"The Book of Strzyzow and Vicinit"
folders 4
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Harry Langsam (1921-2014) was born in Strzyzów, Poland to Yaacov (1887-?) and Fruma Ryvka (née Hasenkopf, 1886-1922) and had one sister, Veila (1901-ca.1941). Several months after the Nazi occupation of Poland, Harry escaped to the Soviet Union where he was arrested and sentenced to three years in a labor camp. Yaacov was expelled from Strzyżów to the Rzeszów ghetto in June 1942. He was later transported from the ghetto and is believed to have perished during the Holocaust. After repatriation from the Soviet Union to Szczecin, Poland, Harry joined a Mizrachi Kibbutz. After three months he fled to Germany through Czechoslovakia and Austria with the help of the Bricha, where he lived in a displaced persons camp in Kassel. Harry married Anna in December 1945. In 1949 they immigrated to Israel and left for the United States in 1957 or 1958.
The collection includes a copy of a translation of"The Book of Strzyzow and Vicinity" translated from Hebrew and Yiddish by Harry Langsam. The book contains information about the town of Strzyżów, Poland including the history of the community from 1898, notable rabbis and other citizens, the celebration of Jewish holidays, prominent families, the years of the Holocaust, remembrances of Strzyżów citizens by surviving family members, and the diaspora of survivors throughout the world.