[Page 46]

The town of Belica sits approximately a kilometer from the banks of the Neman River. The town was small: four streets of one kilometer length, approximately, circumscribed its size. In its center was the courtyard of the synagogue, and there could be found the two Batei

[Page 47]

Midrash – the ‘old’ made of brick, and the ‘new’ made of wood. The latter was burned down in a large fire that broke out on a summer's night during the First World War, and in this fire, many of the homes of the Jews were also consumed. Between the two Batei Midrash, there was a wooden ruin (called the ‘Hekdesh’). Only the skeleton of that building remained, but for many years, it was told, that the Hekdesh served as a lodging place for itinerant beggars. This ‘Hekdesh’ still stood, in its desolation, and it was said that demons and spirits hover within. Because of this, there was a general fright about getting too close to it, when walking alone, and even when in a company, people walked by quickly, in order not to tarry at this location.

Behind the ‘new’ Bet HaMedrash, stood a stone house, a house unique of its kind, and in its appearance and style – the only one of its kind built of stone without any windows, and this was the bathhouse and the ‘mikva.’

The courtyard of the synagogue served as the center for communal life in the town. At a distance of several tens of meters from the synagogue courtyard, the market square was spread out, with its two rows of stores. There were four brick houses, and four houses with upper floors, with the water well in the center. From two ends of the market, two roads continued outward: one led to the village of Nitsa^[1], and the second past the Jewish cemetery (the ‘old’ and the ‘new’). Further on, were the areas of pasture, where the cattle of the Jews grazed, and there was the Neman River where young and old alike would bather in the summer.

‘Behind the stores’ – was a road for wagons to pass, and a path for pedestrians. It was there, on the grass-covered hills, that the Jewish children would play their games. The stretch of land ‘behind the stores’ was finished off by a large stone wall, which also surrounded the Russian Orthodox church of the past, that was changed to a Catholic church after the First World War, with the institution of Polish rule in the area. The church with its green cupolas and crosses, with its huge bell, whose peal could be heard at a long distance, with the coming of nightfall on the Sabbath, introduced something of a sad disquiet into the heart, that could not be assuaged. The church stood silent all the days of the week, closed and locked up, with no one going in or coming out. Only once in the week, on Sunday, the gate would be opened wide, to those coming from the town and all the villages that were near it, but after a few hours passed by, with the completion of prayers, the church would empty out again, and its doors and gates would be locked again. And it was in this fashion that the church stood waiting – waiting in silence for its liberation each week, but every Saturday, at nightfall, the bell would come to life, and begin to peal, and send out its call…

It would peal and send out its call… and there was something to the call and the pealing of the church's bell. Only a few hundred meters separate the church from the Jewish Bet HaMedrash, but how huge is this distance, and how enormous the difference: fortification opposite openness; a deathly silence opposite the living word of God; a set scheduled time on one hand, and a day-and-night activity on the other; a locked fortress on the one hand, and wide open doors on the other; two different worlds – a world of cold opposite a world of warmth…

Close to the church – the ‘Gmina’ house, the office of the council of the all the villages in the area. Beside the office, on the other side of the street, the ‘Szkolka’ building, that being the government school, in which only the children of the gentiles studies, and there was not a single Jewish child to be counted among their ranks (during the time of the Polish regime, a few Jewish students studied there as well).

[Page 48]

The Jews lived in the synagogue courtyard, and beyond it – to the bordering street, in the market square, and along the streets that emanated out of it. There was not a street in the town that did not have Jewish residents, even the street called the ‘gentile street,’ had within it either by mistake, or on purpose, two Jewish houses, that were also consumed in the great fire (from that time on, the street could quietly be called the ‘gentile street’).

The Jews of the town, about one-third of its population, approximately one hundred families, lived beside their ‘gentile’ neighbors who were twice their number. And so they lived, these on their business and trade, and the other on their fields and drink, these three times a day in their Bet HaMedrash, and the other one time a week in their church. For how long did they live like this? – it is not known exactly. In the town itself, nobody took an interest in its history, and from what time onward the Jewish presence began. However, based on reliable sources, there is no doubt that the Jewish presence in Belica was there for at least a couple of hundred years.

The Pinkas of the ‘Hevra Kadisha’ was found with my father ז”ל. It was a thick volume, long and narrow, in a leather binding, and light cover. When I was a boy, I glanced in it once or twice out of curiosity. In my memory are preserved the images of smooth paper pages, with only the first of the pages containing writing. On each page, there was a different handwriting, and a different color ink. The handwriting was not particularly clear, and the ink was absorbed into the paper and had faded. Accordingly, it was difficult to read the content and understand it. I paged through the Pinkas until I reached my father's clear handwriting, and I began to read and run through it. But these entries were already from recent times, our days.

The ‘old’ cemetery bordered on the ‘new,’ and stretched out over an adequately large parcel of land. The letters carved into the headstones, were almost unintelligible, being covered in layers of dust, and overgrown with moss that had covered them over the time.

At a distance of one kilometer from the town, the ‘Estate’ spreads out along with the ‘Palace’ in its center. The ‘Estate’ had belonged to the Lord Trubeckoy, who turned over all the matters associated with its management to his brothers. On a hill of several tens of meters [sic: in height] the ‘Estate’ stood beside the edge of the Neman River. Every Sabbath, the people of the town would go out, and especially the young people, to their favorite promenade beside the Neman. Only a narrow path separated the river and the ‘Estate,’ that was found ‘up above,’ which was surrounded by a sort of barrier of tall green and thick trees. No one had the nerve to cross this high and mysterious barrier and enter within. Within the ‘Estate,’ it was said, that day and night, the brother of the Lord walked around on guard, with a rifle in his hand. He was prepared to shoot anyone who would walk within the boundaries of the ‘Estate.’ It was not permitted for children to do more than throw a long, penetrating glance at the barrier of the tall thick trees. In comprehending their thickly entwined branches, perhaps they succeeded in revealing a way through that would show some tiny corner of what transpired within. Perhaps they succeeded in hearing an echo of a voice, and maybe some muted sound from whatever transpired in the inner sanctum of the ‘Estate,’ and the ‘Palace.’ Opposite this, the expanse of the Neman River spread out before them, completely revealed and open, without any constraint…

It is difficult to establish whether the children of that time were attracted more to the ‘Estate’ with its ‘Palace,’ the manicured fields, and the Neman, or to the Heder and the Batei Midrash, but we will return to the Batei Midrash.

[Page 49]

The ‘old’ Bet HaMedrash was indeed old. The bricks from which the walls were constructed go back before our time. The passage of time left their mark on them, and their red color faded. The windows in the building were as high as a man. In order to open a window, or close it, it was necessary to get up on a bench. It is possible that the windows were put up this high intentionally, as a security consideration, so that the perpetrators of a pogrom could not burst into the interior during the time of prayer, whether while the congregation was sitting or standing. It is possible that the height, in addition to making it difficult on an attacker from the outside, also prevented those inside the premises to gaze outside and to be distracted from prayer or to disrupt their study of the Gemara.

For the entire length of three walls of the ‘old’ Bet HaMedrash (apart from the eastern wall, in the middle of which stood the Holy Ark), were very heavy wooden benches. Their appearance, and the way they were positioned against the walls, their length and thickness, were all testimony to their age. The copper candelabras for the wax candles that were lit on the evenings of the Sabbath and festivals, were decorated with petals and flowers, and their entire appearance was ancient. The large Hanukkah menorah that only appeared once a year, and immediately disappeared after Hanukkah, was made of a copper in a ‘button-flower’ design, and it too, as was said – gave off the appearance of great antiquity….

Even the ‘new’ Bet HaMedrash didn't look all that new. The wooden walls of the structure lost their natural light color, and became darkened with the passage of time. However, in contrast to the ‘old’ Bet HaMedrash, there were a surfeit of features inside of it, that took it out of the class of being ‘old.’ The windows were neither as high or as large as those of its predecessor, and the benches were not so thick, and the candelabras and menorahs continued to sparkle in sunlight and candlelight….

The light has dimmed, the sun has grown dark, and the candles have been extinguished….

Translator's footnote:

1. Netech', about six miles north and west of Belica. Return

[Page 50]

Competition…
(An Excerpt from a Story)

by Y. Kamoni, Jerusalem

 

On the ‘паром.’[1]

 

Under the Bridge

In what follows, is an episode that took place in Belica during the period of the German occupation in the First World War; This episode was revealed by Issachar Kamenetzky (Y. Kamoni) in the year 1934, and it appeared in the Israeli newspaper HaOreykh.

The German occupiers began to improve the streets and to repair temporary roads. They demanded workers by the thousands. And the people of the town, whose other sources of livelihood had dried up, eagerly went out to do this work. The dire need even sent the scions of the important balebatim out, along with the haughty. These delicate sorts forsook the idea of clean hand out of fear of an empty mouth. However, the wage of one mark a day was derisory, but where would it be possible to obtain a slice of bread and potatoes? Mature men and women, and young boys and girls, aged 12-18 girded themselves, and went out to do battle with the hunger that knocked at the entrances to their houses. And even if this meant they needed to consort with the lower classes, and to put up with the nattering of the ignorant, this did not matter. One can't be particular at a time of danger.

And the exploitation was rife. no attention was paid to the tender age of the children who were worked hard at all manner of labor: in the digging of tunnels, uprooting stumps, collecting rocks, splitting boulders, spreading gravel, etc. And it was the overseer who possessed a particularly demanding eye. He would come up to you, measure the pile of gravel with his piecing stare, and afterwards, lift his eyes to you, and wag his finger disapprovingly:

– You are tiring, my flower!

We were three neighbors that went to work. The oldest was a Jewish man of about fifty years of age, of middling height, sprightly and cheerful, young at heart and good-humored. He had smiling eyes, as if a sort of membrane shaded them from the outside world. A playful and hearty smile flickered between the wrinkles. No man knew that despite the laugh in his eye, his soul weeps withing, and he sighs in his depths. Like this hard cold stone on the outside, and hidden within, burns a fire…

This Jewish man, was a wagon driver for his whole life. He would transport passengers to the nearby train station, and barely eked out a living. During peacetime, he would be a frequenter of the house of the ‘noble’

[Page 51]

in the town, and loved to joke with his regular passengers. With the entrance of the German into this area, the times changed on him. Riding the trains was prohibited to the citizenry. His horse was appropriated for the war effort. What did he do? He went and traded his whip for a hammer, and smashed rocks on the road. His pay was one mark and twenty pfennig per day, or six marks a week. This is because Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, and Sunday was the gentile day of rest.

The second, my helper, was a young man of about eighteen years of age. He was tall and lean, and muscular, a sort of filbert, whose center is empty, but whose shell is hard, and it is not easy to penetrate it. “Everything a Man Desires” was the lamp unto his feet, both in his work, and his behavior and relationship to the fairer sex. Are these not the things that stand at the top of the world. And their control is not achieved out of thought, by rather by means of girding one's trousers.

And I was the youngest of the group, a boy of about twelve years of age, who had just gotten off the student's bench. I had no idea what work was, and I had no idea of what the fairer sex was, I sat silently and watched. I paid close attention, and learned a chapter from the book of ‘work.’ I learned about the ‘ways of women.’ I learned my ‘law’ from the mouths of my older ‘teachers…’

Here we are smashing boulders. Everyone is absorbed by their hammer and stones. Everyone throws a sideways glance over the pile of his neighbor, to see if his hasn't gotten larger than one's own. The oldest in the group, the former wagon-driver, was the dominant worker. His pile, was the largest pile of gravel, by far. Because of this, the Germans increased his pay by twenty pfennig a day. He actually earned this raise. His large and wide pile of gravel stood out among the three of us, thick and full with its belly between its teeth…. and he, with his legs spread apart, sets his eyes on the center of the pile of stones, and in the end, he raises his eyes in pride and says: I brought forth these stones, I gave birth to them…

And to his neighbors on each side, he would turn, measuring their piles by eye, and after glancing with his eyes to the left and right:

– Hey, flowers, on the contrary, try to emulate me!

And his eyes sparkle at that moment, and throw off flames. And I look and cannot tell if they are sparks of joy, or sparks of ire and anger. Suddenly the lightning changes, and on his face a light smile hovers…

And so my helper enviously looked at him and decided:

–No matter what happens to me, I am compelled to enlarge my pile.

And so the competition began. With tensed extremities and tensed muscles, the blows of the hammer fell on the stones. The blows fell stronger and more intensely, and the sounds of breaking were stronger even still. The stones were bared, and were torn apart by the force of the blows, and they broke apart and spread out beneath the rising and falling hands. And the piles grew, widened, and spread out.

[Page 52]

And one pile said to the other:

– I am bigger than you.

And so this was the competition. Stones competed with stones. Hammer competed with hammer. Hand competed with hand. Mind competed with mind. Men competed with one another. The young competed with the old…

And the victory did not tarry in arriving. The implements rested. Dirty drops rolled down the cheeks of the older man. And I did not know if this was sweat or tears.

When the work was done, the overseeing soldier drew nigh, and with his gaze, he weighed the two piles and smiled a wicked smile. He turned to the Jew, and leaned his finger against his nose, and proclaimed:

– It looks like you've grown weak, my good man!

Translator's footnote:

1. The Ferry Boat Return

The shtetl of Belica is made up of four parallel roads (in its length), intersected by about ten side streets, with the market between them. This is the entire settlement. Behind the shtetl, the Neman River flows, with its beautiful banks, overgrown with redolent hay and high oak trees. On the high side, stands the ‘Palace’ of the nobleman who owns the Belica estate. Under the hill, the road leads to the river. There, once can always find the ‘паром’ to convey those arrivals who wish to come across from the second side of the river. Also, the new longer bridges, goes from the shtetl in the direction of Zhetl.^[1] On the other side of the shtetl, pine forests stretch out, green meadows, and fruit-bearing fields, who belong to the residents – Christians from the shtetl. Several villages are scattered among them, deriving their sustenance from the earth.

The shtetl itself is poor. The houses – low slung and the few streets are small, and are as if they are sunk into the ground. The roofs – covered in straw and on the straw, a heavy thick green moss grows. The few better and more presentable houses, among them, a few that are built of stone, stand on the marketplace.

Translator's footnote:

1. Today, called Dzjatlava Return

[Page 53]

Zalman & Sarah Yosselewicz

The one and only community leadership in the shtetl in those days, was in the hands of R' Ruv'eh (the wagon driver), the leader of the ‘citizen's court… ’ The Jews belonged to the ‘Волостное Правление’ [sic: District Administration] and the Starosta was elected by the Jewish residents… The Czarist regime would certify him afterwards… Passports or birth certificates would be gotten from the Starosta, and one would come to him in connection with other municipal issues… It is self evident that the position of Starosta was a high one, and he had a significant standing, and foremost, when the time came to present one's self for military service, and when the time came to make use of the so-called ‘Legatas…’ It was within his power to: add years, or subtract them, as well as completely freeing a candidate from service…

In order for an individual to receive a pass, who might be under suspicion by the authorities, large sums of money were paid… In order to support the ‘court,’ with a permanent employee, a residence and lighting – the Jews had to pay a tax to the Starosta, who had the right to levy a tax of up to one ruble… But even one ruble was too great a sum of money for most of the Jewish populace, and many did not want to pay for these sorts of purposes… This always elicited dissatisfaction among the Jews…

The Starosta had his hangers-on and supporters, who learned how to write their signature on a ‘left-sided’ paper… Quite often, they would get together and drink a ‘L'Chaim,’ But these ‘people’ didn't bestir themselves to find out how they could ameliorate the poverty of the shtetl… It didn't occur to them… When people came to tell them that someone was dying of hunger – they expressed their sympathy…

[Page 54]

The Hevra Kadisha was also under the oversight of these ‘people…’ Paying no mind to the fact that there was a committee with Gabbaim, the amount of money charged for burial was set by them, taking no mind of who it was upon whom they cast their eyes…

For sure, other people could be found that did not want to put up with this injustice, and it would often lead to conflicts… I recollect an incident with Lieb'keh Dol'keh's who had built an alley way and had not deemed it necessary to request permission in advance… This matter came to fisticuffs, and the hurling of stones by one side against the other… The issue went up to the governor, who made a personal trip to restore order in Jewish life………

Disputes would break out often, and it also came to fisticuffs being exchanged in the Bet HaMedrash, and the hanging lamps would fly back and forth… On several occasions, Rabbi Reines זצ”ל from Lida, was called out so that he could restore tranquility to the shtetl…

The poverty in the shtetl was strongly visible… Only few individuals had enough of a living to get by… The Belica Jews contented themselves with the minimum… Everyone had their own cow, and a garden with vegetables… The manure from the cow was used as fertilizer for planting potatoes, and potatoes were stored with everyone for the entire year… The central deficiency was in clothing, footwear for the Sabbath, etc… The principal source of support for those in need, came from the Jewish settlers, and balebatim, who would send in provisions for the Sabbath to the poor and the sick… The entire area around the shtetl was populated by settlers – very warm Jewish people who would generously support and help the poor with whatever they could… During Festivals and on the Sabbath, they would come into town with their families… It was these Jews who held leases on the tracts and yards of the nobility… Others had stores, inns and saloons… This situation went on for as long as Czar Alexander III ruled in Russia, and when he died, and his son, Nicholas II was crowned, life became harder… Great hopes were placed on better times, but in the end, it only brought a shower of new decrees against the Jews…

According to the first decree of ‘Novosielenya’ Jews no longer had the right to live in the villages, and had to leave them… A monopoly was placed on saloons and stores… Only the longtime residents were temporarily permitted to remain… The larger part moved to live in the towns, and a part – emigrated to America…

At this precise time, a great fire broke out in Belica, and a larger part of the shtetl was consumed in flames. With the help of the merchants who did business in the area, that dealt in forest products, it was re-built. Immediately afterwards, a typhus epidemic broke out, The disease spread and we began to look for a way to deal with it. My uncle, R' Chaim-Noah Kamenetzky ז”ל, was the first, who, and with him, another group of prominent Jews of the shtetl, organized a ‘Bikur Kholim’ Society, which set itself the objective of trying to save those who were seriously ill. Money was collected each week, which served as a fund to retain a

[Page 55]

doctor , to provide medicines and medical equipment. The young boys and girls voluntarily presented themselves and made known their willingness to go and sleep at the homes of the ill, as well as serve them. At that time, the organization of such a society was very much needs and indeed, was very useful.

The second important undertaking was the creation of a ‘Gemilut Hesed’ Bank in the shtetl, whose objective was to help the poor storekeepers and craftsmen. The first transaction of the Gemilut Hesed was given by R' Sholom Namiot, the lessor of the courtyard. After several hundred rubles were collected, each needy person received a loan that they repaid on a weekly basis. The bank was useful to many people in the shtetl. At the head of the Gemilut Hesed Bank stood: R' Chaim-Noah Kamenetzky, Itcheh Lejzor Kaufman, Joseph Paniemowsky^[1] and others.

The Zionist movement also found its place in Belica. After circles of the movement began to organize themselves in the area, R' Chaim-Noah Kamenetzky, R' Nahum Szebszinsky, Moshe Leib Konopkin, R' Yehoshua Jasinowsky and Michael Lewkowsky organized and created the first Zionist group in Belica. Many young people signed up as members. One would gather and together read the Zionist journal ‘Der Yid,’ and also ‘HaTzefira.’ Also debates were organized about the Land of Israel. Every Friday, we would meet together at the home of my uncle, r' Chaim-Noah, where we would discuss the issues of the day. There were also many opponents and those who stood in our way, mostly from the religious element, who abhorred Herzl's doctrine. Ignoring this, the movement grew larger, and even assisted other towns to organize themselves. Rabbi Reines זצ”ל from Lida, made many strong efforts to strengthen the movement. His influence was great in the entire region.

Between 1900 and 1903, war ensued between Russia and China, and Russia took control of Manchuria. It did not take long, and a war broke out between Russia and Japan. Many of the Jews in town became frightened, and many of them emigrated to America and England. The war with Japan ended swiftly with a Japanese victory. Because of this, Jews also suffered from trouble. A wave of pogroms burst over them, and also a wave of plunder by the masses, which was incited [sic: by the regime] to obscure the nature of [sic: and responsibility for] the defeat by Japan.

On the other side, this, again, engendered the rise of a revolutionary movement. Strikes broke out on the railroads and factories. However, the Czarist authorities moved quickly to choke off every resistance and a true democracy did not take form.

The Jewish revolutionaries were immediately exiled to Siberia and even shot outright. A small part of the Belica revolutionaries escaped to America.

[Page 56]

Peace returned, and life once again became normal. However, the state of penury in the shtetl remained unaltered; [poverty] remained at a high level, and all means were sought to try and improve the difficult economic circumstances of the shtetl Jews.

The older rabbi of the shtetl, R' Leib זצ”ל, turned over the Rabbinical Seat to the younger R' Joseph Rudnick, who was a great scholar, an orator, and an activist on behalf of everyone. He was very well accepted in the shtetl. He interested himself in the material well-being of the general community and thought was given to how additional sources of income could be created. Rabbi Rudnick ז”ל called an assembly of all breadwinners, at which time it was decided to travel and appeal to the authorities of the regime in Vilna, that substantive market days should be scheduled to be held in the town.

Two balebatim, my father, Abraham Yosselewicz and Moshe Shimonowicz traveled to the Governor in Vilna, and after expending a great deal of energy, and with the help of monetary gifts, they worked out that every Wednesday, markets will be held in the shtetl, and several times a year – full market fairs. After this, the shtetl came to life. It became more fecund with sources of income. More businesses opened. The one difficulty was the transporting of merchandise from Lida. The road was a very bad one, and the wagon drivers would exhaust themselves in the process of conveying goods during the entire night, summers in the rain, and winters in the snow.

Economic development was manifest on all fronts. Apart from the fact that storekeepers earned more income, restaurants opened for the peasantry, who would [now] come in from the villages. A gramophone was brought into the shtetl, and this was a great sensation. Also, a pharmacy was opened. I ran a drugstore and perfumery business. In those days, a business of this sort reeked with the possibility of making money. Also, an impulse to get an education began to grow among the young people. to obtain knowledge and round out one's understanding in worldly subjects. Part of them traveled to Lida to study, in the middle schools, gymnasiums, and trade schools.

After the nobility began to liquidate their estates in the area, this trend also came to Belica. The forests around the shtetl were cut down, and the wood would be shipped to Germany, by way of Lithuania, using the Neman River. Many Jewish merchants and tradespeople, who specialized in forest work, were employed in this business, and the Christians, who worked in this line, also brought in considerable revenue into the shtetl, and people made a living from this. On the other side, craftsmen feared that they would be left without work, because the land on the estates will be left fallow, and they will have no way to make a living, once the estates would cease to exist…

[Page 57]

The Belica Estate is Parceled Out

The Belica estate belonged to Graf Wittgenstein and was under lease to the Jewish man, Sholom Namiot. Immediately after the forests were exploited, it came time to deal with the land, buildings and other assets. At that time, two Jewish men arrived, and made a proposal to the appointed intermediary Graf Krapynski to sell the rest of the fields, land and buildings. The Jews showed Graf Krapynski that the expenses in running these properties exceeded the income.

Krapynski made contact with Graf Wittgenstein, who was located out of the country. He obtained full authority in connection with this transaction, and it was consummated. A merchant's bureau opened in Belica, and the residents were, again, able to generate income from this as well. Tradespeople like: manufacturers, brokers and accountants concentrated themselves in the shtetl. When the payroll had to be disbursed to workers, monies would fall into the hands of merchants, handlers, storekeepers, and others. The shtetl would bustle with the simple forest workers, ferry men, wagon drivers, who brought in not only their own earnings, but also increased the traffic in people. This was a time when the Jews of the shtetl had an increasing standard of living, and everything progressed.

The Belica estate was divided up into parcels, and was sold to Christians from the nearby village of Krasnaya. The palace remained in the hands of a Christian from Belica. The ferry from the estate was in the hands of the philanthropist Munya Molczadsky, who in the course of the years, supported the Jews of the shtetl, especially when the export of wood to Germany – by way of the Neman – was in his hands.

After the events of 1905, the regime strengthened its control apparatus all over. An overseer and five militiamen came to Belica, a court with a ‘Ziemski Nachalnik^[2],’ to settle land disputes, a ‘mailman,’ and a post office was opened. Understandably, these new authority figures created a certain amount of trouble in the town, but we got used to this as well.

Years went by, and when was there not a time when the press would not bring a variety of news about anti-Semitic pogroms in cities, and also [news about] underground revolutionary movements. In 1911, I presented myself for military service, and I became a Czarist soldier deep inside Russia in the city of Ryazan.

Shortly before the completion of this service, I was permitted an ‘Отпуск^[3].’ On arriving home, the First World War broke out. I then traveled to my brother Zelig, as a guest, after spending several weeks at home. He lived in Chernigov.

[Page 58]

When I returned to Belica, it was already at the end of the war. The Germans were in the stage of occupying the captured territories. The Czarist Russian army – routed, and the Bolshevik army was moving deliberately westward. The Germans impoverished the Jewish residents of the shtetl. They took everything for the use of their soldiers. They took cattle, horses and wagons from the Christians. From the Jews they robbed everything in the houses, and also drove them to hard labor, such as digging trenches and the like. Commerce came to a standstill, and hunger reigned in town, along with disease and ruin. From more distant towns, Jews would come with their last bit of goods, in order to barter for a bit of bread. They would, afterwards, drag themselves over the roads, swollen with hunger. But this was not the end of the suffering.

Zelda and Abraham Yosselewicz

Zerakh Kremen, who was one of the balebatim of Belica, and owned a fruit orchard in the village of Holdava, used to transport the produce to Lida to be sold. In one day, when he was transporting apples to be sold, the bandits seized him, and killed him on the spot. They tied the horse to a tree in the forest, and everything on the wagon was stolen.

After several days of searching, this Belica resident was found murdered in the forest, and he was brought back and given a Jewish burial in Belica. This was the first victim of the bandits. This terrifying incident instilled a great fear on the already exhausted Jewish populace. The German authorities could do nothing. They too, trembled in fear of the bandits and did not extend any peaceful gestures towards them, when they were approached for help.

Suddenly, rumors began to spread that the bandits wanted to attack the town itself.

On one winter night, a group of Belica bandits sneaked into town, and immediately entered the home of the prominent member of the balebatim, R' Yehoshua Jasinowki, and demanded a colossal sum of money from him, and otherwise they would kill him. After a very difficult struggle with them, the bandits killed him in his own house. On that same night, they also robbed money and valuables from Eizh'keh Reuven's. After the second attack, fear and terror reigned in the shtetl. At night, one would lock one's self up very well, and remain inside the house, for fear of an attack.

The young people decided to form a self-defense organization and buy arms, as a precaution against a new attack, so that it will be possible to defend one's self. However, there was too little money, and also, there was no one from whom to buy.

[Page 59]

Shortly after this, when the Germans began to draw back, and there was no proper authority in the area, and also no order, the Christians quietly spread rumors that the bandits are preparing to assault the Jewish residents of Belica.

In 1918 (at the end of the year), a larger group of bandits came from the second side of the Neman, and surrounded the Jewish streets. In the middle of a clear day, they opened fire on the Jewish market. The Jewish self-defense was unable to mount resistance against such a force, and the bandits broke into the houses. Robbing everything that came into their hands, they murderously beat and drove everyone from the houses outside into the street. Our family hid itself in the small side street at the home of Blind Alter. They found us there, and demanded that my father pay them ten thousand rubles and called him by his name, knowing that he was one of the wealthy balebatim. When he declared that he could not provide such a sum, they put him up against the wall to shoot him. As a former soldier, I begged them not to do us any harm. This, apparently, had some impact. They pulled off our boots, beat us up pretty well, and they went off to plunder some more. Frightening screams and the sounds of violence reached us from a distance, which emanated from the Jewish houses, at the time when the people in them were begging not to be killed.

The bandits, however, carried out their objective. On that day, four Jews in the shtetl were murdered, and Taib'eh Yankl Meckel's was wounded.

The victims were: R' Yankl Meckel, Chaim Dol'keh's, Mordechai-Noah Koppel's and Ber'l the shoemaker's father, who had come as a guest to his son from Lida. The bandits robbed all the Jewish valuables that were in the shtetl, which they loaded onto five wagons, also taken away from the Jews, and took it away to the villages over the Neman. The bandits also stole our wagon.

My father, ע”ה became sick from the severe beating that he got, and was confined to bed for many long weeks before he recuperated. These same bands attempted to assault Lida and Zhetl, but there, the self-defense confronted them with arms, and drove them off.. Until such time that the Bolsheviks arrived, this vicinity and also in Belica, there was no official authority. After the Bolshevik occupation, a bit of order returned to life. However, despite this, there was no particular satisfaction at that time either, because the Bolshevik army was poor, and it too was compelled to take from the already impoverished populace. The Bolshevist army went on towards Warsaw. In the year 1920, the Bolsheviks encountered the newly-formed Polish Legions, under Pilsudski's leadership.

There, the Bolsheviks suffered a severe defeat, and they fled back to Russia barefoot. It did not take long, and the Polish Legions took control of substantial areas and also arrived in our vicinity. Once again, trouble and suffering befell the Jews. Polish anti-Semites killed and robbed. Many of the prominent Jews were arrested, on the basis of informers, who alleged that all the Jews were communists. Later on, when a semblance of order was restored in the shtetl, all of the Jews were, once again, driven to hard labor by the Neman River, in order to build up a ferry terminal for the army. Jews did the work, despite the fact that they didn't have the necessary materials that were required for the job, and on top of the fact that nobody had the

[Page 60]

faintest idea how to go about doing this. The worst of the troubles were those they had to withstand from the local Christians – the resident citizenry. As Poles, they used every opportunity to incite the Polish legionnaires. On one day, they arrested my uncle, R' Chaim-Noah Kamenetzky, and took him off to their constabulary. Thanks to the intervention of the priest from Yel'na, who was a very liberal person, and a philo-Semite, he was released. Separately, R' Chaim-Noah's daughter, Shulamit (today in Jerusalem) put her life at risk, and fell at the feet of the Polish constabulary officials, begging for their mercy on behalf of her father, until he was sent home.

There was also an incident with David-Herschel'eh and his two business partners (Israel Meiram Kremen and Leib'keh Chaim's) whom the Poles seized while they were transporting eggs and foodstuffs to Lida. They confiscated the merchandise, beat the Jews severely, and took them off to the constabulary, which was in the village of Njacec. Once again, we ran to the priest from Yel'na who intervened, and the three Jews were released. We continued suffering a variety of troubles, from these very same Polish anti-Semites, until the order became stabilized, and life began to return to normal.

The young people in the shtetl were exhausted by these experiences, during this severe war, and a large part of them decided to emigrate to America.

The new Polish government got on its feet very quickly, and a democratic regime was established in the country. Immediately, from the first years and onward, there was a council in existence in Belica, elected by the citizens. A new bridge was built across the Neman, on the way to Zhetl, and also a paved road on the way to Lida. Also, the streets in the town were paved with stones.

Life became much easier. Commerce once again started to develop, and craftsmen opened up new facilities. There was a sense of pressure after the suffering under the legionnaires. Commerce was the source from which nearly the entire Jewish populace made its living.

The road to Lida eased the connection to that larger city. It became easier to both bring and send merchandise, as well as with simple coming and going to the higher echelons of the government.

The Belica Jew, R' Yaakov Kotliarsky, started up a bus line to Lida, which was very useful to the shtetl.

Translator's footnotes:

1. We do not know if the intent here was to write Poniemansky Return
2. Local territorial overseer Return
3. A pass to take leave. Return

The ‘Khorev’ School

[Page 61]

means about establishing a bank in the shtetl. The Jewish Assistance Committee, ‘JeKoPo^[1]’ in Vilna, helped with money, and each individual who subscribed as a member, paid in a ‘fee’ in the amount of 100 zlotys. The bank was one of the most important institutions that extended help for merchants, small businesses and manual tradespeople. At the head of the bank, stood the following: Abraham Kremen, the pharmacist, R' Shmuel Joseph Itzkowitz, R' Lejzor Yankelewsky, R' Yaakov Kotliarsky, R' Shef'teh Kaufman. The secretary was my uncle –R' Chaim-Noah Kamenetzky, who dedicated his entire life to this. Every week, the members of the committee would gather, and R' Chaim-Noah would present a report of the work done.

In that period of time, the [traditional] Heder system liquidated itself a little at a time, and in the new schools [that took their place] Hebrew was taught, as well as general subjects. Studies were conducted in the women's prayer court, the ‘Ezrat Nashim,’ of the old Bet HaMedrash. The new Bet HaMedrash had burned down shortly after the war.

Temporarily, the bank was located in the home of Moshe Leib's. There was no suitable place available, and the committee began to think about a new building. Also, the parents of school-age children demanded that a place should be found for a school. Several balebatim traveled to see the forest merchants Messrs. Shalit and Shapiro, who donated wood. boards of lumber and workers from their factory. With their supportive help, a new, modern, well lit building was constructed for the school – across from the large ‘Bet HaMedrash’ (on the Schulhof Gasse), which was divided in two: in the smaller part, the bank was organized, and in the larger part, the school with large, well lit rooms. As it happens this was a modern Hebrew school with the name ‘Khorev.’ Teachers and administrators worked there. The plane of studies was high, and there was an effort to give the children a good education.

Our Belica children indeed did learn well, in all subjects, in Hebrew and in the Polish language. Many of them then traveled off to study in higher schools in Lida and in Vilna. Many later became Hebrew teachers and many also finished their studies successfully in other professions opened to them.

In these years, the Zionist movement developed, and many young men from the shtetl made aliyah to the Land of Israel. Among these pioneer-immigrants were: Chay'keh Grodzinsky, and her sister Liebeh with their brother Ber'l (today in Hadera); Issachar and Shulamit Kamenetzky; Rabbi Rudnick's daughters – Sarah, Breineh and Tem'eh; Ber'l Kaufman; Michael and Meiram Ratnowsky, Max Jasinowsky and many others.

[Page 62]

Our Institutions and Undertakings

The Belica Drama Circle

Israel Zlocowsky did a great deal for the security of the town, with the organization of the ‘Fire-fighters’ Brigade. He contributed energy, time and effort, until the Fire-fighters Brigade developed and was provisioned with many implements to extinguish fires – an accomplishment that was very necessary for the shtetl. He also created an orchestra, that brought in merriment to a town that was half asleep. At every wedding, or when any sort of parade took place, or any other sort of celebration, the orchestra of the Fire-fighters Brigade, with R' Israel Zlocowsky at its head, enlivened and amused the public. A rather large enclosure, the ‘Serai’ was built, for all of the fire-fighting equipment, and this location also served as a place for theater presentations.

Young boys and girls created drama circles, and presented a variety of Yiddish ‘pieces’ for the pleasure of the onlookers. Also, artistic troupes would come to us from other cities. A theater presentation, in a small shtetl like Belica, never ceased to be a major sensation.

Life developed normally, and circumstances became stabilized. The democratic pull of the regime could be felt, which at that time was the political line of Pilsudski – the leader of the reconstituted Poland.

The condition of the Jews improved considerably, and this was evidenced with each individual, it not being important as to what specifically his livelihood was. The shtetl was built up a bit. Communications improved. The bus to Lida already was running twice a day. Later on, [there were busses] to Zhaludok and Scucyn. One of the balebatim of the transportation lines, which was called ‘Lidzianka’ was Abba Gapanowicz, and in the same business, the young Belica men Yankl Kremen and Yankl Meckel also worked.

During the evenings, a chapter of Mishna was studied in the Bet HaMedrash. There was also a Tehilim study group. Older men also established other groups [of this nature].

Also, the ‘Hevra Kadisha’ modernized its work. An added parcel was purchased adjacent to the existing cemetery, and it was cordoned off. This was a colossal accomplishment, after having years go by when this objective could not be attained.

The last Gabbai of the Hevra Kadisha before The Great Catastrophe, was R' Sheft'eh Kaufman ז”ל. It was in his house that the ancient ‘Pinkas Belica’ could be found in which all the important occurrences in the town had been written down, over the course of hundreds of years, as well as a list of all the deceased.

[Page 63]

The End Draws Nigh…

These improved circumstances came to an end with the death of Pilsudski in the year 1935. Other winds began to blow. The anti-Semites reared their heads. Anti-Semitic organizations were created, such as ‘En-Da,’ and ‘AZAN.’ In the universities, Jewish students were beaten. Later on, they had to sit on the left-side benches. Also, pickets were set up in front of Jewish businesses, and Christian customers were not permitted to shop at Jewish establishments. Pogroms became frequent occurrences.

There were also many enemies of the Jews in Belica, and they would often incite the mob to a pogrom aimed at the Jewish stores. They would especially do this on market days.

Hard times encroached on the Jewish populace in Poland, especially after the Hitler regime consolidated its control over Germany, and then went after the Jews in Germany.

Refugees that fled Germany also got as far as Belica, where they told of, and portrayed the terrifying incidents that the Germans were visiting upon the Jews.

New refugees would arrive on a daily basis. All bare and naked, because the Germans took everything away from them. Everything that we heard from them appeared to be so impossible, so impossible…

And so the time flew by. The situation grew worse from day to day, until the Polish-German War broke out in the year 1939, and that which seemed to be so impossible, became very close, tragic, and real…

Translator's footnote:

1. An acronym for Jevreyskiy Komitet Pomoshchi, which is the Russian for ‘Jewish Assistance Committee.’ Return

Taib'l Jasiniowsky (on the right) and Family

At the Entrance to the ‘Paraveh Mill’[1]

In the Woods of the Neman Glass-works

[Page 64]

Neman) had just then arrived back from the forest. My father calls to me, and sends me to a certain gentile, to take Garberowicz to the Neman station. I do not find the gentile at his home, and so my father sends me to a second one. My mother does not understand why Garberowicz has to travel home at such a late hour, since he could spend the night with us. My father, however, stands firm on his demand: ‘In these days, everyone must sleep in their own home,’ he says. Did his heart foresee what was going to happen at night?

It is night. Someone brutally awakes me from sleep. I open my eyes and see two gentiles before me with guns in their hands. Shlomo and Maly'eh stand frightened beside my bed. The gentiles order us to go with them and they take us to the bedroom of our parents.

In that room, my father is standing shoved in between a bureau and a small table. A bandit is poking him with the point of his gun, and demands ‘Денгии’ (money). Blood is running off my father. He begs for mercy from the bandit, asking that he stop hitting him. ‘Take – he says – everything in the house, here are standing boxes full of fabric, I have no money, because today there was a payroll day in the forest.’ The bandit does not want to hear this, and keeps on beating him.

At a specific moment, when, it would appear, that he could no longer bear the beating, he turned over the little table. The lamp that was standing on the table fell to the floor, and the flammable liquid caught fire. My mother threw pillows and blankets on it, to extinguish the blaze.

In the confusion, a shot is heard, and here, we see our father fall to the floor, with blood spurting from his heart. Our mother wants to help. but one of the bandits does not let her: ‘Он притвраеця’ (He is faking), he says. Our mother challenges the bandit, and the next thing, I see my mother also lying on the floor. The bandit had given her a kick with the tip of his boot in her side. She fell, and was unable to get up.

As our mother later told us, when she came to, it was light in the house, and our father was to be found in the bedroom. Holding her hand, he died, and left a widow and three orphans.

As it later was evidenced, the bandits, while it was still day, had hidden themselves in our two-story house, where the pharmacy was later to be located. A Russian doctor lived there, who was an escaped Russian prisoner, and who was connected to the bandits. Also, other Russian escapees hid themselves out in the forests.

Several elderly German soldiers maintained order in the shtetl, who were semi-invalids (a stronger garrison was stationed in Njacec). In leaving their hideouts at night, the first thing the bandits did was to tear out the telephone wires, which led to Njacec. Additional bandits came to their support. Near the forge, at the end of the Netech' Street, wagons from the villages stood ready to take in the plunder.

On that night, they attacked two other houses, Eizhik's, and my aunt Faygl, where Eliyahu Yankl's also lived, with his wife. Fortunately, [the bandits] satisfied themselves with giving a severe beating, and robbing whatever it was that was available. In the Bandit group that attacked our house, was the bandit ‘Otiec Andrei’ and as it was told, wherever he attacked, a victim had to fall.

Nearly fifty years have passed since that tragic night, and to this day, I can see the terrifying picture before my eyes, just as if it had taken place yesterday.

Translator's footnote:

1. The steam-driven mill Return

[Page 65]

The Train Station at Sjalec (Neman)

These, approximately, one hundred Jewish families in the villages, were counted as an integral part of the 130 families in the shtetl, and were intimately connected to the shtetl in commerce, in buying and selling, and with all of the tradespeople, and especially with the ‘Heders’ for the education of the children. Before the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) all the village Jews would come to town with their wives and children, with tens of wagons packed full with packages and food. The wagons were stood with people they knew, or around the houses of study. which were overflowing with guests for the holidays.

This is the way things went on until 1905, which brought with it, not only the revolutionary movement, but also a movement of pogroms. Indeed, this last movement, tied to blood-libel incitements, brought matters to the point that part of the Jews abandoned the villages. In the year 1912, when a well-known decree was issued by Czar Nicholas [II] about a special ‘Pale of Settlement’ for Jews, these settlers had to quickly liquidate their assets in the villages, and moved to the city. Only a very small number of Jews, who had [certain] privileges, remained in the villages.

During the war years 1914-1918, almost all of the Jews abandoned the villages because of a fear of battle operations, as well as assault by bandits. Only the Jews of Hancavicy and Vaskovicy remained as residing Jews until their final liquidation by the Nazi murderers in 1941.

The village of Sjalec, (10 km from Belica) was always a sort of suburb to Belica. There was not a financial initiative taken in town, in which the residents of Sjalec did not take part. Most of all, it is important to stress the great goodness and open hands of the Szliapocznik-Garberowicz family.

Even the Keren Kayemet boxes were to be found in Sjalec, and every couple of months a couple of young people would go there to empty the Keren Kayemet ‘pushkas.’

Because of the train station and the Neman River, there was much lumber concentrated in Sjalec to be sent by either train or the river. For this reason, many outside people could be found there, who brought in business and a great deal of activity.

The village always had its own minyan for prayer, even on the High Holy Days. At one time, there was a mill

[Page 66]

and a factory in the village. In the years 1926-1929, Halutzim preparing for aliyah were brought there for training, prior to emigration to the Land of Israel.

In the years 1934-1936, a lumber factory was built and expanded, where hundreds of workers were engaged and employed, among them also local and Belica Jews.

The Shelyuvsky Family (From Naharodavicy)

Yehuda Szeszko (‘Der Stoker[1]’) and Wife

The Szeszko Sisters		David-Leib Szeszko

[Page 67]

Orig. Order	Village	Last Name	First Name	Occupation
19	Dzitrik	Novofrutsky	Basheh	Farmer
20	Hancary		Saul	Miller
20	Hancary		Yankl	Innkeeper
21	Holdava	Iliutovich	R' Isaac & Son
22	Hancewicz		R' Eliyahu & Son, Leib'l	The Ferryman
22	Hancewicz	Kaplinsky	R' Yankl
23	Waskewicz	Shmuckler	Nehemiah & Family
23	Waskewicz	Kaplinsky	Family, et al.
24	Zachepichi		Israel	The Smith
25	Zaymishche	Family		Farmers
26	Zareczan	Novogrudsky	Joel & Fyv'eh	Innkeepers
27	Zbljany		Jonah's Aharon	Innkeeper
28	Zbljany Estate	Krasnoselsky	Itcheh	Factor
28	Zbljany Estate	Iliutovich	Abraham	The Land Manager
29	Czertok	Zlocowsky	Yosheh	Miller
30	Tabola-Osowa		Raphael	Der Taboler
31	Yamonti		Averm'l	Der Jamenter
32	Jeremic		Leib'eh	The Factor
33	Letucy		Yankl	The Dyer
34	Lozany	(A great Scholar)	R' Itcheh-Leib	Innkeeper
35	Jukovsina	Several Jewish Families		Factoring on the Estate
36	Lubienica		R' Itcheh & Son, Yehoshua	Miller
37	Lesniki	Levin	R' Avrem'l	Cupboard Builder
38	Mostreukha	Chazan	R' Yaakov
39	Mostowlian	Zlocowsky	R' Chaim	A Scholar
40	Mocevicy	Molczadsky	Yankl
40	Mocevicy		Fyv'eh	Der Moszewicer
41	Mostishche		Moshe	Innkeeper
42	Mesilowka	Dworetsky	Velvel & Ber'l	Millers
43	Netech'	Rafalovich	Shakhna	A Factor
44	Nowy Sad			Innkeeper
45	Ogorodniki	Kaplinsky	Sholom & Son, Nehemiah
46	Naharodavicy	Shelyuvsky	R' Velvel & Family	Miller
46	Naharodavicy	Urinowicz	Family	The Land Manager
47	Sjalec	Garberowicz	Family
47	Sjalec	Gryn	Hirsch & Family
47	Sjalec	Yellin	Yaakov & Family
47	Sjalec	Yellin	Shlomo & Family
47	Sjalec	Mayewsky	Lejzor-Mattess & Family
47	Sjalec	Szliapocznyk	Abraham & Family
48	Soroki		Family	Estate Factor
49	Solomianka	Szkliarsky	R' Abraham	Innkeeper
50	Stoky	Szeszko	R' Yehuda	Miller & Factor
51	Piasky		R' Herz'l	Innkeeper
52	Panimaniec	Odzhikhowsky	R' Baruch & Son Yankl	Pitch Works
53	Pieskowski	Odzhikhowsky	R' Aharon	Innkeeper
54	Paracany	Belicki (A Great Scholar)	R' Isser	Innkeeper
55	Pocuki	Sokolsky	Abraham'l
56	Pistuca		Abraham'l	The Factor

[Page 68]

Orig. Order	Village	Last Name	First Name	Occupation
57	Fal'kovichi	Schneider	Family
58	Caplic	Odzhikhowsky	Shimon	A Dyer
59	Klyukovichi	Bussel	Zelig & Family	A Smith
60	Korshaki	Der Zachepicher	Israel	A Smith
61	Kalpinsk		Nathan	Innkeeper
62	Maloe-Konyushany	Sokolowsky	R' Chaim	Combing Wool
62	Maloe-Konyushany	Sokolowsky	R' Moshe-David	Estate Factor
62	Maloe-Konyushany	Der Drozdower	R' Yankl	Estate Factor
63	Bol'shiye-Konyushany	R' Yeshayahu	The Factor
64	Kryvicy		Yehoshua	The Factor
65	Korolinka	Baranchik	Hesh'l	The Musician
66	Ruda		Meir	Der Ruder
66	Ruda	Graznik	Family

  Belitsa, Belarus     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 16 May 2022 by JH