Amongst the most interesting items that Ganzach Kiddush Hashem has in its collections are tiny mezuzahs containing the traditional parchment. The mezuzahs were apparently written by Rabbi Eliyahu Spitzer z”l, the rabbi of the Sombor community in Yugoslavia, who also served as a sofer stam (scribe of Jewish holy texts). The rabbi distributed the mezuzahs to members of his community upon the outbreak of the war.
Based on the information we have, Rabbi Spitzer, who was a very influential and prominent figure in his community, wished to distribute the holy object to the residents of his town to accompany them during the war, as he realized they would face a bitter and cruel fate. By the time he was deported to Auschwitz, the rabbi had distributed dozens of mezuzahs that he personally handmade. It is possible that he hoped that members of his community would be reunited through the mezuzahs postwar.
The Jewish community of Sombor, which numbered 1600 Jews prewar, was gradually sent to forced labour and extermination camps, starting with the men and senior officials, and later ending with the women and children. Tragically, most of the community perished in the Holocaust. Rabbi Spitzer himself was deported to Auschwitz and then to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, but by the grace of G-d, he survived and immigrated to Israel, where he built his family. As mentioned, several of the mezuzahs were donated to Ganzach Kiddush Hashem and they will G-d willing be displayed in the permanent exhibition of the new museum. In the meantime, visitors may view them at Ganzach’s current location.
