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Shipment of food packages to the needy of our home town in Europe

ATTENTION! Any landsman[1] may obtain this book from our committee. Send your donation to our secretary, Sam Bernstein, and the book will be sent to you immediately by mail.

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On the occasion of today's event we greet all of our members, guests, friends and sympathizers. We have not taken any money for this evening's event, so that you might enjoy yourselves and at the same time have the satisfaction of knowing that with your presence you are helping the surviving Nowy Dwor Jews overseas. We heartily thank all our members who worked so energetically and who succeeded so well in soliciting announcements and greetings for our memorial book, and in general for helping to make this evening a success.

You may be sure that your names will always be recalled with love by the survivors overseas.

In the name of all those gathered here we send greetings to all the Nowy Dworer Jews in Poland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Eretz Yisroel and wherever else they may be. We solemnly promise that we will not rest until we awaken the conscience of every Nowy Dwor landsman in the entire world to your desperate situation. May your hearts grow stronger, brother and sister Nowy Dworers.

Be comforted that from a distance of thousands of miles, hundreds of hearts beat for you.

Aron Kartsovitsh, Chairman

Nowy Dwor Relief Committee of Los Angeles, California

Friendship now is doubly dear -- so few of us have emerged from the flames. Of an entire family, one person remains -- he has become more pure, more clear. Suffering has expanded his heart, so that for us, he is better, more near. His ruined home now belongs to us all, we must all stand behind him. We who remain are so few; let us at least be united Let us wish for each other a better life, a life without senseless hatred. We can care for each other. We know who our common enemy is. To destroy him, we must double our love for the few of us who remain. We are few; let us be united. No more shall we be kept apart by the seas, no more divided by country. Those who have been immersed in darkness turn their fear-filled eyes to us. Although you are few in number you can be strong if you stay united!

[by] Binem Heller

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In March, 1945, a number of landslayt gathered to organize a relief committee for surviving Nowy Dworer Jews in Europe. Our first task was to try to establish contact with those who had managed to survive by various means. For this, we want to heartily thank our dear friend, the heroic fighter in the Nowy Dwor and Warsaw ghettos, Yankev Evenson, who was the first to respond to our appeal for Nowy Dwor Jews to contact us. (One of his first letters from Warsaw can be found in this book [p.16], along with a photo from the concentration camp.)

We received quite a large number of letters from the approximately 500 survivors, and we gave each letter our devoted attention, both by providing emergency relief and seeking out their relatives around the world. One of the most important aspects of our relief work was finding relatives of our Nowy Dworers. As of now, we have connected about 100 surviving landslayt with their relatives in the United Sates, Argentina, Australia, Uruguay, Mexico, Cuba, France, South Africa and several other countries.

Our landslayt association in Los Angeles did a fine job of shipping packages of food and clothing through us to the small number of survivors in France. Soon after it was permitted to send packages to Poland and Germany, we began shipping individual packages to every landsman whose address we had. We sent 150 food packages through the mail; 30 packages through “Care;” 20 packages through the Federation of Polish Jews – in sum, 200 food packages. We sent about 200 pounds of clothing through the Federation of Polish Jews and around 200 pounds through mail. As for monetary support: We sent $620 through mail and American Express; we sent $250 to Poland with Dr. Tenenboym, president of the Federation of Polish Jews; with Friend Kalman Fridman, delegate of the Warsaw Council, we sent $250 -- in sum $1120. We also sent $615 to the Nowy Dwor Association in Tel Aviv, to be sent to Nowy Dworer Jews in Poland and to help in the settlement of landslayt newly arrived in EretzYisroel.

The work accomplished thus far by the small group of Nowy Dwor Jews in Los Angeles is truly exemplary. It has encouraged and stimulated the landslayt in New York, Chicago and other cities to make greater efforts on behalf of the survivors. As a result, in July, 1946 a convention was organized in Chicago for delegates representing Nowy Dwor Jews in America. A series of important decisions were made there on behalf of our surviving sisters and brothers in Poland and in the [displaced persons] camps in Germany, Austria and Italy.

We could say a lot more in our report about the tragic contents of the letters we receive from survivors overseas. In almost every letter, one can find heart-rending cries of pain: “I was the only one of my family left alive.” But you will read about these in the articles in this book written by people who bore the burden of the difficult, bitter years of the murderous Nazi occupation.

We hope that Jews will never forget and will transmit from generation to generation the story of our people's tragedy and the destruction of Nowy Dwor as part of that tragedy. Just as in the past it was written in a “megilla” [scroll; long Biblical story] so it must now be written what the modern Crusaders did to our parents, sisters and brothers, and friends. May this book serve as a reminder for every Nowy Dworer to do relief work – the greatest task of our time.

Sam Bernstein, Secretary

Nowy Dwor Relief Committee, Los Angeles, California

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Los Angeles, February 5, 1947

Nowy Dwor

Nowy Dwor – a name that evokes the pain of the deepest wounds in our hearts. That name no longer has any value for us. And not just the name; the town that bears the name is also alien, foreign to us. That is because, of the 10,000 Jews who lived there, only two remain. Our former non-Jewish neighbors don't want to hear about us. I have written letters to acquaintances and also to the Nowy Dwor town government with various information. My letters were not returned, but I received no replies.

The Nazi barbarians and their helpers tore out by the roots everything Jewish. The old cemetery was destroyed; its gravestones used to pave streets and roads. A new cemetery was created in the middle of the market place. That is the current state of the town, and under such circumstances, what can the future hold?

No, we can no longer look in that direction. All we have left is ourmemory of the past, which will disappear along with us. All that remains, that will never be forgotten, are the tall mountains of ash, where our enemies to this day search for gold from human teeth, and the so-called living embers, the survivors, who stick like a bone in the throat of the nations, the fighters for peace and democracy. The leaders of the world don't know what to do with these embers. Perhaps, rekindle the extinguished ovens and throw them back in, putting an end to the problem? They don't quite have the courage to do that. They won't; they can't do it. After all, the war is over.

Perhaps they can offer to help again, as taught in the golden rule? Surely not, because they could have done that earlier, when the flames had just begun to burn. No, they don't want that. But if they wait, maybe “they” [surviving Jews] will commit suicide. But, spitefully, they won't; they want to live.

Meanwhile, these unhappy souls hover between heaven and earth. Their future is in the hands of others. They wander, scattered wherever the wind carries them. And among these who are pursued and tormented are 500 Jews from Nowy Dwor, our sisters and brothers. The cries of pain from the suffering, together with those who still have a conscience, will resound in the ears of the world until justice will triumph.

Meyer Blake

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Officers	Members
Aaron Kartz Chairman	Leo D. Spain	Morris Blake
Lazer Blake Financial Secretary	Isadore & Fanny Bornstein	Harry Blake
Abe Bornstein Recording Secretary	Lazer Abramowitz	Mrs. Anna Feld
Sam Bernstein Corr. Secretary	Anna Evanson	Mr. & Mrs. Sobel
Mayer Blake Treasurer	Anna Kartz	Mr. & Mrs. Harry Goodman
Dave Evanson Co-Treasurer	Morris & Pesl Rosenberg	Dave Miller
Trustees	George & Mary Gould	Sidney & Clara Bornstein
Max Richman	Mr. & Mrs. D. Locks	Hy & Rose Zlozower
Max Brodofsky	Ben & Eva Krieger	Esther Kanaster
Sponsors	Max & Anna Brodofsky	Fanya Bernstein
Jack Kanaster	Ben & Shaindl Brodofsky	Morris Solomon
Paul Nester	Rubyn & Sara Blake	Rose Joseph

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Officers	New York, February 19, 1947 Dear Friend S. Bornstein: In response to your telegram I can tell you that we are doing everything possible on behalf of our relief work and on behalf of your event in Los Angeles. We are holding a special meeting this very Sunday, February 23. Our brothers in America, whether in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, understand and accept full responsibility at the critical time. At the current moment, our poor surviving Nowy Dwor brothers – forlorn, broken, sick after the horrific Holocaust committed by the bloody Nazi murderers, scattered to all ends of the world – look to us as their own, as brothers, for comfort and hope, for help and strength. I am certain that our brothers here in America understand the full extent of our task and we will fulfill our obligation to our unfortunate brothers. We will give fully with our hands, our hearts and souls, as the times demand. With heartfelt greetings to our brothers in Los Angeles, from all the brothers in New York,   Sam Hershfang, Secretary
Leo Spain Honorary Chairman
A.Segal Chairman
S.J. Hershfang Financial Secretary
J. Gertner Treasurer
A.Fox Corresponding Secretary
L. Fox
J. Nowodworsky
J. Finkelstein
S. Goldstein
J. Cohen
S. Freilich
H. Goldberg

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Leo Spain	S. Kuperstein
Abe Segal	I. Goldberg
Abe Fox	S.J. Hershfang
Joe Gertner	L.Kirstein

Dear Friends:

At a meeting of our committee it was decided to send a contribution in the sum of $25. Please accept, along with the check, our cordial greetings in honor of the celebration of two years of relief work for the surviving Nowy Dworer Jews. We wish you great success in your future work.

May you be strong. Bertha Kartsh, Secretary

Zelig Bornstein,	Harry Miller,
Menachem Bornstein,	Sholem Miller,
Yitshak Brandshaft,	B. Greenberg,
Shmuel Korzhinski,	Alex Goldberg,
Khaim Dults,	R.Kalish,
Isaac Miller

.

Delegates and guests of the convention in Chicago, July 13, 1946

Officers
H. Saltzman	President
M. Finkelstein	Vice President
M. Miller	Recording Secretary
B. Rappaport	Financial Secretary
Sam Goldstein	Treasurer
N. Simon	Hospitaler
M. Miller	Cemetery Supt.
M. Cohen	Trustee
G. Cohen	Trustee
H. Cohen	Trustee
S. Levin	Trustee
Officers of Ladies Auxiliary
Ida Cohen	President
Anna Rudkin	Recording Secretary
Bessie Warsaw	Treasurer
Libby Cohen	Trustee

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Recording Secretary	Financial Secretary
Mrs. Helen Fox	Sam Weprin
Los Angeles 33, Calif.

Please accept our hearty fraternal greeting upon today's celebration.

We value your important work in helping the suffering unfortunates of our hometown wherever they may be. With the annihilation of the six million Jewish martyrs you have lost your dearest ones.

The great catastrophe has left no Jewish home untouched. It has reached into the hearts of everyone, but unfortunately it has not reached everyone's head and heart to the extent that they give help where it is needed. You relief activists, who have both heads and hearts, you know how necessary your help is for those unfortunate, sick and exhausted by the six hellish years of war, and all they endured.These half-dead near-corpses need your help. Their salvation lies in your hands.

Please accept our heartfelt wishes. May you be given strength to carry on your work on behalf of the unfortunates. The seriousness of your very fine work will ensure that your help will reach them wherever they may be.

The Lublin Relief Society for the Jews in Lublin Sam Butt, President

Mr. & Mrs. Bernstein	Mr. & Mrs. Shonfield
Mr. & Mrs. Ben Fox	Mr. & Mrs. Sam Butt
Mr. & Mrs. Sam Mount	Mrs. Anna Butt
Mr. & Mrs. M. Lubin	Mr. & Mrs. Sam Weprin

Khashke and Nakhman Nowidworski send heartfelt greetings to the activists and members of the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles and request information about the fate of their relatives: Sore Rozenbaum (Nowidworski); Moyshele Guretski; Mendel Tik; Yekhoved, her husband and child; Avrom and his wife and child. Write with anything you know to:

H.N. Nowodworski

I send friendly greetings to the Nowy Dworers in Los Angeles for your fine work on behalf of the Nowy Dwor landslayt in Europe. At the same time I ask you to send information about the fate of my family: Dovid Gersht and his family, and Borekh Anker and his family.

H. Greenblatt

We greet the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles, California upon the publication of the memorial book and we also greet all our brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintances, who survived the war, scattered throughout the entire world.

In the name of all the Jews in Montevideo, Uruguay, Dovid Segal

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Havana, Cuba, February 8, 1947

[To our] good friend, Secretary of the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles

We have finally succeeded in establishing a Nowy Dwor section here in Havana, Cuba, with an organized relief committee, enabling us to help our fellow Nowy Dworers, and to fulfill the same task that you have undertaken. It is true, and we won't deny it, that it was the emissary you sent us, your brother and dearest comrade, Shloymele Bornstein, who provided the power that impelled us to create the group. It was because of his energetic assistance and through the initiative of those Nowy Dworers who understood and appreciated the importance of this crucial moment, that we called the first meeting, where our fellow Nowy Dworers willingly contributed to this sacred goal. And to express our well-earned thanks we held a banquet, where each of us could personally thank your brother for his great efforts.

Leybl Nodlfodim, President of the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Havana, Cuba

We express our heartfelt thanks to our devoted friend, our landsman Shloyme Bornstein from Chicago, who upon the occasion of his visit to Havana, Cuba, and with the cooperation of several local Nowy Dwor Jews, organized a Nowy Dwor Relief Committee, which received this guest with great honor and arranged a banquet upon his departure, at which over $200 was raised for aid to the surviving landslayt overseas.

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Simkhe Yaskovitsh Aron Blank Fayvish Kronenberg Alter Kshonski Gitl Ravitski Anshel Frid Hodes Hozenfus Baltshe Korn Tobe Alshinka Avrom Ravitski Moyshe Ravitski Leybl Mendelson Motl Hozenfus Gitl Shimanovski Hershl Piekorek Leyzer Botvinski Libe Alshinka Dovid Leyb Alshinka Gershon Migler Aron Korn Feygl Mindl Ravitski Missing are several people who did not come: Shmuel Grinvortsl Fayvl Grinvortsl Shimen Grinvortsl Lignicz, February 18, 1947

More than 100 years ago Jews from surrounding towns settled in Nowy Dwor. Because Nowy Dwor was a military post, it grew into a commercial town, where Jews could make a living. In a period of political reaction, the Russian government began to persecute the Jews and wanted to drive them out of the town.

At that time, there lived in Nowy DworReb [respectful term of address] Motele Perets, a shtadlan [mediator, lobbyist] who was called “the Polish Moses Montefiore.” Skillfully, he countered the reactionary governmental decrees and in so doing permitted the Jews to remain in Nowy Dwor. But the reactionary regime continued to rage, and as a consequence Motele Perets was forced to leave Nowy Dwor and emigrated to America, where he died. That is how our town developed until World War I.

After the end of World War I, Jews [who had been forced to leave during the war] returned to Now Dwor, and Jewish commercial activity blossomed. At the same time, a Jewish working class developed.

In 1918, the town became an intellectual and cultural center. Libraries, educational clubs and worker organizations were established. In 1919, [a branch of] the Bund was established. Its founders were Leon Grobman (who died on January 9, 1923) and the brothers Khaim and Elye Finkelshteyn, who later died in the ghetto. The first Marxist group was established in 1922. Its founders were Khaim Tishler (now in Brazil) and Elye Segalovitsh (in Argentina); Fayvl Maylekhovitsh and Efrem Shafanker (the latter two died in the ghetto).

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Zionist groups were also established. Their founders were Shimshen Note Srebrenik, Fishl Fridman and Frid, all of whom died in the ghetto. These women participated in Zionist work: Leye Segal, now in America; RivkeYeruzalimski, who died before the war; and Froy [Mrs.] Turtltaub, who died in Russia.

Another political party was the Right Poalei Tsion, led by Menashe Kukhalski and Henekh Tik, who died in the ghetto, and Khaim Kohn and Shloyme Kartsovitsh, who now live in Eretz Yisroel. All the political parties played a big political and social role in Jewish life.

Until the war began in 1939 the population of Nowy Dwor was 15,000, of which 8,000 were Jews. Jews were members of the City Council and the town government. Among these were Moyshe and Khatskl Berman, Yankev Yures, Yankev Hildebrant, Aron Valanov and Berl Wengart; Leye Segal from the handworkers' union; Binyomen Kronenberg and Shulbank from the Jewish Workers (Bund); Yitshak Rudovski, who died in America; Nisn Shtaynberg and his wife Leye Shtaynberg; Tankhem Kronenberg; Hershl Kirshteyn; Tsadek Zilbertol; Fishl Brodski, who lives now in Germany. The others died in the ghetto. They all fought in the city government for equal rights in employment and full civil rights.

Until 1939 Nowy Dwor had a Yiddish-language folkshul (public school) with seven classes and a Tarbut [Hebrew language] school with seven classes, and a big voluntary library named for Sholem Aleichem. There were also sports clubs – Morgnshtern, Kraft, Union and Maccabees. They all attracted the youth of Nowy Dwor to the spirit of physical culture. All these Jewish organizations were subsidized by the city government, thanks to the Jewish representatives.

Rabbi Neufeld played a large role in religious life. Thanks to his understanding nature, he elicited respect from all segments of the Jewish population. He, his son Nokhem and daughters died in the Warsaw ghetto.

In 1938 and 1939, when reactionary forces were raging and a number of towns experienced pogroms against Jews, a Jewish self-defense organization was established in Nowy Dwor with the help of our Polish comrades, including the Balek brothers and Vatsek Kovalski. The latter had a Jewish wife, Sime Zamyatin. Both were killed by the Nazis, torn apart by the dogs set upon them. The second Balek brother lives now in Nowy Dwor. They and others helped to chase away the hooligans who picketed Jewish stores and street stalls, and thus prevented anti-Jewish attacks.

Our Nowy Dwor workers distinguished themselves in the fight against the Polish fascist reactionaries, and were arrested. These were Ezrial Alman, sentenced to 12 years in prison, who was freed in 1919 and died in Bialystok; his brother Yehiel Alman, sentenced to three years, who died; Avrom Sakowski, one year prison, now in Germany; Yosl Finker, one year prison, now in Germany; Simkhe Yoskevitsh, one year prison, now in Lignicz. There were mass arrests at that time. Arrested were Yitshak Rudovski, Yankev Zamyatin, Motl Rozenshteyn, Mendl Rozenfeld, Tsadek Zilbertal and Hertsl Dubnikov. Some of these later died, and for some we don't have exact information. During that difficult time, Nowy Dwor landslayt in California, led by Sam Bornstein, sent material aid for the political arrestees.

That was how life looked in Nowy Dwor until the Second World War. With the outbreak of the war, the situation changed for the Jews. A small number evacuated to the Soviet Union. The greater majority stayed in Nowy Dwor and Warsaw. In 1940 the ghetto was established in Nowy Dwor, beginning on the street of the besmedresh [study and prayer house] and ending at part of Piaske Street. The Jews were forbidden to do business or work for themselves and were not allowed to buy bread in the Polish bakeries. Jews had to wear yellow badges on their arms. Each day, they were forced to work. The elderly were separated and sent to the third fort in Poniekhuvek [Poniechowiec], where they died of hunger and were buried alive.

The younger people were taken to forced labor, like the brothers Ruven and Efrem Shlom-

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ovitsh, Yisroel Bogats and others. They were forced to strip naked and carry barbed wire and in this tragic way they died. The besmedresh was burned, along with its Torah scrolls.

Children would sneak out of the ghetto to find some bread or potatoes, and if caught were beaten and killed. That happened to Lozer Piekarek's son and others who simply wanted to find food for their families.

On December 14, 1942, the Nowy Dwor ghetto was liquidated and the remaining Jews were sent to the death camps Treblinka, Maidenek, and others. The Nowy Dwor Jews Tik and Budnik participated in the uprising in Treblinka. They made keys and used them to smuggle arms out of the German arms storehouse.

When the Germans came to Nowy Dwor, they forced all the religious Jews, including Rabbi Neufeld to do theheaviest labor, carrying stones in wheelbarrows. They beat the rabbi with a rifle.

Our Nowy Dworers also took part in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. YoslLitman, Gutman, Brandshteyn and Esther Shlanka died in that fight. Among those who survived the heroic uprising was Pintshe Papier, who lives now in Eretz Yisroel. The 65 year old MoysheShmuel Kshonska died in heroic resistance in Nowy Dwor and many others participated in the partisan battles.

The following died on the battlefields, fighting to liberate Poland: Yisroe lLeyzer Borenshteyn, Arye Tukhband. The officer Moyshe Magid was severely wounded and was in a sanitorium. The following were recognized for distinguished service: Dr. Miestshislaw, Bakman and his son, a major in the Polish Army; Anshel Fried; Moyshe Perlmuter; Hildebrant; Moyshe Ravitski.

After Hitler's surrender in 1944, 34 Jews retuned alive form various concentration camps and they received initial relief from our landslayt in America, in Los Angeles and New York. The Jews who survived in the Soviet Union also returned to their former town. They found no one there. Some settled in Warsaw, some in Lodz, others in Lower Silesia. The aid from America was increased. $1200 was distributed, and we also received food and clothing.

We number 250, of which 155 are in Lower Silesia, the others in Warsaw and Lodz. Our Nowy Dworers are employed in the tailors' cooperative, as well as other branches of industry.

Our Lignicz Committee, along with all the other Nowy Dworers express our heartfelt thanks to the Los Angeles Committee for its materialandmoral assistance, which was the first consolation for the survivors, who felt they were not alone. And upon your second anniversary we wish you the continuation of your historic mission.

With brotherly greetings, The Committee Fayvish Kronenberg, Chairman Alter Kshonski, Secretary

Attention Nowy Dwor Landslayt If you want to have any of the pictures in this book as a memento of your relatives, friends or acquaintances, send a small donation and the pictures will immediately be mailed to you.

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Warsaw, January 3, 1945

 

Yankev Evenson

Dear Landslayt,

I have already written you one later. I am deeply thankful for your interest in us. Very regretfully, only a small handful of us remain. Our town is dead.

You can imagine our mood and feelings. I am not writing in order to encourage your readiness to help, which is already so outstanding. I personally am not in need of assistance. I have only a sister and her two children, who have returned from the Soviet Union. But there is just a great yearning to be somewhere where there is a lively Jewish life. Despite the fact that the Polish government is very democratic, you simply cannot imagine what the [German] occupation left in its wake.

I myself always imagined that if we survived, we would be regarded as heroes. We had gone through so much -- the ghetto, the uprising in the ghetto, Maidenek and Auschwitz. And now it turns out that a large part of the population sees us as greedy. I think you can easily imagine how we feel.

Write to me often. Figure out which people you want to know about. In my previous letter I include a list of people who are here. The following have joined us from Russia: Efrem Herman, Gute Kerstovitsh, Avrom Kertsovitsh, Moyshe Ravitski, Shloyme Korn.

Some of the people from Nowy Dwor were murdered in a horrifying manner. There is little hope for the other family members who were not in the Soviet Union.

Excuse me for being so gruesome. I understand that in America people are still sensitive. I would also feel that way if I were in your place. But in its totality this was a historical cataclysm. Therefore, you must be brave enough to accept it.

Hinde Bornshteyn, the wife of Khatskl Kirshteyn, died in Auschwitz. As for Anduzha Pitulska – hers is a heroic story of a Jewish mother who escaped from one death to another, in order to rescue her child, but who sadly also died in Auschwitz.

I have undertaken the task of writing and sending to you the history of the town from November 1, 1939 until December 13, 1942, the day it ended [i.e. the date of the liquidation of the ghetto in Nowy Dwor], as well as the inexpressible story of what came after – the extermination camps, and the Jewish heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

To my cousin Dovid: I don't know whom to thank that you are my cousin. It feels so good to have a family relationship again. This is so symbolic – that just when they want to exterminate you, and you think you are alone, you learn that you are not alone. But I myself can understand how, after having suffered terrible physical and moral blows,one asks with a deeply hidden hope: Will I ever be able to tell someone some day?

I believe that we will again have the opportunity to converse, and also to read my and others' memoirs and judgments about that period. We are now on the threshold of a new year. I am trying hard to be less sensitive about the past. But the life instinct can persuade those with the deepest understanding and awareness. Therefore, may thenew year be for all of us, for the whole world, a historical turning point, toward the formation of world peace and the co-existence of all people.

I won't write you too much now. When I receive a letter from you, I will know what you are interested in knowing. Greetings from me and my sister Brokhe.

In regard to your request for a confirmation of the possible visit to us in Poland by Comrade Blakharik, we would be very happy for that. You can be sure that he will be my best, personal guest. It will make me feel that I am with all of you.

Be well, and heartfelt greetings from your well-wisher, Yankev Evenson

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Khaye Prilubits (Litman)

Mishmar Hayam, December 3, 1946

I have finally undertaken to write a few words to you, dear Nowy Dwor landsmen. The reasons I haven't written before are two-fold. I understood how you feel about a person close to you, who lived in the town where you were born, and who by a miracle survived the murderous hands of the Nazis. I know your thirst to know when and where those dearest and nearest to you died. It is difficult for me. I understand these feelings and I have an obligation to let you know, because every one of the fallen left a testament directing that the tragic tale of their destruction be told.

My brain is filled with all the horrific experiences I went through among those who were killed at various times by various means. And as I write these words now, I feel myself back in that hellish time, among our loved ones, who from time to time tried to comfort themselves with sparks of hope.

And now I picture our townspeople in the ghetto, who simply died of want. And coming to Israel, and meeting landslayt, I passed on news of their suffering and struggle of the people I knew. This is so sad, that I avoid talking about them, despite the fact that they are deeply engraved in me.

That is the first reason. The second reason is that after seeing the all-encompassing graveyard that is all that remains of our Jewish homes, and looking with clear eyes to the future, exhausted by the past, I decided to come to the land that is our home. But once here, we discovered other enemies who disturbed our peace – the supporters of “labor,” who today carry out their work even without white handkerchiefs.^[2] They simply destroy what people built by pouring their blood into the land that was empty and wild, turning it into a beautiful, blooming place, ready to accept the surviving remnants of the Jew. But they would not allow that, either.^[3]

In your letter, I found a few questions that I can clarify. As to Shmuel Brodovski: He died along with his children (except Basye) in the Warsaw Ghetto at the time of the first extermination in 1942. Basye went to Russia, and I believe she is alive and in Russia or Poland. About the [family of] Itshe Zelig the baker: Baltshe and her oldest brother Shloyme and his daughter Perele were in Nowy Dwor at the same time. They were taken to Pomiechowiec concentration camp. They suffered there a few weeks, then were released, but weren't allowed to return to Nowy Dwor, and were forced to go to Warsaw. On the way there, near Jablone, there was a fire. People had to flee, but those who were too weak to do so, including Baltshe, were killed in the fire.

Shloyme and his daughter got blood poisoning and died on the same day, a half hour apart. Perele was a gifted girl, and displayed great talent in writing. She would have become a flower of the Jewish people. In the Warsaw Ghetto she joined the youth group of Hechalutz [Pioneer, a Zionist organization] and was beloved by everyone who heard her sing, read or recite. Her death deeply affected the Hechalutz group. One son of Shloyme Pinkhes (Pintshe) went to Russia. I don't know what happened to him. Two other sons of Itshe Zelig – Moyshe and the one from Germany – died in the first extermination in Warsaw.

If I have forgotten to add something about anyone and you need to know, write me and I will tell you wherever possible.

Now, after writing these words, I can introduce myself briefly. I am Shmuel Kh'[ane] Mirl's grandchild. My father Khaim Litman was poisoned by bread. My name is Khaye (Mirl). I got married and live with my husband on a kibbutz. If you are interested I will write about life on a kibbutz another time. I end with heartfelt greetings to all landslayt whom I don't know.

I wish you success in your work and remain, Khaye Prilubits (Litman)

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Nina Finkelshteyn

Esteemed Nowy Dwor landslayt from Los Angeles, California:

At the request of your secretary Friend Sam Bornstein, I will try to concisely portray my life during the war.

When the war broke out, I was 11 years old. We lived in Nowy Dwor, and first left it to go to Warsaw, because Nowy Dwor was one of the first towns in Poland to be bombed. We lived in Warsaw under the rule of the Nazi criminals until 1941, when they attacked the Soviet Union. Until then, the Nazi scoundrels had not yet displayed such great brutality to the Jewish population, because they knew that the Soviet regime did not tolerate race hatred. But as soon as they attacked the Soviet Union, they began establishing ghettoes for Jews in every town, into which they packed the entire Jewish population.

In Nowy Dwor they gathered all the religious Jews, removed the Torah scrolls from the synagogue, lit a fire and threw the scrolls into it. They ordered the Jews to dance and sing around the burning Torahs. They then drove the Jews to the Narew River and ordered them to strip naked. The weather was terribly cold. They threw everyone into the river, and many died as a result.

I myself was hidden by a Christian woman, a widow named Emilia Ignatowicz, a name I will never forget. I spent four long years in hiding with her. No one, not even the nearby neighbors, knew about me. For the entire time, I never saw sunshine. Madam Ignatowitcz was like a mother to me. I lived this way until the liberation.

Although I now live in the fortunate land America, my broken heart will never heal. I will always think of the terrible loss of my three innocent younger brothers and of my most precious treasure, my mother, who were killed in such a horrific manner by murderous hands.

I would write more, but my hands tremble when I recall the tragic end of my nearest and dearest, and of my dear Nowy Dwor landslayt.

Greetings to Nowy Dwor landslayt all over the world.Give generously to the surviving Nowy Dwor Jews in Europe.

Nina Finkelshteyn, Brooklyn, New York

Rokhl Yekls

I send greetings to the Now Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles in sacred memory of my deceased mother Rokhl Yekls. May she rest in peace.

Mekhl Raykhman

[Page 19]

Rychbach, Lower Silesia, January 20, 1947

Dear Friend Bernstein, Secretary, Nowy Dwor Relief Society, Los Angeles, California:

I received your December letter when I was still in Poland. Things are not going so well for me and I have recently been quite preoccupied because of difficulties I've had with the consulates.

We received the two packages of clothing and distributed them among the Nowy Dworers in Lower Silesia. Everyone -- without exception-- received something, according to the number of people in a family. The clothing for those in Lignicz was received by the local representatives Alter Kshonska and Fayvish Kronenberg, and Yankl Vronski picked up the clothing for those in Volbzhik. The rest was distributed on the spot to everyone according to need.

As for the Anker family, about whom you inquired: they all died, without exception. None of them was in Russia. Perl Goldberg-Goldstein, on the other hand, now lives at the following address: Otwock, Suplicowa, Dom Dzika.

Upon the completion of two years of your relief activity, we first of all send you a hearty Jewish thank you for your efforts to alleviate the need of the 400 survivors and for helping to search for relatives and friends of those who lost their addresses or who fled to Russia at such a young age that they didn't really know who they had in America or where they were. You also deserve thanks for establishing and maintaining such close contact with us, albeit from a distance. That lifted our spirits after we returned “home” from Russia, only to find that “home” completely emptied of Jews, and soaked in the blood of 5500 martyrs.

For six years we lived in a nightmare, in want and nerve-wracked because we were suffocated by our powerlessness to save our loved ones at home. But that was only a pale reflection of what our loved ones lived through, or better said, died through, because they died many times every day, every second. Much has already been said and written about this, but no one would claim to have succeeded in conveying it all. No dictionaries in any language contain the words needed to portray such a hell. History has never known such super-sadistic barbarism and therefore could not create the necessary words.

And all this, these dark memories, still hangs in the air of Poland. What can we do – we barely 195 Nowy Dworers out of a former population of 6000, spread among 15 towns -- as we suffocate here, in the biggest cemetery known to the world for generations.

Two hundred of us are already in Germany, waiting for salvation. Half of those in Poland are in contact with relatives, are requesting or have already received affidavits and want to continue on their way. And it will take a long time for these 400 wandering souls to find their resting place.

As Americans you have the right to demand a “happy ending.” I will say that despite everything, it has come, regardless of all that happened. Am Yisroel Chai – we the people of Israel live and will continue to live! Because no other people in the world possesses in such measure the ability to endure, to help itself get through its troubles.

Be well, as I wish for you, G. Turkltoyb

Rychbach, November 20, 1946

Dear Sirs:

I can report that I have received the package of food that you sent. I thank you for your help and wish you continued success in your work for the surviving Jewish population of Nowy Dwor.

With appreciative greetings, Gitl Brodowska

[Page 20]

Nowy Dworer Jews in Israel In the first row, denoted as #1 – Tsivie Lubatkin, well-known leader in the Warsaw Ghetto; #2 – Pintshe Papier (Sender Geydig's daughter), heroic fighter in the Nowy Dwor and Warsaw Ghettos

Isaac Budnik from Mexico sends his warmest greetings to the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles.

We ask Nowy Dwor Jews in Europe to inform him of the fate of his family, Reyzl Budnik and her two sons, Efrem and Leybish Budnik. Write to Isaac Budnik [address in English.]

Berta Kornshteyn Budnik sends cordial greetings to the Nowy Dworer Relief Committee in Los Angeles and at the same time requests the Nowy Dwor Jews in Europe to inform her of the fate of her family: her mother Reyzl Budnik and her brothers Efrem and Leybush; her uncle and aunt Khaye Ester and Leyzer Diamont, and their children, Hene and Moyshele; and her aunt Hinde and her daughter Bashe; and her aunt Liftshe Rozenwald, and her two children, Salke and Efrem; and her sister Shifre Rozental and her husband and children, who lived in Kalushin. Those who know about these people are asked to write to B. Corenstein [name and address in English] or to Sam Bernstein at this address: [name and address in English].

[Page 21]

Moyshe Solomon

Our Thanks

We want to express our thanks to our member, Friend Moyshe Solomon, who beat the record by bringing in the greatest number of greetings and advertisements in this book.

Moyshe Solomon, born in Eretz Yisroel, a son of a fine family, which was well known here by those of us active in communal Jewish life in Los Angeles.

Nowy Dwor Relief Committee, Los Angeles, California

Heartfelt Greetings to Nowy Dwor Jews in Los Angeles!

With your relief work for the surviving Nowy Dwor Jews in Europe you have written a wonderful page in the history of our destroyed home town. When a future historian will describe the relief work of the American landsmanshafts, [landlsayt associations] the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles will surely occupy of the most prominent places.

May you be rewarded with strength for your exemplary relief work for our Nowy Dwor brothers and sisters overseas.

Khane Sore and Khaim Goldberg – New York

Together with my dear mother and father I send my most heartfelt greetings to the Nowy Dwor Relief Committee in Los Angeles. I wish you the greatest success in all your undertakings on behalf of the surviving Nowy Dwor Jews. We also send our loving greetings to our surviving relatives Kalman and Sheyndele Pitulsk and Sheyndele's husband Nosn Turner; Mashele and Leybl Papier, and their children in Heidenheim, Germany; Menashe Latrovski and his wife and child in Munchen. May you be strong, dear cousins. The day of complete salvation must come.

Lina Goldberg – New York

Please accept our heartfelt greetings at your second annual banquet. May your hands be made strong for your tireless work on behalf of our Nowy Dwor brothers and sisters overseas.

Louis (Leyb) and Shifra Fox, New York

We send our fraternal greetings to comrade Harry Blake (Blakharek) and wish that he may get well soon and as always participate in our work with his generous contributions for our relief efforts, in the tradition of the Blake family.

Nowy Dwor Relief Committee, Los Angeles, California

Translator's footnotes

1. fellow townsperson; pl. landslayt Return
2. The reference to white handkerchiefs is unclear. It may refer to the display of white as a symbol of surrender. Return
3. The writer is criticizing the actions of in Palestine of Jewish labor activists who sought to better working conditions for Jewish workers through strikes and other means. She is expressing the view that such labor actions impeded the Zionist goal of developing the land. Return

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