Tractate Bava Kamma, with vowels and Yiddish translation, by Rabbi Shmuel Hibner. Brussels, 1952.
On the flyleaf are a handwritten dedication and the signature of the publisher Netanel Lefkowitz of Brussels, who writes that the translation and the vowels were done during the Holocaust in 1942-1943 during the Nazi occupation of Belgium.
In his introduction to the book, the publisher relates the circumstances of the writing of the book at that time after Hitler's plan became apparent: annihilation of the Jewish people and the destruction of all Torah study and Jewish culture which had evolved for more than one thousand years among Eastern-European Jewry. Therefore, the publisher initiated the translation of the Talmud to preserve its knowledge among the remnants of the Jewish people lest they remain a thing of the past, G-d forbid. For this purpose, he requested Rabbi Shmuel Hibner to undertake the task of translating the Talmud into spoken Yiddish in a clear coherent translation faithful to its source. This mission was done with great devotion during a time of danger and hardship, under the German occupation while experiencing hunger and war privations.
On the leaves of memorialization which appear further in the book are the names of his family members who perished during the Holocaust [most in the Warsaw ghetto], including a special memorialization of libraries and books destroyed and burnt by the Nazis.
On the title page it is noted that this book is the first volume, but no additional volumes of this translated edition of the Talmud were printed.
[4], 118, [3] leaves. 36 cm. Good condition, original binding - worn and damaged.
Numbered edition, Copy no. 221.