Rzeszów, Poland

(Pronounced zhe-shof)
(Other Names: Reisha, Reyshe, Zhezhov)

The Rzeszów Yizkor Book (Memorial book)

The Rzeszów Yizkor book presents an account of Jewish life in Rzeszów through the end of World War II.

Yizkor books, memorials to the lost Jewish communities, were written after World War II. The Rzeszów Yizkor book was written in 1967 by Jewish natives of Rzeszów living in Israel and the United States, who either emmigrated to Palestine or the United States before the war, or were survivors who settled in Israel and the United States after the war.

The names of many members of the Jewish community appear in the text and in photo captions*, usually those who were prominent in the religious and philanthropic life of the community, in business, in law, journalism, youth clubs and activities.

The Rzeszów Yizkor Book contains three sections:

  • Hebrew – the largest portion. You can read the English translation (about 60% completed) on JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Translation Project. There are no photos online here.

  • English & Yiddish – text mainly taken from the Hebrew. The complete book with photos* is online in the New York Public Library’s Jewish Division. It’s tricky to find the start of the English section. Below the title “Rzeszów” is a navigation bar. In the box “Image 1 of 766”, click on the down arrow and scroll to image 762 for the beginning of the English section. The page numbers go backwards, so keep pressing the “previous” button.

To see a list of libraries holding copies of the Rzeszów Yizkor Book, access Jewish Gen’s Yizkor Book Translation Project page. To purchase a copy of the Rzeszów Yizkor Book, contact the National Yiddish Book Center.

* Photo captions: The English translation of photo captions and names of subjects is included in JewishGen’s Yizkor Book Translation Project.