ארכיון היסטורי של מכתבים ומסמכים לא ידועים - בנושאי הצלה מהשואה

A vast collection of letters and historical, previously unknown documents, concerning rescue from the Holocaust and the care of war refugees. Activities for the rescue of rabbis and yeshiva students who had fled to Vilna and Japan. Shipment of food parcels and clothing to refugees in Siberia and the Far East. Immigration certificates (sertifikatim) to Eretz Israel. And more. * A large bundle of letters in the handwriting and bearing the signature of the rescue leader, the Gaon Rabbi Hezekiah Joseph Mishkovsky, Av Beit Din of Krinik. * Letters and postcards from rabbis and yeshiva students in Lithuania, from the years 5700–5701 / 1940–1941, during the period in which Lithuania was occupied by the Russians, who established the independent Lithuanian government. By the directive of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Ozer, the yeshivas together with their students fled from Poland, which had been occupied by the Nazis, to Vilna and its surroundings. Some of the refugees were indeed saved via Russia (on the Trans-Siberian Railway), and from there to Japan, Shanghai, Eretz Israel, and the countries of America. However, in the middle of the year 5701, the Nazis occupied Lithuania and its surroundings, and with the help of the local population destroyed approximately 97% of the Jews who remained there — may God avenge their blood. We note some of the letter-writers: Rabbi Yosef Zusmanowitz, Av Beit Din of Vilkomir; Rabbi Avraham Abba Reznik, Av Beit Din of Pilviškiai; Rabbi Yosef Berkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Maharsha of Ostroha; the brothers Chaim and Ayzik Azband of Yeshivat Telz; Yeshayahu HaLevi Altman and his colleagues from Yeshivat Radin, students of the yeshivas of Volozhin, Mir, and "Chachmei Lublin" who had fled to Vilna, and others. The majority of the letters were sent to the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzchak Ayzik HaLevi Herzog. * Letters by Rabbi Herzog concerning rescue matters. * Lengthy letters from the rescue emissary Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, who with great self-sacrifice traveled from Eretz Israel to Lithuania in his capacity as a representative of "HaMizrachi" and "The Jewish Agency." These letters contain many details about the rescue efforts of the Griz of Brisk, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, Rabbi Aharon Bakst, and numerous other rabbis. * Letters from the leadership of the world "Agudath Israel" and from various rabbis in Eretz Israel, concerning rescue activities and more. Approximately 55 items, approximately 70 pages. Size and condition vary.