The spiritual and cultural life of Korczyn since the second half of the 19th century to the outbreak of WWII
During the second half of the 19th century the culture of the Jewish of Korczyn
during the period consisted of studying the torah, the shulhan aruch (codex of
Jewish orthodox customs), and living the life of a Hassid. Their life was based
not only on the ethical and moral teachings of the principles of the halacha
(religious law) in accordance with the torah and the talmudic sages but on the
wisdom of the sages. 100 years ago, Jews of Korczyn did not subscribe to
general studies. Reading a non-religious book was considered profanity and even
negation of religion. One could almost be considered a non-believer. In those
days, you could not find a Jewish home in Korczyn with a general book, even in
homes of non-scholars. Ordinary people would have at home books like moral
preaching, stories of saints such as “Praises of the Baal Shem Tov”,
“Stories from grandfather Spoler” and Sefer Hayashar-the Right
Book”.
Children were not sent to regular schools. When the ordinances were issued for
compulsory education, parents would pay the doctors two kronen Austrian money
(to get notes stating that the children were sick and needed to stay home).
Rudimentary writing and reading skills as well as some basic knowledge of the
local language were acquired through the pages of the book “The Letter
Writer”. Basically the parents wanted that their children should be raised
as torah scholars, even the rich wanted their children to be known for their
torah learning. The Jews of Korczyn did not about things outside their
community and furthermore were not interested. No newspaper reached the
township, Reading a paper was considered a waste of time, which could be
better, used to study the Talmud. Besides, there was always the fear that the
written material will tend to weaken the religious base of the reader and
slowly weaken the entire religious foundation that was built for generations to
give sustenance and strength to the religious Jewish way of life.
A small illustration of the mental attitude of the time: the event took place
in the second half of the previous century. One morning, Fishel Mener entered
the study center and shouted to the effect that there was a fire in the house
of Naphtali Raab. People stopped the prayers and run to save the house. To
their astonishment, they saw no fire or smoke. They returned to the study
center and Fishel Mener is still talking about the fire. The congregates try to
calm him by telling him that there is no fire but Fishel Mener continues to
scream that there is a fire. Then he admits to the congregants that he saw
Zishe Beck, Naphtali's son-in-law, read a paper. This he considered a serious
fire.
The first years of the present century
With the beginning of the present century, young boys and fellows sat in the
study center and studied Talmud from dawn to dusk. Quietly or surreptitiously
they also studied non-religious materials. Besides dealing with the sea of
Talmudic knowledge they also delved into the secular world of knowledge,
especially Hebrew and Yiddish literature. The parents did not only object to
their children reading Jewish history books by Prof. Gretz but also general
books on Jewish topics. Even books dealing with the philosophical implications
of Job were considered smacking of enlightenment, which was forbidden. Even
very pious Jews avoided reading such material for fear of being labeled
religious doubters. Nobody was caught red handed reading books or newspapers
but rumors were afloat. Perhaps a parent spotted his children reading secretly
such material but he would not divulge it. But the place was small and no
secret can last forever and it soon became apparent that people were reading
the “Lemberger Togblat” (Yiddish daily newspaper published in Lemberg
or Lviv or Lwow), first secretly and then publicly. Amongst this circle of
readers, we can describe Haim Levi Tzeiger. He was a Talmudic scholar and a
very pious Jew. He studied not only religious texts but also other Hebrew
texts. Rumors had it that he sympathized with the idea of returning to Zion, in
other words he was a Zionist sympathizer.
Haim Levi had a long beard and curled peyot (side curls) that no barber ever
touched. He wore a long caftan, a black velvet hat and under it a black velvet
kippah, a long woolen talit katan (leibtzudekel) with the fringes hanging on
the sides and a pair of boots on his feet. Shoes represented modernity or
progress in Korczyn. Haim Levi thus incorporated torah, faith, and self
respect. Others young men, not of the scholastic caliber of Haim Levi, also
dressed in the traditional Hassidic garb. No fellow would dare
wear a jacket or a simple hat. Some of these young men created in Korczyn in
1909-1910 the first Zionist group called „Halutz” The town went
berserk, who were these hoodlums? Who were these non-believers? Others
identified them as Zionists.
A Zionist to an old Korczyner Jew was a non-believer, a denier of the articles
of faith. They all implied that Haim Levi Tzeiger had a hand in the development
of this apostasy. They even implied that the name of Halutz stands for the name
of Haim Levi Tzeiger. The fact that he never entered the place or gave support
to the group did not squash the rumors. The club continued to function and
provided lessons in Talmud, bible, Hebrew, Hebrew literature and the concept of
Love of Zion. The club was limited to men.
The period following WWI
During WWI, the Austrian army drafted all men from the age of 17 to 50. Many
men never left Korczyn in their lifetime, suddenly they met people from
different cultures who were exposed to the modern way of life. Korczyn was
occupied by the Russian army, which caused many Jews to flee to Hungary,
Bohemia, Moravia and Austria proper. The war and the migrations caused great
upheavals in the life style of Korczyn. Young people started to dress in modern
fashion. Yeshiva students who studied in the beth hamidrash started to wear
regular hats, they trimmed their beards and peyot and began to read newspapers
and general books.
Parents began to look for son-in-laws that had acquired some general education.
Brides to be were also required to have some general rudimentary education.
Parents wanted their children to read and understand a Polish newspaper as a
way to insure their ability to exist in the world. For the competition for
survival became fierce with each day. The Polish Prime Minister, Skladowski
urged the Poles to fight the Jewish predominance in the field of commerce. He
urged the Polish masses to move to the cities and open stores in order to
compete with the Jews. The masses did not move but enough Poles took the advice
and moved to the cities and competed with the Jewish merchants. The latter
suffered hardships and some even folded. Daily economic existence became
harsher with the time.
The parents realized that their children must be educated and trained to cope
with the new threats if they were to survive. They could no longer isolate
their children and expect them to survive on their own in the contemporary era.
One had to know how to speak to a client, one had to learn some manners, one
had to learn how to explain finances, briefly, and one had to get an education.
As the mishna (Talmud) says ”It is nice to study torah and respect as
long as it enables one to earn a living” (loosely translated by the
translator). Parents started to send their children to public schools. There
were no yeshivas in Galicia that combined religious and secular education.
Korczyn had a sizable number of highly self-educated students that were mostly
former yeshiva students. They formed the literary backbone of Jewish life in
the city. The average Jewish person hardly played a role in the cultural life
of the hamlet. The Warsaw Yiddish daily paper “Heint” also published
a weekly literary issue called “Der Weltspiegel” (The World Mirror).
This publication invited writers to write short stories on the theme of Jewish
life, about 1929. The first prize was to be 100 zlotys, the second price 50
zlotys and the third prize 25 zlotys. Prominent authors wrote short stories for
the newspaper.
Second prize was awarded to a former Korczyner yeshiva student for his short
story “The Auction” based on the annual matzo flour sale held in the
beth hamidrash of Korczyn. (Each community had to provide matzoth for the poor
people. So the community held auctions as to who would provide more matzoth for
less money). The author was the talented Yossef Weber who combined torah
knowledge with human decency. He also wrote the short story “The
Fisherman”. Both stories appear in the Yizkor book.
The youth that was not attracted to the synagogue, dressed modern and formed a
variety of organizations and clubs such as the Zionist organization, the
Hashomer, Betar and a library. Both genders participated in these activities.
They even organized theater performances and dance events that did not get the
support of the parents. Still, the Jewish population did not desecrate publicly
the Sabbath. Most young people wore hats or headgear. Organizations like
“Aguda” or “Mizrahi” (religious Zionist organizations did
not exist in Korczyn).
Jewish life hundred years ago in Korczyn
A hundred years ago, a Hassidic Jew (and who was not a Hassidic Jew in Korczyn
in those days) wore a beard and peyot, a long black overcoat (capote) to the
ankles with side pockets. No split in the back which would indicate modern
dress. A black velvet hat and a black velvet kippah or yarmulka under the hat
but not completely covered by the hat.(People could see that he was wearing a
kippah under the hat). A loose belt or a gartel would tie the coat around his
waist. The belt would always be carried even during prayers. Saturday and
holidays, all married men wore a streimel (fur hat). Even the coachmen took his
horses to drink on Shabbat in his streimel. A newlywed carried his streimel for
the entire first week after the marriage. Everybody wore boots, or shoes
without laces that were considered modern.
Women wore very long dresses and had to pick up the dress if it rained or in
order not to sweep the dust. All married women had their heads shaved and wore
a kerchief. On Saturday, they wore silk kerchiefs. Under the kerchief, there
were special combs to give the kerchief some shape. Well to do women carried on
Sabbath or holidays above the head kerchief, headbands that contained pearls or
diamonds. No married women wore her own hair. This was considered an outrage
and bordered on lewdness. Even sheitels or wigs were not worn in Korczyn.
Many women maintained the family while the husband studied in the beth
hamidrash. Frequently the tasks in the family were divided, the mother provided
the income, prepared the food, kept the house and worried about all the needs
of the present while the father studied and worried about the heavenly future
for the family. Her sole concern was that after she passes from this world she
should be next to her saintly husband. These men were called in Korczyn after
the name of their wife, for example: Hersh Miriam's, that is Hersh the husband
of Miriam, or Itsche Blimele's, that is Itsche the husband of Blime. Wives that
remained at home or took care of the house were refereed to as Malka Zalman
Leibs, that is Malka the wife of Zalman Leib, or Feige Hersh Yankel's, that is
Feige the wife of Hersh Yankel, or Haitsche Israel Itsche's.
Nobody was called in Korczyn by his or her family name. Everybody, men and
women, were called by their Yiddish first name and the father's name, for
example: Yidel (Yehuda) Gedle's: Idel the son of Gedles, Haim Wolf Yankele 's:
Haim the son of Wolf Yankel, Haitsche Israel Itsche: Haya the daughter of
Israel Itsche. The custom of calling people by their family name started with
the end of WWI. And was proceeded by mister, or misses. People were referred as
you unless they were officials or married, then they were referred as you in
the polite form.
Friendly relations
From Rosh Hodesh Elul until after Yom Kippur, every Jew walked the streets of
Korczyn with trepidation and hoped to be inscribed in the book of the living.
Everybody hoped that his prayers for health, income, and peace for himself, his
family and for all of Israel would be accepted. Everybody tried to be on good
terms with everybody else and if someone did something to offend somebody, he
would try to make it up to him by every means at his disposal in order to get
his pardon. Thus friendship was restored.. The old-timers always complained
about the present day people who did not take things seriously. Once Jews loved
each other and shared their joys and sorrows but today it was different. When a
merchant failed in Korczyn once, people used to collect money and put him back
in business. They used to refer to Korczyn as the small Israel.
When somebody had a visitor on Sabbath or Holiday, people used to send gifts to
the house: a cake, fruits, beer. A child would bring the items and indicate
that this was for the guest and the father would soon arrive.
Indeed, the family would arrive and spent time. When somebody married, the
shamash (care taker of the beth hamidrash) would go from house to house and
invite the people to come to the reception.
Sickness
When someone was seriously sick, the Jews in town were worried about him. He
was on their mind and everybody went to visit the sick person and people tried
to help him with everything that they could, whether financial or medical help.
If money was needed to bring a specialist from Krakow, then a collection was
made and the money was available, to save a person meant saving a whole world.
Perhaps this attitude was once prevalent, certainly this was not the case in
our times. We can't report of such wonderful relations between people.
Sabbath
Who can describe a Sabbath in Korczyn in those days. An entire town rests,
absolute standstill. All stores closed all traffic at a standstill. The town is
wrapped around in a blanket of silence, a majestic silence of sorts that reign
in the city. Jews go to the mikve (ritual bath) before their prayers.. Jews
review the parshat hashavua (section of the torah reading for the Sabbath), or
hum the talmudic tunes or sing the songs of Sabbath meal. All these tones float
from the open windows to the market area. The restful Sabbath afternoon sleep
gave everybody the feeling of a restful day. Mordchai Schiff from Jerusalem
states that a Sabbath in Korczyn can't be compared to one in Bnei Brak of today.
Parental respect
In those days, the father was the patriarch of the family in all respects and
his word was law. One couldn't joke about a father's statement or ignore it.
His words almost had the sanctity of one of the commandments. Respect for a
father was the highest compliment one paid to his parents. A son would never
think of taking his father's seat at the table in his absence. A personal story
comes to mind that we ourselves witnessed. Ber Den owned one room where he and
his five children lived. When his mother, Malka, the wife of Zalman Leib, was
very sick , he took his mother to his one room and took care of all her needs.
All this was done in one room. Ber gave his bed to his mother and he slept on
the floor. When his mother wetted the bed, Ber would clean the bed, wash her,
take her out for fresh air and bring her back to a clean bed. Everybody saw
that it was done with sincerity and kindness. His face showed a certain
happiness that indicated to everybody that he was happy to do to something for
his mother.
Marriages
A matchmaker arranged marriages in most of Galician townships. Social status,
financial status, family status played important roles. A merchant or an
innkeeper was on a higher scale than the Hebrew teacher in the heder. In the
USA, a Hebrew teacher is an important person and frequently referred to as
rabbi, teacher and has lots of prestige. In the little towns of Eastern Europe,
the Hebrew teacher was regarded as a non-achiever, someone without ambition or
drive, incapable of earning a living. someone that merely existed but happened
to know a little of religion. Thus, the Hebrew teacher was usually a poor
person in the town. A textile merchant or a metal dealer would not consent to
the marriage of his children with those of the melamed or Hebrew teacher, even
if the latter 's children were individually more capable or smarter than their
counterpart. Still in did not matter, since the father's occupation placed the
children in a particular class. Love did not exist in Korczyn a 100 years ago.
If a marriage resulted as a result of love, the parents would not divulge it
for it was considered in poor taste. Dating was considered a lewd business even
if the parties came from respectable homes. Places like Korczyn, where the
children knew each other from birth and grew up together, parents tried to
marry them with children from out of town. To stand and talk to a girl in
Korczyn was unheard of. To ask a girl on a date was madness. The matchmaker
arranged marriages. The matchmaker did not invest money into his business, all
he had to invest was time and effort which the Jews of Korczyn had plenty. He
negotiated once or twice. If he failed, there was no loss on his part. If he
succeeded to bring the girl and to boy together, he made money. There were
plenty of matchmakers, everybody tried their hand at the game. The going rate
was usually 5% of the dowry. There was almost something intriguing about
marrying somebody from an other place. Yankel the matchmaker comes to Meshulem
and brings a special proposal, a beautiful bride, plenty of family prestige,
has all the niceties, something special. Or he has a scholar, a fine man, great
potential, comes from a nice family etc.. If things moved correctly, the mother
of the future groom would travel to see the future bride and the father of the
bride would travel to see future groom and interview him. If both sides agreed
to the match, a temporary agreement or tenaim were signed.. The parents wished
each other mazal tov and set the date for the wedding.
The bride and the groom would not meet each other until the day of the huppah.
More modern couples would arrange to meet half way between the township prior
the wedding day. The meeting was always arranged and never between the groom
and the bride but in the company of others. Both young people were usually so
excited and nervous and had practically nothing to say to each other. The
parents of the couple would agree to the terms and a plate was broken when an
agreement was reached. On returning to his place, the future groom would search
someone to write for him a scholarly letter to his would be in laws. They of
course would show the letter to everybody in their town. The bride would try to
find someone that could write a nice Yiddish letter to her in laws that would
be shown to everybody. Both sides tried to impress the people with the
wonderful match that was arranged.
Problems marrying children
To marry children were very difficult at all times and even the Talmud says
that to arrange a marriage is as difficult as crossing the Red Sea. This, what
is difficult for the Almighty is certainly no easy task for the simple parent.
To marry a child, especially a daughter with limited substances was no easy
task. Prior to the destruction of European Jewry, the economic situation of the
Jews was getting worse since the opportunities for commerce were constantly
shrinking. Yet, this was the base of Jewish existence in Eastern Europe. So to
marry children became a real problem. There was also a tradition that a girl
has to be provided with a dowry. If she had no dowry, her chances of marriage
were very limited. A thousand dollars of dowry was considered a poor dowry.
Young men had no professions or trades. They could not get jobs even as
janitors since the Poles would not let them enter the factories. So the only
thing left to do was commerce as their fathers or relatives did. But commerce
requires money and this is where the dowry came into play. If the parents of
the girl had money, then there was no problem. However, if there was no dowry,
the problem became acute. The standard of living was also high, young couples
did not want to live with their parents, and they wanted their own flats of 2-3
rooms, which were very high, since few new buildings were built in the small
town. Indeed, the problem of marrying a daughter prior to WWII became a serious
situation for poor parents.
Similar situations in the past
A hundred years ago, it was also difficult to marry children but not to the
extent of today. A young men had nothing to worry, even a poor fellow, as long
as could sit and study a bit of torah. As the saying of the period was,
studying torah was the best business. The father of a girl practically bought
the fellow as a son-in-law. He bought him all the clothes that consisted of
silk overcoat or bekeshe, a silk under coat or halat and a streimel or fur hat
for Sabbath. He also purchased a regular overcoat for daily use, three pair of
hard slacks, 5-6 shirts, a velvet black hat and a pair of boots or shoes. As a
dowry, the father promised to provide 200-300 silver thaler (Austrian money)
and a flat was no problem. The father gave the young couple their sleeping
corner in the apartment. The father, mother and the children moved to the
kitchen. The latter were huge by comparison with today's kitchen. One bed was
placed in one corner of the kitchen and the other bed in the other corner of
the kitchen. Between the beds, they placed a big table and chairs where the
family ate. Benches that were seating places during the day, were pushed
together at night and served as beds for the children. If more room was needed,
a child could sleep with the father or mother, or begs filled with straw were
placed on the floor at night and removed in the daytime Income was no problem,
for the young family ate with the rest of the family. All that was needed was
an extra setting. The mother could always increase the amount of soup, or bread
by adding some boiled potatoes in the dough. The bread tasted just as fine and
lasted longer. The father would go to Naphtali Raab, or Moshe Rothenberg, or
someone else and vouch for the merchandise that would be granted to the young
couple. They would take the merchandise and place it in a corner in the
kitchen. The merchandise would be displayed Friday at the market in Korczyn or
Monday at the market in Kros. The couple would pay up their debts and pocket
the profit for they had no expenses. Rent was free, food was eaten with the
family, his or hers, and clothing was hardly purchased after the wedding.
Everything was fixed, repaired and repatched. The shoes, boots and pants were
constantly fixed. Even if the pants were patched, it did not present a big
problem since the overcoat covered it. With time and savings, the young couple
moved into their own place. There was no dining room or living room sets, or
wall to wall carpets. The young family followed the pattern of their parents.
The style was primitive and simple, the bare necessities of life. They had
little and needed even less. Their life style was easygoing, happier, less
worrisome and warmer than the present generation. This generation is richer in
material well being. It lives on a higher economic, social and cultural level
but lacks feeling and spirituality. Raw materialism corrupts the heart and soul
of man.
Relations between Jew and non-Jew prior to WWI
Friendships never existed between the two groups. Jews never met Christians.
They existed in different worlds that did not relate to each other culturally
or socially. Everything separated these two groups: religion, culture, language
and clothing. The Jew in the small town dressed completely different from the
non-Jew. He also lived differently and talked differently that is Yiddish. The
Jew and the Christian met only when they needed to sell or to buy something.
Jewish and non-Jewish children did not mingle. Jewish children did not attend
regular public school in those days. Most of the non-Jewish families lived
several kilometers from the city with the exception of two poor Christian
families. The majority of the Christian population at the time consisted of
peasants, hardly a literate person amongst them. The only people that could
read were the priest, the teacher of the public school, the doctor and the
pharmacist and they all came from different areas of Poland. The local farming
population did not believe in educating their children. The peasants as a group
were not ant-Semitic, although some hated Jews due to their religious beliefs
that the Jews killed their Lord. On occasion a Polish youngster would scream at
the sight of a Jew that all Jews should go to Palestine or that Jews are like
Russians. But in general Jews lived in peace with their Christian neighbors.
There are no records to the effect that a Korczyner Jew was ever physically
attacked for being Jewish by the Christian neighbors. In 1919, when Poland
celebrated its independence with beating Jews or tossing them out of running
trains, or pogroms of one sort or another, the city of Korczyn remained calm.
The nearby city of Kros witnessed a full-fledged attack on Jewish stores and
stalls in the market since it took place on the traditional market day of
Monday. Korczyn remained quiet. The mayor, Michael Miensowicz and some of the
influential Poles of the city visited the homes of some of the agitators and
warned them not to start “celebrations” or trouble in Korczyn. With
the exception of some broken windows in the home of the Rothenberg family, the
Korczyn Jewish community spent a few fearful days.
Relations between Jew and non-Jew following WWI
With the proclamation of Polish independence in 1919, relations between Jews
and Christians changed overnight in Korczyn. Under the Austrian administration,
the number of Jewish officials in Galicia exceeded the number of non-Jewish
officials. Most of the judges in the courts and high school teachers were
Jewish. They were assimilated Jews and sometimes even hid the Jewish ancestry
but they did not preach ant-Semitic diatribe to their students. All these
Jewish officials were summarily retired or fired with Polish independence and
their positions granted to Christian Poles, many of whom were fanatic
anti-Semites. Polish high school history teachers taught their students that
Polish Jews were not part of Poland but a foreign element. An element that is
unreliable and interested in creating a state within a state, in other words a
Jewish state within Poland. The Jews of course were responsible for the
economic crisis in Poland since they controlled the commerce of the country.
All the capital was concentrated in Jewish hands. The economic solution was
very simple, get rid of the foreign element that is the Jews and replace them
with Poles. The latter will assume the positions held by the Jews as well as
their financial possessions. For the wealth was accumulated in dealing with
Poles. These simplistic solutions were offered to the Polish student body that
steadily grew. Many farmers now sent their children to school and they absorbed
this anti-Jewish poison, which intensified with time. Polish youth developed a
hatred to the Jew and especially to the Jewish trader and merchant. Polish high
schools graduated thousands of students who could not get jobs nor could their
parents afford to send them to university that was very expensive. As a result,
many high school students returned to the farms and sat at home, doing nothing
for it was below the dignity of high school student to work on the land. With
the government slogans that Poles should enter the field of commerce, many of
these students decided with the help of their parents and the government to
enter business. They knew how to read, write and mathematics. They could also
appeal to the Pole to buy from his own kind instead of from the Jew. Some
Polish farmers bought homes in Korczyn for their educated sons from Jews that
were leaving town. The Poles immediately opened stores. The stores proved to be
a failure. The Polish peasant ignored the government slogans and preferred to
shop in the Jewish stores where he could handle the merchandise, bargain with
the merchant, offer a very low price, walk out of the store and return later
and offer a higher bid for the merchandise. These tactics could not be
performed in a Polish owned store. The Polish owner started with a higher mark
up, did not permit the handling of the merchandise, was not crazy about
bargaining and other antics of the market. At the Jewish store, credit was
extended and re-extended while in non-Jewish owned stores the customers did not
want to barrow for fear of not being able to pay on time and have their name
ridiculed. The Jewish store owner spoke to his client softer and more
businesslike than the Polish owner who had very little sales experience or
merchandising knowledge. The new Polish storekeepers soon realized that their
dreams of wealth were evaporating, they closed the stores and joined the ranks
of the educated unemployed elements who spread anti-Jewish poison through the
country. All these slogans and proclamations that were issued by the government
and the press merely encouraged more anti-Semitism.
Aaron, he is the crisis
In the thirties of the present century, when Hitlerism ruled Germany and sent
an overflow of anti-Semitic poison across the borders, the Polish anti-Semites
even tried to exceed their neighbor's deeds. Jewish students were forced to sit
on the left side at the high schools and universities. Jewish female students
were flushed with water hoses or their faces scarred. Polish students picketed
Jewish stores and urged Poles not to buy there. This poison even reached
Korczyn. There were no attacks on Jews or pickets in front of Jewish stores but
the feeling of hatred was there. The feeling that if they could do away with
the Jews of the town they would gladly do it. Slogans to the effect that Hitler
is on the march were frequently heard and provoked laughter. The elder
generation of farmers did not buy readily the political anti-Semitism. He was
mainly interested in his farm and the local affairs. He dealt with the Jew for
generations and was rather satisfied. But all around him, everybody talked and
wrote about the economic crisis and the Jew was behind it all. Even the simple
farmer started to think that there must be some truth if everybody says that
the Jew is responsible for the economic crisis and that the Jew acquired a
fortune on account of dealing with the farmer. The latter did not know how, he
knew that every item was more expensive in the Polish owned store than in the
Jewish store. But the papers stated that all the houses were Jewish owned.
Something must be going on that only the intelligent Poles understood. The
farmer was told how hard he works while the Jew stands in the store and does
nothing. But the Jew lives much better than the farmer. The Jew can afford to
buy a rooster that the farmer can't afford to eat it since he must sell it to
the Jew. A great majority of Jewish traders barely had enough bread for their
family let alone meat. The Polish farmer always had food for his family, be it
wheat, potatoes or other produce. The trader was constantly manipulating,
twisting and turning to make ends meet. His entire possessions did not match
the worth of the farm or the implements. The constant worries of payments and
credits were a constant companion of the trader. Yet, everybody pointed at the
fact that he purchased a rooster for Sabbath. When the farmer came to town on
Sunday to church. He saw all the posters calling him to come and hear the
speeches about the economic crisis, the causes and the solution. In 1936, two
schoolteachers, Stecz and Urbanek, in Korczyn staged a school play in the
municipal auditorium. Both teachers were natives of the nearby hamlet of
Gosztiniec. The players were children aged 10-12. The play begins, the curtains
part, on the stage we see a council of children debating the economic crisis.
Suddenly, a child dressed as a Jew appears on the stage. Another child shouts
and points at Aaron, he is the crisis. He is the walking crisis. Another child
states that he will kill Aaron, this will merely solve one problem. You have to
remember that we have three and half million such problems in Poland states
another student.
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