THE RATNER BROTHERS (r. to I:) The distinguished industrialist and philanthropist, Jewish community leader, and our devoted landsman, Max Ratner; Leonard, who passed away in 1975; Harry (passed away in 1961), father of Bruce Ratner, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs; and Charles, who passed away in 1939. and social organizations. He occupies important posi- tions in many Jewish institutions. He was the president of the Park Synagogue in Cleveland, one of the largest Conservative synagogues in America. Needless to say, this warm, loving human being firmly supports the State of Israel. Not only has he helped raise large sums of money for the Jewish state, giving generous, personal donations, but he also has had close connections with Israeli businesses since 1951, three years after the State’s establishment. Mr. Ratner has been to Israel more than a hundred times, visiting his various enterprises there, one of them an electro- chemical production company in Haifa and Acco. As the president of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ratner tries to strengthen trade and industrial cooperation between the United States and Israel. He has successfully urged many Americans to invest in various Israeli projects. “‘“This helps Israel in its development,” Mr. Ratner said a few years ago. “This also opens up new jobs for its population. We have to assist one another, not only philanthropically, but also with timely, practical acts. We, the Jews of this generation, must do everything possible to bolster Israeli industry so the Jewish state will in time be able to sustain itself and not depend upon outside help. We must do this now, because for coming Jewish genera- tions, this self-sufficiency will be more difficult to achieve.” In 1917, when Ratner was eight years old, Britain issued its Balfour Declaration and Bialystok’s response was enthusiastic. He still remembers how his beloved mother gave away her golden earrings to a fund for those wishing to become pioneers in Palestine. Mr. Ratner studied in the Hebrew Gymnasium in Bialystok, where Hebrew was the language of instruction. At the beginning of 1976, Max Ratner visited contemporary Bialystok. He took with him his son, Charles, 16 members of his family: Leonard’s son Albert and wife, Harry’s son Bruce and wife, Harry’s daughter Ellen, Ambassador Milt Woof and wife (children of his sister Irene and grandchildren), several cousins and a few other relatives from America. He 174 wanted to show them his old home, so they would appreciate his origins, what Jewish Bialystok meant many years ago. ‘Arriving in Bialystok fifty-five years after I left as a young boy,” Mr. Ratner recounted, “I met a handful of Jews, all old and sick, all requiring help. I was reminded of my youth. When I walked through streets where Jews lived, where there had been a sophisticated, vibrant, Jewish life, I could not comprehend how today everything has vanished. How is this possible? Every street has been rebuilt, with a new appearance and name. Nothing Jewish remains....”’ Mr. Ratner showed his relatives the house where he spent his childhood, on 4 Czysta, corner Polna Street. While in Bialystok, he still remembered all his child- hood experiences, as if seeing everything once again. Here his mother occasionally bought fish; not far from his house was a synagogue. There he used to play with other children. “I looked at these places,’ Mr. Ratner said. ''1 used to think about them once in a while, but all that is left of Bialystok is memories....”’ While in Poland, Mr. Ratner also visited Warsaw. There it 1s the same as regards Jewish life. Everything vanished. Mr. Ratner went to the Nozyk Shul on Twarda Street, where he found a few elderly Jews. The tables in the synagogue, the chairs, prayer books and religious tomes were covered with dust from disuse. Max Ratner brought his relatives to Auschwitz. “A visit to Auschwitz,’ Mr. Ratner said, ‘‘leaves a horren- dous impression. It is as though you were surrounded by the ghosts of the millions liquidated. No matter how much you read and hear about the Nazi atrocities, it is impossible to grasp fully their import, unless you see Auschwitz with your own eyes. Only then can you com- prehend how Hitler and his henchmen planned and exe- cuted with great premeditation the terrible crimes against our people. This we must never forget.” Thus it is with tremendous loyalty that Mr. Ratner relates to his Bialystoker origins, even after so many years. His example cannot fail but inspire other /ands- leit who feel the same way toward their beloved hometown. The Bialystoker Memorial Book