[Page 418]

In holy memory of Professor Yakov Zerachin and wife And their two daughters Chantche and Manya Who were killed along with their families in the Terrible devastation of Poland. Honor their memory! The Zerachin family settled in Gostynin, and Professor Zerachin took on the position of teacher of religion in the public gymnasium. He also organized courses in Hebrew. As a fiery Zionist, he planted the kernels of Zionism deeply into his students. Professor Zerachin was an overall loving and social person, and quickly became settled in town, where the people welcomed him warmly and established him as director of the Jewish people's schools. Zerachin's two daughters, Chantche and Manya, also quickly became citizens of Gostynin, and married the two brothers Yechiel-Meyer and Aaron Keller. All of them died in the years of the horrors. Y. K-R

[Page 419]

In holy memory of my close family and friends (male and female) who were killed by the German Nazi murderers The families: Pinczewski Feinzilber Brown   Motil Keller Printz Male friends: Chaim Bresler, Itche Katz, Refoel Burak, Yakov Leyb Pinczewski, Betzalel Gombyner, Avrohom Zajacs, Zalman Ospe, Lipe Plutzer, Otke Moritz, Shmuel Markovitch, Ben-Tzion Moritz   Female friends: Chav'tche Kaufman, Rochele Zweighaft, Irena Lefkovitch, Tila Kleinbord, Baltche Moritz, Blima Goldman, Blima Dzhiganski Honor their memory! Yissachar Motil (New York)

[Page 420]

In memory of Family Tabatchnik Chana-Rochel Tabatchnik I am joining in the cries of all our compatriots to honor the memory of our holy martyrs who were killed by the Nazi murderers in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Treblinka. My language is too poor to allow me to express my deep pain and anguish. At the moment, scene after scene, event after event, swim by in my memory, of terrible pain that I and all of us experienced and suffered through, and of the horrible pains and agony. Each one of us who miraculously remained alive could write complete volumes of the evil and cruelty of the Germans. But at this moment, I only want to remember and honor the holy memory of the near and dear ones of my family. My father was Hershel Tabatchnik. He merited dying before the Jewish tragedy began. But my mother, with all her sons and daughters, were killed in the German death camps. And I, only I, remained alive from my entire family. I survived to bear witness and carry deep sorrow my inside me my entire life. I don't know where, and in which death camps, my brothers and sisters were killed. They died leaving absolutely no memories behind them. But I want to relate how my brother Avrohom-Aaron and my eldest sister Chana-Rochel were killed. I want to tell about their tragic martyr's death. The German murderers assembled ten Jewish young people in a barn in the camp Konin in order to take them to the gas chambers to their death. Among these young people was my brother Avrohom-Aaron. But these ten young people decided that it would be better to kill themselves rather than to fall into the hands …

[Page 421]

… of the German murderers. And they decided to hang themselves and to burn down the barn. They threw lots as to who would be the first to hang himself and who would be the last, and then [that last one would] burn the barn. The lot fell to my brother to be the last one, and the one to burn down the barn. And that is how it went. One after the other, each young man hanged himself on their self-constructed gallows. And when it was my brother's turn, he ignited the barn and then proceeded to hang himself. This is how these ten Jewish holy martyrs met their death, and with these multiple deaths, my brother Avrohom-Aaron died as well. How can I forget that? I will also never forget how the German killers and slaughterers viciously tore my oldest sister Chana Rochel from me, and took her to Auschwitz to murder her. I fell at the feet of the murderers, sobbed, and pleaded with them not to leave me alone; begged that they take me along with my sister, who was like a devoted mother to me, so that I could be burned to death alongside her in the ovens of the crematoria. But the killers tore her away from me forcefully and cruelly pushed me aside and cynically remarked: “Soon, soon it will be your turn.” My dear sister then turned to me and said her final words: “Remember, Helen, you are the youngest and the last sister of our large family. Don't give in to the enemy. Strengthen yourself and see that you remain alive. At least let one limb of our family survive. Let there remain a memory of us all. “You will outlive the murderers and devils and will bear witness to tell what all of us have experienced and suffered. You will have the merit to see your brothers in America.” And I experienced it and lived through it all. And now I am in America. I married and have a good husband and two dear children. I could say that I have a wonderful family life. But I will always carry in my heart the deep sorrow and agony of my closest and dearest ones, who died so young and so horribly by the hands of the Nazi executioners in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Treblinka. I will never forget this! Helen (Tabatchnik) Boll

[Page 422]

Martyrs Ezriel Zajdeman Ezriel Zajdeman We will never forget our dearest ones, our parents, brothers and sisters who were killed so cruelly by the hands of the German murderers. We will tell our children, and our children's children, so that they will never forget our devastated families. With the publication of this memorial book for the martyrs of Gostynin, I would like to mention here the names of my parents, brothers and sisters, as well as the names of my relatives of my father's family, which was considered one of the largest families of Gostynin. My father, Avrohom Chaim Zajdeman, of blessed memory, my mother Elke Zajdeman, of blessed memory. My older brother, Moishe Zajdeman, was on the Russian side during the time of the war. Sadly, no one knew what happened to his body. My sister, Gutche Zajdeman, married while in the ghetto. A picture of the ghetto, and a picture of the yellow Jewish star, which everyone in the ghetto had to wear – we received when we were sent to Siberia. My brothers Dovid and Nisen Zajdeman, of blessed memory; our sisters: Sonia, Yente, and Esther Zajdeman, of blessed memory. I want to mention those who died from my father's side. Our grandfather, Volf Zajdeman, of blessed memory; my father's sister: Kashe, of blessed memory, married to Nachum Steinman, and two children; Soroh, of blessed memory, married to Yisroel Meyer Rusak, and two children; Baile, of blessed memory, married to Artche Lichtenstein, they had four children. My father's brother, Yitzchok Zajdeman, lived in Rodzhiwe, near Plock. A sister of my father, Rochel, lived in Kutno, died along with her three children. May this memory book of the martyrs be a holy tombstone for their destroyed lives.

[Page 423]

Life in the Gostynin Ghetto goes on A Wedding in the Gostyniner Ghetto in March 1940 The bride is Gutche Zajdeman In this group are also the parents of the bride, Avrohom-Chaim and Elke Zajdeman, may they rest in peace

[Page 424]

A picture of the Gostyniner ghetto Jewish youth wearing the symbol of the Jewish star

[Page 425]

In holy memory of my family My father Chaim Goldberg and my mother Chava, may they rest in peace My brothers: Yisroel Moishe, Yissachar Mendel, Aryeh Leyb, and Yosele My sisters: Malka, Soroh Rifka, and Mene All who died in the destruction of Poland by the hands of the Hitler executioners Honor their memory! Yechiel Goldberg (Paris)

Reb Chaim Goldberg was known as Chaim “blue-maker,” because he was a dyer. He prayed in the chassidim shteibel [informal, small synagogue], but on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur he would pray in the synagogue. And no wonder: Reb Chaim was a first class Baal Tokeia [the person who blows the shofar on the holidays]. In his hands, the shofar was like a musical instrument. And who of those congregants who used to pray in the Bais Hamedrash and experienced the dramatic blowing of the shofar there, did not enjoy the skilled shofar blowing of Reb Chaim Goldberg? Because of that, the synagogue Jews were determined that only Reb Chaim should be the Baal Tokeia for them. Reb Chaim was a warm Jew. He was never a very wealthy man, even though G-d blessed him with a good livelihood. With all of this, he never had any conflicts with anyone, and was a man of great faith all his days. Reb Chaim was one of the most respected businessmen in the city. Y. K-R

[Page 426]

In eternal memory Soroh Goldman (Szcuwnik), who is now in Israel, writes that her parents, Yakov and Fraide Goldman, settled in Gostynin in the year 1911, where they lived until the year 1926, when they left Gostynin for economic reasons, and went to Lubraniec. “But Gostynin,” she writes, “was always their home.” She perpetuates the names of her family. Her mother Fraide, who died in the Lodz ghetto in 1942; her father Yakov Goldman, who left this world at a young age in 1943; her sister Baile, who was tortured in the Lodzher ghetto at the age of 28; and her brother Shloime, who died in one of Hitler's camps. May their names never be forgotten!

Moishe Yehuda Pinczewski in Israel, writes: My father, Yissachar-Dov, son of Avrohom and grandson of the Gostyniner dayan [judge in religious Jewish court] Reb Shmuel Volf Pinczewski, in his young years, was already considered one of the best students. And as was the case with a student of such prestigious lineage, he was taken as a son-in-law for a prominent family, for the daughter of the honored Moishe –Leyb Dobriner, actually from the town of Dobrin. As the father-in-law Reb Moishe Leyb, so the son-in-law Yissachar-Dov was also a Gerer chossid [follower of the Gerer Rebbe]. It is interesting to note that when Malke, Yissachar-Dov's wife, became ill, and the illness, despite her doctors, dragged on, both father and husband lost their trust in the doctors and both went to see the Gerer Rebbe, whom they trusted very deeply. Naturally, they asked the Rebbe to pray for the daughter and wife. And when G-d helped, and Malke became well again, both Gerer chassidim knew that this was a result of the Rebbe's prayers. In the great destruction of Poland, both my father Yissachar-Dov and mother Malke lost their lives. May their names be remembered eternally.

Yonah Klingbeil (Tobtche Boczan), who is now in Israel, writes with great yearning and heartache about the destruction of Gostynin. She warmly describes the town of her …

[Page 427]

… youth; the natural geographic beauty and the cultural institutions and activities that were described many times in many ways on the pages of this book. With particular warmth and love, she remembers her beloved brother Avrohom, who was a scholar, a serious student of Torah studies; the melody of his studying still rings in her ears. And even if they separated in their ways and beliefs, nonetheless, the love between brother and sister was truly a warm one. In agony, she relates that her brother, the fine student, was sickly, and in the year 1928, left this world as a young man. His death had a terrible impact on his father, so much so, that he too left this world as a young man. “The rest of the family,” – she writes – “died in the destruction of Poland with the other Gostyniner holy martyrs.”

Fraidel Pinczewski (Sheier), in Israel, writes in memory of her father Nachum-Yisroel Sheier, and her mother Soroh-Laya Sheier (Danciger): My father, Nochum-Yisroel, of blessed memory, born in Wiszegrad, where he was one of the best Wiszegrader young men, was the husband of my dear mother Soroh-Laya, the daughter of Mordechai-Mendel and Toibe [Toba]-Chaya Danciger. As was done in those years, the young man, the student Nochum-Yisroel, was taken as a son-in-law and given board. So, my father actually studied Torah day and night, without any concerns for having to earn a livelihood. But when business for Mordechai-Mendel and Toibe-Chaya Danciger worsened daily, my father declined continued boarding and undertook, with the help of my mother, to do a little bit of trade. And even though earning a livelihood was difficult, my father nonetheless did not forego any of his studies, just as it is said: “It is good to have Torah with the lay of the land” [Tov Torah Im Derech Eretz”]. And even though my parents did not earn fortunes of money with their business, there was always a guest at the table and no one ever declined to give charity. My mother died in Gostynin two years before the outbreak of World War Two, and my father died during the second year of the war. The rest of my family died during the war devastation. I am the only one remaining. May these lines be an eternal memory for them.

  Gostynin, Poland     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 5 Jan 2018 by LA