The Jewish Community Life in Turisk Since its foundation in 1097, until the Holocoaust in 1942 ,the Jews of Turisk built and developed the shtetl . The woods around it were cut down, and saw -mills processed materials, to be shipped by the stream and rivers .Trade and commerce bloomed. Skilled Jewish workers built workshops of all kinds. The Jewish population grew. In the 16th century, a very large synagogue and a" Yeshive"were built. The cultural and religious life flourished. Several times Turisk was occupaied and parts were destroyed,and rebuild. The Jews suffered,but always started again. In the beginning of the 18th century, Turisk became a very important Hassidic center,as Rabbi Avraham of the Hassidic branch of Chernobyll settled in Turisk . Since then until the beginning of the 20th century the Hassidic rabbis of Turisk became famous all over Poland,with hundred of thousands of worshippers in many cities and even in America. Every year in the memorial week of the Magid thousands of Hassidim crowded the Shtetl, praying for help, believing in the Magids power to make miracles. The "Hasscala" wave of the 19th century flooded the Shtetl before the end of the century.ry floaded the he 19th e miracles.din manyk .treams and rivers Beside the Yes- hiva and "Heider" a Hebrew school was built with a Hebrew library. A group of young men founded the Zionist and Youth Organization, dreaming to leave to Palestine. Some young men began studies and in a very short time started writing in time very famous.. During the First World War, Turisk was occupaied by Germany, and suffered from very harsh economic difficulties. The Rabbis residence was burned burned down. He was last Rabbi who left the Shtetl. the war was over ,Turisk became a part of Poland. The community recovered slowly, but the cultural social and political life flourished. The Bund Socialist party erected a new school teaching all the classes in the Yiddish language. This was the first Yiddish scool in our Region of 44 Jewish cities and Shtetls. I want to point out :In Turisk, nine writers and poets+ poets were born and created in Yiddish and Hebrew most of them became famous all over the world. A new Zionist Youth Organization Hashomer Hazair trained itself to defense against Ukrainian pogroms and to be ready to emigrate to Palestine. Hundreds of them took part in the trainings,as tens of them left for Palestine.Turisk did not succeed in surviving economically The majority of were poor people and looking for ways to emmigrate, but the community continued the cultural, educational and Jewish activities. This was the situation when the Second World War started. The Russian-German pact gave east Poland to Russia. For a very short period we managed to be Russian citizens, but we, the Zionist youth were arrested, and a small group managed to run away to free Lithuania. Germany attacked Russia on the 22nd of June 1941. Only a very small group of Jews managed escape to Russia. Most of them survived the war. In two days the German army occupaiyed Turisk. The same day they started the killings in the streets. All the Jews were forced to concentrate in a small part of the Shtetl. Ten persons in a room, with no place sleep, in the worst sanitary conditions imagi- nable. Every day new ordersarrived men were forced to work in very hard conditions outside the Ghetto, in the end of the day less and less of them returned to the Ghetto. Every day new orders: to collect thousands of warm winter clothing for the German army. To collect tens of kilograms of gold for the Germans, if not, they will execute tens of citizen. More than a year of torture and killings the terrible day arrived. All the Ghetto people were forced to march towards the giant pits , of an old bricks factory. Standing naked on the edge of the pit were shotdown into the pits, by the Germans and the Ukrainian militia. The mass murder lasted till dawn. Masses of Ukrainians came to the Ghetto to rob the abandonet property. Some youngsters in hiding opened fire. They runned away calling the militia for assistance . When they arrived, the youngsters set the wooden houses of the Ghetto on fire. The entire Shtetl was burned down, only the roads remained. This was the end of the 900 year old Jewish Turisk! Only a 13 year old boy,Shmulick Boymel, survived. When Shmulik came to the edge of the pit he stood naked with mother and sisters. The shooting and killings went on and on, they were waiting to be shot.A second before being shot his mother gave him a push shouting, 'run shmulikl run! He fell into the pit ,his family was shot and fell after him. When he awoke he climbed out ,found some clothing, and ran into the nearby forrest. His survival is quite an unbelievable "story". When the war was over he met a young girl, who also survived . They married and emigrated to the U.S. Together they started a busines while raising a fine Jewish family. Working haed for years , he became a very wealthy man and newer forgot where he came from. In time they became one of the biggiest donors for the people of Israel, and Jewish communal needs in the U.S.A. We the Turiscians in Israel were not aware of it. In 1992, when Gorbachove was in power, the Turiscians in Israel collected money to erect a tombstone at the mass murder grave. While coming to erect it we saw the bad situation of the grave. Rumors among the Ukrainians told of a boy who ran away from the horrible pit and survived, lives in the U.S.A…Back in Israel we decided to look for help to collect funds in order to enable the renovation of the mass murder grave. Mr.Sam Boymel donated the money for the project. With the help of local engineers the renovation succeeded. A group of twelwe Turiscians ,two generations,who live in Israel and the Boymel family with son and brother from Cinncinati U.S.A. went to the grave for the uncovery Ceremony. During the voyage we discussed the idea to establish a place in Israel to memoriase of our Shtetl-Turisk.A place where the coming generations can come+ witness learn about their roots, about the Jewish Stetl ,its life, culture,and history. In Israel, we were informed of a museum project by the "Moreshet "Institution to memorialise the heroic uprising in the Ghettos. The Mordchai Anieliewich Museum will become a Holocaust Study and Research Center. The exhibitions will commemorate the actions of the Jewish Youth Movements during the Holocaust, their roots in evident hundreds of the Jewish shtetla in Poland. Our shtetl, Turisk, because of its unick history for more than 900rd years as an important" sample "of Jewish life culture, and creativity, was chosen to represent all the Stetlach in Poland and Ukraina ,the cradle and soil were the youth movements grow to become the initiators and leaders of the resistance and upraising in the Ghettos. Mr. Sam Boymell made a generous donation,together with other donors. The building is almost finished. With more than half complete. Now we must fill the "shell". We the Turiscians in Israel are appeal to you-" to lend a hand" (a Yiddish saying) to help finish the very special and important project ,for us and the generations to come.