YEDIDIA L. HAMBURG THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE As the former Vice-Chairman of the Jewish Recon- struction Committee created in Bialystok immediately after its liberation from the Nazis, I want to describe our activities. Postwar Bialystok found itself isolated from the rest of Poland, because the rail route between it and Warsaw was exceedingly dangerous for Jews. Polish bandits would often forcibly remove Jews from the trains at stations along the way and shoot them, despite protective escorts provided by the Polish military. Fre- quently these soldiers were unable to carry out their function. For example, two days after a pogrom ina town on the Bialystok-Warsaw route, four guarded cha- lutzim (people preparing to settle in Israel) from the Gordonia Kibbutz in Bialystok were removed from their train and shot. Their bodies were buried in the ghetto cemetery on Zabia Street. The few surviving Jews who attempted to restore Jewish life to Bialystok after the war were courageous. Overlooking obstacles, they did everything possible to continue the sacred traditions of their forefathers, hop- ing that their determination would help them achieve their goal. The Jewish Reconstruction Committee, led by Dr. Szymon Datner — M. Turek, director; Sz. Lewin, direc- tor; Pejsach Bursztejn, director; A. Dereczynski, direc- tor; Jedidja Hamburg, director; H. Bratmacher, director; Jehuda Grynhojz, director; Mira Grosman, director; J. Czernychow, director; D. Kolesznyk, direc- tor; Chana Rabinzon-Berkowicz, director; A. Grodzk1, director; A. Goldman, director; S. Lewin, director; S. Grynsztejn, director; A. Erdepel, director; A. Ostro- burski and A. Gerszuni, directors; A. Berkowicz, direc- tor; J. Bialostocki, director; chauffeurs training school, Z. Konjucki, director — was the only such body recog- nized by the Polish government. Jewish political parties of all persuasions, from Mizrachi to the Jewish commu- nists, were represented. The committee was divided into subcommittees that served the Jews returning to Bialy- stok. Moreover, labor cooperatives provided a living for a number of families and helped the small Jewish popu- lation in every possible way. The subcommittees included the following: histori- cal research; production; social security; children’s wel- fare; the secretariat; /andsmanschaft; youth; schools; health care; drama; library; newsletter; exhumation and reburial of Jewish martyrs; vital statistics; correspon- dence; public kitchens; home for the aged; public safety; administration; accounting; bakers’ cooperative; tailors’ cooperative; metal and construction cooperative; shoe- makers’ cooperative; and training communes for even- tual settlement in Israel. The Bialystoker Memorial Book 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. We paid special attention to returning Jewish children, cared for by Christian families during the war, and to their Jewish mothers and fathers. We found out about these situations when the Christian foster parents approached the committee for financial support, doing everything possible to bring these children back under Jewish influence. We also exhumed Jewish corpses from mass graves and reburied them in the Jewish cemeteries. Digging up these large pits, our exhumation bri- gade found the bodies of several resistance fighters murdered by the Nazis. Among them were the corpses of a woman about thirty years old, a small child next to her, a man and a girl about twelve years old. Further- more, the gravediggers uncovered bullets as well as a passport belonging to a Jechezkel Zolti. Another ca- daver was riddled with twenty-eight bullet holes, his name Zecharja Kaplan. The total of exhumed corpses soared to 230. Evidently some of them had been forced Into the pit and buried alive. They were all interred in the Zabia cemetery on November 22, 1945. At the end of 1946 and early 1947, the Jews in Bia- lystok seeking to rebuild their community decreased, many leaving for Israel, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Latin America and other lands. The noble attempt to re-establish Jewish life on top of the ruins brought about by Hitler ended in failure. Tragi- cally only nine Jews remain in Bialystok — the remnant of what was once a massive and thriving Jewish population. LET US REMEMBER OUR MARTYRS AND HEROES 125