Emmanuel Alper

Emmanuel Alper was born in Pinsk, Poland in 1927. His father, David, was a prominent educator, principal of the prestigious Tarbut Gymnasia (a Jewish high school), and active in the Zionist movement. His mother, Shoshana, taught with her husband at the high school.

On September 1,1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. At that time, the Soviet Union and Germany were allies. They had agreed to divide Poland in half, each controlling one part. Pinsk was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Jews living in Pinsk felt relatively secure since they had little information about the rise in antisemitism under the German occupation.

In July 1941, the situation changed when the Germans occupied the rest of Poland and immediately began anti-Jewish measures. They set up a Jewish Council in Pinsk to facilitate their planned murder of the entire Jewish population of the city. Emmanuel’s father was chosen to head the Council, but he resigned within two days, when he realized he would be required to collaborate with the Nazis. Ten days later, he was executed.

On April 30,1942, the Germans set up a sealed-off ghetto and forced the entire Jewish population, including Emmanuel, his sister and his mother, into the ghetto. It was overcrowded and lacked adequate food and sanitation. Between October 20 and November 1, 1942, nearly all of the 20,000 Jews remaining in the ghetto were rounded up by the Germans and murdered.

Emmanuel was 15 years old.

Jews first came to Poland from central Europe at the end of the 11th century, as refugees from the Crusades. They were welcomed by the Polish nobility, which was eager to use their skills in modernizing their country. Jews were granted charters to live in specific towns and engage in various businesses and crafts. After the massacre of 1648-1649 by the Cossacks, Poland’s surviving Jews were impoverished.

Despite the economic poverty, however, religious and cultural life was rich. Poland was home to some of the world’s greatest rabbis and scholars. Religious observance throughout the large cities and smaller towns, known as shtetlach, was the norm, and religious scholarship was highly prized. By the late 19th and early 20th century, Jewish cultural life in Poland expanded to include political parties and Zionist groups, as well as a wide range of literature and sports clubs. By the 1930s, Poland’s Jews numbered over 3 million and accounted for 10% of the total population.