Devenishki Book; Memorial Book
(Dieveniškės, Lithuania)

54°12' / 25°37'

Translation of Sefer Divenishok; yad vashem le-ayara yehudit

Edited by: David Shtokfish, Divenishok Societies in Israel and the US, 1977

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Acknowledgments

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Our sincere appreciation to David Shtokfish, editor of the Devenishki book,
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Sefer Divenishok; yad vashem le-ayara yehudit (Devenishki book; memorial book),
Editors: David Shtokfish, Israel, Divenishok Societies in Israel and the United States, 1977 (H,Y, 536 pages).

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Divenishok

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Hebrew translated by Sara Mages

Yiddish translated by Yocheved Klausner

 

Book images
 
The Jewish Town (Introduction to the Devenishki book) Shmuel Sharon 5
The Jewish Town (Introduction to the Devenishki book) [Y] Shmuel Sharon 8
 
A. The Development of the Town   15
Devenishki from the beginning of its establishment Binyamin Dubinski 17
Those days are saved in my memory Yakov Bloch 28
Under confinement with the Russians, Polish and Germans Eliyahu Weiner 36
My town and my family Orit Kaplan 41
“Varte” Meir Yosef Itzkovitz 45
Divenishok: A Charming Town Dr. Menachem Weisenfeld 47
I treated Devenishki and its people with fondness Shlomo Levin 50
I bonded with Devenishki Fruma Kaplan 52
The social and political life Sheraga Blacher 55
Institutions and Organizations in Devenishki Avraham Abir (Rudnik) 62
“Maccabi Tzair”[1] Natan Kaplan 70
My road to “Beitar”[2] Meir Yosef Itzkovitz 72
Zionist and Cultural activities Avraham Aloni 81
The Hebrew school in Devenishki Shmuel Dubkin 85
Memories of a “HeHalutz”[3] member Shalom Rozenblum 87
The revival period in Devenishki Dov Ben Shalom (Popisko) 90
“HeHalutz”[3] organization in our town Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) 92
Trivia from our town Moshe Mintz 97
A delay in the reading of the Torah Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) 100
In the service of the Jewish homeland Natan Ben Mordechai and Hasia Kaplan 101
Memories from two World Wars Arye Olkenitzki 105
The youth was imbued with Zionist consciousness Ester Gordon 107
The theater in our town Binyamin Dubinski 108
Revolutionary activity against the Czar D. Binyamin 111
With love and nostalgia Chaya Garbi (Chaya Broines) 115
The mitzvah of “Linat Zedek”[4] Miriam Herman 118
From Devenishki to Eretz-Yisrael Henya Harari 119
How I arrived to Israel Dvora Rachli 121
My contribution to the building of the country Elimelech Rudnik 123
 
B. The Holocaust and Fighting 127
We will not forget you! Yakov Bloch 129
Gloom fell on the town Teiva Griner 131
In the ghettos and in the forests with the partisans Tzvi Novoplinski 136
In the claws of the Nazi animal Kalman Kretchmer 162
I fought the Germens with the partisans Lusia Rubin 165
In the battle against the Nazi enemy Zelig Rugul 169
A partisan's story Eliyahu Blacher 175
Under the German occupation Sara Hinda Movshovich 186
The forest was our home…. Shalom Bronstein 190
I was left lonely and isolated Shulamit Fox 194
From a partisan's squadron– to a Palmach[5] brigade Michael Dubinski 200
I'm the only one left from my family Yeshayahu Wolfowitz 215
Where are all of them? Where?.... Tzvi (Hirshel) Kryzovski 217
During the days of suffering and hardship Tzvi Ahuvy 219
The amputee from Devenishki Meir Yosef Itzkovitz 225
Our loved ones did not go like sheep to the slaughter Meir Ben Natan (Itzkovitz) 228
The story of an 11 year old boy Pinchas Lipkunski 240
I was rewarded to see the picture of the people I loved Nili Itzkovitz 246
 
C. Images   249
My father the Great Rabbi R' Yosef Rudnik, May the memory of the righteous be of a blessing Avraham Abir (Rudnik) 251
In memory of the Genius Rabbi Yosef Rudnik, May the memory of the righteous be of a blessing Sheraga Blacher 259
HaRav Yisrael Movshovich Yosef Movshovich 259
My father's house Shmuel Sharon 262
Ben-Zion Schneider Avraham Aloni 266
The Zionist activist Yudel Stekolszczyk Avraham Aloni 266
Eulogy for my father Of blessed memory Meir Yosef Itzkovitz 267
About my father and my family Shulamit Fox 271
Sandman Dov (“Memorial” Book) 272
Dov Of blessed memory Rivka Sandman 273
R' Moshe Ben Zion Chasman   274
The daughters tell about their father Sara Yoskovitch and Grunia Bronstein 276
HaRav Ben-Zion Chasman Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) 278
Sara Disha Horowitz – a charitable woman Henia Harari 278
Hirshel Krizobski Shlomo Gordon 279
Tzvi (Hirshel) Krizobski Chaya Rivka and Menucha Krizobski 280
My father Moshe – engaged in public needs Eliyahu Blacher 282
My father and my grandfather loved to work in the land Yosef Kaplan 283
In memory of my father Leib Dubin, May he rest in peace Rachel Zubiski (Dubin) 284
Mordechai Blacher Of blessed memory Moshe Mintz 285
My family Hiene Sotzkuber 286
About those who escaped to the Soviet Russia Rivka Krizobski 287
In memory of our mother Shoshanna (Riesel) Ben-Dov Amnon and Yafa 287
About one Jewish family Dina Labizovski 288
R' Leib Aharon Engel - May the memory of the righteous be of a blessing Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) 288
Eliyahu Chaim Shkolnik Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) 290
One of the old families Ester Ala (Blacher) 290
My husband Yosef Levin – a man of many activities Yehudit Levin 291
Tzvi Rugul Shulamit 292
About my grandfather and my parents Shlomo Gordon 293
Yehudah Stekolszczyk Of blessed memory Shlomo Aviel 296
My father Of blessed memory greatly helped the Jews Yehudah Katz 296
Our mother Zipora (Rashka) from the Levin family Shoshanna Yudenfreind 297
In memory of Yita Blacher Of blessed memory Eliyahu Nataneli (Itzkovitz) and Bella Ashman (Itzkovitz) 299
About my husband and our family Chaya Ita Kaplan 300
In memory of my parents, brother, sister and family Bella Ashman 300
A granddaughter and daughters are telling Sara Hinda Movshovich 305
My mother immigrated to Israel in 1922 Sara Kaplan 305
A family of blacksmiths Zalman Bronstein 306
A typical Jewish home Zipora Yudenfreind (Levin) 308
Lines to the image of my friend Avraham Kretzmer Avraham Aloni 308
Chane Hanan Ushiski 309
About the family of Tzvi Schmidt Zalman Dan Kushtolski 311
Our mother Chine daughter of Avraham Eliezer and Miriam Levin Eliyahu Nataneli 311
They were such Binyamin Dubinski 312
My grandfather R' Yitzchak (Itza) Binyamin Rudnik Of blessed memory Yakov Bloch 349
The “Tel-Hainik” M.Y. Itzkovitz Chaim Lazar 350
 
Yiddish Section
1. The Town and its Development
Binyamin Dubinski Dieveniskes [Divenishok] - The History of a Town 363
Meir Yoshke Nathan's (Itzkowitz) The Shtetele Divenishok 378
Motke (Moshe Leizer's) Kartchmer A Jewish Life That Is No More … 394
Shraga Blecher The Social and Party Life 401
Avraham Aloni Zionist and Cultural Activity 410
Khanan Levkovitsh How I Remember You, Divenishok... 417
Yakov Bloch Those Days Are Well Remembered 419
Lolik Sutskever On Communal Life 429
Chaia Rivka Krizovski The “Bien”[6] and “Wielbig” Organizations 437
Eliahu Itzkowitz (Netaneli) The Torah Reading was Stopped … 439
  Jewish “Parnoses” [Livelihoods] in Divenishok 440
 
2. Destruction and Bravery   443
Solomon Levine Only a Name Was Left 447
  The Murder of the Divenishok Jews in Voronova 447
Meir Yosef Itzkowitz The One-Handed Man from Divenishok 450
Meir Yosef Itzkowitz A Dream … 454
 
3. Figures   457
N. The Rav and Great Scholar R'Yosef Rudnik 459
* Baran Aharon Leib 459
  R'Moshe Ben-Zion Chasman z”l 460
  Krizovski Aharon Yakov 463
  Two Poems by Aharon Yakov Krizovski 463
Menucha Peik (Krizovski) The Poet Aharon Krizovski 464
Binyamin Dubinski Our Poet A. Y. Krizovski 465
Shlomo Kazjimirovski Shtetelech (Poem) 468
Sara Teibke & Nachum Levine We Cannot Forget Them 468
Moshe & Serke Levine Kartchmer My Shtetl, my Home and my Family 469
Sara Tova Gerschowitz-Levi In Memory of Father-and-Mother and Family 470
Sara Schklar In Memory of My Father 471
Nisan Gordon The Rav Chaim Yehuda Horowitz z”l 472
 
4. Landsmanshaftn   477
Chana Garbi Our Landsmanshaft in Israel 479
Zvi Ahuvi The American Relief Creates the “Gmilut Chesed”[7] Fund in Israel 481
(A Document) An Appeal from the Former Divenishok Residents in Israel[8] 483
Yakov Bloch A Landsman in Israel tells about the Landsmanshaft in America 485
Binyamin Dubinski The 70th Anniversary of the Divenishok Relief in America 503
Nelly Brown Report from the “Divenishok Ladies Auxilliary” 509
Zvi Ahuvi The Organization of the Former Divenishok Residents in Israel 512
 
List of martyrs   519
 
Footnotes

  1. “Maccabi Tzair” – Junior (young) Maccabi – a youth sport movement that was formed in Germany in 1926, besides the adult Maccabi movement. Return
  2. “Beitar” - the initials of Brit Yosef Trumpeldor- The Covenant of Joseph Trumpeldor, the educational youth movement of the Revisionist Zionist Organization. Return
  3. “HeHalutz” – [The Pioneer] was an association of Jewish youth whose aim was to train its members to settle in the land of Israel. Return
  4. Linat Zedek - “paupers' hostel” - a society that provided overnight lodgings for poor travelers. Return
  5. Palmach – Hebrew acronym for Plugot Machatz - strike force. Return
  6. Bien was a youth organization, communist oriented, formally acting as a Scouts movement. Wielbig was the parallel adults organization. Return
  7. ”Gmilut Chesed” = Loans without interest. Return
  8. Appeal from the Former Divenishok Residents in Israel to the Divenishok Residents in America. Return

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