Boston Area: Korets Society, Cemetery and Monument

Korets Cemetery and Monument/Matzevah in Boston

A 2-page PDF documenting the cemetery's creation in 1918; incorporation in 1935; and establishment of a Monument/Matzevah in 1958 for the Jews of Korets who were killed in 1942.

 The Ahavas Achim Anshei  Korets Society in Boston

Beloved people of the brotherhood of Korets, Korets Yizkor Book

By Lewis Osher (Leibel Acher)*

(*) Lewis Osher, of blessed memory, sent us the article a short time before his passing. With great regret, he did not merit to see our Yizkor Book.

The society was founded 66 years ago by the Korets compatriots. It is one of the oldest societies in Boston and has a very good reputation.

In the year 1936, I presented a proposal to the society, saying that we should help the poor Jews in Korets. The proposal was accepted. We collected several hundreds of dollars, sent it all to Korets, and it was distributed to the needy.

That year, the committee was comprised of the following members: Chaim Boruch Anapolski, Dovid Neuterman, of blessed memory, Yeshaya Shapiro, Pinchas Stokman, Yosef Terk (from Seliszcz), Hershel Silbert (from Sebetowko), Eli Berezov, and the author of these lines.

At that time, a Maos Chitim [funding for Passover food] committee was established to provide money for poor Jews. This committee was comprised of the following people: Beryl Anapolski, Vove Berezov, Dovid Ronis, Moshe Krasnostovski, Yehoshua Reizer, Shia Acher, Moshe Gildenman, of blessed memory, Dovid Reizelman, Ashe Blubstein, and Yakov Reiz.

The money was distributed to 253 families (897 individuals) and also to the following institutions: Talmud Torah, Tarbut school, Taz [healthcare organization], a Women’s Committee for Clothing, and a committee for meat distribution for Passover, and a fund for manual laborers.

The last time that we sent money for Maos Chitim was in the year 1939. 

Then came the great destruction, and understandably, we were helpless, and unable to provide any assistance to our dear Korets Jews.

Throughout that time, we looked around and saw that our friends were aging, and the younger people were not coming in with us. So, we decided to buy a small piece of land in order to set up a small cemetery with the name of the Ahavas Achim Society.

Thanks to that cemetery, our society became much stronger, because this connected the members through the donation of a regular membership payment.

In the year 1944, after receiving the tragic news that our community was destroyed, we felt it was our holy obligation to eternalize our holy martyrs. We decided to put a monument in our cemetery, …

The monument in memory of those who perished in memory of those who perished, with an eternal candle that would burn day and night. We also drew up a list of the names of the martyrs.

But we were not satisfied with just memorializing the martyrs, we also felt a holy obligation to help those who survived and who were left with no life means.

To that end, we selected a special committee under the direction of the society. The committee was comprised of the following members: Yosef Terk (from Seliszcz), Chaim Boruch Anapolski, Morris Zlotnik (from Lithuania), Boruch Hofman, Dovid Neuterman, Yerachmiel Kritchmer, Moshe Rosenberg, Hershel Zilbert (from Szepetovka), Pinchas Stokman, Zalman Sedoff, Shaya Shapira, my brother-in-law Leib (Faigele’s son), Eli Berzov, and the author of these lines.

We began looking for means to acquire food and clothing for our brothers and sisters. To assist with that, we summoned a mass meeting of those from Korets who were now in Boston and its surroundings. We amassed as many as we could.

Meanwhile, we received letters from Korets that some of the Jews returned to Korets from Russia, and they were poor and naked.

We immediately began to gather aid. We went from one house to the next and collected shoes and clothing, sorted them into packages, and sent them off to Korets.

But unfortunately, when the shoes and clothing arrived in Korets, there were already no Jews left there, and the murderers used up all of our hard work.

From a letter that arrived from Tel Aviv, we learned that there were people from Korets in Siberia, and they were pleading for help. At that time, some Korets refugees arrived to the camps in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, and also to Cyprus. They all asked for greatly needed help.

We held a special meeting for providing aid, and we sent hundreds of packages to every place that there was a Jew from Korets.

The need continued to grow and this placed a heavy responsibility onto us. With great effort, we collected $700, but with this money we had to support the Korets compatriots who came to Boston.

We hold on to the memory of our martyrs, and each year we commemorate them with a memorial evening. Rav Shmuel Yitzchak Korf recites a eulogy for them.

With this, I conclude my presentation about the tasks of our society. I hope and I believe that as long as there will be a Korets person living on American soil, he will carry in his heart the light of our dear and unforgettable town of Korets.