Introductory remarks from the emirita coordinator of the Rzeszów Yizkor book Translation Project, Marian Rubin: Mrs. Klara Munzberg Ma'ayan, Tel Aviv, president of the Reisha Landsmanschaft, has dedicated her life to the remembrance of the Reisha community. Mrs. Ma'ayan arranges the annual yahrzeit (memorial) service for the Reisha community in Israel each year. She initiated a project resulting in a beautiful memorial site in the woods of Glogow where approximately 5,000 Jews from Reisha and nearby towns were murdered by the Nazis. Mrs. Ma'ayan spoke eloquently at the ceremony to dedicate the memorial site on June 26, 1995. In June 1998, Mrs. Ma'ayan and some members of the Landsmanschaft attended a ceremony in Rzeszów to dedicate a plaque placed in the synagogue in memory of their lost community. Mrs. Ma'ayan and her husband Artek Ma'ayan, who died in Israel in 1994, and whom Mrs. Ma'ayan speaks of in her story, have three children, and several grandchildren.

Hebrew Section

Contents		5
Photographs		8
A Note by the Publication Committee		10
Editors' Foreword		11
Lament	Shlomo Tal	13
Reisha	Berish Weinstein	14
Map of Rzeszów & Vicinity		16
The History of the Jews of Rzeszów	Dr. N. M. Gelber
Note from translator
Chapter 1: The Development of the Town		17
Chapter 2: The Beginning of Jewish Settlement in Rzeszów Until 1772		25
Chapter 3: Occupations and Livelihood of the Jews		31
Chapter 4: The Community		36
Charper 5: The Rabbis of the City		42
Chapter 6: The Cemetery		45
Chapter 7: The Period of Austrian Rule, 1772-1848		47
Chapter 8: Rzeszów from 1849-1919		55
Chapter 9: Rzeszów from 1919-1939		63
The Goldsmiths of Rzeszów	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	65
Pages of History	Dr. Henry Y. Wachtel	66
Jewish Rzeszów	Zvi Simcha Leder	68
Faith & Tradition in Rzeszów
Rabbis of Rzeszów	Abba Appelbaum	71
The City and its Rabbis	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	72
A. The Early Kehilla
B. The Rabbis of the Community of Rzeszów
C. The Rabbi and Gaon Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi and His Sons
D. The Gaon Rabbi Aryeh Leib the Son–in–Law of the “Chacham Tzvi” and His Sons		80
My Grandfather Rabbi Nathan Lewin	Rabbi Dr. Isaac Levin	82
Traits of Rabbi Nathan Levin	Shlomo Tal	85
The Rabbi, Reb Aaron Levin	Rabbi Dr. Isaac Levin	86
My Father, Rabbi Dr. Ezekiel Levin	Isaac (Kurt) Levin	91
Rabbi Nathan Levin and his Bet Din	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	93
My Father, Rabbi Yekutiel Arieh Kamelhar	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	95
Rabbi Nahum Reuben Felsker	Rabbi Issachar Berish Halperin	100
Rabbi Berish Steinberg	Rabbi Moshe Halevi	100
Reb Yosef Reich	Shlomo Tal	101
Hassidism in Rzeszów
Rzeszów in Hassidic Circles	M. Sh. Geshuri	103
Hassidic Courts	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	107
The Rabbi of Blazowa and His Dynasty	Shlomo Tal	116
Religious Education in Rzeszów
Yeshivot in Rzeszów	M. S. Geshuri	118
Shamashim (Synagogue Attendants)	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	119
Cantors and Synagogue Music in Rzeszów	M. S. Geshuri	120
Meir Diener	Pessah Diener	123
Cantor Dov Menachem Konwiser	Herzl Konvisser	123
Prayer-Leaders for the Days of Awe		124
Synagogues in Rzeszów	Eng. David Davidovitch	125
In the Haskala Press		128
Before and Between the World Wars
Rzeszów in the Past	Leon Weisenfeld	132
During the Interregnum	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	134
The Chaos of 1918	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	137
The Pogrom of Rzeszów	Naftali Hakhel	137
The Sejm (Parliament) Committee, and the Ministers from Rzeszów	Dr. Yechezkel Lewin	138
The Morgenthau Commission in Central Galicia	Yosef Storch	140
Organizations and Factions
“Hashachar” in Rzeszów	Dr. N. M. Gelber	141
“Shulamit”	Dvora Abramowitz	142
A. General Zionists in Rzeszów	Dr. Moshe Yaari-Wald	143
B. The First of Poalei Zion		145
History of Poalei Zion in Rzeszów	Michael Walzer-Fass	146
“Hashachar” “Haivria” and “Hechalutz”	Alter Tishbi (Sitz)	151
Organizations and Societies in Rzeszów	David Tuchfeld	153
Religious Parties	Naftali Hakhel	157
The Founding of the Mizrachi	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	158
On the History of “Mizrachi” in Rzeszów	M. S. Geshuri	160
“Agudas Yisrael”	Shlomo Tal	164
Revisionist Movement	Avraham Mussinger	165
Organization of Jewish Academics in Rzeszów	Yehoshua Alexander Rosner (Keller)	169
Youth in Rzeszów During the 1930s	Pepa Wachspress-Lisak Tuchfeld	170
The Birth of Hashomer Hatzair	Meir Yaari	172
“Hashomer Hatzair” in Rzeszów from 1924	Abraham Mussinger	173
The “Hashomer Hatzair” Chapter in Rzeszów That Shaped Me	Sara Altman (Batist)	175
Hashomer Hatzair Members Make Aliya	Eva Kirsch	177
Rzeszów Emigres in Hashomer Hatzair Kibbutzim	Tuvia Yaari	177
In Memory of the “Hechalutz” Chapter	Lotka Kleid (Schlisselberg)	178
Years of Setback	Marcus Dornfest	179
Jewish Members of the Communist Party in Rzeszów	Dr. Moshe Yaari	180
The “Noar Tzioni”	Yehoshua Strassberg	181
Between the Years 1924-1939	Klara Ma'ayan (Munzberg)	183
The Hebrew School	Professor Yitzhak Weiss	186
Once Upon a Time There Was a School	Sabina Schneeweiss	187
The Nucleus of the Hebrew School	Dr. Mauricy Ungar	188
Sport in Rzeszów	Lawyer Alexander Joshua Rosner-Keller	189
The “Bar Kochba” Sport Association	Avraham Ungar	191
The Society for the Preservation of Health	Dr. Mauricy Ungar	192
Workers' Children's House in Rzeszów	Louis Estherman	193
Beit Haam and the Hospital in Rzeszów	Michael Walzer-Fass	195
The Publishing House of M. Goldberg	Lotka Goldberg	198
Demographics of Rzeszów Jewry in the Year 1939	Manes Fromer	199
Memories and Happenings
A Portrait of Rzeszów at the Beginning of the 20th Century	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	201
A Bundle of Memories	Dr. Shlomo Horowitz	225
A Heritage from a Rzeszów Home	Meir Yaari	228
Childhood in Rzeszów	Anda Amir-Pinkerfeld	228
Rzeszów Jews and Censuses	Ben Zion Fett	229
In Rzeszów at the End of the 1st World War 1914 - 1918	M. Ungerfeld	232
Early Years in Rzeszów	Irving Low	234
One in a Thousand	Uzi Ben-Moshe and Roni Wechsler	235
Rzeszów During the First World War, 1914-1918	S. Anski	238
Rzeszów	Professor S. I. Penueli	239
Intelligentsia and Writers
From “the Sages of the City”	Gershon Bader	243
1. Moshe David Geschwind		243
2. Abba Apfelbaum		244
3. Yitzchak Holzer		244
4. Oswald Henigsman		244
5. Leon Wiesenfeld		244
6. Moshe Wiesenfeld		244
7. Asher Simcha Weissmann		245
8. Wilhelm Turteltaub		245
On Abba Apfelbaum:		245
1. Writer and Communal Worker	Raphael Rosenzweig	245
2. The Founder of the Teudat Yisrael School	Dr. Ovadiah Barshal	246
3. Historian and Researcher	Dr. Moshe Alter	248
Dr. Moshe Alter		248
Naphtali Ashriel-Glicksman	Hanina Mizrahi	249
My Father Chaim Wald	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	249
My Brother Moshe	Leon Wiesenfeld	252
Leon and Esther Wiesenfeld	Michael Walzer Fass	253
Berish Weinstein	Professor Dov Sedan	256
Berish Weinstein	Moshe Starkmann	257
Berish Weinstein and his Rzeszów	Nathan Yonathan	258
Dr. Henry Yitzchak Wachtel	A. P.	259
Dr. Binyamin Schlager	Simcha Seiden	259
Tzvi Simcha Leder	Leon Wiesenfeld	260
On Professor Shmuel Yeshayahu Penueli	G. Kressel	260
Simcha Seiden	Zvi Simcha Leder	261
Ben-Zion Fett	Yitzchak Estreicher	261
The Violin of Nahum Sternheim	Manes Frommer	262
Personalities and Characters
Personalities in Rzeszów	Dr. Moshe Yaari	264
A. Yaakov Alter
B. Meshulam Davidson
C. Dr. Felix Hopfen
D. Dr. Aaron Arthur Wang
E. Asher Yehuda Silber
F. Levi (Leon) Chaim
G. Dr. Henryk Tzvi Kanarek
Meshulam Davidson	Tovia Yaari	271
Naftali Tuchfeld
Anna Kahane	Leon Wiesenfeld	272
Elimelech Katz	M. Sh. Geshuri	272
Irving Low	David Ben-Yosef	273
My Father Shlomo Munzberg	Klara Ma'ayan	274
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Koretz	Simcha Seiden	275
Yaakov Elimelech Knecht and His Wife Malka	Yitzchak Oestreicher	276
Yaakov Sheinblum	Zeev Zohar	277
Moshe Wang	Avraham Wang	277
Yitzchak Oestreicher	Leon Wiesenfeld	278
1. Motish Eckstein's Family		280
2. The Mintz Family	Shlomo Tal
Jewish Judges	Moshe Reich	281
Personalities	Naphtali Hakhel	282
The Uniqueness of Moshe David Ashriel	Zvi Livneh	283
Eliahu Ashriel (Gluksman)	A. P.	284
Yehoshua Ashriel (Gliksman)	A. P.	284
Personalities and Occasions	Moshe Kamelhar	285
Reb Menachem Mendel Reich	Moshe Reich	289
My Brother Yisrael	Rabbi Moshe Kamelhar	289
The Dear Ones of Rzeszów	Yitzchak Izak Nebenzahl	290
The Holocaust
Pour Out Thy Wrath (Drawing)	Menahem Ronn	291
In the Face of the Holocaust	Meir Yaari	292
Remember!	Klara Ma'ayan	293
The Martyrdom of the Rzeszów Community	Dr. Asher Alexander Heller	294
The End of the Rzeszów Community	Mala Krischer Munzberg	307
Majdanek G-d!	Berish Weinstein	311
I Shall Not Die, But Shall Live	Lotka Goldberg	312
During the Nazi Occupation	Klara Ma'ayan Munzberg	322
I Escaped Death	Dr. Michael Schneiweiss	326
Attempts at Resistance in Rzeszów	Dov Zucker	331
The Last Jews of Rzeszów	M. Hoffstetter	332
Memories of the Occupation	Lola Weis-Immerglich	334
Rzeszów Women in Auschwitz	Dina Strassberg-Einhorn	335
Hava Wuszka Jolles, A Girl Who Fought	Menachem Levenstein	336
Rzeszów in 1946	Marcus Dornfest	338
Rzeszówa's Rebellious Daughter	M. Weinstein Lazer	339
Gola (Golda) Mire, an Anti-Nazi Fighter	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	340
The Fate of Rzeszów Jewry, 1939 - 1944	Franciszek Kotula	342
Synagogues and Cemeteries		342
Some Memories		346
The Catacombs of Rzeszów		348
Polish Evidence on the Extermination of Rzeszów Jews	Jan Forczek	350
Memories	Professor Juliusz Kyas	352
Map of the City	Abraham Mussinger	352
A Walk Through Rzeszów	Abraham Mussinger	361
Small Towns and Villages in the Rzeszów District	Dr. Moshe Yaari Wald	365
The Liberation	Moshe Reich	367
Rzeszów Revisted in 1962	Haya Shlisselberg Tamari	367
Five Hundred Years; A Summing Up	Manes Fromer	368
Obituaries
Abraham Altman	Sarah Altman Batist	369
Abraham Teitelbaum		370
Mordechai Ben Elhanan Lipschitz		371
Simcha Ben Mordechai Lipschitz		371
Eighteen Years of the Organization of Rzeszów and the District in Israel	Isaac Estreicher	372
Yiddish Section
After a Thousand Years	Berish Wajnsztajn	376
I. On the History of the Jews in Rzeszów
Pages on the History of the Jews in Rzeszów	Dr. Abraham Chomet	377
The History of the Reisha Cemetery	Dr. Moshe Alter	423
II. Before and Between the Two World Wars
From Beginning to End	Simkha Zajden	426
The Jewish City of Reisha	Zvi Shimkha Leder	428
Bygone Rzeszów	Leon Wiesenfeld	449
Poalei Zion in Rzeszów	Michael Walzer Fass	466
The Jewish Workers' Children's Home in Rzeszów	Louis Estherman	472
The Bar Kochba Sports Society	Abraham Unger	475
Hassidim of the Rebbe of Dzikow	Mordechai Sacher Sternberg	476
The Tailors' Synagogue	Dr. Aharon Rosenbaum	476
A Meeting with the Hebrew Teacher of my Old Home Town	Berish Weinstein	477
Memories of the Past	Dr. Aharon Rosenbaum	478
My Home Ticzin		481
Memories of the Past	Joseph Falk	483
Rzeszów Jews	Jacob Beller	484
Ballad of Radiant Grandsires	Berish Weinstein	486
III. Figures
Some of our Figures	Zvi Simcha Leder	488
Naphtali Tuchfeld	David Tuchfeld	492
The Seventieth Jubilee of Abba Apfelbaum	Simcha Seiden	493
The Philosopher and Poet Dr. Benjamin Schlager		494
Anna Kahane	Leon Wiesenfeld	495
My Brother Moshe	Leon Wiesenfeld	496
Tzvi Simcha Leder	Leon Wiesenfeld	497
Irving Low	David Ben-Yosef	502
Berish Weinstein	Moshe Starkmann	505
Berish Weinstein's Birthday	A. Tabatchnik	506
Nachum Sternheim	Jonas Turkow	508
IV. The Destruction
Majdanek G-d!	Berish Weinstein	512
The First Days of the War	Joseph Laufban	513
The History of the Destruction of the Rzeszów Jewish Community	Dr. Asher Alexander Heller	515
From Rzeszów by way of Wroclaw to America	Israel Beck	537
What I saw in the Old Jewish City of Rzeszów	Dr. Haim Shoshkes	538
Rzeszówer & Province Landsmanschaft of Montreal		543
In Memoriam - Memorial Tributes to Families		545
Index of Names ( Names from pages translated. More will be added as translation proceeds.) There is also an English section of the book.
Rzeszów Yizkor Book Overview
Notes from the translator
Overview of Hebrew section of Rzeszów Yizkor Book

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