Personalities and Officials (cont.)
Shmuel Sokol
He was the son of Menachem Mendel Sokol. Born in 1897 into a Chassidic family. He was active in the communal life of the Jewish community. He was the first chairman of the Merchant's Union. Member of the Merchant's Bank and a committee member of the Mizrachi organization. Perished in the Ghetto.
Tzvi Sandlarsh
He came from the well-known Slonimer Chassids. He was of the household of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and Rabbi Scholem Menasche. He would give lessons on the pages of the Gemarra in the Green synagogue.
Israel Aharon Svirinovski
He was the secretary of the American Aid Committee (The Joint). He supervised this organization with great success – and oversaw the gigantic task of relieving the plight of the returning Jews in the critical period after W.W.1.
He was popular in the city, with his polite demeanor and an honest, enterprising leader in community affairs. He married Hannah Spektor and founded a knitting factory in Lodz. Later he also set up textile plants in Israel, where he was a leading industrialist. Died in Tel-Aviv in 1954.
Shimon Savishitski
Born in a village near Brest. He was a businessman and the agent of the brewery “Haberbush and Shileh” from Warsaw. After W.W.1, he was the chairman of the board of the Jewish hospital and assisted that institution to overcome difficult times. Member of the city council. He died in Brest in1937.
Yosef Satir
He was a veteran of the sports movements and an active sportsman. He founded the Jewish Sports Club. Well known for many years as a footballer. The sporting circles in Poland regarded him as the representative of sport from Polessie. He perished in the Ghetto.
Yitzchak Sirota
A respected merchant. He was active in community work, especially in assisting the Old Age Home. His son, Eisig Sirota was one of the loyal Zionists in Brest, and a member of the administration of the Zionist organizations. His son, Nathan Sirota was active in the League of Workers in Israel, a loyal member of the Poale Zion in Brest. Both sons perished in the Brest Ghetto.
Shlomo Sirota
The son of the Zionist official Eisig Sirota. He went to Israel in 1933. He was an agricultural worker and a security policeman during the riots there. He traveled all over Israel as a representative of the security organizations. Active in the Haganah. He died in Tel-Aviv aged 33 in 1946.
Chaim Meier Spektor
A student at the famous Volozhyn Yeshivah, he was a textile manufacturer. A learned scholar and a spiritual man.
Itke Serlin (formerly Shiland)
He was active in welfare assistance in the community. A member of the Orphanage committee. Perished in the Ghetto.
Dr. David Sarnaker
A well-known surgeon, he was active in the welfare institutions. Active in TOZ and ORT.
Yakov Erlich
Born in Brest in 1862. His father, Elyahu Erlich was a timber merchant and community official, always ready to help people. In 1915 when the Brest residents were forced to leave the city, he traveled to Volomin, a town near Warsaw and set up a school for refugee children from Brest. He was one of the most active participants of the Brest Relief Committee set up in Warsaw (under the leadership of the banker, Raphael Shereshevski). This committee greatly assisted Brest Jews in those difficult days.
Yakov Erlich was one of the founders of the Loans Society and Old Age Home in Brest. He died in 1927. His son, Aryeh, is a well-known timber merchant in Israel.
Mordechai Padua
A director of the Jewish Hospital. He was one of the first members of the society “Menucha Ve Nachala” in Israel. He purchased land in Rechovot. His son, Tuvia, settled in Israel in 1895. The Padua family planted vineyards in Rechovot.
Yehoshua Farrer
An active member of Chovevei Zion in Brest in the 1890s. He sent his two sons Ezra and Yakov to Eretz Israel and they tilled the land of the Brisker settlement (Feinstein and others who had not yet arrived). Yehoshua Farrer came to Israel in 1905 with his whole family and conducted his affairs until his last days. He had been occupied in agricultural work even before coming to Israel - he was the leaseholder of a large estate outside Brest. He was an advisor to the agricultural board of Rechovot in business matters.
Yakov Farrer
One of the original builders of Rechovot, he came to Israel from Brest as a young man and settled in the colony. He house was one of the first to be built in Rechovot. He took care of his farm and did not want to make changes. – he was one of the few who completely gave himself to his agricultural work. He did everything he could to develop and show his model of exemplary land management.
He died in Rechovot in 1946.
Meier Feinstein
He was a member of the community administration – he was the last Chairman of the Zionist Organization in Brest. He was chairman of Keren Hayesod and delegate to Zionist conferences.A leader of the Zionist faction “Et Livnot” (a time to build). He was an educated, exceptional man. His father in law was the entrepreneur and benefactor Moshe Ragazhik, who built the Brest Fortress.
Noah Pozezhinski
Member of the city council, he was a director of the Merchant Bank Union. He helped small businesses a great deal. Killed in the Ghetto.
Aharon Pochachevski
He was a learned man, a scholar and official of the Agudat Israel. A director of the Jewish hospital. Killed in the Ghetto.
Betzalel Faigin
An employee of the Merchant Bank, he was a dedicated Zionist who managed Keren Kayemet affairs in Brest. Active member of the Zionist Council in Brest. Perished in the Ghetto.
Hannah Finkel
A dedicated activist in the health institutions for the poor and the orphanage. She was called the Yiddishe Mama – worked tirelessly for the Old Age home. Killed in the Ghetto with her entire family.
Godel Feingold
One of the important property owners in Brest, he was a gabbeh in the Great Synagogue together with Netanel Yokel before W.W.1.
Josef Feldman
Member of the city council –chairman of the Small Traders association and their representative in the city administration. Killed in the Ghetto.
Israel Fernik
A small trader, he was an active Zionist, member of the Zionist committee, Keren Kayemet and Keren Hayesod. A prisoner of Zion, he was sent to Russia and died there.
Reuven Pragel
Director of the Worker's kitchen in the Professional Workers Union. He was active in the Central Jewish Schools organization, named after Boruchov and the ORT organization. He was a beloved member of the leftist Poale Zion, and an active representative of the Worker's Union. Killed in the Ghetto.
Yitzchak Polani (Pollak)
Born in Brest in 1904, he was the son of Yekutiel Pollak, a gabbei of the Great Synagogue. He was one of the dedicated pioneers that went to Israel n 1922. He was a laborer and one of the first volunteers to the Jewish Police force. He served there for 17 years and was one of its first sergeants. A dedicated passionate Jew devoted to Israel and his community. He was killed in a bomb blast in April1944.
Mordechai Fein
He was a manufacturer and owner of the barrel-making factory “Finalin”. A benefactor to various institutions. He was the head of the Chevra Kadisha (the burial society) in Brest. Perished in 1942.
Chaim Tzvi Fassman
An official in the philantrophic institutions, he was the co-founder of the Visitor's Hostel, and active with the Old Age home (previously named Siberska Hakadosh). A learned scholar, he studied at the Mishmar synagogue.
His son, David Fassman was a leader of the Joint and the “Malben” organization in Israel, whose aims were to provide support to the impoverished new arrivals.
Avraham Polefski
He was the son of Menachem - Mendel. Born in 1905 in Brest, he was active in the Jewish sport movement. He went to Israel in 1935 with his wife Bella, the daughter of the well-known benefactor Meier Aronson. An employee of the cooperative “Argaz”, he passed away in 1950. “Argaz” allocated a scholarship in his name.
Yehuda Fachter
He was born in 1905, the son of Shmaryahu Moshe. Went to Israel in 1925. He was active in the Haganah –during the riots of 1929 he risked his life many times in the defense of his fellow Jews. In those days, he was one of the few Jews in the Mandate (British) police force. He died in 1954.
Yosef Frager
Known as Yoske the Schochet. He was the author of the book “Menuchat Yosef”, on ritual slaughtering. He was close to both Yoshe-Ber and Chaim Soloveitchik. He visited Israel in 1903.
Yosef (Reb Yosseleh) Zuckerman
Active amongst the city's property owners. He journeyed to the U.S. to obtain assistance for those who had returned to Brest after W.W.1.and were suffering. He had an open house for all those who came to him seeking advice and help. He would write petitions on their behalf to the government.
Reb. Avraham David Tzemach
He was descended from the author of the book “Magen Avraham”. He was an educated and learned man –he wrote articles for “Hasphirah” and “HaAsif”. His business was trade, but he was deeply dedicated to the study of Torah and Hebrew literature. He was a gabbeh in the Rabbi's (Soloveitchik) synagogue. He died in Vienna in 1924.
Reb Baruch Kwiatkowski
An active community worker, he was a very good prayer leader. A member of the Mizrachi organization.in Brest. Killed in the Ghetto.
Isser Tzemach
He was one of the founders of Zeirei Zion (Young Zionists) in Brest in 1914. He was active in the Brisker Aid committee during W.W.1 for the homeless in Warsaw. He was very involved with Zionist activities and educational work. One of the Warsaw Zionist Organization representatives in the City Council. A man of the book in the full sense of the term In Israel he participated in the activities of the veteran Zionists –he was a member of the committee of the Brisk D'Lita Yizchor book. He died in Israel in 1955.
Kalman Koffberg
A scholar, he wrote articles in the “Polessie Shtimmeh” about the history and traditions of Brest.
Avraham Chaim Kastrinski
He was born in Horodetz, the son of the community leader Mordechai Kastrinski. He settled in Brest and was closely aligned with Zionist causes as well as general community issues. He was always ready to help everybody. He was a member of several companies and societies. He died in Brest in 1927. His son Baruch, was one of the active members of the Brest committee in Israel.
Shmuel Kanzevic
One of the founders of ORT. He was active in Jewish educational affairs.
Rabbi Yakov Krinski
He was the Head of the Yeshivah in Brest and a close confidante of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik.
Shlomo Kachel
He was born in Rovno in 1908. Settled in Brest – he was one of the leaders of Chovevei Zion in Brest. He was vice-president of the parent's association of the Tarbut School
Of his two sons in Israel, his son Zeev is a writer, the author of several books.
Sheina Kaszokievitch
She was an active members of the community –a member of Keren Kayemet, Linat Tzedek, and the orphanage. Killed with her family in the Ghetto.
Beile Klotnitzki
She was a teacher at the Jewish primary school and the Tel Chai School. Active in explanatory work for the Zionist Socialists, especially in the youth movement called Freiheit (Freedom). Killed in the Bialystok Ghetto.
Dr Yitzchak Kagan
Born in the shtetl of Grayevke. He was the Director of the Jewish hospital in Brest. For a while, he was Chairman of the kehilla (Jewish community) administration and a city councillor. He was hidden by Christian friends for 28 months and thus spared from death by the Nazis. He came to New York in 1947 with his family and obtained employment as a doctor in a sanatorium for the elderly. He was active in community work in New York. Shattered by what he had endured during the Nazi occupation he died suddenly whilst working at his post.
Chaim Baruch Kwiartowski
A manufacturer, he was a learned man and a benefactor. He was the Chairman of the kehilla administration in 1937. During the pogrom he risked his own life to help others in his community and Jewish circles in general. Killed in the Ghetto.
Reb Beinish Koloditski
A wonderful Zionist official. He was the head of the Keren Kayemet in Brest for over 25 years. He would devote himself day and night to the study of Torah and the Hebrew language and literature. Came to Israel and was happy to have achieved his ambition. He died in Petach Tikvah in 1948 aged 80.
Gelle (Genia) Konapiati –Bishkowitz
She was the daughter of the late Reb Moshe Baruch Bishkowitz. Active member of the Women's League and all the charitable institutions.
Henoch Kossovski
An official and secretary of the Mizrachi organization. He was a teacher at the “Tachkamoni” school - he was devoted to this school and Zionist causes. Killed in the Ghetto.
Eliahu Sini and David Kupchik
Hebrew teachers. Together they founded the Hebrew Modern School (Cheder Metukan) with new modern classrooms. Thousands of students received a Zionist education from them – many of them later came to Israel. Eliahu Sini was an impressive, fine figure of a man.
Yehezkiel Kopper
A community activist, he was a representative of the Joint organization in Brest and district. He was the director of the Warburg colony and built residential housing there from after W.W.1 until 1939. An active community worker, he was an outstanding personality. Killed in the Ghetto.
Yosef Kippel
Together with the teachers Fundig and Har Zahav (Goldberg), he was the founder of evening classes for adults.in Brest. During W.W.1 he found himself in Wlodavka. There he opened an evening school for adults. He was a member of the Keren Kayemet committee. He was a passionate advocate for Hebrew and Zionism. Killed in the Ghetto together with his wife and three sons.
Shlomo Kamenetzki
An engineer, he was a member of the Zionist Organization committee. He was one of the founders of “Hatechiya” and “Kadima” organizations, and the Union of Zionist Artisans. A radical Zionist, he was the leader of “El Hamishmar” and active in academic circles. Secretary of the Artisan's Union in Brest. Killed in the Bialystok Ghetto.
Berl Kandelsbrat (Berl the Medic)
A medic, he was known in all stratas of society as a folk doctor and healer. Many families benefitted from his great healing skills and knowledge. He was also active in the voluntary firefighters of the city.
Israel Kaplanski
A veteran Zionist, he was the owner of a bookstore, and a loyal supporter of the Keren Kayemet.
Reb. Mordechai Krop
A builder, he was the representative of the Artisans Union in the Polessie district. He was active in the Chevra Kadisha, (the Burial society). He was an honorary judge (referee) in the Artisans Union. It was thanks to his energy and efforts that the Chayey Adam synagogue was built. He was the gabbei there. A member of Mizrachi, he came to Israel aged 72 and lived independently. He died in Jerusalem aged 91.
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