Mendel Balberyszski (October 5, 1894 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

– November 19, 1966 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) was a

Lithuanian Jew {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

, Polish politician and survivor of

the Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian (Litvaks) and History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in the Occupation of Lithuania by Na ...

. He is chiefly known today as the biographer of the destruction of the

Vilna Ghetto The Vilna Ghetto was a World War II Jewish ghetto established and operated by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the modern country of Lithuania, at the time part of the Nazi-administered . During the approximately two years of its existen ...

in his book ''Stronger Than Iron – The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account''. It is the account of life and organization in the Small Ghetto from its day of formation until its liquidation, it is also the only complete historical record of the fate of the Jewish population of Vilna from the day of the arrival of the Germans, through the two Ghettos, the concentration camps in Estonia until the liberation of the surviving 84 Jews by the Soviet Army.

Biography

He was a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

orator and a member of the editorial staff of the Vilnius Yiddish newspaper ''Der Tog''. He became a leading member of the Jewish Democratic Party, the

Folkspartei The Folkspartei () was founded after the 1905 pogroms in the Russian Empire by Simon Dubnow and Israel Efrojkin. The party took part in several elections in Poland and Lithuania in the 1920s and 1930s and did not survive the Holocaust. Ideology ...

. In these capacities he was a fervent advocate of the right of the Jewish community to cultural autonomy. In 1925,

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

he founded The Jewish Artisans and Small Business Association and became president of one of the largest Jewish charity organizations the Noten Lekhem. Later in 1939 he became one of the leaders of the Polish Democratic Party, one of the three major political parties in pre-war Poland. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he escaped from German-occupied Poland to return to his native

. In June 1941, Germany occupied Lithuania. Soon after the Jews of Vilnius were herded into two ghettos. He became a member of the Advisory Council that was responsible for the administration of the small ghetto. After the liquidation of the small ghetto, he became an important figure in the large Vilna ghetto where he opposed the

Judenrat A ''Judenrat'' (, ) was an administrative body, established in any zone of German-occupied Europe during World War II, purporting to represent its Jewish community in dealings with the Nazi authorities. The Germans required Jews to form ''J ...

's policy of co-operating with the Germans in the deportations of Jews. After the war, he emigrated to Australia where he returned to active Jewish communal activities, founding the Association of Partisans and Camp Survivors of which he became the President. He was also President of the Carlton Hebrew Congregation, an official of the

Jewish Community Council of Victoria The Jewish Community Council of Victoria Inc (JCCV) is the main representative body for Victoria (Australia), Victorian Jews, Jewry, representing 52 Jewish community organisations and over 60,000 Victorian Jews. The JCCV's mission is to represen ...

, a contributor to the Jewish press and a sought after guest lecturer. The Balberyszski Jewish Bookstore which he acquired and expanded in the early 1950s became the focal point for the Yiddish speaking intellectuals and a communal landmark.

References

External links

Chronicles of the Vilna Ghetto: wartime photographs & documents - vilnaghetto.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balberyszski, Mendel 1894 births 1966 deaths Politicians from Vilnius People from Vilna Governorate Lithuanian Jews Vilna Ghetto inmates Folkspartei politicians Yiddish-language writers Jewish Australian writers Writers from Melbourne

Biography

References

Further reading

External links