[Page 630]

The early news about the Holocaust in Volozhin

The Association and this book are direct outcomes of the destruction of Volozhin. However, the difference between the book and the Association is that the book immortalizes the lives that were lost while the Association's goal is to maintain the living spirit of Volozhin.

The terrible news about the Holocaust took several years to reach the world. It was in 1947, five years after the destruction of the town of Valozhin, that we finally learned of the scope of the calamity that overtook the Jews of our town. This was when the first few survivors arrived in Eretz-Israel. They were Fruma Lipsitz, Pessia Potashnick, Yehuda-Yoseph Potashnick and Yaakov Kagan.

They were “the Bearers of Bad News” who told us about the destruction of our town and its Jewish population. The Nazis and local Christians had devastated the city and its Jewish residents, and we, its survivors, were left alone and desolate.

These terrible revelations scared our souls. Before the Holocaust we used to say these words in the prayer for the dead: “Let G-D remember the souls of my mother and father” but now we say “Let G-D remember the souls of my mother and father, aunts and uncles of both my father's and mother's side, the Rabbis and Torah Scholars, who were murdered, burned, killed and drowned”. It was terrible to realize that we had lost all our families. There is no one to send or receive a letter from, a photograph or even just a “hi, how are you” message.

The realization that nothing was left of Volozhin planted a burning yearning in our hearts for its past glory. We remembered lines from the Poem “Farewell” by Bialik, lines that expressed sorrow and loss. Bialik wrote:

” You are all very dear to my heart
The way you are, the twisted, falling fences
Piles of garbage everywhere and your presence so miserable

And yet you are very dear to my heart, sevenfold more,
I see you purified from all your slag and I adore you
Beautiful, perfect and glorious. “

As more and more survivors began to arrive in Eretz-Israel, a meeting was held at the home of Ms. Bella Slisternick (Kramnick) and the decision was taken to create “The Association of the Descendants of Volozhin in Israel”. The organizers were Rabbi Shimon Langbard, Binyamin Shishko (Shafir), Pesach Berman, Chaim Golobenchich, Dov Levitt, Bella Slisternick, Yitzhak Perski, Yaakov Kagan and Zipora Shepshenwol. Rabbi Shimon Langbard was elected Chairman and Dov Levitt – Secretary.

Bella Slisternick's home became a center for all the survivors who arrived in Eretz-Israel. Bella and other volunteers listened to the new immigrants and assisted them in their first steps in their new country. Bella's husband, Mr. Yaakov Sliternick, although not a native of Volozhin, also helped in this endeavor.

One of the first actions the Association took was to help find survivors who were in the camps of Displaced People (DP camps) in Germany. The survivors were asked to help document the destruction of their hometown. They were also asked to relate their personal experiences from the Holocaust. One reply to this request was a letter from Yoseph Schwartzberg dated April 5, 1948:

“I met Simcha Perski and we discussed your request for a description, dates and our personal experiences during the destruction of Volozhin. Our sorrow and pain are beyond description. We lost our beloved families and community; we are all orphans. Moreover, our situation now is desperate.

The supporters of Hitler are still killing Jews and we are not sure about the future. We want to come to Eretz-Israel. This is the only place in the world for us.

The survivors in both Europe and Israel were penniless. Our Association realized that we must provide financial aid but we ourselves did not have the financial means. The Association of the Descendants of Volozhin in Israel sent an appeal to the Volozhin Association of Etz-Chaim in New York asking for their help. It reads:

“The murderous hand of the Nazis eliminated our parents, brothers and sisters in Volozhin. Only a few were able to survive by escaping to the forest and returning to the town once the War had ended. Only 15 or 20 remained of the two thousand Jews who had once populated Volozhin. They could not stay in the town where each street and building reminded them of their slaughtered families. Exhausted and crushed, they migrated to Germany, to Italy, to Austria. Their desire was to come to Israel and once more rebuild their lives.

Many of the survivors who arrived in Eretz-Israel and those still in the European DP camps are not capable of working. Therefore we, members of The Association of the Descendants of Volozhin in Israel, are committed to helping both those who are planning and those who have finally arrived in Israel and have no family to help them.

However, we cannot do this on our own. We are asking you to join our efforts and “help us help them”.

The goals of The Association of the Descendants of Volozhin in Israel are:

• To contact the survivors of Volozhin who are concentrated in DP camps in Germany
• To assist Volozhin natives in the DP camps and in Israel
• To build a memorial for Volozhin
• To document and archive Volozhin's history
• To rebuild the Yeshiva of Volozhin in Israel

While in besieged Jerusalem, the Rebbetzin Fridle Drachinsky (Ben Sasson), a descendant of a family with a long history in Valozhin, wrote a very moving letter to the American Volozhin community:

“Two months ago, The Association of the Descendants of Volozhin in Israel mailed you a detailed letter about our duty to help the survivors from Volozhin.

We are now in the middle of a cruel battle to secure our destiny in the Holy Land. We trust that with G-D's help, we shall succeed. Our condition, however, requires your help. We are sending food packages to our Volozhin brothers and sisters wherever they are, especially in the besieged and hungry city of Jerusalem, but our means are limited.

Dear brothers! A friend in need is a friend indeed! We are asking for your participation to help the survivors NOW! Any delay may cause this help to arrive too late. You must remember the Talmudic quotation: “Whoever saves one soul, Scripture accounts it as if he had saved the world”.

  Valozhyn, Belarus     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 16 Jul 2024 by LA