Archive of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah" - The Secret Heroic Operation of the Most Prominent Rabbis for Saving the Yeshiva ...

Archive of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah" - The Secret Heroic Operation of the Most Prominent Rabbis for Saving the Yeshiva Students of Shanghai - Encrypted Letters and Letters Handwritten by the Most Prominent Rabbis - The Untold Story!
Approximately 30 documents sent by "Va'ad ha'Hatzalah" in the USA to Rabbi Aharon Milevsky, the Chief Rabbi of Motevideo, Uruguay. Includes: encrypted telegrams (!), letters handwritten by the most prominent rabbis, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelowitz and Rabbi Yechezkel Aharon Partzovitz, and many more valuable items.
Special!

Background
In the winter of 1941, refugees of the Yeshivot and their rabbis escaped from Lithuania to Shanghai, which was then under the rule of Japan. The emissaries of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah", headed by Rabbi Eliezer Silver and Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz, transferred money, help and information to Japan. Yet, when the USA joined the War, in Kislev 1942, the diplomatic relations between the USA and Japan were severed and the yeshiva students were on the verge of starvation. Therefore, the heads of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah", headed by Rabbi Shmuelowitz (who was in Japan) risked themselves and transferred the money and information through Uruguay, which was still neutral, and later through Argentine. Rabbi Aharon Milevsky was responsible for this dangerous mission.
Rabbi Aharon Milevsky, the disciple of the "Alter of Slabodka", moved to Uruguay before the War to serve as the rabbi of the Jewish community of Montevideo.
All the documents and telegrams that were sent to Rabbi Milevsky - from Shanghai and the USA - were encrypted, so that they will not raise the suspicion of the American Ministry of Defense. Rabbi Milevsky served as an emissary and the decoder and followed the orders of the rabbis which were in the encrypted telegrams he had received. Some of the telegrams were signed by Shmilowitz [Rabbi Shmuelowitz], Wolbe [Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, who was lived in Sweden and Switzerland during the war] and more.

The encrypted telegrams
The telegrams that were sent by the heads of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah" are signed by: "Shmilowitz" [that is, messages for Rabbi Shmuelowitz], "Wolbe" [messages sent to Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe in Sweden and later in Switzerland]. The rabbis also used Talmudic concepts in order to transfer information as well Yiddish phrases, and family names, for example: "Ponovezhsky" was a code name for a group of young men who came from Ponovezh. The name of the Twelve Tribes symbolized the amount of money that was collected, so for instance, "Reuvengod" was actually the code for a thousand dollar (Reuven=a thousand, God= dollar because of the inscription on the reverse side of the dollar banknote). Thus, one of the telegrams which read: "telegram Kalmanowitz that Ponovezhsky is studying well, Epstein Shimonogod visited feldman in 235 west 29" created the impression that this is a report about a man who is studying well while another visted Feldman at some address; however, when decoded, the message of the telegram is the sum of money that was raised: Feldman received 8000 Dollars for Epstein [most likely, the students from Slobodka]/
In another document, it says: "Tell Rabbi Sheshosor to send greetings for the New Year to Reb Tetgood. Mirerisheva draigood. Yissachar Avreichim". Here, several codes were used" "tet" is used instead of the digit 9, "drai" instead of 3 and "Yissachar" instead of 5. All this hint at the money raised by "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah".

Letter by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky
The archive before us contains a letter by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, which was sent from Vilnius on the ninth of Iyar to Rabbi Milevsky. Rabbi Chaim Ozer expresses his gratitude for the money that was sent by Rabbi Milevsky.
At the end of the letter, an addition of four words in his handwriting, his signature and stamp. Written on official stationery.
A most important historical letter about the heroic effort to save the Torah and yeshivas of Lithuania!
14x22 cm.
Condition: Good. Filing holes.

Encrypted letter, handwritten by Rabbi Aharon Kotler
An encrypted letter handwritten by Rabbi Aharon Kotler. For example, he writes: "one of my friends, Rabbi Chaim Israel Eiz of Zurich, Switzerland, of 69 Miller St. with I correspond on Torah novellae, wrote me comments on the book of his honor … I will write his honor the comments he wrote me" - all these are codes for the money that was sent" to whom, how much and more. Rabbi Chaim Israel Eiz was an active member of "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah" in Switzerland.
Such a document has never been seen: a complete encrypted letter handwritten by Rabbi Aharon Kotler!
21x27 cm. 22 lines in his handwriting.
Condition: Good. Thin paper. Time stains.

A letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Chaim Shmuelowitz
A special letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Chaim Shmuelowitz to rabbi Milevsky. Rabbi Shmuelowitz expresses his gratitude for the great help Rabbi Milevsky gave to the Mir Yeshiva during the war.
Written on the official stationery of the Mir Yeshiva. The 23rd of Iyar 1946.
Such a complete letter in his handwriting and with his signature from that period is extremely rare!
21x27 cm.
Condition: Good. Filing Holes. Folding marks.

These items and many others tell the wonderful story of the support "Va'ad Ha'Hatzalah" gave the Torah scholars in Shanghai. Attached is a long article with the encryption of the codes and the background of the documents.