1961 — 1st edition, original cloth, 4to, xix+ 288+ (2) pages. On title page: Brzezin memorial book. Illustrations throughout. Yiddish, with English introduction. There once was a town of Jewish tailors Brzezin. From early dawn until late at night one could hear the music of the Singer sewing machines. It was the music of hard work, of intense anxiety, of a hard life, but also of noisy youth, semi-intellectuals, observant Jews, Hasidim who lived and had aspirations in the small Jewish town Brzezin. The Nazi savages extinguished this life forever, transformed it into ashes. Only a few Jews from the tailoring town Brzezin, by some miracle, remain, scattered over the entire world, individuals who were witnesses to the German cannibalism. May these words, frail in print, but inscribed not with ink but with blood, be a modest contribution to the matseve [gravestone] for my native town, Brzezin. Brzezin was one of the oldest and most popular Jewish communities in Poland. When this community was established, it carried the name Krakowek [Little Krakow]. At that time, the community extended from the Strykower highway to beyond the Jewish besoylem [cemetery] to the surrounding hills. The Polish noblewoman, Anna Lasocka, had brought the first weavers from afar into this community. Then the community developed even further and began to broaden its borders. At that time, the town already carried the name Brzezin. Jewish tailors came to Brzezin from many places, and after several generations, the town developed its own type of tailoring industry, by which it was known all over the world. A cottage industry was the main occupation here. As early as 1772, Brzezin was famous for its mass production in tailoring. Until 1914 the great Czarist Russia was flooded with the inexpensive products of Brzeziner tailors. In the years between the two world wars, the export of Brzezin industry was spread over many lands in Europe and into other parts of the world. In this, the great Jewish magaziners [owners of clothing enterprises] exporters such as Frankensztejn, Tuszynski, Sulkowicz, and others played a great role. The Jews in Brzezin did not only work, they also participated actively in the socio-political and cultural life of the town, had their representatives on the town council in town hall, and had their religious and secular educational, cultural, and social organizations. Materially, it was a life of Jewish poverty, but spiritually, socially, and culturally, it was rich. (translated from book) SUBJECT(S) : Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland -- Brzeziny (Lo´dz´) ; Jews. OCLC: 19306453. Light wear on cover, some wear on spine. Good Condition Overall. (YIZ-16-6A)
