אוסף יעקב קפלן

This album includes photographs, documents and souvenirs from the period of Yaakov's service in the Haganah and the British Army between the years 1937-1946. Yaakov Kaplan was born on 17.7.1912 in Vawkavysk, Russia to Zeev and Eva (Chava) nee Shapiro, the first boy after 6 girls. His parents ran a small hotel and his father also served as the' gabai' in the synagogue. He started learning in the 'cheder' at the age of three and then moved to the 'Talmud Torah'. He then studied at the Hebrew Gymnasia, "Tarbut". At the same time he joined the Youth Movement, "Hashomer Hatzair", where he came to the decision to move to Israel. In 1934 Yaakov gave all his savings to his sister Gita to help her and her family move to Israel. A year later he too came to Israel thanks to having received a 'certificat' as an expert on orchards. (The British Government in Palestine allocated 250 certificats to people working in orchards, per the request of the farmers). Yaakov arrived in Rehovot at the orchard of Ovad Eisenberg, the Head of the Orchard Farmer's Union, with just half a lira in his pocket. After three days he understood that Eisenberg did not intend to hire him so he moved to Haifa. He worked there paving roads, in the building industry and drying the swamps in the Haifa Port. Upon immigrating to Israel he joined the ranks of the Haganah and was involved in training and guarding in the north. In 1939 he joined a course of the Mandatory Police completing it as a special police constable. He volunteered in the Haifa fire station until the beginning of 1940. In 1942, he enlisted in the British Army and underwent driving and logistics training courses. He was assigned to the British Army's Ordnance Unit, based in Tira south of Haifa, as a truck driver. He later was transferred to a base in Rafah (Gaza). However in November, after stopping the progress of the German army in El-Alamein, his unit was transferred to Tripoli, Libya. He met with the Jews in Gharyan, known as the 'cave dwellers' because they lived in caves south of Tripoli. In 1944 with the formation of the 'Jewish Brigade' he volunteered as a truck driver and was sent with his unit to Fiuggi, Italy. After three months of training they joined the Eighth British Camp fighting to occupy Northern Italy. In May 1945, with the surrender of the Germans, the unit reached Udine in Northeast Italy. There they heard about the horrors of the Holocaust. From there they moved to Mureck in Southern Austria, where he served as a translator to Russian and German as part of the Special Military Police, whose job it was to find wanted Nazis. In December he received a short furlough and went home to Israel to marry Riva (Rivka) Nol whom he had met in Haifa. Three days after the wedding he returned to Austria and his unit was moved to Semmering. There he learnt about the murder of the Jewish community of Vawkavysk, the deportation of his family to Auschwitz and of their death there. Yaakov said that from that day on he has never known total and complete joy. Vienna, which was not far from Semmering, was occupied by Russian troops. The proximity of the two cities enabled meetings between the soldiers of the different armies. This collection includes photographs of these meetings and especially one unusual meeting- the Passover Seder in April 1945 in Vienna, where Jewish soldiers from the American, Russian, British and French armies participated. Yaakov served as a translator for the Russian soldiers. In addition to his service in the Jewish Brigade, Yaakov was recruited into the Mossad for a clandestine operation for the 'Aliyah Bet, which was based in Vienna. His job was to help smuggle refugees from the Russian-controlled area into the British-controlled area on their way to Italy and from there to the shores of Israel. The activity was very dangerous and risky and in fact he was caught, but his punishment was reduced. Yaakov Kaplan was released from the British Army on August 7, 1946, after more than 4 year of service. Upon his return to Israel he joined the ranks of the Haganah. As a veteran he was accepted to the Teacher's Seminary in Jerusalem (paid for by the British Mandate Government). He was trained as a teacher in a one-year program. After the establishment of the State of Israel Yaakov was drafted into the IDF and served in the Engineering Corps. From 1949 he worked as a teacher of Bible, Mishna and Language in the Bat Galim School in Haifa. During this period his two daughters, Chava (1948) and Michal (1950) were born. The Kaplan family moved to Kibbutz Chanita in 1853. Yaakov worked as a teacher and as co-ordinator of the 6th grade. After one and a half years, the family returned to Haifa and Yaakov went back to teaching at the Bat Galim School. Yaakov was appointed principal of the "Aliyah" Elementary School in Bat Galim in 1957. In addition he was the Head of the School for Teacher Training for Uncertified Teachers that was opened in response to the large wave of immigration in the 1950's. In addition he gave classes in Bible and Jewish studies in the evening. In 1972 he was appointed to direct the Elementary School Unit in the Leo Bek School in Haifa. He held this position until he retired in 1974. Yaakov was in contact with the poet S. Shalom (Shalom Yosef Shapiro), who lived in Haifa, throughout the years and together they ran literary meetings in the school. In addition Yaakov made sure to commemorate his hometown, Vawkavysk, and to relate the history of the Jewish community in the city before its destruction during the Holocaust. Yaakov passed away in June 1995 and is buried in the Haganah plot in Haifa. His two daughters, Chava Brown and Michal Sheref, gave these pictures and this information to the archives at Yad Ben-Zvi. اقرأ أكثر