Drogobych, Ukraine (p.171)

Up to the 1840’s, Boryslaw^[1] was a mountainous hamlet with a very small Jewish community.^[2] But after mineral wax^[3] was discovered within its boundaries, Boryslaw developed rapidly and the number of Jews increased yearly. Jews from Drohobycz used to come to Boryslaw to search for wax and oil. They dug pits forty to seventy meters deep without safety devices and brought out the wax by lowering men in large buckets into the pits to dig and bring up whatever they found. Everything was done in a primitive manner, without machinery or tools. The excavated rocks were then dispersed on the ground and poor people^[4] would extract wax from them. These [workers, who extracted wax from the stones] were called lepakys^[5]. The well owners were Jews from all over Galicia and so were the majority of the workers. A minority of the workers were Christian peasants from the Drohobycz area. In the first period, until 1880, some 2,500 Jewish male laborers and about 500 Jewish women were employed in this industry. The women extracted the wax from the discarded stones. The wax was then melted. The laborers who did this work were called shmeltzers.^[6] Production in this primitive fashion continued until about 1890. Jews came to Boryslaw from all over the area to earn their living in this industry and as a rule would return to their homes in Drohobycz, Bolechow and Skole for the Sabbath. Only a small number made their homes in Boryslaw. In 1860, only 1,000 Jews were living there. By 1869, there was already an established Jewish community^[7]with a synagogue and twelve Jewish schools.^[8]

Before the adoption of modern industrial machines operated by steam or electricity, there were four classes of Jewish laborers:

Between employers and employees stood an intermediator called a plustok;^[11] his exact duties and the nature of his work is unknown.^[12] He acted as both instructor and cashier and would also arrange accommodation, mainly for the rural laborers. In the first years the workers were paid in kind, with the produce of the mines.

The Jewish population increased from year to year. By 1890 it was 9,047 but then, in 1900, there were only 7,086 Jews out of a total population of 11,631. Despite their numbers, Jews did not occupy important jobs in the industrial part of oil production. Before the modernization of the industry, 3,000 Jews (500 of them women) extracted ozokerite from the rocks. Their daily wages were forty-eight kreutzer of which two kreutzer were paid to the cooperative to which they belonged. A digger (Hauer) received sixty to eighty kreutzers a day. The carriers and washers (Waeschers) were mostly Jews. The workers who turned the treadmill mechanisms (Kurbeldreher) were Ruthenian and Mazur ^[13]peasants.^[14] But aside from them, the melting of ozokerite was only in Jewish hands. The 1890's brought major changes in the composition of the labor force. The Laender Bank of Vienna purchased large areas in Boryslaw and established vertical shafts (Schaechte) not in the old, primitive way, but with modern steam and electrical machinery. Both the Bank of Galicia and the Laender Bank which owned most of the oil wells, tried to push out the small producers. They accomplished this with the help of the National Office of Mining, which was formed in 1880, and the Bergbau-Polizei-Vorschriften,^[15]new laws which the process of excavation. These regulations put an end to previous mining processes. Modernization and mechanization of the mining process brought about increased production. Prior to 1914 there were 268 mining shafts [oil wells] and 22,876 cisterns.

The small and medium size producers began selling their wells and mines, thus creating, between the years 1896-1898, a crisis for the Jewish labor force, which was left without work or income. More than 2,500 Jewish families, about 6,000 people, who were thus excluded from the production process were on the verge of starvation. The banks which owned the wells employed only Christian laborers, claiming that Jewish labor was insufficiently trained. The Christian managers of the wells would openly reject Jews looking for work, telling them: “go look in Palestine”. Christian laborers would not allow Jews to be hired. Only 170 Jewish laborers found employment in the few Jewish firms and even then, not as trained workers, but as operators of water pumps, day laborers, coal shovelers, and other unskilled or ancillary jobs. Gentile workers, even those organized in the P.P.S.^[16] claimed that all the jobs were their monopoly. The Jewish community in Drohobycz and Boryslaw cried out to the Jewish world for help. Committees for the collection of funds were established. Organizations such as ICA,^[17]Alliance,^[18]and Galizische Hilfsverein^[19]collected half a million gulden. The Jewish workers themselves turned to the Second Zionist Congress, which took place in Basel in August, 1898. The workers chose Dr. Herzl as the Boryslaw delegate to the Congress and for this purpose they collected shkalim. ^[20]The Congress received a petition signed by 172 workers. ^[21] In one of the first meetings, Dr. Herzl acknowledged in public the receipt of the petition in which the workers' harsh situation was described. In a few words, Dr. Herzl described the Jewish role in the discovery and production of oil, the establishment of the industry, and the exclusion of the Jews after foreign interests had bought the wells. The Congress did not have the power to do anything concrete for the Jews. Dr. Herzl turned to the Viennese Alliance which promised financial help. The Alliance's representative, Dr. Friedlaender, travelled to Boryslaw and formed a committee of assistance [whose members were] Kornhaber, Pomerantz, Liechtenstein, Eher (the Jewish School principal) and two representatives of the workers. Mme Baroness Hirsch^[22]contributed 10,000 florins and with the help of the Alliance, 500 workers emigrated to America.

Dr. Abraham Saltz, who was at that time chairman of the Ahavath Zion^[23]in Tarnow and engaged in the establishment of a Galician Moshava^[24]in Palestine, saw these workers as suitable candidates for this settlement. Both he and Dr. Saul Rafael Landau looked to the Jewish aid organizations for help. In March 1899, Dr. Landau brought a delegation of workers to Vienna and presented them before Von Gutmann, one of the coal mine owners in Maharish Ostrau^[25] and efforts were made to employ them in the mines. Dr. Landau also helped Dr. Saltz in enlisting potential candidates for emigration and settlement in Palestine. The General Assembly of Ahavath Zion, held in Tarnow, April 25-26, 1899, debated plans for the emigration of 800 families of workers from Boryslaw. Two of the families' representatives, Haim Friedmann and Yaakov Streuser, described their desperate situation and harsh conditions and demanded that every effort should be made to help them emigrate to Palestine. The Assembly decided to send fifty workers promptly to the Moshava “Mahanaim”^[26] in Palestine to be employed in a variety of jobs. To this end the Board of Directors was instructed to collect funds from all the [Jewish] Austrian communities to cover the expenses.

Ahavath Zion sent an appeal to the Jewish communities in England, Germany and other countries concerning the workers of Boryslaw and demanding help [raising funds] to make their emigration to Palestine possible. Dr. Landau travelled to Germany to discuss the matter with the Bnai Brith Lodges. The fundraising succeeded and large sums were collected.^[27] However none of the emigration plans were carried out.

Among the workers not absorbed into the industrial process were two groups: the independent entrepreneurs and the daily wage-earners.^[28] The first group made a living through brokerage and the contracting of various services and ancillary jobs. Despite their independent status, their economic conditions were strained. Most of them were lebacy^[29] but only sixty of them “earned” their living. How did they earn it? The oil which formed in the shafts was stored in large containers near the mines. From there it was pumped by pressure pumps (Druckpumpe) through pipes to the railway station where giant containers, each 50,000 hectoliters in volume, stored the oil. In many instances the diameter of joining pipes was not exact or the pipe would burst and oil would spill to the streets. The lebacy, who would be on guard around the clock waiting for this opportunity, would rush to the spot with barrels, gather the oil and sell it at reduced prices. Often the mine guards would confiscate the oil. Eventually the mine owners drove the lebacy, who numbered more than sixty, out of business.

The other unemployed men became horse and cart drivers,^[30] night watchmen or small contractors for a variety of jobs. Their situation was dreadful and even those who managed to earn a wage lived in appalling dwellings in crowded conditions, while their Gentile co-workers were settled by the mine owners in comfortable, attractive buildings. The wealthy Jewish well owners (those who were still owners of independent operations) had to change their production techniques as well. They merged into companies and even established a Jewish bank to finance their industry. However it could not compete with the Laender Bank and the American, English and French companies that came at that time to exploit the oil wells. The strict rules and laws on production were also a factor in the closure of the small firms. By 1899, of the hundreds of original firms, only two remained in business.^[31] This, of course, was of utmost importance in the development of the crisis described earlier.

Boryslaw was not an independent kehilla.^[32] It was part of the Drohobycz kehilla and had only an economic committee with representatives in Drohobycz. Actually Jewish Boryslaw was dependent in all its matters on the decisions made for them in Drohobycz. Since the late 19th century, efforts had been made for an independent Boryslaw kehilla, but the Drohobycz kehilla was against it. Independence was finally obtained in 1928.

There was, however, a [Jewish] cemetery in Boryslaw^[33] founded in 1886 on a lot donated by David Lindenbaum and managed by the [local] Hevra Kadisha^[34]until 1928. The cemetery was expanded in 1913. In addition, the Jews of Boryslaw had a bath house^[35] in a building of its own. In 1890, the Viennese Alliancefounded an elementary Jewish school with 353 pupils. The number of students rose to 403 in 1896 and 554 in 1901. Later the school was incorporated into Baron Hirsch's Educational Network.^[36]

n Kislev, 5647 (1887)^[37] the first Society of Hovevei Zion^[38] was founded in Boryslaw. It was similar to its sister societies active then in Russia.^[39] Its goals were:^[40]

1. “To lend an hand to the poorer Sons of Israel willing to find refuge in the Land of Israel, to live [there] from the labor of their hands, in the work of the field and the industry of their deeds.

2. To try to expand the idea of Erets Israel in our land of Galicia by a special periodical newsletter that our Society intends to publicize after G-d Almighty will expand our limitations and our expenses will be covered by donations from our learned friends and not from the Society's purse. And if this publication will bring harvest or fruits [earn money] let it all be part of our society's fund”.

This society was the only one in Galicia to publish the extent of its activities in Hamagid^[41] The rules of the society stated that:

1."... every man who lends his hand to our society shall give an advance payment of not less than fifty kreutzers and the rich will better [this sum] but the poor will not worsen it. And every month (there shall be a payment of] twenty kreutzers to the fund of our society not counting donations and the redemption of vows, every man according to the call of his heart.^[42].

2.The money gathered by the Society will be sent directly to Jaffa, to the head of Hovevei Zion there, since according to the laws of our country we cannot join forces with societies from countries abroad. The money will be sent once a year or twice a year according to the decision of those presiding over the society or otherwise if a majority of members decides thus in due place and due time.

3.The society will be governed by twelve delegates chosen from members of the general assembly by the majority of their peers in a written ballot once a year and by their decision, all the matters of the society will be determined. They will serve in office for one exact year and their name shall be called “Committee of the Chosen”.

4.Anybody recognized as Israeli [i.e. Jewish TN] may enter our society upon the approval of the majority of its members but for those known to be bad, vile or unscrupulous who might damage the society by their behavior.

5.The members of the presiding committee above mentioned will elect from them a “Head of the Society” and one deputy to fill his place in his absence and an agent in whose hands the society's fund will be entrusted, a scribe,^[43] a secretary to manage the protocol books in order and by the regulations and a bookkeeper and all of them together shall be called “The Leading Committee”.

discuss the matters of the society and the arrangements needed for its benefit so it may endure

to appoint two of its members (rotationally every month) to collect the fees and monetary debts.

7.General assemblies will be held once a year in Hol Hamoed Sukkoth^[44] and at that time the Leading Committee will present its report on the activities during the year, and at other times [a General Assembly may be called] upon request by the majority of the chosen and the right has been given to the members to present their opinions anytime they wish to do so and to discuss new matters as well as annulling old [resolutions] made by members”^[45]

This society, which in a short while numbered 112 members, succeeded in its goals and even founded a special synagogue, the Hovevei Zion Society Temple.

But the Hassidim^[46] who were numerous, undermined the society's activities and compelled the Rabbi^[47] to dissolve the society. This [anti Zionism] lasted only for a short time.

Efforts to re-establish the society started in 1891 and at the beginning of 1892 a new society was formed, numbering fifty young Bnei Zion members, under the influence of the Hebrew author, Zvi Eleazar Thaler, who was serving at that time as a teacher in the Boryslaw school.^[48] They also founded a library and a reading hall. However, quarrels and the pursuit of personal fame contributed to the decline of the society.^[49] To try to resuscitate it, Dr. Friedmann, Michael Berkowicz and others visited [the town] on August, 23, 1894, and succeeded in establishing a committee headed by President L. Schutzman^[50] and consisting of: L. Kaufman (Secretary), Y. Moldauer (Treasurer), Kilhoffer (Scribe), Y. Waldmann, Wilhelm Rosenfeld, Y. Scheinfeld, M. Kreisberg, A. Szmer and R. Hauser. Indeed they returned the Zionist movement to life through lectures, balls and celebration of holidays^[51]. Almost immediately eighty new members (among them twenty women) joined. In due course the number of members rose to 300, a third of them women. In fact, a new society called Unity (Einigkeit) was formed and in its General Assembly the following were elected to the new committee: L. Schutzman (President), Gezehlt (Deputy), Leo Kaufman, Schpitzman, Nadel, Rosenfeld, Rothenberg, Z. Waldmann, Mendelssohn, Kalhoffer, Singer, Schpayer and Itshak Ewen.

Despite antagonism from the Hassidim, Itshak Ewen founded a Hebrew school in April, 1893 for those children attending the public schools [in the mornings] so that they might learn the Hebrew language in the afternoon.

Boryslaw was privileged to have two famous Yiddish and Hebrew literary figures active in the field of education: Itshak Ewen and Zvi Eleazar Thaler. Itshak Ewen was born in 1861 in Rozwadow. After his first wife died, he married a native of Boryslaw and lived there for many years. He was influenced by the intellectuals of Drohobycz, earned his wages from being a melamed^[52] and published articles in Holders of the Faith^[53]and other papers. From 1893 onwards he was a regular contributor in Hamagid where he published articles, translations and short stories. He played an active role in the public life of Boryslaw and was instrumental in educating a whole generation of young people who joined the National Movement. When the Hebrew school of Boryslaw was forced to close, he moved to Lwo’w in 1895, established a school called "Education for Youngsters" there^[54] and published four pamphlets on the history of Israel^[55] written according to the strictest orthodox tradition. Since he was well acquainted with the oil business of Boryslaw he began to work in this field in 1902 but lost all his fortune and in 1909, emigrated to the USA, where he settled in New York working as an assistant editor in the publication, Otsar Israel.^[56] He began writing in Yiddish in several papers as well, especially Hassidic stories which made a great impression on Yiddish readers. In 1914 he became a regular writer in the daily Der Tog.^[57] His Hassidic stories, published in 1917 in the book, Fun der Guter Yidisher Welt,^[58] describe the life and daily lives of the Hassidim. Later in 1922, he published Fun dem Rebns Hoyz:^[59]the first part, Zikhroynes un Mayselekh fun Gute Yidn: Rozin un Sadigure,^[60] and the second part, Tshortkov, Husyatin un dos Sandzer-Sadigure Makhloykes.^[61] This was published later in Hebrew. He fell ill in 1925 and traveled to Vienna seeking a cure but died there on 16 Adar, 5675 (March 12, 1925).

Zvi Eleazar Thaler was a completely different type of person. He was born on July 18, 1840 (17 Tamuz 5600), in Zloczo’w. He received a traditional education but was influenced by the Haskala^[62]through his elder brother, Israel Thaler (1835-1921). His brother, who was a Hebrew teacher for many years in Galicia, emigrated in 5657 (1897) to Eretz Israel (Palestine) and became a teacher in Rehovot^[63] until he died in 1921. Through his brother, Zvi Eleazar Thaler found employment as Hebrew teacher in Botosany^[64] from 1866 until 1886. In 1892 he came to Boryslaw as a teacher of Hebrew. Even as a young man he had published articles and poems in the Hebrew press. In 1878, during the Berlin Congress that dealt with the problem of the Jews in the Balkans, he published a book in Hebrew, Teudat Israel (Brody, 5638 - 1878) on equal rights for Jews. He translated Lessing's play, The Jews, ^[65] into Hebrew and published the following works: a collection of poems entitled, Siftei Renanot (Drohobycz, 1892); Kol Elohim,a philosophical treatise in ten parts (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Mistarim,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Nahalat Avot, a short story, (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Shlomim,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5665 [1905]); Osher Shamur,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5667 [1907]); Icharti Lavo,a short story, (Lwo’w, 5665 [1905]); Ziona, poems, (Drohobycz, 5672 [1912]); Hed Ha-Am, poems, (Drohobycz, 5673 [1913]). In Boryslaw he guided young people towards Jewish national ideals and centered around himself the cultural activities of the Jewish intelligentsia. From Boryslaw he moved to Pomorzany. He died there on the 19th Adar, 5690 (1920).

Another [famous] Boryslawian was the Hebrew writer, Dr. Michael Berkowicz. He was born on the 7 Shvat, 5625 (1865). He was educated in a traditional manner in Drohobycz and at the age of thirteen moved to Lwo’w, where he came under the influence of a circle of young intellectuals. He began learning [foreign] languages and science under the influence of Moshe Bernfeld, Dr. Shimon Bernfeld's^[66] brother, and Mayer Maimon, a pupil of Reb Nachman Krochmal.^[67] Severe economic hardship compelled him to work during the day as an apprentice in a commercial firm and study at night. He had already published articles and reports in the Hebrew press. In 1886 he decided to dedicate himself to study. He passed the matriculation exams with the help of his friends, Dr. Aaronprayz, Dr. Yehoshua Thon and Dr. Mordechai Broide, with whom he founded the first Zionist Society, “Zion” (a major Jewish nationalist influence on the youth). Together with Dr. Aaronprayz, he published works in Yiddish. In 1893 he entered the University of Vienna and the rabbinical beth midrash^[68], where he excelled in the field of Semitic languages. When Dr. Herzl appeared in public, Dr. Berkowicz stood at his right hand; he translated Herzl’s book, The Jewish State,^[69]into Hebrew and was his secretary and liaison with the Hebrew-speaking world. Dr. Berkowicz was among the founders of the Yiddish weekly, Der Yud, in Krakow and among the assistants of the publication, Welt. After returning to Vienna he joined the editors of Monumenta Judaica and published [scientific] papers and a peirush^[70] to the Targum Oncolos.^[71] From 1906 onwards, he taught religion in the gymnasium (secondary school) in Bilicz. He translated into Hebrew the Zionist writings of Dr. Herzl and published the archives and writings of the Jewish socialist writer, Aaron Lieberman. He died on 18 Tamuz, 5695 (1935) in Bilicz.

Another native [of Boryslaw] was the Hebrew teacher and writer, Avigdor Mermelstein (AMES'H), born in Boryslaw in 1850, son of one of the pioneers in oil refinery, Reb Biniamin Mermelstein. He had both a religious and secular education. As a young man he showed a tendency towards Haskala but since there was no opportunity to pursue this [in Boryslaw], he moved to Przemysl. There, under the auspices of the intellectual circle headed by Isaac Shealtiel Greber (who was himself influenced by the theories of S. D. Luzatto), he became fond of the idea of settlement of Erets Israel and the renewal of the [Hebrew] language and literature. In 1875 he was among the founders (in Przemysl) of the First Galicianer Society for Settlement of Erets Israel and was very active in its development. Mermelstein was one of the leaders of the Zionist Movement in Galicia and for many years occupied important positions in its organizations. Not only did he found the Society for the Settlement of Erets Israel in his town but also did much to promote the idea of settlement in other Galician towns. Until 1876, he worked as a teacher in Przemysl and then suddenly, embarked upon a tour of the world, visiting India and, some say, even Japan. On his way back, he visited Erets Israel for a brief time. Interesting enough Mermelstein did not like to speak about his travels. In 1879 he returned to Galicia and settled once again in Przemysl. For two years he co-edited (with Isaac Shealtiel Greber) a Hebrew biweekly, called Haohev Amo Verets Moladeto^[72]written from an assimilationist point of view and advocating outreach to the Polish people. The idea was "to awaken the love of our brother Jews towards the Poles, the masters of the land and our benefactors, teach our youngsters to speak the tongue of the people of the land, (i.e. Polish) so we will not be considered by them mutes who cannot open their mouths" (No. 12, p. 6). But his fervor for the Hebrew language brought him back to the National Movement, since Mermelstein could not agree with the idea of assimilation. Also at that time, news arrived from Russia regarding the pogroms, the awakening of the youth and the BILU movement.^[73] This reminded Mermelstein of his activities in 1875.

He joined the National Movement and served it faithfully until his death on September 14, 1925. From 1882 on, he was the living spirit in all activities regarding Jewish education, settlement of Erets Israel, and "national action".^[74] He was one of the first Hebrew teachers in Galicia who taught the "Hebrew by Hebrew" method.^[75] He also wrote political commentary in Hamagid and poems in the literary anthology, Otsar Hasifrut, edited by Gerber, and Sifrei Shaashuim, edited by Itshak Franhoff. He published Hebrew and Yiddish works in which he explained, in a simply stated style, the essence and goal of Zionism. Particularly popular were his articles entitled Der Tsionistisher Seyder,(1893), Khanuke likhter, (1897), A briev fun Tsion tsu alle ihre liebe kinder geshickt durkh ha-Tsiyoni oyf Tishe-bov shnas 1825 le-goluseynu (1894). Mermelstein ran the Hebrew school in Przemysl until he left in 1912. Afterwards he lived in Bilitz,^[76] where he was engaged in commerce.

In technical matters, the prominent Jews were: Yehoshua Marcus Eisenstadt, Eng. Itshak (Isaac) Stiefel,^[78] Dr. Joachim Hausman, and Jozef Bloch, who published several of his investigations. As previously mentioned the Jews of Boryslaw made efforts to become an independent community (kehilla). This independence was achieved during Polish rule, mainly through the efforts of Leo Kaufman. On April 18, 1928, the Lwo’w Wojewo’dstwo^[79] permitted the Jews of Boryslaw to separate from the Drohobycz kehilla and establish an independent community.^[80] On December 10, 1928, the first Community Committee was formed; Leo Kaufman was elected Chairman of the Assembly and Leo Schutzman, Managing Director. After laying the foundations of an independent kehilla they called for general elections which were held on November 5, 1933. Due to the heated election campaign, the committee did not elect officers until August 7, 1934. Leo Schutzman was elected Chairman of the Managing Committee, Eliahu Klinghoffer as his deputy, and members: Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Avigdor, Abraham Abraham, Yehoshua Marcus Eisenstadt, Lipa Feuerberger, Mendel Freund, David Greber and Isaac Holzman. The following were elected to the General Assembly: Max Stern (Chairman), Abraham Garfunkel (Deputy), Melech Backenroth, Shmuel Bloch, Eng. Eleazar Lipa, Nahum Jolles, Moishe Lerman, Faivel Melzer, Nahum Roth, David Scheinfeld, Abraham Segal and Marcus Sternbach.

1. Talmud Tora Aleph, 200 pupils, headed by David Schreiber, Israel Lifshitz and Aharon Einstein.

2. The “Tarbut” Hebrew school, headed by Mrs. Freund, Mrs. Z. Goldstein and Eng. Stiefel.

To maintain these institutions the kehilla had an annual budget of 5,000 golden Polish coins. The main welfare institutions were:

2. A day care for the children of the unemployed, founded by Mrs. Helena Pomerantz and Iza Schutzman.

The [religious] personnel was headed by Rabbi Dr. Avigdor Yaakov, Head of the Rabbinical Court of the Sacred City of Drohobycz, six dayanim (judges), six shochatim (ritual slaughterers), a secretary, and two clerks in the Community’s office. The yearly budget of the kehilla was 100,000 golden Polish coins.

Footnotes:

^[1]The names of the towns in Galicia have changed according to their national status. In modern Ukraine and during the Soviet regime, the name of the town was and is spelled Borislav, while under Polish and Austrian rule it was spelled Boryslaw. Throughout the text we have used spellings which would have been familiar to the author. Thus the Polish Drohobycz is used instead of the Ukrainian spelling, Drohobich or the Russian, Drogobych; Lwo’w, as spelled in Polish, is used instead of the Ukrainian Lviv or the Austrian name, Lemberg. In this translation, if and when the name of the town appeared in Latin characters in the original text, we have used the spelling of Dr. Gelber.
To visualize the geography of the region use either a modern Ukrainian (see www.infoukes.com/ua-maps/oblasts/oblast02/page-c08.html) map or an old Galician map. (TN)

^[2] According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center Multimedia Learning Center Online the presence of Jews in Boryslaw was recorded as early as the 17th century. The Jewish Cemetery Project (http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/e-europe/ukra-d-f.html ) quotes an unidentified source claiming “the earliest known Jewish community dates from 1404”, but it is not known if this information is accurate. TN.

^[3] The Hebrew term used by Dr. Gelber is donag adama, a verbatim translation from the Polish wosk ziemny (soil wax). This natural hydrocarbon, known popularly as “natural wax” and scientifically as ozokerite, has been known to humanity since antiquity. According to Prof. Fahri Goodarzi, director of the Geological Survey of Canada, it was used in ancient Egypt for the embalming of mummies. A natural resource, it is found only in a few places on earth. The discovery of ozokerite in the Boryslaw/Drohobycz area was the main reason for the establishment of candle factories in the nineteenth century. TN

^[4] The adjective “poor” is meant here to describe unskilled people of low socio-economic status. TN

^[5] Lepak (Pol) is derived from the word lep which means fly-paper for catching flies. It was the name given to those who extracted the ozokerite from the discarded rocks. The wax was virtually glued to the rocks and the lepakys “unglued” the mineral from them. Like many other terms in this document, this is a hybrid word; lepak (singular) has been made plural in Yiddish to become lepakys . TN

^[6] Shmelzer comes from the Yiddish verb shmelzn, to melt, fuse. TN

^[7] The Jewish community in Boryslaw was represented in the “Day of the Congregations” in Lwo’w, 1878, by two representatives, A. H. Ringel and Leib Neta Grinbaum. AN

^[8] The original Hebrew text is beth midrash (house of study) which usually means a religious, not a secular high school. TN.

^[9] No one outside of Boryslaw seems to have used this word. No Polish dictionary mentions it and Dr. Gelber did not translate it. The only reference found is by Polish author, Stanislaw Giza, in his book On the Screen of Life (1972), who tries to explain the words kuczinierze (male) or kuczynierki (female) as of Ukrainian origin. In Ukrainian a kucha is a “hut” or “shack”. Girls who looked after the birds were called kuczynierki.. Therefore this term might allude either to the women picking up paraffin or rocks from the ground in a bird-like fashion or those dwelling in huts. Either way this is not translatable term. TN

^[10] Veshers (Yid): washers. Dr. Gelber uses in the text both the Yiddish term (here) and further on the German equivalent. (Waeschers) TN

^[11] Plustok (Pol): communicator. TN

^[12] The text is not clear whether his duties were unknown to the workers or to the author. TN

^[13] Ruthenian, like Rusin (Rusyn), is a name given to the Eastern Slav people who settled along the southern slopes of the Carpathian mountains then situated within the boundaries of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now part of Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary. Within this group are the Lemko and Hutsul people. Mazurs are people from East Central Poland. TN

^[14] Dr. S. R. Landau, “Unter Juedischen Proletarien”.Welt, 1898, Nr. 31. AN 1

^[15] Bergbau Polizei Vorschiften: regulations for mining which were enforced by the Imperial Mining Inspectorate. TN

^[16] P.P.S.: Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, the Polish Socialist Party. TN

^[17] An organization founded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) (see http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/rothschild.html) in 1882 and later divided into PICA, an office dealing with settlement in Palestine, and ICA, the charitable organization which operated throughout the Jewish World. Both agencies were tools for raising aid to Jewish communities in distress. These two offices were later amalgamated again and eventually ceased to exist in 1957. This organization should not be confused with ICA, the Jewish Colonization Agency established in 1891 by Baron Maurice de Hirsch (see footnote 36) to foster Jewish immigration from Russia to Argentina for agricultural resettlement. TN

^[18] Alliance Juive: the Jewish Alliance in France, an organization for promoting education, charity works and fund raising. TN

^[19] Galizische Hilfsverein: the Galician Charitable Committee. TN

^[20] Shekel (Heb): Originally the common standard both of weight and value among the Hebrews in Biblical times, estimated at 220 English grains. The “shekel of the sanctuary” (Ex. 30:13; Num. 3:47; 2 Chr. 24:6) was the standard temple contribution, with which public sacrifices were bought. Therefore the term was chosen by the Zionist Movement to name the ticket that was both proof (receipt) of the payment and the legal ballot for its members in the elections held during the Zionist Congress. TN

^[21] Protokoll des Zionistenkongresses ,1898, p. 48. AN 2

^[22] Mme Baroness Hirsch (nee Clara Bischoffsheim, 1833-1899), a wealthy woman in her own right (being the daughter of the principal partner of the International Bank of Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt), was responsible for the personal philanthropic activities of the Hirsch family.TN

^[23] "Love of Zion", one of the Zionist organizations later amalgamated into Hovevei Zion (footnote # 38).

^[24] Moshava (Heb: settlement, a cooperative type of Jewish settlement in Palestine based on mutual aid, shared labor and resources, but private property. TN

^[25] Maharish Ostrava: Maharish meansa basin or fields; Ostrau: the German name for Ostrava in Northern Moravia. Maharish Ostrava was the location of the Guttman brothers' coal mine and steel mill complexes in Ostrava. Velvel (Wolf) and Duvidl (David) Guttman, originally fromMoravia (today's Czech Republic), arrived in Vienna in the middle of 19th century. Initially their business was the delivery of coal to Jewish homes. They were lucky and soon became rich, so rich that together with Baron Salomon Meir Rothschild, they purchased a coal mine in Vitkovice (today an Ostrava suburb), and later the local metallurgical works. At the same time, brothers acquired the title of Ritter, and were known as Wilhelm Ritter Von Guttman and David Ritter Von Guttman. David Ritter Von Guttman received a letter from Jewish workers of Boryslaw in which they asked him to provide employment in his mines. The engineer sent by Guttman to Boryslaw to review the circumstances returned to Vienna with a report in which he stated that Jewish workers were not capable of doing heavy physical work and would certainly not work on Shabat. In the circles of Jewish intelligentsia in Vienna it was said that David Von Guttman himself was the author of the report.TN

^[26] Mahanaim is situated north of the Sea of Galilee and 28 miles west of Haifa.TN
(see http://www.calle.com/info.cgi?lat=32.9833&long=35.5667&name=Mahnayim&cty=Israel&alt=1709)

^[27]Dr. S. R. Landau. Sturm und Drang im Zionismus. Wien, 1937, p. 164-166. AN 3

^[28] Alexander Barakash, "Der galizisher Californie", Yidische Arbeter, 1907, No's. 5, 8, 29. AN 4

^[29]Lebak (s), lebacy (Pol): the people who collected the crude oil, which had leaked from the pipelines into the nearby Tysmenica river, where they were able skim it from the water. TN

^[30] In the original text, the Hebrew term baalei agala is used. It means owners of a horse and a cart. In Yiddish it is pronounced balegule and means a driver. TN

^[31] The name of these is not mentioned in the original text and we have not been able to establish which were the two remaining Jewish companies. TN

^[32] Kehilla, from the Hebrew word kahal, meaning congregation, is the term used for a community which has its own social and religious offices and officers: Rabbi, shochet, mohel, Hevra Kadisha, etc. TN

^[33] Laurel White visited the cemetery on Oct. 28, 1999. See her report and others as described in DROGOBYCH II on the page http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/e-europe/ukra-d-f.html . TN

^[34] Hevra Kadisha: holy society, the charitable association which looks after the care and burial of the dead. TN

^[35] What Dr. Gelber probably meant was a mikve, or ritual bath house. TN

^[36] Baron Maurice Hirsch (Baron Moritz von Hirsch auf Gereuth, 1831-1896) German- Jewish businessman and philanthropist, born in Munich, established a foundation under his own name to foster educational work among the Jews in Galicia and Bukovina. See http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/idxref/3/0,5716,26683,00.html. TN

^[37]The month of Kislev started that year on November, 28 and lasted until December 27, 1887. TN

^[38] Hibat Zion (Affection for Zion) and its members, Hovevei Zion were the precursors of Zionism as we know it. Their goal was Jewish settlement in Palestine and they stood against the trends of Emancipation advocated by writers like Leon Pinsker. See http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,61624+1,00.htmlTN

^[39] One of the ironies of history is the fact that Imperial Russia was the cradle of Zionism. The Hibat Zion movement was founded there shortly after the rise in antisemitic feeling following the murder of Czar Alexander II in 1881.TN

^[40] What follows is a verbatim translation of the archaic Hebrew used in the original and quoted by Dr. Gelber. TN

^[41] Hamagid, the first modern Hebrew weekly newspaper, which began publication in Lyck, East Prussia in 1856, reached subscribers not only in Imperial Russia but also throughout the world. TN. This quote is from Hamagid, 648 (22.12.1887) No. 49, pp.388-389. AN 5

^[42]The text is a paraphrase of the Biblical verses in Deuteronomy on the means the Torah allows for the collection of taxes from the people. The redemption of a vow by donating money or offering a gift to the cohanim is also Biblical in its origins. TN

^[43] Probably someone to write down the minutes. TN

^[44] The four or five days of a semi-holiday in the middle of the Sukhot festival (Feast of the Tabernacles) when only partial work is allowed. It falls in autumn. TN

^[45] Printed by correspondence from Boryslaw in Hamagid, 5647 (1887) No. 2, p. 12. AN 6

^[46] Galicia was known as the cradle of the Hassidic movement. The BESH"T, founder of Hassidism, (see http://members.aol.com/LazerA/baalshemtov.html) lived in the cities of Brody and Tlost. Rabbi Yitschak of Drohobycz was one of his original sixty pupils and the founder of a Hassidic court, inherited by his son Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zolochow. See http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/rzeszow/rze042.html. TN

^[47] It is not clear from the text who this Rabbi was but it is safe to assume that the text refers to the Chief Rabbi of Drohobycz. TN

^[48] Hamagid,1892, No. 17. AN 7

^[49] Hamagid,1892, No. 24. AN 8

^[50]See Note 77.

^[51] Hamagid,1892, No. 15. AN 9

^[52] Melamed (Heb): a private tutor to wealthier families. TN

^[53] Makhzikei hadat,an orthodox monthly in the Hebrew language. TN

^[54] Hinukh lanoar. TN

^[55] Divrei Yemei Israel.TN

^[56] Treasure of Israel. TN

^[57] The Day. TN

^[58] From the Good Jewish World. TN

^[59] From the House of the Rabbi. TN

^[60] Memories and Tales of Good Jews, Rozhin and Sadigura. TN

^[61] Cherkov, Husiatin and the Debate between the [Rabbinical courts] of Sand and Sadigura. TN

^[62] Haskala: education, a cultural movement founded in Germany that advocated the expansion of Jewish education to include secular (national and international) knowledge. TN

^[63]Rehovot was one of the first Moshavot in Palestine, south of Rishon Lezion and 7 km north-east of BenGurion airport. (See http://www.calle.com/info.cgi?lat=31.8969&long=34.8186&name=Rehovoth&cty=Israel&alt=68 ) TN

^[64] A town in Romania, close to Iasi. TN

^[65] German dramatist, critic, and writer on philosophy and aesthetics. His one-act comedy, Die Juden (The Jews) appeared in 1749. (See http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/2/0,5716,49052+1,00.html) TN

^[66] Shimon Bernfeld, a famous Jewish author and historian. His most famous work was Sefer Hademaos (Book of Tears), Berlin, 1924, 3 vols. It was a historical work on the persecution of the Jews.TN

^[67] Krochmal, another name for Nachman Cohen (1785-1840), the Jewish secular historian and writer who was born in Galicia. He was a leader of the Haskalah, or Jewish enlightenment and a founder of conservative Judaism. He was the author of More nevukhe ha-zman (Guide for the Perplexed for Our Time), a treatise in Hebrew on the philosophy of history and on Jewish history. This book had considerable influence. Krochmal's philosophical thought was centered on the notion of “spirit”, particularly the “national spirit”, the spirit that is proper to each people. TN

^[68] This was the highest Rabbinical Institute which conferred upon its alumni Smichut, the title, status and honor of Rabbi. TN

^[69] Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) by Theodor Herzl, a slim pamphlet issued in February, 1896, and sub-titled “An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question”, in which Herzl presented for the first time his innovative program to establish a state for the Jews. TN

^[70] Peirush (Heb): meaning, an explanation and commentary to the Holy Scriptures (e.g. the Peirush Rashi (See http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1105rashi.html) TN

^[71]Targum Onkolos. Targum is the distinctive designation for the Aramaic translations or paraphrases of the Pentateuch. Onkelos, a convert to Judaism in the second century A.D. was reputed to be a translator of the Bible into Aramaic. There is an historic confusion of his identity with Aquila, a translator of the Bible into Greek. TN

^[72] Haohev amoverets moladeto (Heb): he who loves his people and his country. TN

^[73] BILU, a name derived from the Hebrew abbreviation of Isaiah2:5 “O House of Jacob, come let us go” (Beit Yaakov lechu u(ve) nelecha). This was the acting group of Hovevei Zion that committed itself to the political-economic and spiritual-national revival of the Jewish people through settlement in Syria and Erets Israel. (See http://www.wzo.org.il/home/movement/bilu.htm.TN

^[74] This term is difficult to translate. Literally it is “the national doing” or “nationalist action” and differs from the term “National Movement”, which encompasses groups devoted to political action. “Nationalist action” refers to all activities associated with the renewal of Judaism: the Zionist Movement, the revival of the Hebrew Language, the education of the masses towards socialism , the training of Jews for manual work, as well as many other ideas promoted by both the leaders of secular Judaism and the Zionist Movement in the late 1890's and first decades of the 20th century. TN

^[75] A method of learning Hebrew without translating the meaning of words to foreign languages, developed by Eliezer Ben Yehuda (1858-1922), who “revived the Hebrew language”. (See http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/ben_yehuda.html). TN

^[76] The German name of the town Bielsko-Biala near Auschwitz-Oswiecim. TN

^[77] Lipa Schutzman was probably the most colorful man in Boryslaw. He started as a wagon driver in an ozokerite mine, became an office clerk in the same mine and later the owner of an oil exploration company and other oil companies and refineries. He took an active part in the development of the oil industry between the years 1881-1919 and in organizing the producers at the national level. He was a member of the City Council between the years 1905-1918, Mayor of Boryslaw between 1906-1917 and President and Vice President of many industrial organizations and associations. He was also known as a philanthropist. Lipa survived World War II as a shoemaker in Russia and eventually settled in Gdansk, Poland where he died. TN

^[78] Engineer Itshak (Isaac) Stiefel is the author of the article, “Boryslaw as a Center of Oil Production and the Role of Boryslaw Jews in this Industry”, pp. 177-184 in this yizkor book, Memorial to the Jews of Drohobycz, Boryslaw and Surrounding Towns. TN

^[79] Wojewodstwo, (Pol): province. Lwo’w Wojewo’dstwo means the provincial authorities of Lwo’w. TN

^[80] Published in: “Okolnik Woj.[ewo’dski] we Lwo’wie Z dnia, 10.4.1928, L.A.D, 6843". The decree added to the community of Boryslaw the villages of Popiele, Schodnica, Dolhe Podbuskie, Nowy Kropiwnik , Lastowki, Majdan, Opaka, Zalowiec AN 100 . Thus Greater Boryslaw was formed, which became, after Warszawa and Lo’dz, the third largest town in area in Poland. The reason behind the incorporation of so many villages in the county was the desire to centralize the management of the exploration of the oil fields and oil refining industries. After 1924, crude oil was no longer exported and only 40% of the refined product was sold abroad. TN

History of the Jews of Boryslaw

Translated by Dr. Shimon Barak and Barry Dov Youngerman

Donated by William Fern

Edited by Valerie Schatzker

Footnotes and commentaries were compiled by Dr. Shimon Barak and Alexander Sharon

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