PEJSACH ALBERT THE BIALYSTOKER CENTRE IN AUSTRALIA Bialystoker Jews first arrived in Australia in 1926. They had to work hard in order to make a living, and many were poor. The newly arrived immigrants estab- lished a relief fund in Melbourne, as well as a credit union, to assist those in need from Bialystok and vicinity. The liquidation of the Bialystok ghetto and the wholesale destruction of East European Jewry by the Nazis gave /ands/eit in Australia an opportunity to dem- onstrate their dedication and selflessness. Surviving Bia- lystokers, miraculously having avoided perishing at the hands of the Nazis, needed to resettle in countries that would welcome them. Efforts were begun immediately to bring many to Australia. Those who involved them- selves in this resettlement effort and other relief work well understood the tremendous expenditures of energy and resources that would be required. Soon after the war, in 1946, Bialystokers in Austra- lia set up a special fund with which they purchased a large building in the St. Kilda section of Melbourne. This headquarters for the Bialystoker Centre in Austra- lia served as a_ settlement house for Holocaust SUIVIVOTS. Thanks to the efforts of many Jandsleit who had previously moved to Australia, the Bialystoker Centre obtained six hundred visas for Bialystoker immigrants. Most of the newcomers first stayed at the Centre’s headquarters, where they received food, clothing and small allowances. This temporary assistance continued for a short period until the Centre helped these people find apartments and employment. Interest-free loans were granted to put them on their feet. The president of the Bialystoker Centre in Australia, Mr. M. Pit, estab- lished a special loan fund in memory of his late wife, Esther, to help the immigrants start new businesses. The postwar Bialystoker arrivals eventually accli- mated themselves to their new life in Australia and became an important part of the general Jewish com- munity in that country. The Centre in Melbourne did not limit its activities to assisting immigrants. It also tried in every possible way to ease the plight 01 1 remaining in the displaced-persons camps in Europe, those who were still interned on Cyprus and who had arrived in Israel. Bialystokers in Australia provided food, clothing, and cash for the needy. Furthermore, the Melbourne /andsmanschaft sponsored a multifaceted Jewish cultural program. Finally, it contributed heavily to advance general Jewish interests in the State of Israel. | Our worthy lJandsman, Awrom Zbar, conducted a successful public relations campaign, sponsored by the The Bialystoker Memorial Book Bialystoker Centre in Melbourne, for the benefit of our landsleit and the Australian Jewish community as a whole. The Davis brothers donated six hundred books to start a a fine library under the Centre’s auspices, in memory of the martyred Pejsach Kaplan. Our head- quarters also contained a kindergarten that served its temporary residents’ children. Approximately thirty youngsters received their first exposure to Yiddish and Hebrew in this kindergarten. Frequent recitals, cultural programs, Bible courses, as well as High Holiday and festival services were offered. As Bialystoker immigration to Australia waned, the large Centre building was no longer used to full capacity, resulting in huge deficits. We reluctantly decided to sell it and donate the large Pejsach Kaplan Library, containing five thousand books, 10 6 Kadimah Culture Center in Melbourne, after its own library had been destroyed by fire. We contributed part of the proceeds of the Centre building sale to the Red Magen David, donating an ambulance to Israel. Another sum of money went to the Irgun Yotzei Bialy- stok in Israel. We have generously supported Kiryat Bialystok in Israel, as well as other important Jewish institutions in Melbourne. Bialystoker /andsleit in Australia continue many important activities for the benefit of our own people and for the larger Jewish community. We still send aid to disadvantaged Bialystokers in Israel and other coun- tries for the Jewish holidays. Every August, we conduct a memorial assembly on the anniversary of the Bialy- stok ghetto’s destruction. We also contribute large sums to the United Israel Appeal. Our contacts with other Bialystoker organizations remain regular and frequent. All that we do, as detailed above, is to perpetuate the legacy of our beloved hometown, which still inspires us spiritually. ae ae Es A Memorial Serivce of Bialystoker Landsleit in Melbourne, Australia 191