverutchky) 36
One winter Sabbath in Meretch Moshe Shifman 37
Memories Aharon Shefner (Shapransky) 41
Meretch: Memories of memories Nasya Shafran 43
Memories Zerach Shefner (Shapransky) 46
A collection of memories Told by the Meretch's townsmen in Boston 49
Refugees from Liškiava in Meretch Hanoch Hashmonay (Gendel) 51
Refugees from Poland in Meretch Carmela Zeid 53
Liškiava the town of my birth Hanoch Hashmonay (Gendel) 54
My town Meretch [A poem] Yosef Ziman 56
 
Chapter Two –Home and Family   57
Memories Yafa Miller (Tsirlstein) 58
Memories Shoshanna Keitzki-Alpert 62
Memories Dov Halperin 65
Our parents' home Yosef and Bezalel Smoly (Smolnik) 67
R' Shlomo Zalman Friedman Yosef Ben-Ari (Poderov) 71
The family of R' Yehudah Miller Yakov Miller 74
My family Miriam Ben-Natan (Tsirlstein) 78
My family Yehusua Remez (Pintel) 78
A Purim miracle Yakov Miller 79
Memories Professor Yisrael Rabin 81
Yosef Zimen Yitzchak Zimen 83
My parents Sara Blumberg- Slotznik 86
 
Chapter Three – Education, Youth-Movements, Parties   87
The educational system in Meretch Yakov Miller 88
“Gordonia”[2] Yakov Miller 96
About the youth in the town of Meretch Shoshanna Keitzki-Alpert 100
The Group Miriam Shif-Rotnitsky 101
In the Zionist Movement Yakov Miller 102
“Hashomer Hatzair”[3] Bezalel Smoly (Smolnik) 112
 
Chapter Four – Figures   113
Eliyahu David Stone Yakov Miller 114
Dr. Menachem G. Glen From “HaDoar“ 118
Dr. Yakov D. Glemboski-Glen Yakov Miller 119
A flower bouquet on their grave Ita Katz-Reizner 120
 
Chapter Five - Yizkor   123
Words said in the memorial service Malka Smoly-Pugatsky 128
The home that no longer exist Dorit Bletshtojn (Bunka Brick) 129
Memories Malka Smoly-Pugatsky 131
How I survive Dorit Bletshtojn (Bunka Brick) 143
A tombstone on the mass graves Leah Brazin-Wiseisky 146
The last visit to Meretch Malka Smoly- Pugatsky 146
A visit to Meretch in 1948 Eliyahu Kubintsk 150
Visits to Meretch in 1966 and 1977 Bella Elishkovski -Schintok 152
From the valley of death to the homeland Malka Smoly-Pugatsky 156
She survived and saved others From “Sefer Hapartizanim”[4] 162
The erection of the monuments in Meretch Yitzchak David Lendsman 163
Memories Zev Bobolsky 164
Their last days From the book “Yahadut Lita”Volume 4[1] 165
 
Appendix III: a list of Meretch Jews murdered in the Holocaust   189
Meretch's sons and daughters who fought against the Nazi enemy   195
 
 
Footnotes

  1. “Yahadut Lita” - Lithuanian Jewry Return
  2. “Gordonia” - Zionist pioneering youth movement. The movement's doctrines were based on the beliefs of Aharon David Gordon Return
  3. “Hashomer Hatzair” – The young guard - a Socialist-Zionist youth movement Return
  4. “Sefer Hapartizanim” – The partisans' book Return

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