David Sohn

... IN THE UNITED STATES David Sohn ...

... Pogroms in the 19th Century ............... 15 David Sohn ...

... A Group of Bialystoker Delegates to the Culture Congress in New York in 1948. Seated, right to left: B. Zalewitz (Tel-Aviv), J. Pat, David Sohn, Z. Segalowitz, Jacob Waks (Melbourne), Meyer Brown (President of the Jewish National Workers’ Alliance), Louis Cohn. Standing Harry Kaplan and Bernard Morgenstern. ...

... Zvi Klementynowski, a leading activist in the Bia- lystoker community in Israel and a delegate to the con- vention in New York, stated: ‘‘A new Bialystok in the Jewish State will provide not only a roof over the heads of many Bialystoker immigrants but will serve as a rest- ing place for the souls of our martyrs, which wander all over the world seeking their final peace and are present among us in this auditorium.” In response to Mr. Klementynowski’s moving address and to a fervent appeal from David Sohn, founder of the convention, $100,000 was raised at a banquet for construction of Kiryat Bialystok in Israel. ...

... Later on, we built a community in Israel, Kiryat Bialystok, which carried the name of our beloved hometown destroyed by Hitler. For this reason, the late David Sohn convened a world conference in 1949 in New York, attended by representatives of Bialystoker organizations throughout the world. The delegate from Israel was Zvi Klementynowski. At the convention, the Kiryat Bialystok Foundation was formed, headed by the late Ralph Wein. Simultaneously in Israel, a Kiryat Bialystok committee was organized, whose members included the following leaders of our Center: Zalman Yerushalmi, Zvi Klementynowski, the late Mordechaj Krugliak and others. ...

... Often leaders lose some of their humanity as they gain power. Not so with David Sohn. The more influen- tial he became, the more his feelings for his fellow man deepened. He was blessed with personal magnetism, numerous talents and leadership qualities. He endeared himself to the landsleit with his beautiful Yiddish arti- cles published in the magazine he founded, the Bialy- stoker Stimme. Many of his contemporaries became deeply involved in the affairs of the Bialystoker Center and Home because of his example. ...

In 1947, he arrived in the United States and was introduced by his late brother, Leon Rubin, to David Sohn, the founder of the Bialystoker /andsmanschaft in New York. Mr. Rybal had earlier corresponded with Mr. Sohn from Paris. The latter received him in New York with open arms, and from that time on, a strong bond existed between the two. Sohn devoted his entire life to the Jews living in Bialystok before the war and to Bialystokers in other countries. He imparted this pro- found sense of commitment to Mr. Rybal, often repeat- ing the desire that the Bialystoker Center and Home ...

... In 1951, the Bialystoker Center in New York published a large album containing 1,200 pictures, with a Yiddish and English text, compiled by the late David Sohn. This album, which reviews three hundred years of Jewish life in Bialystok and activities of /andsleit throughout the world, has 386 pages and 15 titled: Bialystok Picture Album — A Famous City and Its Jews Throughout the World. The Bialystoker Center in New York is proud of this important pictorial record. ...

... Its original editor for many years was David Sohn. After his death on February 10, 1968, no effort was spared to ensure the Stimme would continue publication. ...

... This institution gives renewed life to the humani- tarian tradition that Bialystok taught. Indeed, its founders translated into reality their desire to assist people in need generally and, in particular, the elderly. A small group of dedicated Jews, determined to con- struct a home for the aged under Bialystoker auspices, launched a frenetic series of meetings and festivities to draw support for their ambitious project. Their leader was the late David Sohn, affectionately called ‘‘Mr. Bia- lystok.’? Despite the formidable obstacles facing them, these men and women pushed on to achieve their goal. ...

... One of the vital organizations established by Bialy- stoker .ews in the United States in 1919 to assist needy landsleit in Bialystok was the Bialystoker Relief Com- mittee in .America. David Sohn and others founded it to alleviate hunger and poverty among Bialystoker Jews. Soon after World War I, when news of their difficult circumstances reached the United States, J/andsleit in America raised $5 million, which they sent to their kins- men in Bialystok. Moreover, Jews in more than sixty towns around Bialystok also were granted financial support. Finally the Bialystoker Relief Committee in New York sent half a million dollars to strengthen var- ious institutions in Bialystok. ...

DAVID SOHN ...

... David Sohn, Executive Director of the Bialystoker Center, reported on the progress of the relief program to date. He described the difficulty the committee first encountered in sending funds directly to Bialystok. It became necessary to funnel these monies through the Joint Distribution Committee. Now it is possible for our committee to send packages of food, medicine and clothes to the several hundred Jews in Bialystok directly from New York. We have also aided Bialystokers in France, Italy, Belgium and Sweden. We have received conflicting reports about the exact number of Jews in Bialystok today. The situation is in flux; Jews arrive and depart every day. ...

... Our committee received substantial assistance from Bialystoker landsmanschaften throughout the world, especially from the Bialystoker Center in New York, under the leadership of the late David Sohn. Moreover, our Australian Jandsleit, led by Awrom Zbar, sent many survivors visas and paid for boat fare to Australia. Some used these opportunities. Finally, Bialystokers in Israel constantly encouraged us to continue our rebuild- ing efforts. ...

... During Litvinov’s stint in Washington, the Bialy- stoker Center in New York prepared a reception for him. Because of a sudden diplomatic mission, Litvinov was unable to attend. Upon receiving his telegram to that effect, a committee consisting of Philip Novick, Samuel Kassel and David Sohn visited him on his ship prior to his departure. Litvinov warmly greeted his Bia- lystoker landsleit, inquired about many of his childhood friends, and particularly about one of his rabbis, Wolf Rubin, who lived in New York at that time. During the conversation, Ambassador Litvinov spoke in Yiddish. ...

... DAVID SOHN ...