The History of MIEDZYRZEC PODLASKI
In the Jewish sources Mezritch
Podlaski.
A city in the district of Lublin,
in the region of
There is no certainty as to the origins of the
Jewish community in the city. According to one tradition in 1390, the king of
In
1562 The city hosted one Jewish street, one synagogue
that also served as a school and a Jewish cemetery. There is no certainty as to
when the first synagogue was established. Miedzyrzec is one of the
towns in
In 1793, during the second partition of
Jews in Miedzyrzec
By 1674, 21% of the population
were Jews and by 1827 Jews were the majority of the population (65%). Along
the years, the Jewish population increased and their power amplified. At the
time of the Chmelnicki revolts, during1648-49, the
Cossacks reached Podlasie. Miedzyrzec
by than a town in Podlasie suffered 300 deaths. Much
property was looted by the Cossacks as well as by the local non Jewish population.
The Jewish community was revived again in the 18th
century. In 1793, the Jewish request to join the KOSCIUSZKO was denied by the authorities, and the revolutionaries looted
the Jewish community.
In
1815 the Jewish community was accused of Ritual Murder. 11 individuals were
arrested and were only released 20 months later after being acquitted. Three
died while they were in prison.
During
the revolt against the Russians in 1830, there were battles within the city and
the Jews of Miedzyrzec sided with the Poles. When the revolt was
crushed the Russians planned to burn all Jewish property as an act of
punishment. Solomon Cirles,
among the wealthiest Jews of the town, paid the Russians not to torch Jewish
property and the deadly plan was not carried out.
In 1764, after The Council of Four Lands, which Miedzyrzec was part of, ceased to exist, the Jews of the
city began to operate as an autonomous body. Subsequent to the annexation by
Unlike the general area, where most of the Jews
tended to be part of various Hassidic sects, the majority of the community in Miedzyrzec were Mitnagdim (those who opposed the Hassidim). The
relationship between the Hassidim and the Mitnagdim
was amicable. At one point the Hassidic Rabbi Yechiel
Michael Halperin of Kuzmier
served as the Rabbi of Miedzyrzec. Only during the 19th
century, when Rabbi Yom Tov Raphael Lippman, an extreme Mitnagid, served as Rabbi,
did an intense argument occur which culminated in Rabbi Lippman
placing the Hassidim in cherem (excommunication). As
a consequence of his action Rabbi Lippman was forced to leave the community and things reverted
to normal.
Among the other important Rabbis were Rabbi Zvi Hirsch who served during the end of the 16th
century, Rabbi Natan Netta Katzenelbogen who came to live in Eretz
Yisrael and died there in 1689, Rabbi Yehoshua Lieb Diskin
who came to live in Eretz Yisrael and
established the Diskin Orphanage, and Rabbi Issa Shapira who came in 1930.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yakov Wachtfogel
was a rabbi in Meah Shearim
in
In a fire that broke out in 1845, three hundred
houses were destroyed and the synagogue, whose construction began in 1761, and
contained about 3000 seats, was partially damaged. The Beit
Midrash Hagadol (Yeshiva)
that was located across the street, was also partially
damaged. Fires were quite common in Miedzyrzec and
caused great hardship to the Jewish and non- Jewish population. It was not
uncommon to have an outbreak of cholera after a fire, leading to a high death toll.
According to the pharmacist Eichler about 1000 people
died within two weeks in 1848, and the city was cut-off from the rest of the
world. Only the postal messenger was allowed to quickly drop off the mail and
leave.
The city also had several Batei
Midrash (Yeshivot) of
tailors, shoemakers, brushmakers and coachmen, as
well as others which bore the names of their founders. In each of the Batei midrash
there were daily lessons for the general public. The Hassidim had their own
synagogues. There were a remarkable number of charitable institutions which
provided for brides, visiting of the sick, a hostel for the poor, a soup
kitchen, an orphanage, an old age home as well as many other benevolent causes.
In 1850 a stone hospital replaced the wooden one
that had burned down, and one of the hospital’s physicians was appointed as the
district doctor. After World War I the hospital expanded and included several
outpatient clinics including a clinic for mothers and children. In 1925 a
branch of TAZ the Jewish health organization in
The first Jewish educational institution, the
Talmud Torah, had a building constructed in 1867. As time passed, secular
subjects, as well as, Spoken Hebrew were added to the curriculum. When the 20th
century began the number of “modern” Talmud Torahs increased including one
called Talmud Torah and Derech Eretz
(courtesy and respect). When Poland decreed mandatory education, this school
became the Jewish primary school. In Miedzyrzec,
there were two public boys schools and two for girls.
In 1912, with the government’s approval, four high school classes were opened
and one of the subjects studied was Hebrew. Two years before World War I a
yeshiva opened, but closed at the outbreak of the war, and re-opened in the
1920’s.
By the end of 19th century, the cultural
life of the city was vibrant. Writers were invited to give lectures about their
work, a large library was opened that included books in Hebrew, Yiddish,
Russian and German and local drama and theater troupes from outside the city
appeared in the local theater. The local Jewish fire brigade, a volunteer
organization, established in 1904, had its own brass band.
From the very beginning Jewish economic life was
based on merchants and trade. Jewish traders went to the fairs in Germany and
bought textiles and silk which were sold in the local market. They also brought
back books of the Jewish philosopher of the Haskala
(Enlightenment) Moses Mendelsohnn. The young studied
German as well as Polish. In 1775 the city had four separate fairs at fixed
times which attracted both local and foreign shoppers.
By 1782 Jews were granted full rights. The
annexation by Russia opened up many new markets for the Jews. The abolition of
trade guilds by the Russians aided the Jewish craftsmen, who had not been
accepted to the guilds. The Jews were also in the forefront of industry. Tanned
skins were sold throughout the country. In the 19th century the
brush making industry was started, and until the 2nd world war Miedzyrzec was the largest brushmaking
city in the world. Miedzyrzec furs were sold
throughout the markets of Russia.
In 1845 the pharmacist Eichler
built an Eau de Cologne factory that was widely acclaimed, and he participated
in fairs in
In 1906 a Jewish merchant bank opened. During WWI
the economy stagnated. Many of the citizens fled the city and those that
remained suffered great hunger. The Jewish orphanage expanded its activities
and took in Jewish children from other cities.
After the war (1918) the Jews attempted to
rehabilitate themselves but the new borders inhibited trade, both external and
internal. Jewish business also suffered due to the Polish cooperatives which
had been established in the 1920’s.
In 1921 there were about 250 Jewish factories and
enterprises, where only 800 owners and workers were employed. Salaried wage earners
barely earned enough and were dependant on donations from relatives abroad and
from the Joint Distribution Committee. In 1925 Jewish merchants and craftsmen
organized to open a line of credit, and in 1927 a Jewish cooperative bank was
established.
Towards the end of the 1920’s the Jews established
several small factories including metal wire, pens and light bulbs. Jews owned
3 flour mills. The minority of the Jewish population were physicians, lawyers
and other so called free professionals.
The Zionist ideal attracted followers, and in 1893,
twenty members of the Miedzyrzec’s chapter of Hibat Zion came to
Among the youth movements there were Hashomer Hatzair which was
established in the beginning of the 20’s and Gordonia,
which was established in the late 20’s and had its own training farm. In 1926 “Hechalutz” was founded and two years later “Hechalutz Hatzair.” In 1927 “Hechalutz Mizrahi” was established
followed in 1930 by “Tzieri Mizrahi”.
Beitar was established in 1930. In 1923 a sports
association “Bar-Kochba” was founded along with a
drama group and symphony.
“Agudat Yisrael,” a non-zionist
organization established a group in 1920. After a short while a youth group for
boys, “Tzierei Agudat Yisrael” and girls, “Beit Yaakov” were set up. Among the socialists, the “Bund” was
established in 1901. A strike that they called for in 1905 shut down the city
for several days. The “Bund” also operated in the cultural sphere. They
established a club, library, a Yiddish school, a youth group called Tzukonfit (Future), a children’s group called Skif and a sports group called Morgenshtern
(Morning light).
The power of the Jews came to light in the
municipal elections of 1920 when the Jews won 17 out of 24 mandates. Two of the
three members of the municipal council were Jews. S. Kamnin
served as vice-mayor. In 1937, in order to reduce the number of Jews on the
council, several outlying villages were added to the municipal roles, and
therefore the number of Jews on the council dropped down. Before Second World
War, the population of the city (including the outlying villages) was 20,000,
and the Jews population was approximately 90% of them. The municipal boundaries
were 62.7 square kilometers and the majority of the 1600 homes were populated
by Jews. The town hosted 201 homes, of which 180 were owned by Jews. In a
section of the city called “Red”, there were four very large stone buildings,
similar to a mall today. The 88 Jewish shops in the central square of the city
were demolished by the Germans in 1940.
The brush industry, which was known worldwide,
employed thousands of workers with an export value in the millions of dollars.
The tanneries were also well thought of for the quality of their work.
Additionally, the city contained dozens of small workshops and factories. There
were three weekly newspapers as well as a Jewish hospital, a volunteer fire
brigade, a brass band, sport’s clubs, a Jewish high school where subjects were
taught in Polish, a Tarbut school where the language
of instruction was Hebrew, and very many small synagogues (shtibelach).
Ironically, after 500 years of Jewish productivity
in Miedzyrzec the only thing that remains today is
the cemetery.
The heavy bombardment that the city suffered at the
beginning of the war was a foreshadowing of what awaited the Jews of Miedzyrzec. The Germans entered the city on
Among the Nazi groups that were stationed in the
city there were the Gendarmerie and the Schupo,
(German police) who would later be responsible for murdering the Jews of Miedzyrzec. Among the gendarmes was Sergeant Franz Bauer,
who personally killed 1000 of the Jewish residents. In the summer of
1940 six separate work camps were set up where some 2000 Jews worked in
terrible conditions. Many of the workers died of hunger and cold. The Jews no
longer had any rights. Jewish factories were expropriated, among them the brush
factory. Other factories were transferred to Polish
ownership. Jewish refugees continually came from
In December 1941 Jews were ordered to hand over all of their
fur coats to the Nazi’s. Some 20 Jews were murdered on the city streets and
another 75 died during the searches that were carried out by Jewish prisoners
of War from the Polish army that were specially brought to the city.
On
On August 25 and 26 the first action occurred. 10,000 Jews were brutally assembled in the
town square. They were forcibly marched to the train station where they were
put on 52 cattle cars (shipment 566 according to the German inventory) and sent
to Treblinka. Some of the people still thought that they were being shipped to
the “east” and they therefore brought suitcases and personal belongings. Those
deported included men, women, children and infants. The murderers brutally
tortured the infants in front of their mothers as part of a game. Some 2000
Jews were killed in the streets and in their hiding places by the Nazi’s. The
entire operation was commanded by the German S.S general Odil
Glodocknick from
On August 28. 1942, for the first
time in the history of the Jews of Miedzyrzec a Ghetto
was established. A few streets in the old section of town called Szmulowizna were encircled by barbed wire. The Jews who
remained in the city were moved into the crowded area of the ghetto. Most of
the Jewish property was looted by the Germans and by the Poles. Jewish refugees
from
The Second Action took place between October 6 and 9.
Some 7000 Jews were forcibly assembled in the town square. At this stage
everyone knew what their fate was. The Czienki
brothers, who managed to escape from Treblinka, informed the Judenrat of Miedzyrzec and other
Jewish ghettos about the extermination that was taking place. The head of the Judenrat told the Gestapo about the brothers and they were
shot on one of the small streets of the city. After several hours of being
confined to the city square the Jews were locked up in the synagogue, in
inhuman conditions. After three days without food or water the Jews were
brought to the train station and put on cattle cars and sent to Treblinka. A
few managed to jump out through the doors of the speeding train.
Between October 27 and 29 and November 7 and 8 two actions took
place without respite. The Germans, assisted by the Jewish police conducted
searches in the Ghetto. Many Jews were captured and shot on sight. Others were
sent to camps. At this time many lost their will to live and simply turned
themselves over to the Germans.
On December 24 the entire brush industry was
removed to Trawniki. Some 500 men and women were
relocated without resistance. In the summer of 1943 they were transferred from Trawniki to Majdanek, and there,
after a few months of labor, were shot to death.
On December 31, the Gestapo from Biala
Podlaska came to the Ghetto and during their New Year
celebration murdered 65 Jews.
On May 2 and 3, 1943, after a long hiatus, a fifth action took place.
Some 3000 Jews were captured and sent to different
camps. Approximately 200 caught trying
to hide, were marched to the cemetery, forced to undress, and were then
shot. A Jewish youth named Chaim Foga attacked a German
officer and threw acid in his face. On that day the entire Judenrat
and Jewish police were shot to death.
On
On
In 1946 their bodies were brought by the Poles to a
mass grave in the Jewish cemetery.
On