Eliezer Egozy (Niselboim)

MEMORIES OF HA'SHOMER HA'TZAIR" (YOUNG PIONEER)

The wide and great Mr. GOLDSHTEIN's yard, a man of Zionist ideas, had a barrack. At the beginning worked there office of Great Sawmill. Then the family Goldshtein gave it to Ha'shomer movement. This was the first club of Ha'shomer movement in Kartuz Bereza. During evenings and especially on Saturdays met there youth for different activities. This branch was directed by YECHIEL URBACH who was not born in Bereza, but lived there because he married a woman of the place.

YECHIEL mobilized a lot of youth to adhere the movement. Among them, BINIAMIN VOLOVELSKY, BARUCH SHTUKER, MOISHE FRIDNSHTEIN, ZISKE KRAVCHIK, CHAIM BAYER, BEILKE TUCHMAN, COMBAT POMERANITZ, CHAIM LAZAROVSKY, NECHAMA IBAR and SHMUEL ZALSTMAN. Then were incorporated other youths, and among them SHIMON RASHINSKY, ELIÉZER (NISELBOIM) EGOZY, YOSEPH NOVICK, YTZHAK MORDECHAI YBAR, DOV LISKOVSKY, REUBEN ZALTSMAN and others that I don't remember now. The branch of Ha'shomer settled down this way in Kartuz Bereza. BINYAMIN VOLOVELSKY was head of my group.

Every Saturday we met in the small barrack, and we used to leave for a walk. Regrettably, the branch doesn't work much time. The conditions to emigrate to Israel were very difficult. Many members that were in the branch, passed to "Betar" movement and abandoned "He'chalutz Ha'tzair" They emigrated to Argentina, because this was the only country to which Jewish youth could emigrate, for not being mobilized in Polish army. In that time, by the middle of the years ' 20 and on, many families emigrated to Argentina.

After several years interruption of Ha'shomer movement activities' in town, it was renewed by a group of young women and men, graduated in Tarbut School who met the activities of the branch. The group was directed by BARUCH FISHER, LITMAN LISITZKY, MITA GERMAN, ZELIG RAVITZ, RACHEL MINKOVITZ, CHANA LUBASHEVSKY, FRUMA POMERANIETZ and SHMUEL GARBER. Helped them very much teacher MILLER and some veteran as MOSHE FELDMAN, YOSEF KAGANSKY, and YTZHAK GROZALKA (GORALY).

As far as we renewed activities of Ha'shomer in the town, we rented a room, and each member contributed some small amount of money to cover rental expenses. Then we passed to the house of MITA GERMAN. We rented there also a big room, and we adorned it with drawings and paintings. I began to paint, and some said that my works were not bad... .The branch was active. We celebrated " Chanuka ". We invited Mr. GRUZALKA, a Bereza man, "Keren Ha'yesod" (Fund for Israel reconstruction) activist in Poland. He was much impressed of our activity and of ornamented living room. He wished us: "See you later in Eretz Israel."

After some time we were in another small crisis. We didn't have money to continue rental payment. We transmitted the difficulty to School Directors. They offered us a space in one of School classrooms . I remember that we organized walks to surrounding places, and arrived to town Kosovo. In Lag Baomer we went to the forest with school students and their flags, since we didn't have permission of local police.

In year 1929 stayed in our city members of the agricultural collective colony that worked in Bluden. We were friends of them, and visited them on Saturdays. They suggested to some of us, mature members, to go to a "Hachshará" of training for future life in Israel. Some registered but only NECHAMA and I come out toward the " Hachshara ". They gave us a presentation letter for the Kibbutz in Kosovo, and we were there half a year. In that time happened bloody facts in Hebron, and there was an interruption in emigration.

After six months, we passed through different collective farms, and at the end we had to return home, and hope emigrate to Israel later. We were witness of a renovated emigration. In year 1932 we got related with people of training farm from Lublin called Bintib (TN: in the path) and we were there half an year. We finally received certificates to emigrate. I emigrated in year 1934 and NECHAMA YBER - who was my wife - in January 1935.