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Translation of
Pinkes Vashilkover yisker-bukh; a spetsyele oysgabe
vegn lebn mord un toyt fun a yidishn yishev
Author and editor: Leon Mendelewicz
Published in Melbourne 1990
Our sincere appreciation to Genia Hollander
for typing up the English text to facilitate its addition to this project.
Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Wasilkow
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
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Translated by Yocheved Klausner
| A word from the author | Leon Mendelewitz | 1 |
| To our Wasilkow friends | The Book Committee | 3 |
| Acknowledgments and Thanks | 6 | |
| Bibliography | 7 | |
| Wasilkow of old times | Leon Mendelewitz | 9 |
| The beginnings of the Jewish settlement | ||
| Historical, topographical and agricultural review | ||
| Roads (poem) | Leon Mendelewitz | 17 |
| History of the Jews in Wasilkow | 18 | |
| Life Conditions | ||
| Taverns and inns | 23 | |
| Crafts and craftsmen | 25 | |
| Jewish blacksmiths | 26 | |
| Bakeries | 27 | |
| Shoemakers | 29 | |
| Quilt-makers | 30 | |
| Tailors | 31 | |
| Butchers | 32 | |
| Cart owners | 34 | |
| Shops and shopkeepers | 35 | |
| Harness-makers, glaziers and others | 38 | |
| Avraimel Moldovian the great philantropist | 39 | |
| Sabbath and Holiday | ||
| Preparations for the Holy Sabbath, tradition and rest | 41 | |
| The High Holidays - Rosh Hashana [New Year] and Yom Kippur | 43 | |
| Sukkot in town | 44 | |
| Chanuka, the festival of Lights | 45 | |
| Purim | 46 | |
| Pesach, the festival of Freedom | 47 | |
| Lag Ba'omer festivities | 48 | |
| Wasilkow Rabbis | 51 | |
| Rav Avraham David Margaliot | ||
| Rav Mordechai Eliyahu Rabinowitz z”l | ||
| Rav R'Gershon Meir Bayarski z”l | ||
| Rav R'Refael Gordon z”l, the Great Scholar | ||
| The Great Scholar Rav Israel Halperin z”l, the last Wasilkov Rabbi | 52 | |
| Rav R'Yitzhak Yevarkovski (R'Itche) | 53 | |
| R'Israel Moshe Margaliot, scholar and writer | 55 | |
| Wasilkow Cantors, Wasilkow Torah People | ||
| Cantor Heinich Sivowitz | 56 | |
| Cantor and slaughterer Kovalski | 56 | |
| Cantor Mordechai Spector | 57 | |
| Torah-people in Wasilkow | 58 | |
| My Shtetl Wasilkow | Rivka Perlstein/Lassman | 61 |
| The economic basis: the wood industry | Leon Mendelewitz | 62 |
| Textile industry | Leon Mendelewitz | 67 |
| Long time wandering (poem) | Leon Mendelewitz | 74 |
| Life and Entertainement | 75 | |
| Drama groups | ||
| Silent movies | ||
| Musical groups | ||
| Forest and lake | ||
| The Great Fair | 82 | |
| A Glimpse to the Distant Past | 86 | |
| Anti-Semitism in Wasilkow? | 87 | |
| Episodes, Sayings and Nicknames | ||
| Nicknames | 90 | |
| Sad events | 91 | |
| An extraordinary happening | 93 | |
| Traditions or superstitions | 94 | |
| Documents from Distant Past | 97 | |
| Religious institutions | ||
| Statistics of yearly births | ||
| Jewish emigration | ||
| The Ban | 105 | |
| My memories | Chana Perlstein/Gedel | 107 |
| Schools and Education | Leon Mendelowitz | 110 |
| Heders and Melamdim | ||
| The Jewish Sholem-Aleichem School | ||
| Tachkemoni and Yavne Schools | ||
| Eliezer Ben Yehuda, pioneer of Hebrew | ||
| Political Organizations | 117 | |
| Development of the Zionist Organization | ||
| Bundist ans communist parties in Wasilkow | ||
| Before our Aliya | Zvi/Hershele Halpern | 121 |
| Wasilkov pioneers, Moshe Schlachter the Halutz [pioneer] | Leon Mendelewitz | 123 |
| My friend Zvi - his life | Leon Mendelewitz | 126 |
| The Beginning of the End - 1939 | 129 | |
| Anti-Jewish propaganda war | ||
| Pain and fear | ||
| The German march into Wasilkow | ||
| Acts of terror | ||
| Jews in church | ||
| Marching out | ||
| Wasilkow under Soviet Rule | 134 | |
| Nationalization & Russification | ||
| Attempt to liquidate the “Great Bet-Hamidrash” (synagogue) | ||
| Political and cultural activity | ||
| Avraham Cohen - his life and experiences | 140 | |
| Holocaust and Destruction | 143 | |
| June 22 1941 - Germany attacks Russia | ||
| Bombing panic and despair | ||
| June 27 - Nazi Anti-Semitism and terror are marching in | ||
| The Ghetto - overcrowding, shortage, lack of water and sanitary aid | ||
| Attempt of the Polish Anti-Semitists to drown the Jews in the river | ||
| Murder near Trilling's plant and in the neighborhood | ||
| November 2 1942 - final liquidation of the Jewish life in Wasilkow | ||
| Rescued from the Great Destruction | 152 | |
| List of survivors | ||
| Yankel Sokolowitz - his horrible experiences | 153 | |
| Survivors Mendel Melnitzki and his sister: their testimony before the Special Committee in 1945 | 156 | |
| Important Remarks | 161 | |
| Analytical remarks concerning the number of Jews killed in Wasilkow | ||
| Treblinka, where Wasilkow Jews perished | 164 | |
| Remember (poem) | 166 | |
| Jonah Panimanski, the 11-year-old boy who was saved through a miracle | 167 | |
| Announcements of the Bialistok Judenrat | 168 | |
| Resistance in the Bialistok Ghetto, an article on the 45th Memorial Day | 175 | |
| Problems | 177 | |
| The negative side of Anti-Semitism accompanied by murder and terror and the humane reflection of some Christian individuals who have not lost the belief in human values. General Mikarski and his postulates concerning Jews | ||
| Uprising: The Struggle for life | 182 | |
| The roots of Anti-Semitism | 184 | |
| The history of Anti-Semitism as a product of erroneous interpretation of the Christian doctrine | ||
| The YIZKOR list (Necrology) | 198 | |
| A list of the murdered Wasilkow Jews (possible errors or omissions) | ||
| Literary Works | Leon Mendelewitz | 211 |
| Moments in Jewish History | 213 | |
| Part 1 - Jewish history as an integral part of World History | ||
| King Saul, the first Jewish king of the independent Jewish monarchy | ||
| The first regular army stabilizing the monarchy | ||
| Moments in Jewish History | 217 | |
| Part 2 - King David, the second Jewish king, who fought heroically to strengthen the monarchy and founded the capital Jerusalem, is considered the best king in Jewish history | ||
| Moments in Jewish History | 221 | |
| Part 3 - King Solomon, the third king, a wise and talented ruler, enjoyed a rich and tranquil life, improved the country's economical conditions, built the First Temple, introduced cavalry and charriot-riding; negative moments: many wives | ||
| King Solomon and the Peakocks, a poem by Leib Alitzki, a fable about greatness | 224 | |
| Is a New Crusade Possible? The biased attitude of the media towards Israel | 230 | |
| My Country | 231 | |
| Has the Devil Left our Planet? (essay) | 232 | |
| The Jewish Name (poem) | 232 | |
| Bialistok (poem) | 234 | |
| Apartheid and Terror - revolution. evolution and practical life | 235 | |
| Our Jubilee! 40-year anniversary of Israel | 236 | |
| Documents and Letters Connected with the History of Wasilkow | ||
| Rabbi Israel Halperin's Last Letter 1939 | 237 | |
| A Letter from Rav R'Chaim Heikel Greenberg about the fate of Rav Halperin in Vilna | 238 | |
| The Textile Manufacture | 239 | |
| A Letter to the Archives | 240 | |
| Minutes from the Court Session - an explanation | 241 | |
| Documents from the Murder-Akzia | 241 | |
| Letters to the Wasilkow Magistrate, the Jewish Historical Institution and the Polish Ministry of Interior, and replies from the above | 242 | |
| A Letter from Barbara Lewis, Shimon the Glazier's granddaughter from America | 245 | |
| Births Register 1898 (written in Cyrillic letters) | 247 | |
| A Russian Passport, belonging to Shaye Garfein, immigrated to America 1906, citizen's certificate 1916 | 248 | |
| Registered Enterprises 1927 | 249 | |
| Letter from the Wasilkow Magistrate and Jewish Institutions | 250 | |
| Jewish Documents from the time of the Prussian Occupation 1797 (in German, translated to English) | 251 | |
| A false explanation | 253 | |
| Simulated photographs | 254 | |
| Invitation to the unveiling of a tombstone | 255 | |
| A list of the Vinik families | 256 | |
| From the “Folks Stimme” to the “Wasilkow Tageblatt” | 257 | |
| Notes from original books | 258 | |
| An authorization to research original material | 259 | |
| Exchange of letters on restoring the Wasilkow cemetery | 261 | |
| Letters from YIVO and Hoover institutions | 264 | |
| Exchange of letters with Yad Vashem | 266 | |
| A letter from a Polish historian | 269 | |
| Registered shops before 1927 | 270 | |
| A Letter from the Wasilkow Committee | 272 | |
| An appeal from Moshe Schlachter | 277 | |
| A Document from the Wansee Conference | 280 | |
| The Nazi German culture, cutting off beards, despotism | 281 | |
| Unforgettable Pictures | 282 | |
| The Press on Wasilkow before 1939 | ||
| An evening of mourning, Lag Ba'omer festivities, Collecting money for the Jewish Land, A theft on Yom Kippur, Opening a Chanuka bazaar, The Balfour Academy and others | 283 | |
| A Wasilkow Officer writing to a Cousin in Brooklyn 1947 | 292 | |
| Wasilkow in Photographs | 293 | |
| New-Year Cards | 294 | |
| Part of the market | 295 | |
| Part of a Bialistok street | ||
| The Great Wooden Synagogue and the Little Beit Hamidrash | 296 | |
| Rav Israel Halperim with part of his family | ||
| At Yad Vashem | ||
| The JNF Committee in 1937 | 297 | |
| A group of Maccabi Sports Club | ||
| Hashomer, Brit Yosef Trumpeldor | ||
| The Tachkemoni School | 298 | |
| Dana Mendelewitz in Kiryat Binyamin School in Israel | ||
| JNF Committee in 1927 | ||
| The First Wasilkow Zionist Organization in Wasilkow 1923-1924 | 299 | |
| The Tachkemoni School 1925 | 300 | |
| Yavne School | ||
| Teachers from Yavne School | ||
| Organizing a Chanuka Bazaar for the Benefit of JNF | 301 | |
| The Committee of the Tachkemoni School | ||
| A Meeting in Israel | 302 | |
| A meeting in Poland | ||
| Friends from the distant past | ||
| Noah Cohen and Family, the first members of the Zionist Organization in Wasilkow | 303 | |
| A joyous occasion in a Wasilkow family in Israel | ||
| The Panimavski and the Werniger families | 304 | |
| Wasilkow young men: Zalman Panimavski and brother, the teacher Maskovski and others | ||
| Avreim'l Moldovan Zadoraranski, the Great Philanthropist, on a Visit in his Home Town | 305 | |
| Gravestones in the Wasilkoow Cemetery 1989 | 306 | |
| Brothers Feivel & Jonah Wiebick | 307 | |
| Jonah Panimamski with his father | ||
| A Little Street | 308 | |
| Jewish Houses | 309 | |
| An old house | ||
| Gravestones in the Cemetery 1989 | 310 | |
| Wasilkow Cemetery | 311 | |
| Gravestones with Inscriptions | 312 | |
| A Jewish Street, Jews | 313 | |
| Feive'le the shoemaker's house; in Pinie's garden | ||
| R'Lipa Perlstein | 314 | |
| Itzel Cohen from Tartak; Leizer Cohen (Peipeches); Pesach the regiseur | ||
| Jewish Houses on the Main Street (Bialistoker St.) | 315 | |
| Avraham Mendelewitz | 316 | |
| Leon Mendelewitz; Zalman Mendelewitz | ||
| Jonah Panimanski arriving in Wasilkow, 1989 | 317 | |
| Farewell Evening in Honor of Zvi Halperin's Aliya 1935 | 318 | |
| Zvi with the survivors; Zvi and his wife | ||
| The Firefighters Orchestra | 319 | |
| A Reunion in Israel | 320 | |
| Yankel Sokolowitz and wife with Chana Perlstein; Zalman, Gitel Panimanski and friend; Rachel Inker (Australia) | ||
| Kibbutz Training | 321 | |
| Moshe Schlachter in the British Army; Moshe with his Brigade | ||
| Yankel Sokolowitz and Wife Ida (Melbourne) | 322 | |
| Chaim (Artchik) Pollack, Mrs. Sheine Schlachter and Chana Perlstein | ||
| In the Czar's Army 1912 | 323 | |
| Avraham Mendelewitz | ||
| Avraham Mendelewitz with Jewish soldiers | ||
| In the Polish Army | 324 | |
| Leon Mendelewitz | ||
| Hershel Schlachter | ||
| Yerachmiel Zelevianski before 1939 | ||
| A Parade in Zamosc 1947 | 325 | |
| A group of high-rank officers 1954 | ||
| Captain Leon Mendelewitz | ||
| Wasilkow Jews Around the World | 326 | |
| Emigration tendencies in view of economic conditiona and anti-semitic acts | ||
| Shalom Krapinski | 327 | |
| Rivka, daughter of Shimon the glazier, as a young woman | ||
| Rivka and family, in America | ||
| Shalom Cohen (Peipiches) | 328 | |
| Esther Cohen, America | ||
| Mordechai Spector, America | ||
| David Katz, Mexico | ||
| Rebecca (Rivka) and Family, London, England | 329 | |
| The Jewish Cemetery in Wasilkow (Photographs 1989) | 330 | |
| Motke Farber and sister-in-law | 331 | |
| Baruch Farber | ||
| Jewish Houses in 1989 | 332 | |
| The Old Jewish Cemetery after the War (1945) | 333 | |
| Unveiling the Monument at the Chamber of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem | 334 | |
| In memory of the Wasilkow Community, 1962 | ||
| The Faretzki-Gawenski Spinning-Mill | 335 | |
| Workers at the Mill, first row from right: Sarah Moed, Sarah-Sheine Toychem, Esther Mazur; the others are Polish workers | ||
| A Bialistok-Wasilkow wedding before the war | 336 | |
| Shimon Stavinski in Argentina 1959 | 336 | |
| Dveirtche Parazovski (Ragovski) | 336 | |
| Leibetchke Parazovski | 337 | |
| The leaders of Linat Tzedek | 337 | |
| Solke Parazovski | 337 | |
| The Parazovski family | ||
| Shaye Garfein (brother of Mendel the wood merchant) and wife, in America | 338 | |
| Shaye Garfein and daughter | 339 | |
| Shaye's son, Reuven | 339 | |
| Never Forget | 340 | |
| List of photographs | ||
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