Krynki

For my friends from the Krynker Verein, which consists of Jewish descendants and friends of the town of Krynki in Poland, I have translated the previously untranslated Yizkor book "Krinik in Khurbn" from Yiddish into English on a voluntary basis. 

I have provided it with the Yiddish transcription according to international YIVO standard, plus many notes, hyperlinks, photos and pictures. A friend from Krynki, Joanna Czaban, started a parallel translation into Polish, but could not finish her work for personal reasons.

The author, Abraham Soyfer (Sofer), describes in his work very touching and stirring his beautiful time as a youth in the town of Krynki, which comes to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the Second World War. Abraham joins, among others, a partisan group, but gets into German captivity, which he survives only by a trick of a Jewish friend. 

This is followed by detailed and emotionally very moving descriptions by the author of his terrible time in Auschwitz, where, among other things, he joins groups of the resistance and is actively involved in the blowing up of one of the crematoria. Abraham describes how he meets the last survivor Krynkis, his future wife, in Auschwitz and saves her life. Before the final liberation, he is sent to the terrible concentration camps Stutthof and Hailfingen-Tailfingen from where he has to start his "death march". 

The book ends with a "YIZKOR" section, commemorating the individual innocent people bestially murdered in the Shoa. I have also included in my work two chapters from the other, already translated Yizkor book of Krynki, "Krynica Wies", and translated them again completely new: The description of the Krynki massacre on the day before Passover in 1942 and a "list" with the names of the inhabitants of Krynki before the outbreak of the war (with place of residence).

In the mentioned, already translated "Krynica Wies" some short fragments from the "Krinik in Khurbn" were included, but they differ not insignificantly from the original book.

I am very happy and thankful that the Polish painter, Prof. Zdzislaw Nitka, who himself visited Krynki, allowed me to use his pictures.