"There are 72 Jews in Subalek, all of whom have returned from Russia Inevitably and helplessly for quick help". A ...

"There are 72 Jews in Subalek, all of whom have returned from Russia Inevitably and helplessly for quick help". A chilling letter from the Subalek Jews and the surrounding area. July 1946

A letter from the "Committee for the Assistance of Subalek Jews in Tel Aviv" asking for urgent help from the community's immigrants who stayed in Eretz Israel to come to the aid of Holocaust survivors who remained in Subalek at the end of the war. July 10, 1946. Stencil printing.

The committee describes what he knows about the survivors who are in Subalek and their situation: "In Subalek there are up to 14.6 - 72 Jews, all of whom returned from Russia without any assistance and naked and are quick to seek help. All of them apply for Immigration licenses ... Their numbers reach 280 people so far ... ". In his letter, the committee lists the necessities needed for the survivors and includes: shoes, concentrated vitamins, woolen clothes and soap" and adds: "We are turning once more to the Jews of Subalek who are in Palestine to help our brothers refugees!"

On the second page, as well as on the back of the two pages, the committee details the names of some Jews living in Subalek. The names of several dozen Jews who are still in Subalek appear and addresses where they reside, according to a report from Rabbi David Lipshitz, the rabbi of the city: " Rabbi Shlomo Gutman and his son ... are still looking for their toddler daughter who is with non jews ... Widow Rebecca Salamanska and her daughters ( Her husband was killed at the beginning of the war)".

Subalek - a town in Podlaskie County in northeastern Poland. Before the outbreak of World War II, approximately 8,000 Jews lived in the city and in its district, of which about 6,000 lived in Subalek itself. In the 1930s, anti-Semitic incidents in the city intensified, and boycotts against Jews there were carried out, including panes, shop windows and Jewish homes, beating Jews, and distributing anti-Semitic banners. On October 6, 1939, German forces entered the city, commencing public abuse of Jews, robbing Jewish shops, and sending Jewish elders to hard labor. In addition, Jewish religious and cultural institutions were expropriated, a prohibition on slaughter training was issued, and Jews were forbidden to gather in groups. On October 23, Rabbi David Lipshitz [the last rabbi of Subalek, managed to escape and arrive in the United States] was informed that the city's Jews must be evacuated from their homes within three days. After a few days, most of the city's Jews fled to the Soviet Union and Lithuania, and quite a few died on their way. About 2,000 Jews left in the city were deported by the Germans to the Lublin district, and the vast majority perished in the Holocaust. Also, a large part of the fugitives perished in Lithuania.

After the war ended, several dozen Jews returned to the city, finding that the city's beit midrash was burned and the cemetery was destroyed. The city's large synagogue was dismantled in the 1950s. In 1957, only 11 Jews remained.

[4] p. 33x21 cm. Stencil printing. Stains. Good condition.