“The page is too short to contain the terrible tribulations we have suffered”
Chilling Letter by Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam of Yashlick Hy”d
describing the suffering he and his family endured from the Nazi Germans ym”s. Bardejov, 1942
Heartrending historical account by Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam Hy”d of Yashlick documenting the distressing sequence of events leading up to his and his family demise, the destruction of Jewish Slovakia and the glorious Sanzer dynasty during World War Two.
At the time, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga was merely 21 years of age and engaged to the daughter of his uncle the Admor Rabbi Chuna of Kolshitz.
In the course of the letter, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga mentions several members of the extended Halberstam family whose tragic end is known to all; this historic letter is one of the last remaining testimonies regarding their whereabouts.
The letter is replete with chilling descriptions of the horrors endured, describing a detailed account of the family’s frantic escape from their home with nothing but the clothing on their backs; and the miraculous rescue of his father—the Admor—from forced labor on Rosh Hashanah. He further describes the horrific occasion when the Nazis discovered the family hiding in the home of
Rabbi Leizer Lazar, a scion of the
Admor Rabbi Yaakov Lazar of Pshevorsk, Rav of Yashlick, and beat them nearly to death, forced them to shave their peyos and beards and kneel for hours at a time on the street while they pummeled them mercilessly.
Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam Hy”d (1921-1942) was the son of Rabbi Efram Dov of Yashlick, son of Rabbi Yechiel Nosson of Bardejov and a great-great-grandson of the Admor Rabbi Chaim of Sanz. He was engaged to his first cousin, the daughter of the Admor Rabbi Chuna of Kolshitz, yet both the bride and groom, and their families, all perished in the Holocaust inferno. Hashem yikom damam.
This letter was written in Bardejov to where
Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga fled, as described in his letter.
Bardejov, 1942. Folded leaf written on 3 sides. Page size: 23×14 cm. Good condition.
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