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1939 Letter
By: Ephraim Gutsztejn, 12 years old |
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In remarkably prophetic words, and
evincing a maturity
way beyond his years, the
young Radzilover boy, while
studying for his Bar Mitzvah at Grodno Yeshiva, writes
about the situation confronting the world. |
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Memoirs: Mosze Szymon Rozenbaum
By: Helen Rosenbaum |
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Mosze
Szymon Rozenbaum was born in Radzilow in 1921. He was
able to emigrate in late February of 1939, and was the only member
of his immediate family to have survived the Holocaust, as his
four siblings and mother were killed on July 7, 1941. His
magnificent collection of photos from Radzilow is the largest of its
kind, many of which were taken in the late 1930's and differ from
the typical photos in that the majority of them are outdoors. |
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Memoirs: Moshe's Adventures
By: Moshe Atlasowicz (Morris Josephson "M.J." Atlas) |
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Interview of Morris "M.J." Atlas
By: Scott J. Atlas |
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Born in 1897, Moshe Atlasowicz left Radzilow in 1912. His memoirs of life
around the period of 1910, and
subsequent interview, include fascinating descriptions of
his family life in Radzilow at the beginning of the 20th
century and the factors that influenced him and
members of his family to leave. |
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Reb Yisrael Mejer Gutsztejn and
Pesza (nee Zimnowicz) Gutsztejn
From: The Atlasowicz Memoirs |
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My grandparents Yisrael Mejer
and Pesza owned a well-known fabrics store on the northern side of Town Square,
living on the same premises. Yisrael Mejer was one of the respected
learned men of the town. After he died in 1927, Pesza continued to
manage the business, along with three daughters, until they were all
killed in 1941. |
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Memoirs: In the Lion's Den
By: Mendel Staroletni (Max Star) |
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Born in 1891, Mendel Staroletni was drafted into the Russian Army
in 1914. The first 13 pages of his book deal with Radzilow
in the context of the oncoming First World War. |
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Chanukah Menorah |
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19th Century Chanukah Menorah, taken out of Radzilow in 1909 by
Chaim Josef Niedzwiecki. |
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Boruch Itzchok Bejnsztejn |
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The Dayan of Radzilow until
his death in 1910 |
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Yizkor Books
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Radzilow had no Yizkor Book of
its own, but is mentioned often in those of the nearby towns of
Jedwabne and Szczuczyn. It is probably mentioned in the Lomza one
too, which I have a copy of, but it's not yet translated. |
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References to Radzilow
From: The Jedwabne Yizkor Book |
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Jedwabne, located only 9 miles away to the SSW, shared a very close relationship
with Radzilow. Life was very similar because
both towns very about the same size, and
events in one town frequently affected the
other. Radzilow was the town most often mentioned in
the Yizkor Book besides
Jedwabne. |
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References to Radzilow
From: The Szczuczyn Yizkor Book |
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Szczuczyn, located only 12.2 miles away to the NNW, was one of the larger towns close to Radzilow,
being about 4 times its size
population and number of Jews. As a result,
there were many commercial ties to Szczuczyn, as well as
many marriages among its residents. |
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Radzilow Rabbis |
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Rabbi
Szemen Aryeh Surawicz |
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Born around 1796, he served as Rabbi of Radzilow for several decades during the mid-1800's. Documents
verify he was Assistant Rabbi from 1856-1865. It is not
known how many years earlier he assumed that position.
He became the official Rabbi, Head of the Congregation, around 1870.
His father, Rabbi Szewel Surawicz, who was
born in Tykocin, also served as the Rabbi of Radzilow. |
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Rabbi
Jankiel Wejdenbaum - Soon |
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Rabbi of Radzilow for a short period, in between Rabbi Surawicz and
Rabbi Goldberg |
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Rabbi
Kiwa (Akiba) Goldberg |
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Born in 1853, he served as Rabbi
of Radzilow from somewhere between 1898 and 1903, until his death,
around 1924. Rabbi Goldberg, as official or as witness, appears in
hundreds of Radzilow vital records. One document in particular
verifies his illness in 1924. |
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Rabbi
Yehoshua Zelik Gelgor |
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Rabbi Gelgor replaced Rabbi Goldberg as Rabbi of Radzilow. His
tenure was from between 1924 and 1928, until he was killed in 1941.
He was the last Rabbi of Radzilow. |
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Rabbi
Yehoshua Zelik Gelgor - 1934 Letter |
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Letter written by the Rabbi in 1934 to a family in Australia, in the spirit
of beneficence, detailing the horrible poverty
being suffered by one of their relatives in Radzilow.
The text is heartbreaking, and shows
why so many Radzilovers chose to emigrate, rather than
continue to endure terrible economic and political conditions. Letter includes the Rabbi's
official seal. |
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Interviews |
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The Immigrant Experience
Away From the Shtetl |
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Miguel Gutstein's
(Moshe Gutsztejn) letter |
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Moshe left Radzilow in the mid-1920's,
and went to Kovno,
Lithuania, where he taught at a Gymnasium for a couple of years and met
his wife-to-be. From there he went to Guantanamo, Cuba, and
sent for her. They were married in Guantanamo in 1928. This
letter, written in 1935 to his sister Chana, who was by then in Tel
Aviv, Israel, shows some of the typical immigrant feelings of
starting over, of helplessness, of being so far away from the family that
was once so close, now spread out all over the world. |
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Ben-Tzion Dorogoy |
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Born Bencjyon Dorogoj in Radzilow in 1918, he went to Israel in 1936, leaving
his parents and siblings behind. Only sister Frume managed to
survive by escaping just before the Germans advanced into town. His
sister Szyma was the first person killed in the pogroms of 1941. His
father and brother were killed after the war, returning to Radzilow. Ben-Tzion
joined the Jewish Police Forces in 1937 and then in 1942, hearing
of the tragic events in Poland, joined the Jewish Brigade. He
served in Italy during 1944 and then took part in Israel's War of
Independence. |
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Mosze Szymon Sawicki
(Bursztyn) |
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In
September 1939, when the Soviets invaded Eastern Poland, about 200,000
soldiers of the Polish army who were in the occupied territory were taken as
prisoners. Among them were thousands of Jewish soldiers and officers,
including Mosze Szymon. After the German attack on the Soviet Union in
July 1941, "Anders Army" was created, a sort of "Polish regiment" within the framework of
the Red Army. Many Jewish members were allowed to leave when Anders Army was in
Palestine, including, Menachem Begin. Anders Army went on to participate and
liberate Monte Cassino, in one of the most historic battles of WWII. |
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Efroim Hersz Niedzwiecki |
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Efroim Hersz left Radzilow in 1933 and
went to Palestine. In 1939 he enlisted in the British Army, fighting for the
Allies. He served as a German Prisoner of War from 1941-45. Photos include
those from
Stalag VIII B in Germany. |
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Abraham Kielczewski |
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Abraham left Radzilow around 1933 and went to Kibbutz Lida,
where members of Ha'Halutz trained for aliyah to Israel. Abraham eventually went to
Israel on the Atrato, a Greek ship which made
a total of seven trips to Israel before finally being caught by the British on May 28, 1939. In
total the ship brought 2,423 people to Israel. |
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Brajna Kowalska |
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Brajna was born in 1891. Her father died in 1900, and a few years later her mother
remarried. Brajna, then only 13, decided she did not want to live in a
step-fathered household and decided to go to England, to join her
uncle and aunt, accompanied by the 9-year-old niece of the same aunt. The
two girls made the trip without adult supervision. |
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Joel Guthwert |
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Born in Radzilow in 1850, he was sent to Finland in 1872 to fulfill his
Russian Army military obligations. He eventually settled in Finland to raise
his family, most members of which still live there today. |
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Benjamin Porycki - Soon |
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Born in Radzilow in 1904, he went to Israel in 1927. He was one of the most
active Radzilover landsmen in Israel, becoming President of the
Landsmanshaftn Society called the "Benevolent Fund In Memory of the Martyrs
of Radzilov." Benjamin filled out dozens of Pages of Testimony at Yad Vashem
for friends, relatives and landsmen murdered in the Holocaust. His son
Avraham Dotan continues the tradition of keeping the memory of Radzilow
alive. |
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Jewish Landmarks
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For pinpointed locations, see
Radzilow Street Map |
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Jewish Cemetery - Taken in 1939, it is the only
photo of the cemetery uncovered to date; also, photo of
site as it looks now |
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Cheder - Remains of building on outskirts of town |
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Synagogues - There were three synagogues
in town; no photo has yet been found from before
the war; photo of former location of one of them |
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Fire Brigade - Stories about
the Fire Brigade and the equipment, known as "the Buda" |
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Catholic Rituals |
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Zapust Canival |
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Local custom, around for at least a couple hundred years, of dance,
song and costume, that Jewish residents surely saw or knew something
about while living there. |
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