History of Smorgon and Surrounding Communities - A 20 pages chapter, translated from Yiddish by Ron Arons http://pw1.netcom.com/~reaxprs/smorgon.htm
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Smorgon Yizkor Book details
Original Title:
Smorgon Mehoz Vilna
Sefer Edut ve-Zikaron
English Translation:
Smorgon,District Vilna
Memorial Book and Testimony
Editors:
Abba Gordin (Ha-'orekh)
Chanoch Levin ('Orekh Mishneh)
Publisher:
Irgun Yots'ey Smorgon be-Isra'el
Place of Publication:
Tel Aviv, Israel
Year of Publication:
1965
Publisher:
Association of Former Residents of Smorgon in Israel and USA
Volumes:
Volumes:
Pages:
584 listed in contents
actual 624
Languages:_
Hebrew
and Yiddish
ORION Number:
5651442MC
Library Call number
DS 135 P62S64
Translated from Hebrew to English by Ehud Sutskover, Israel.ehuds@netvision.net.il
Proof reading and corrections by Alan M. Gordon, New York.alan123@aol.com
More information :_____________________Ron Arons.reaxprs@ix.netcom.com
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"I had to chose whether to write something not very exact and far from perfect, or do nothing. I chose to do something. Everybody is invited to comment, translate, add, fix, etc. I'll try to send photocopies from the book to anyone that will make a further contribution by translating it and making it available to all." - Ehud Sutskever
"The table of contents in this English translation below was made from the actual pages in the book itself and is accurate to such; it is not from the original table of contents put at the end (pages 582-584) of the book. Although we tried to keep them in sync as much as possible, there are some differences to the Hebrew table of contents. Some items were removed from the book, causing page numbers to be missing, while others were added after the table of contents was completed, and therefore is not listed on the original. The original table of contents lists this book as having only 584 pages, however, there are actually many more page numbers, about 624 pages (with large sections missing).-Alan Gordon
Please send copies of translations or any other information to Alan
Gordon, Ehud Sutskever or Ron Arons at the email addresses
Letters near page numbers indicate language of article.( H=Hebrew, Y=Yiddish)
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____Chapters of memory - Abba Gordin (185-220 H)
___________a. leaving Ostrov
___________b. To freedom and disappointment
___________c. free !
___________d. The promoters
___________e. Demonstrations
___________f. The bachalor teacher
___________g. A small Tallish and a big dispute
___________h. The rabbi and the beggars
___________I. farewell
___________j. departed and came back
___________k. The rebuts prepares stores for her way
___________l. The rebuts passes away
____Masses published in Smorgon
___________a. Reproduction
___________b. Jewish pedagogy
___________c. Cosmizm
___________d. Children's creativity
___________e. Education against "hascalla"
___________f. Aformizm
___________g. Decay of interpreting
___________f. Children series.
...."Ivria" Hebrew education in Smorgon - Chanoch Levin (221-
228 H)
..................Picture: Abba and Zeev Gordin page 228
....Smorgoner "Kibbutz" - M. Ivenski (229-233 Y)
....Whenever I speak about it (memories) - Regina Helman (234-236 H)
....From work world - the workmen's awakening - A. Forsite, Bella Ginsberg,
Gershon Feldman, A.Y. Goldshmidt [from Smorgon Zamelbook, New York 1934]
(237-249 Y)
....The Kibbutz and A.Veiter [Issac Mayer Devenisheski - 1878-1919] - A.Y.
Goldshmidt (250-252 Y)
....October 1905 - Issac Nechma's [from Smorgon Zamelbook, New York 1934]
(253-255 Y)
....The Last Day of Smorgon - A. Forsite [from Smorgon Zamelbook, New York
1934] (256-260 Y)
....As a testimony - Pesach Taburiski (261-262 H)
....Memories - Harry L. Hoffman, Rochester, N.Y. (263-267 Y)
....The Scattering of the people of Smorgon - A. Raple's (268-270 Y)
....The Kibbutz and Mordechai Razi'el - Mayer Esther's (271-272 Y)
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....My town - Baruch Sutskever (275-277 H)
....My birth town Smorgon - Rafael Veinstein (278-285 H)
............Pictures of the streets in the town of Smorgon, pages 279 winter
look
................................................................, 281 Vilna
str.
............Picture: Group picture of 36 youngsters, page 285 Hashomer
hatza'ir a youth movement.
....My home in Smorgon - Golda Shalem (286- 293 H)
............Group picture: H. Brudni, R. Chadash, M. Brudni,
....................................Raphael Vinstein, M. Fisher, D'vorah
Alperovitz - page 287
....My home on the "karke" (Land) - Leah Rotbart (294-297 H)
............Picture: a house on the Karke, page 295
....The rebirth of Smorgon - Pearl Gintzburg (298-302 Y)
............P: Group picture - 1922, page 299
...."Tarbut" (Culture) School, beginning and end - Chanock Levin
(303-313 H)
............Group Picture of "Tarbut" (culture) school staff,
page 303
....................................H. Sarchan, M. Fisher, B. Veinstein,
Katz, I. Pergament,
....................................Bernstein, Shultz, R. Vinstein, A.
Brudni, Y. Greenberg
............Picture: Yospeh Bernstein, page 304
............Group picture - Yoseph Bernstein, with first class in "tarbut",
page 305
............Group picture - Picture of all Students in the school, page
307
............Picture: Students in the class of Shoshana (Alte) Denishevski
and Rachel Gass, page 309
............Group picture - Picture of six women, Nov 12, 1938 managment
of the library - page 311
........................... Nov 12, 1938: Liva Brudni (Ya'acobson), Pergament,
Danashevsky
............Group picture - Smorgon Library - Picture of seven people -
page 312:
............................Veinstein, . Antzelevich, R. Greenberg,
............................Danishevski, Alperovich, Cohen, Katz
....Omer 33th (Lag Ba'Omer) in "Tarbut school" - Mariashe Yentes
(314-315 Y)
............Group picture - page 314
............Group picture - page 315 the nightingale chorus with a. Tokker
....Pioneering movement in Smorgon - Benny Marshak (316-320 H)
............Group picture - page 316 Hachlutz 1929
............Group picture - page 319
...........................Y. Magidae, Hertzel Antzielvich, A. Tzipkin,
Benjamin Gilinsky,
...........................L. Danishevski, S. Rudenski, M. Danishevski,
G. Veinstein, M. Veinstein
....The beginning of the "Chalutz" (pioneer) movement in Smorgon
- Zvi Horovitz (321-324 H)
...................in memory of his brother Nehemia and his family.
....Zalman Alperovitz (pioneer soul) - L. Bankover (325-327 H)
....Parties and youth movement in town - Mordechai Taburiski (328-332 H)
....................Group picture - page 328 "hit'achdut" (unity)
....................Group picture - page 329 Po'aley zion
....................Group picture - page 330 Vitkinia scouts
....................Group picture - page 330 - Hapo'el
....................Group picture - page 331 Hashomer hatza'ir
....................Group picture - page 319 - Gymnasts , with Gadurshevertz
....Our fields and woods (Poem) - A. Ish-Ahuvi (333-334 Y)
....................Picture: Ish-Ahuvi, page 333
....The market in Smorgon (Poem) - A. Ish -'Ahuvi (334-336 Y)
....................Picture of vendors in outdoor market, page 335
....Smorgon Theater Stages - Chanoch Levin (337-348 H)
....................Group picture: Theater actors and actresses, page 337
....Abraham Danishevski, Freida Eisenstat, Ayda Aronova, Alta Zeitlin,
'elisheva Yevzorov, Ben Shena-Sarka, Linka Chazanov, Sarah Danishevski,
Eliezar Mayerovitz, natan Rosovski, Neyanka Yehuda - Falkes.
....................Group picture: young actors and actresses, page 339
(many names are given)
....................Group picture: page 344 dramatic section, by Hachalutz.
....................Group picture: Theater actors and actresses, page 346
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....R' Dov Bindman - Benjamin Bindman (351-355 H)
....................Picture: Reb Bindman, page 351
....Betzal'el Magidey - Refael Veinstein (356 H)
....Shloymale [Shlomo] Magid, Musician - Bayle Magid-Bear, Montreal, Canada
(357-358 Y)
....The Fiddler's Song - Hirshel-Zvi Levin - (359-360 Y)
....R' Ze'ev Wolf the Shames - Shoshana Pelavski (Alte Denishevski) (361-364
H)
....................Picture: Reb Ze'ev Wolf the Shames, page 361
....The Tehilim jew (Psalm) of Smorgon - Yacov Denishevski (365-366 Y)
....[Page Missing-torn out] (367-368)
....Khatzkel the Smith (369 Y)
....R' Meyer "Sofer stam - scripter of books tehilim mezuzot "-
Moshe Mekler (370-372 H)
....................Picture: R' Meyer "Sofer stam", page 370
....Berta Shein - Baruch Sutzkover (373-374 H)
....................Picture: Berta Shein, page 373
Note - this was added after the original Table of Contents was completed,
and therefore
was not listed on the table of contents printed in the book. This page
is glued.]
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....In the town of slaughter (Poem) - H. N. Bialik (377 H)
....Two poems - Libe Elgin (378 Y)
....Smorgon distruction - Mariashe Yentes (379-399 Y)
....In the Getto and in the camps - Rivka Marcus (Yomnik) (400-418 Y)
....In the hospital in the Getto - Mariashe Yentes (419-421 Y)
....Fonar - (a poem) - S. Katchreginsky (422 H)
....What I have survived through - Elka Baranovsky (423-432 Y)
....In the war - Shalom Sneidman (433- 435 H)
....A letter of how he did not survive - Ida Levin (Canada) (436-437 Y)
....The experieces of a Partisan - Eliezer Karpel (438-439 Y)
....Smorgon was ruined twice - Margale Hurewitz (440-442 Y)
....Survival of the Second World War - Lea Bobis - Budgar (443-448 Y)
....Chapters of testimony - Tova Dunski (449-452 H)
....Testimonial - S. Greiss (453-454 H)
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....Yizkor Prayer (457 H)
....First to be annihilated - Yitzchak Katzenelson (458-460 H)
....One Childhood - Chanoch al Domi (Chanoch never silent -pseodoname)
(461-498 H)
Page 457 - Yizkor Prayer (rough translation, any poetic contribution will
be appreciatrd)
"Remember Israel (the people of Israel) Your beloved sons and daughters,
pure born to pure, torn from the arms of their parents by "human-beasts"
and transported to be killed like sheep. Heads taken off, killed in various
odd modes piled in the open streets. Babies smashed against the walls,
pushed from still higher walls, put alive in sacks and thrown into rivers,
life being picked before being ripe, died on “KIDDUSH HA'SHEM". Remember
O' Israel and add to your belongings."
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....Opening page with just two words "Yizkor Pages" (499)
....Blank page (500)
....Another Yizkor Prayer (artistically presented, looks like a woodcut
picture) (501H-502Y)
....Lists of Names (503-541)
These are lists of names (as accurate as possible), parents names, year
of birth,year of death during the Holocaust, place of death; about 30 names
per page]
.........Statement from the Smorgoners Committee in Israel - (542)
"The commitee of the newcomers from Smorgon asks the forgivness
of those holy anonimous that were not mentioned in the Yizkor pages, for
weakness of mind, for lack of testimony or for bad memory."
....Picture: picture of the plaque that was put into in "Yad VaShem",
page 542
....Actions of the committee of immigrants from Smorgon in Israel (543-544
H)
............................- Rafael Vinstein,
....................Picture: Committee members, page 543 Berta Shein, Eli'ezer
Sholomovitch, Pesach Taburiski, G. Veinstein, Baruch Sutskever, Zalman
Katzkevitch.
....The Society of Smorgoner Help Committee - A. Tchipkin [New York] (545-546
Y)
....................[possibly known in America as the Smorgon Benevolent
Society]
....The Smorgoners in America (Chevra Anshe Smorgon bney Chaim Avrahum)
- Y. Miller (547-548 Y)
At this point, the actual layout of the book changes from what was listed
in the table of contents.Many pages are out of order or missing. The table
of contents lists the following three entries.
(549 - 565) Tmunot Mesaprot - Picture Describing and Telling
(549 - 570) Mipe'ulot HaVa'ad - From the action taken by the committee
(571 - 574) Le'zikaron yakireinu - For the memory of our beloved
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One or two pictures per page, names and descriptions are indicated
549 - Opening page, written text only (H & Y) Describing pictures.
550 - Blank page
551 - Picture: the street named after MINSK
552 - Picture: The Rabbis of Smorgon (for the article on p.78-112, by Moshe
Tzinovitz)
............R' Moshe Danishevski, R' Raphael Shapira, Reb Slodinsky (circa
1930-31)
553 - Opening page, written text only (H) "Institutions in the town"
554 - Blank page
555 - Two pictures 1. committee for feeding children 2. women committee
for dressing children
556 - Two pictures 1. Gmilut chassadim 2. Va'ad ba'aley Melacha
557 - One picture Va'ad Linat hatzedek
558 - Blank page
559 - Opening page, written text only (H) "The Zionist movement in
Smorgon."
560 - Blank page
Note: the numbering of the book pages go out of order at this point.
561 - 580 pages missing.
580 - 585 Table of contents and page of corrections
585 - 600 - Pages missing 6
01 - Two pictures 1. Hebrew speaking forum. 2. committee of the liege for
laboring in Israel
602 - Two pictures 1. Po'aley zion, 2. Hachlutz
603 - Two pictures 1. Zionists, 2.Kerren Kayemet
604 - One picture first group to come to Israel after world war I ,22 names.
605 - One picture - 1924 Hachalutz.
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606 - Two pictures
....Top: Baruch Sutskever speaking at the memory cerin "Martef Hasho'a".
....Bottom: Chanoch Levin says a Yiskor prayer at the ceremony
607 - Two pictures - Former residents of Smorgon and their families at
the ceremony
608 - Two pictures
....Top: Unveiling of the plaque
....Bottom: Lighting of a memorial candle at the plaque
609 - Two pictures - Lighting of a memorial candles at the ceremony
610 - Two pictures - Completion of the ceremony
The next eight pages have no page numbers (nor do they belong here; they
do not fit in logically)
...P.1 - One picture "M. Kusovitzki - August 1954"
(This is a picture of Kusovitzki, the great Cantor from Smorgon)
P.2 - Moshe Kusovitzki, by Baruch Sutskover (Hebrew text)
P.3-8 - Old and new pictures, mainly in Israel (page numbers are not marked)
Some from the regular annual meeting, The three Karpel brothers as partisans
and later as Israeli soldiers, a meeting of the Jewish forum of Smorgon
municipality before G. Veinstein left to Israel. 1935.
Actions taken by the committee (continued)
611-614 - Actions of the committee in Israel - Baruch Sutskever (hebrew)
............Pictures: individual pictures of members of the commitee, page
612
615 - a picture of ladies from Smorgon in Israel, 20 years after release
from Nazi camps.
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616-620 - Blank pages, with 'picture frames' on them. (page numbers not
marked).
These pages were made for every family to put pictures of their own choice,
to be remembered.
621-623 - In memory of those killed for the liberation of Israel - by Baruch
Sutskover (hebrew)
Description: Pictures and stories of three Smorgoners ) Mordechai Cohen,
Moshe Bernstein, Mordechai Glazer) who died in the Israeli War for Independence.
(page numbers not marked)
624 - blank page (page number not marked)
(At this point, the book goes back to page 581)
581 - Correction of mistakes in the book
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This part was dictated in 1996 by MOTKE TABURISKI
and LISA LEVINSON now living in Hadera , Israel.
In 1942, when the Ghettoes in Smorgon where liquidated, the jews of Smorgon
were sent to Oshmiane. The youngsters were sent to work in Germany and
Littuenia.
In Oct 21, 1942 - 750 people were killed. among them were the jews of Oshmiane,
Smorgon, Krevo, Olshan.
The killing took place in ZELONKA (between Smorgon and Oshmiane)
After the war , in 1952, the jews from Vilna made the first tombstone.
Theycollected the human bones under the tall grass. A kerchief that was
found in the grass was recognized by relatives.
The tombstone deteriorated in 1967. The government in Belarus created a
new one, but Wrote on it "in memory of the victims of WW II. They
never mentioned That they were jews.
In 1995 we contacted the director of the museum of Smorgon. Mrs. Maria
Leonidovna Moiseyev.
(tel: + 70592 51771). She was very cooperative and efficient. Some money
and a script in memory of the jews of Smorgon were transferred,
She created a board with the script
. This board was fixed on the wall of what used to be the great synagogue
and is now a bank.
On one a regular day, that was formally made a complete day of rest in
Smorgon, together with the mayor - the pupils of the local high school
gave a performance, and a new tombstone was erected in ZELONKA.
1- museum director, 2- mayor of Smorgon, 3- Mrs.
Lisa Levinson, 4- Mr. Motke Taburiski back
