Letters on the Founding of a Talmud Torah for Holocaust Child Survivors
Bergen-Belsen DP Camp, 1947
A collection of three original letters that were sent from the Displaced Persons camp in Bergen-Belsen in Germany, from Holocaust survivors, containing historical information about the establishment and development of a Talmud Torah for young children who survived the Holocaust.
One letter is from the director of the Talmud Torah in Bergen-Belsen who writes:
"We request for the future, practical assistance for the fifty students learning by us… from age eight to eighteen, most of whom are refugees from the Valley of Tears in Russia, who grew up and were raised in foreign fields during the years of spiritual destruction… and their spiritual state is terrifying to contemplate…"
The letter is written on official stationery of the Talmud Torah in Bergen-Belsen and is dated 11 Tammuz 5707 (July 1947).
There are also two earlier letters from Rabbi Yoel Meir Potoshvitz, director of the She’eris Yisrael Yeshiva in Bergen-Belsen, which also include details about the Talmud Torah.
In one letter, dated 17 Iyar 5707 (May 1947), he writes:
"Recently, with Hashem’s help, we also managed to establish a cheder for the little children… here they receive kosher meals and treats in order to save them from the influence of the non-religious…"
In the second letter, dated 7 Adar 5707 (March 1947), he updates that the Talmud Torah now has approximately 30 students.
An important collection of letters documenting the efforts to preserve pure Jewish education in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Bergen-Belsen, 1947. Three letters: one from the Talmud Torah director and two from the yeshiva director. Various sizes. Good condition, with fold marks.
