Memorial Book to the
Community of Przasnysz
(Poland)

53°02' / 20°53'

Translation of
Sefer zikaron kehilat Proshnits

Edited by: Shlomo Bachrach

Published in Tel Aviv, 1974

 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Rita Krakower Margolis z”l

Translations
Raphael (Rafi) D. Blumberg
 

This material has been scanned for Rita Margolis by
Phyllis Goldberg

This is a translation from: Sefer zikaron kehilat Proshnits (Memorial book to the community of Przasnysz),
Editors: Shlomo Bachrach, Tel Aviv, Proshnitz Society, 1974 (H, Y, E, 273 page).

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Preface
A Word from the Editor
 
Town History
History of Jewish settlement in Proshnitz* M. S. Gashuri 9
History of the Jews of Proshnitz (abridged)* 22
Episodes from World War I Hinda Ber-Goldmacher 28
Proshnitz in the Struggle between Hassidim and Misnagdim [the opponents to Hassidism] M. S. Gashuri 29
The Changing Fate of the Proshnitz Synagogue M. S. Gashori 32
Regarding the Proshnitz Synagogue   36
The “Beis Yosef” Yeshiva in Proshnitz   37
 
Memories from the Past
Proshnitz – The way that I remember you Meir Kleinhoiz 41
From the Shtetl to the Big World Major Shmaya Friedman 44
In Memory of an Illustrious Gestalt Dr. Hirsch Roseshanner 47
How I Remember Proshnitz Chaim Drezner 49
Home of Chassidic Tradition Chaim Drezner 51
Admiral Hyman Rickover Shlomo Bachrach 53
Three Days in the Proshnitz Jail Avraham Zak 56
My Parents’ Home Aharon Charsina (Pertzelina) 59
Our Home Herschel Bachrach 62
The Period of Renewal David Gazshiv 67
Because of a Slap from a Polish Leutenent Akiva Kersh 68
The Period between the Two Wars Hadassah Epstein-Prager 70
Memorial Monument to the Youth Movements Sarah Eichler 71
Following the Path of their Fathers and Grandfathers Moshe Kavel 72
Three Typical Events Yehuda Fromovitz 74
With the “Beilis” Ship to Israel Yisrael Laufer, Eliezer Pianka 76
A House in Proshnitz Yitzchak Manderstein 78
The Crooked Tree Moshe Kapatzky 80
My Cheider Years Aharon Bialovzheg 81
The Verbs “Bai-nemen” and “Tzu-nemen” as Used by the Proshnitzers Moshe Bialovzheg 83
The Bolshevics in Proshnitz Shlomo Bachrach 85
I had a dream… Ya’akov Adler 86
 
Parties and Institutions
The Zionist Organizations Shlomo Bachrach 89
“Shomer HaTzair” Shlomo Bachrach 92
The “Bund” Shmuel Vatmacher 96
The Growth and Activity of “Poalei Tzion” Zeinval Strumen 98
The right-wing branch of “Poalei Tzion” Shlomo Bachrach 103
The Revisionists and Beitar Shimon Holtzman 105
The “Mizrachi” Shlomo Bachrach 107
“Agudas Yisrael” Yehuda Fromovitz 108
The Beis Ya’akov Girls Miriam Amsterdam-Lesser 109
Beitar Learns to Shoot in the Barracks Shimon Holtzman 110
Jewish Communists Shlomo Bachrach 113
The Artisans’ Guild Yeshayahu Tabak 114
The Free Loan Fund Shlomo Holtzman 115
The Cooperative-Bank Shlomo Bachrach 116
Hospitality   117
A Modern Cheider Yisraelik 118
The Kindergarten   119
The Last Community in Proshnitz Moshe Martzishever 120
 
Rabbis and Cantors
Rabbi Y. B. Groibart Moshe Tzinovitz 125
To My Father (a poem) Rosa Jakobovitz 127
Rabbi Henich Levin Moshe Tzinovitz 128
The Theft (from the Tales of Rabbi Henich Levin)   129
Rabbis in Proshnitz Yehuda Fromovitz 131
Rabbis and Authors in Proshnitz M. S. Geshori 132
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Levkovitz   133
The Last Rabbi Yitzchak Perzhentzavsky 135
Rabbi Yitzchak Perzhentzavsky, of blessed memory Chaim Baras 137
Famous Cantors in Proshnitz Chaim Ramon (Granat) 137
A Great Cantor in Little Proshnitz M. S. Geshori 139
Cantor Chaim-Baruch Borstein Chaim Baras 141
 
What the Press Said about Proshnitz  
Jewish Proshnitz as it appeared in the Press M. Tzinovitz 145
 
The Holocaust
This is How it Started…   161
There once was… Tale of a City’s Destruction Chaim Baras 163
My Escape from the Grave Leah Yerachem 165
I survived Aushwitz Mordechai Vishniya 169
That Unforgettable Friday Leib Yalowiec 171
The Example Set by a Polish Wagon Driver   172
How the Poles Collaborated Hollander Gutman 173
Bullied in the Middle of the Market   174
Expulsion from Proshnitz and “Life” in the Vilna Ghetto D. Monderstein 175
Between Proshnitz-Bialystock-Vilna Herschel Bachrach 178
My War-Survival Experience Chaim Yalowiec 180
Despite All, He Saved Himself… Neche Friedman Weinberg 182
Proshnitz After the Curse Miriam Amsterdam 185
In Memory of Grandfather Gedalia Lesser 188
The Paper Gravemarker Alter Holtzman 189
Together with Yanush Kortchak on the Last Road Shlomo Bachrach 191
In the “Red Army” – Fighting the Nazis   192
The “Teheran Children” from Proshnitz   193
Excerpts from a Diary Menachem Bramson 194
Siberia (poem) Menachem Bramson 196
“Perhaps You Know What My Mother’s Name Was?” Shlomo Bachrach 197
Moods and Dreams Shimon Blenkitni 199
 
Public Figures and Activists
Rabbi Yechezkel Prager Eliyahu Epstein 203
Louis Hertzberg Chaim Drezner 205
Activists, Communal Workers and Fanatics Chaim Drezner 208
Mr. David Garziv Chaim Baras 209
The Devoted Communal Worker Chaim Drezner 210
Profile of Two Workers’ Representatives M. Mandelman 211
In Memory of David Bachrach Chaim S. Kopelovitz 213
The Poetess Rosa Yakobovitz   214
The Town’s Fashions in those days…   215
Mindel Morzhan Strumen Sarah and Simchah Morzhan 216
The Rebbe of the tradesmen Chaim Drezner 217
Rachel Hertzberg, of blessed memory Shlomo Bachrach 218
 
The Town After the Holocaust
A “Lively” Greeting from My Town Shlomo Bachrach 221
A Visit to Proshnitz in 1966 Dina Rosenzweig 223
From Moscow to Proshnitz for a Visit (1969)   226
Recollections, Thoughts, Homesickness… M. Y. Dan 227
Proshnitzers in Israel Shlomo Bachrach 230
 
Yizkor Shlomo Bachrach 233
 
English Section
Necrology   253
The Brilliance of Hayman Rickover   260
Becoming an Admiral   260
Admiral Hayman Rickover   261
Louis Hertzberg - The Man and Warm Jew   261
Proshnitz Jews in the First World War   268
The Jews in Proshnitz   271
This is How It Began   271
Introduction
 
Pictures and Documents

* Translator's Note: What is on page 9 is in Hebrew. What is on page 22 is in Yiddish. I do not have the book, but might the Yiddish be an abridged translation of the Hebrew?

 

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