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Following the German armies' major defeat in France at the end of 1918, ultimately, a revolution broke out in Germany. The German Kaiser Wilhelm fled to Holland, and an armistice was signed by the warring parties.

Bialystok, then an important railway junction far from the front lines, served as a warehouse for the German army, storing weapons, ammunition, food, and clothing. As soon as the revolution broke out, the German commander of Bialystok, a renowned general, shot himself because he could not bear the shame of defeat.

The “Polyakn” [non-Jewish Poles], who had been divided among Germany, Austria, and Russia for over a hundred years and enslaved and oppressed as a result, rose up immediately as if on a signal, threw off their chains, and resisted their oppressors.

In Bialystok, they immediately set fire to the warehouses and stole weapons, machinery, clothing, and food. Young non-Jewish “shkotsim” (rough lads) strapped on rifles, organized into legions, and drove out the German occupiers. They disarmed any German soldiers they encountered and took their shoes and coats before hounding them back to Germany.

Like a river that lies quietly frozen throughout the winter, whose hidden forces erupt in spring under rain and sun, breaking the ice and raging wildly, flooding land and cities–so the Polish people rose up everywhere and took revenge on their historic enemies.

In the end, however, it was the Jews who suffered. For several months straight, Lapy train station, located between Warsaw and Bialystok, became a veritable site of the Inquisition. Jews were dragged off the train and supposedly “searched.”

But they were beaten and flogged nearly to death. Their beards were shaved off, and their money and belongings were stolen.

Many Jews from Bialystok suffered greatly at that time. Later, the situation calmed down somewhat. Bialystok began producing uniforms and also blankets for the army, which needed to be newly outfitted. Poland was engaged in two consecutive years of war with Russia, and so Bialystok had plenty of work. Finally, after the peace agreement in 1920, the merchants and manufacturers who had left Bialystok in 1915 during the retreat of the Russian Tsarist armies returned^[3].

The factories and machinery were already severely neglected at that time. Everything was repaired and rearranged, and for three years, business was booming for the manufacturers as Poland's population lacked goods due to not producing anything during the five-to-six-year war.

Incidentally, Poland had no fixed currency at that time.

The German and Polish marks, which were in circulation at the time, lost their value. By 1924, total purchasing power had reached almost zero and 13 million marks were needed to buy one American dollar. Needless to say, everyone kept or bought better goods [and invested in real assets].

Bialystok floundered for a few years until 1924, when the Polish government introduced a fixed currency – the Polish zloty, worth 19 US cents – and business in Poland returned to normal. Everything stabilised.

The city began to feel the absence of a market for Bialystok goods quite acutely. It was no longer possible to export to Russia. For Poland, Bialystok only needed to produce goods for three months of the year, as that amount was sufficient for the whole year. The factories were idle for seven to eight months of the year. During this time, the government paid the workers monthly benefits. A wave of Jewish merchants, manufacturers and workers began to emigrate. Many factories were relocated to Romania, Yugoslavia and Australia. The people settled well there, but most of the Jews emigrated to Erets-Yisroel and America.

Due to the chronic crisis in the industry in Bialystok, a delegation of manufacturers approached the Minister of Trade, Grabski. They asked him to show leniency towards Bialystok. He should not impose such high taxes on Jewish merchants and manufacturers, and he should ensure that they received contracts from the Polish army. This would provide them with work in Bialystok for a few months each year. However, he replied that the Polish government would not mind if Bialystok's manufacturing industry collapsed completely, as Poland could live without Bialystok. As for taxes, he said, the Jews could find a way out themselves – they had wealthy relatives in America who wouldn't abandon them.

Thus, Bialystok was plagued by economic problems throughout this period. However, an exception emerged four to three years later, during the period from 1931 to 1935, when Bialystok gained access to new markets. Exporters sent goods to India, China and Spain, where they were sold profitably. However, trade there ceased when these countries began to wage war.

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In addition, crises developed within the textile industry, and so Bialystok continued to struggle until the war in 1939.

As part of the organisation of the new Poland, a new order was introduced to the city Administration of Bialystok. The reactionary Polish Sejm [Parliament] enacted an electoral ordinance for the cities. This was designed to ensure that they adopt a Polish structure as much as possible. It also aimed to make sure that Jews would lose their control over the city's economy. The authorities incorporated the surrounding villages, both near and far, meaning that Jews became a minority in the wider Bialystok area, with their share falling from 55 per cent to 47 per cent.

Calls for city elections, declarations and lists were printed only in Polish, which most Jews did not understand in 1924. Jews therefore decided to boycott the elections, meaning that the representatives elected to the entire municipal council were exclusively non-Jewish Poles.

Nevertheless, they had the audacity to declare that it was a great honour for the Poles that the Jews had entrusted them with supervising the economy of the famous city of Bialystok.

But after some time, a real scandal broke out. The Magistrate was made up of people such as Mluntshik, the well-known shoemaker from Novalipe Street^[4], and Zavadski, the tailor. Arguments and disputes occurred frequently. Mluntshik was often mocked with the cry, “Pan jesteś shvetses!” (“You, sir, are quite the shoemaker!”). He would respond in kind, and there was much ridicule and scorn [directed at the members of the Magistrate].

The Poles finally realised that they could achieve nothing without the Jews. The city's economy collapsed. The magistrate and city Administration were dissolved and new elections were held.

However, the non-Jewish villagers did not vote, claiming that they were being trapped. The Jews did vote this time. Despite supposedly being a minority, the Jews won the elections and formed the majority in the city Administration. However, to avoid provoking the Poles, the Jews agreed to elect a Polish city president and Volf Efner, a Jew, as vice president.

From 1927 onwards, Jews took charge of the city's economy. They ensured strict regulation of taxes, expenditure and revenue. Various Jewish institutions, such as the Jewish hospital, old people's home, orphanages, artisan school and all the Jewish educational institutions for children – such as the Talmud Torah, Khadorim [elementary schools], Yesodi HaTorah, Takhkemoni, Tarbut and public schools – received substantial subsidies from the city government.

Bialystok also repeatedly elected Jewish deputies and senators to the Polish Sejm (Parliament) in Warsaw, as well as to the Senate. In the years before World War II, Bialystok significantly improved its streetscape. Power lines were laid underground, streets were widened and avenues in the city were planted. A large part of the city was also provided with sewers. Large apartment buildings or four-family houses were built exclusively for Polish officials of the administrative region, stretching from the city park to the forest.

The Voivode of Bialystok and his staff were based in the Branicki Palace. Jews weren't enjoying themselves much at that time.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Contents in [ ] are from the translator. Contents in ( ) are from the author. Return
2. I would like to point out that there is a chapter with similar content by what appears to be the same author on page 37 of the English section of this Yizkor book, see “Under Polish Jurisdiction 1919-1939”. However, it is a separate translation and considerable abridgement of the original text, made by Rabbi Lowell S. Kronick, as mentioned on page V. Return
3. On page 37 of the English edition, the following translation appears: ‘Finally, after peace was concluded in 1920, many Bialystoker merchants and manufacturers returned from Russia where they had gone in 1915 to join the Czarist armies.’ I would like to point out that the highlighted passage has no equivalent in the original Yiddish text. To the best of my knowledge, it also lacks any historical foundation. This is a free and unsubstantiated assertion, one of several found throughout the translation, which are neither supported nor suggested by the original. Return
4. A note on street and personal names: I generally transcribe names according to the YIVO standard–that is, in the form most commonly written and pronounced by Yiddish speakers themselves. Certain squares and streets were given their own names by the Jewish population. It should also be noted that names were often spelled inconsistently by the same author within a single work. Return

The following depiction, reproduced here with abbreviations, is by I. Ch. Kontsipolski and describes the former Jewish cloth manufacturing in Bialystok.

To our sorrow and pain, the chapter of the world-famous Bialystok cloth industry has already been consigned to history. It is over. Although Bialystok was not a large city, it was nevertheless a lively and vibrant center of world trade. The city not only produced textiles and cloth, but also leather, iron, and other goods. Our dear relatives and acquaintances lived and worked there. The enemy destroyed them through bloodshed, fire, and smoke, and we don't even know where their graves are.

It is worthwhile to reawaken our memories of our recent past and our beloved, ruined city: “To shed a tear for the city once great among peoples, princess among the provinces.”^[3]

Cloth production in Bialystok began 120 years ago. The German government, which had annexed Bialystok and its surroundings from Russia 150 years ago and briefly controlled it [1795-1807], sent hundreds of families from their overpopulated lands to the Bialystok region, including many weavers and skilled artisans. Gradually, these Germans established and developed the cloth manufacturing.

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The Jews were excellent students who surpassed their German masters. They transformed the city of Bialystok into what would later become the largest manufacturing center in northwestern Russia.

We would also like to share facts and figures from our memory that essentially correspond to the time when we lived, traded, and even participated in Bialystok's manufacturing during the period after 1900.

We can divide Bialystok's manufacturing history into four periods. The first period is from 1840 to 1880, when the first factories opened in the area around Bialystok. These included the Moes factory in Choroszcz, the Buchholtz factory in Supraśl, and then the Commichau blanket factory in Bialystok. Many other factories later opened in the Bialystok area, but not in Bialystok itself because the city had no river^[4]. Finally, complete factories with dyeing and finishing plants require clean water.

Gradually, Jews began engaging in manufacturing. Sender Blokh, the son-in-law of Itshe Zabludovski (also known as Itshke the Wealthy), was the first manufacturer. He died young, and his energetic wife, Malka-Reyzl, took over the factory. Others soon started producing as well, including Nokhem Mints [Nachum Minc], Eliezer Halbershtam, Dodye Zabludovski, Noyekh [Noach]-Dovid Blokh, Dovid-Avraham Kempner, Yaakov Shloyme Barash, Berl Polyak, Leyzer Ber Preysman, Fayvl Blokh, Yeshaya Visotski, Betsalel Novik, and others.

For the first forty years, Jewish manufacturing was primitive. Looms were operated by hand, and manufacturers with insufficient technical expertise did not last long. Most produced thick “palto” [overcoat] cloth and wool or plush blankets.

This period saw the emergence of new manufacturers, including Aharon Surazki, Tevya Slonimski, Elizier Abramovski, Binyamin Amdurski, and Yudl Kronenberg. They were more successful, and their factories lasted longer. Although Jews faced competition from German manufacturers, thanks to their diligence and skill, Jewish manufacturers distributed their goods throughout the vast Russian markets via traveling salesmen.

By 1880, the [significant] Jewish presence in Bialystok's production was evident.

The first strike at Aharon Surazki's Bialystoker factory broke out in the 1880s. Anyway, the approach to this historic first strike in Bialystok was quite characteristic. Aharon Surazki was a Kotsker Chassid. He had a custom of going to the Kotsker Shtibl in the shul-hoyf (synagogue courtyard) early in the morning to pray. There, he would study a portion of the Mishnah, have a little schnapps in good company, then have breakfast at home and drive to his factory in Nowe [Miasto] in his carriage. One day, when he arrived at the factory at 10:00 a.m., he saw all the weavers sitting on the grass in the yard.

“Why are you sitting there not working?”

A weaver named Khayim Leyzer Yashinovker, who was also a Kotsker Chassid, stepped forward and gave Surazki a speech that began with these words:

“Listen, Aharke. The Torah says, ‘vechai achicha imach,’ meaning ‘your brother shall live as you do,’ and ‘ki yimuch achicha ve-hechezakta bo,’ meaning ‘if your brother falls into trouble, you shall raise him up and support him.’ Remember, Aharke, we work for you, and our wives and children are starving. We won't go back to the factory until you give us a raise so we can feed our families!”

This enraged Aharon Surazki.

“What's this all about, Khayim-Leyzer? Why are you calling me Aharke? Do you think you're in the Kotsker Shtibl? Here, I'm called Surazki, the factory owner. I can't accept this. Don't speak to me with such chutzpah!”

In the end, after a short strike, he partially gave in to the strikers (as I learned from one of them).

In the 1880s, improvements were made to Jewish factories. Gradually, steam power replaced pure manual labor in factories. Mechanical looms were introduced and fast, large self-acting mules were used instead of hand-operated machines in spinning mills.

However, only Christian Polish, German, and Russian workers benefited from these improvements because they were monopolized by these groups. Jews had to make do with hand-operated looms.

At that time, Jewish manufacturers produced fabrics such as “drap^[5],” “derbe,” “shtikfarbike,” “dimyen,” “eskimo,” and other “shevyot”^[6] cloth.

Most of the “drap” fabrics were produced by the Lunskis and the Amdurskis in Horodok, as well as in Nezbodke-Mikhalove [Michalowo-Niezbudka?]. There was an economic boom at that time as a result of the Russo-Turkish War because goods tend to sell faster and at higher prices during wartime. Manufacturers turned a profit and expanded their factories.

However, this prosperity was accompanied by frequent crises. Factories had to close due to economic pressure with no way out. Workers went without jobs, and the 8,000 textile workers in Białystok experienced great hardship and suffering. There were no unions or government support, and the workers had no savings. People suffered real hunger and hardship, resulting in bankruptcies and causing merchants and manufacturers to leave the industry .

In 1899, a particularly severe crisis swept through Bialystok. There was a great famine in Russia. People couldn't buy clothes. There was no bread, either. All the merchants in Bialystok who had bought goods on credit were left with their parcels of merchandise. Many of them couldn't pay for them.

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As a result, Bialystok's manufacturers closed their factories. Without money or goods, the city was thrown into a tailspin. One company after another fell victim. Bankruptcies occurred daily, and merchants went bust. Only by the end of the year did the situation improve, and life returned to normal.

By the beginning of the 20^th century, Bialystok was on the road to recovery. New manufacturers arrived and the weaker ones collapsed due to the previous crisis. Only the strong remained. Thus, the Poretski-Gavenskis arrived with new products for Bialystok, such as “burke” [fur capes], “shevyot” for cloth suits, drill fabrics and blankets, and “kastor,” a [cheap] suit fabric.

Bialystok began expanding its industry and mechanizing its machinery vigorously. They also sent energetic merchants to Russia to sell their goods.

The manufacturers examined how they could compete with those in Lodz and Momashov [Tomaszów Mazowiecki?], but most importantly, with the German manufacturers in Bialystok alone. These manufacturers tended to produce expensive goods. The Jewish manufacturers could not do this, so they started making goods for the tandet [cheap goods] tailor. Thus, the Jewish manufacturers could produce an article for two rubles per “arshin” (0.77 yards) while another manufacturer produced the same article for four rubles per arshin; in each case, the cost was purely for materials.

Bialystok produced goods so cheaply that cloth was sold for 70 kopecks per arshin. Moreover, ready-made coats were sold for five to six rubles each.

However, even though the non-Jew only wore his coat to church on Sundays, it was torn beyond repair by the second year.

Bialystoker blankets were also sold far and wide. In addition to Triling, who sold his “Montanyakh”^[7] blankets, Eliezer Abramovski was another major blanket manufacturer. In 1903, he sent a ship full of blankets to China and Manchuria, but Japan confiscated the ship during the Russo-Japanese War. Abramovski sued the Russian government and was subsequently paid.

Dovid Dubinski and Nokh were also major manufacturers of blankets.

At that time, strikes were a frequent occurrence. Founded in 1897, the “Bund” dealt with the strikes and dominated the Bialystok working class under its wing. The Polish revolutionary organization P.P.S. [Polska Partia Socjalistyczna] was also characterized by significant activity among Polish workers. So were the Russian S.D. [Russian Social Democratic Labor Party], anarchists, and communists among some workers.

In 1901, the Jewish factory owner Yisroel Mareyn was killed. Later, factory owner Eliezer Hendler was shot. Earlier still, “loynketnik” [small textile entrepreneur] Mendl Kolner was stabbed to death.

It was a turbulent time, and Bialystoker workers played a significant role in the Russian Revolution. Many police officers, high-ranking Russian officials, a police sergeant, and ordinary police officers fell victim in Białystok. In 1905, the government settled the score with Bialystok's Jews by organizing shootings on Surazer Street on “shabbos nakhmu” [Shabbat Nachamu], which resulted in many casualties. The following year, in 1906, the Russian government organized a pogrom in Bialystok. About 100 Jews were killed, and an even greater number were wounded.

A very prosperous period began for Bialystok's cloth manufacturing in 1907, and a large-scale transition to power looms began. Driven by nationalist sentiment, Jewish manufacturers began hiring Jewish workers for the new machines. However, Christian workers often expelled the Jewish workers, arguing that they had long enjoyed a monopoly on using the power machines.

This would often lead to fights until Bagayevski, the Governor-General of Bialystok at the time (who had a Jewish wife), intervened. He reached an agreement with the manufacturers and workers that half of the workers operating the new machines would be Jewish and the other half would be Christian. The “loynketnikes,” however, were excluded from this agreement and could hire whomever they wanted.

The final major milestone of the textile industry's boom was the electrification of Bialystok. In 1909, a Belgian company was granted a concession to build a power plant there. This doubled or even tripled production within five years, leading up to World War I.

Due to low energy costs and the ability to keep looms at home, workers and manufacturers switched to electro-mechanical looms.

Through the Bialystoker agent, one could order as many looms as desired on an installment plan. Foreign looms could be ordered on the condition that they would be paid off over several years. The Bialystoker “Payen Bank” loaned the weaver the first 300 rubles so he could pay the agent some cash.

Thus, the Jewish bank played a major role in Bialystok's manufacturing boom. According to my estimate, there were about 1,500 power looms in factories and about 1,500 looms in “loynketnikes” at that time. Hand-operated looms no longer played a role, and perhaps only a few dozen remained.

The steam-powered looms worked in two shifts. In my opinion, the trade sold goods worth approximately 150 million rubles in one year, 1911-1912. Around 25,000 people, including merchants and workers, lived near the factories at that time. Plans to electrify the tram in Bialystok were already in place by then. The line was to extend to Vashlikove [Wasilków].

However, with the outbreak of the First World War, everything was canceled. At that time, competent commissioners acted as agents in the cloth industry, including Shvartsbart, Aharon Yeshaya Shapiro, Arke Zilbershtam, Atlas, Raskyes, and Y. B. Epshteyn.

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Shvartsbart had two large merchants: the Muscovites Arshinov and Mitropanov. They bought goods for a quarter of a million rubles, paying mostly in cash. They arrived during Passover, when manufacturers were eager for profits, and purchased goods at low prices. Around Shavuos, a Moscow merchant named Madame Gokh used to come to Bialystok with her sons. She was the widow of a Nikolayevsker soldier. She usually bought goods worth 100,000 rubles. When she set the goods aside, they immediately wrote her an invoice with a discount for cash payment. She would then go to a corner, pull packets of “Katerines” and “Petrovkes” (100- and 500-ruble banknotes) from her stockings, and pay immediately.

Other merchants gave instructions to come to their hotels, negotiate terms, and submit bills of exchange, which often had a one-year payment term. In the city, this was called “Na Gad G'dud Yagudenu^[8].” During Shavuos and the summer, “tandente gotove-platye” [traveling merchants with ready-made garments] would often come. They were called “gotove-pleyte,” meaning “ready to go bankrupt.”

Once, “prikaztshikes” [merchant clerks] from a well-known company in Berditshev came to buy for themselves.

A factory owner answered them:

“I can't give you anything on credit because you won't pay anyway. As we know, you can only give credit to someone who has money and is honest. No matter how you look at it, though, it comes down to the same thing: either you were employed by someone, were honest, and didn't steal–in which case you can't have any money–or, conversely, you were dishonest and stole. So, if you have money, then you can't be honest, and I can't give you anything on credit…”

And so, Bialystok often suffered from frequent bankruptcies. Some merchants sent goods to Russian markets and trade fairs, or traveled there to sell them. The largest market fairs were usually held in Nizhny Novgorod, Kyiv, and Yarmolinets. After returning from Nizhny Novgorod, the manufacturer Binyamin Amdurski was asked what life was like there. He replied:

“There's as much merchandise there as street dirt and as many merchants as dogs, and I recited the second verse of Shir HaShirim^[9] to them, the bankrupts…”

There was a category of manufacturers who traded with poor customers. If things went well for a few years, they became rich. If not, they became destitute.

“Der Dorf”^[10] –that's what Yudl Kronenberg, his sons Sender, Khayim, Leyb, and Hershl, and his brother Binyamin Amdurski were called. They mostly traded with less wealthy customers. Their factories were located in Horodok and Pestshanik. Many manufacturers had no machinery at all. They would send yarn to be spun on other people's machines, where it was woven and finished. For example, to Velter, Moyshe Krinski, and others.

After getting married, a young man would think about what to do for a living and start producing “kayklekh” [ textile goods]. If the season was good and he made a profit, he continued working. If not, he had cut up his goods for nothing, which meant the end for him!

Manufacturers searched for new items every season. If they were lucky, they made money before the items were widely available. Two major wool merchants at that time were Roznblum and Yerukham Movshovits. The Tshekhonovts merchants used to sell large quantities of wool to Bialystok. Manufacturers also bought a large portion of their wool at the Warsaw Wool Market. Wool produced by Polish landowners from their Merino sheep was brought there from all over Poland. Bialystok also bought wool from Germany that had been sheared and washed from Australian Merino sheep.

In 1911, a new product was introduced: “Dubley” [Dublee]. The inventors were the manufacturers Psakhin and Freydkin. They became very wealthy because, at first, no one knew how to imitate their product. The manufacturers Fink and Feynsod worked their way up through a patent. They posted a sign on their goods that read “free of shatnez,” [meaning free of religiously forbidden mixed fabrics]. They earned a lot from their Polish clientele.

Bialystok was generally a city where you could make good money. Throughout the surrounding area, it was considered a second America. The city expanded year after year, growing with new buildings. The merchant class never considered immigrating to America. Those who left were people who didn't want to serve in the Tsar's army, were bankrupt, or were politically incorrect. This continued until 1914.

During the first year of World War I, factories received large orders from the Russian government. However, as the German armies approached Poland, the manufacturers sent trains of goods deep into Russia. The sale of goods and opening of factories was undertaken by Yerukham Bril in Klintsi, Paretski-Gavenski in the Kyiv area, and Triling near Moscow. Many kept their goods until the end of the war. However, by then, the Bolsheviks had taken over the government and confiscated the goods.

So the factory owners returned to their factories in Poland without capital, they were impoverished and depressed.

Following the peace agreement with Russia in 1919, the reconstruction of the new Poland brought the powerful Polish industry to a standstill. Lodz, with its cotton and vigogne production; Bialystok, with its cloth and blankets; and Tomashov and Zgerzh, known for their fine cloth manufacturing, were left without markets for their goods.

Warsaw, with its haberdashery goods, was affected as well.

Poland, with its 30 million inhabitants, only needed two months to restart production in the aforementioned cities' efficient, modern factories. Another textile center also emerged: Bielsko in Lower Silesia.

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President Wilson had separated it from Austria and assigned it to Poland. Bielsko also produced cloth goods and woolen blankets. All of these cities with their machinery and industries had been adapted to the Russian market of 160 million people.

During the German occupation of World War I, Bialystok produced goods on a small scale for the German army. New manufacturers emerged at that time, including Sokol-Zilberfenig and Nokh. They purchased many steam-powered looms and machine accessories, including spinning machinery units and finishing materials, from Lodz. Lodz suffered greatly because the Germans seized the steam mills and destroyed the machinery. The Germans believed that Lodz would certainly remain under their control and intended to destroy its high-quality manufacturing for a long time to come.

However, they weren't afraid of Bialystok because it produced cheap, crude goods that Germany didn't produce. Thus, they spared Bialystok.

While the Bialystok factories suffered no damage, German manufacturers in Bialystok and the surrounding area were forced out of business. This included the prominent Moes of Choroszcz, whose factory was burned by the Russians, as well as Komikhov from Bialystok, Izenbek, and others.

They were all displaced, and their factories passed to Jews. But what were they to do with the factories, since there were no markets for their goods? They worked for two to three months during the season, sold what little they had, and then there was another standstill. Occasionally, they received orders for cloth for uniforms and blankets for the Polish army.

However, the income was low and only for a short time. The Polish government of Paderewski and Grabski viewed Bialystok with suspicion because the entire manufacturing industry was in Jewish hands, and they did not know if Bialystok would remain part of Poland at all.

And when a delegation of Jewish factory owners came to the Polish War Ministry and asked Finance Minister Grabski to award contracts to factories in Bialystok for the army, Grabski replied that Poland was not interested in Bialystok becoming an industrial city. He said the workers would be better off growing and selling potatoes, and that the factories should be closed.

From time to time, however, they obtained orders for uniform cloth and blankets, which was just enough to survive. The factory owners began to organize themselves. The first organization was “Wielki Przemysl” (Great Industry). Large manufacturers such as Novik, Paretski-Gavenski, Triling, Shmuel Zitron (Citron), and Isak Pines joined this association. A second association was founded by medium-sized and large manufacturers such as Sokol, Zilberfenig, Isser Shapiro, Khana Mareyn, Amiel Kulikovski, Itshe Meir Sokol and his son, and others. Even smaller manufacturers organized associations, including a “loynketnikes” association.

These associations were all active in securing orders for their members in the region. They negotiated with professional unions during strikes and sometimes purchased raw materials from abroad. In fact, they competed with each other for government orders, sometimes even paying extra to secure contracts.

Bialystok tried to find markets in the wider world. After a while, the city was selling goods to China, India, and England. However, due to World War I and the Chinese Civil War, trade halted.

Factory owners and their factories began to leave Bialystok. Some, like the Paretski and Nokh brothers, moved their factories to Romania. They did quite well there until World War I. At the beginning of the war, they came to Erets Yisroel. Some factory owners moved their factories to Yugoslavia, Argentina, and Australia. Thus, Bialystok was left bled dry and despondent.

The Noviks sold their factories piece by piece, keeping only their hat factory.

Paretski-Gavinski also sold their factories, keeping only the finishing factory in Vashlikove [Wasilków].

The remaining factory owners stayed in Bialystok, thanks to Jewish stubbornness, and persevered until the outbreak of the World Fire, World War II, which destroyed the 60,000-strong Jewry of Bialystok–our Geonim, lightbearers in spirit and production.

Our dear, famous, beautiful Bialystok no longer exists!

Three factory friends- woman spoolers- in the year 1904 [Edited by Dr. Tomak Wisniewski, The Place].

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The second Polish census, conducted on December 19, 1932, revealed that Bialystok had a population of 91,325, 39,165 of whom were Jewish. The third official census, which was scheduled to take place in 1941, did not occur due to the war.

A private census conducted on April 1, 1936, estimated the total population at 99,722, 43 percent of whom were Jewish.

By July 1939, the Jewish population was estimated to be 50,000. The Magistrate Statistical Office estimated the total population at 108,063.

In October 1939, the estimated population was approximately 200,000, of whom 50,000 were Jews. Approximately half of them were refugees arriving from Nazi-occupied cities and towns in Poland. At that time, the Jewish population amounted to about 70 percent of the total population–approximately 140,000 Jewish individuals, as most of the refugees were Jewish.

The year 1939 was, or should have been, a jubilee year for many social and cultural institutions. They were celebrating–or preparing to celebrate–the 20th anniversary of their existence and activities.

At the end of 1918, the city was still under German occupation during World War I. Especially after February 19, 1919, when Bialystok was incorporated into the Polish Republic, a new era of productive activity in all areas began for the Jewish Bialystok.

After being under Russian rule for over a hundred years and experiencing persecution and political and cultural oppression, Poland finally became a free nation. With the attainment of independence and freedom, Polish nationalism flared up and soon transformed into chauvinism. Antisemitism grew day by day.

Those who had recently been oppressed soon began to oppress Jews, especially in the economic sphere. Jews were systematically pushed out of their economic positions. Jewish labor was boycotted. To outdo Jewish competition, all kinds of taxes were imposed. Jews began to offer organized resistance. They formed professional associations, cooperatives, and credit societies.

Cultural and social institutions for self-help and social welfare were established, as well as a solid and strong school system and a good Jewish press. Thanks to substantial financial support from American Jewish organizations such as the Joint and the Bialystok Relief Committee, as well as individual patrons, Jewish life began to recover.

The new democratic Kehile [Jewish community] compensated for its shortcomings, supported existing institutions, and devoted itself to new activities. New societies were founded. Dynamic Jewish Bialystok built a modern cultural life on a larger and broader scale.

Thus, the year 1939 became a year of celebration. The jubilees and the entire Bialystok Jewry took stock of what had been built and achieved over the previous 20 years. People wished for greater successes in the coming years and hoped for better times and broader prospects.

However, a violent storm was already approaching. In its 300 years as a Jewish residential area, Bialystok had experienced many political crises, wars, revolutions, pogroms, invasions by various armies, and periods of “Sturm und Drang.” It now hoped to survive this difficult time as well.

People worked and produced until the very last minute, and no one had expected that, even in this anniversary year, Hitler – may his name be erased – would carry out his plan to strike Jewish life across Eastern Europe with this bloody blow, and bring an end to the vibrant, roaring pulse of Jewish life in Bialystok.

Over the past 100 years, Jewish society in Bialystok has gone through four phases.

The first was the reign of the powerful Yekhiel-Ber Volkoviski [Yechiel-Ber Wolkowiski], which began in the 1860s. Jewish life developed and progressed economically and culturally. Apart from the powerful ruler himself, however, no one had authority or influence. Wolkowiski was the sole ruler. He held the direction of Jewish affairs in his hands for almost half a century.

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At the beginning of the 20^th century, a fierce opposition to the reactionary, authoritarian regime emerged under the influence of the young national political parties that were beginning to consolidate at that time. The “Koletsky Era” began. The leadership became more progressive, modern, and democratic in theory. However, the new leader, Yudel Koletsky, also managed community affairs with a firm hand and, in many ways, even displayed overconfidence. This continued until the First World War and the initial German occupation.

The second phase was the so-called religious Kehile, based on membership in bote-midroshim.

“The Administration of ‘MARPE’ in Bialystok in 1932. This society helped people suffering from tuberculosis and saved many young lives from an early death.”

After the war, in 1918, the broad masses realized that power was in their hands and that their time had come. They took advantage of the revolutionary mood in Germany and Eastern Europe and dismantled the aristocratic Va'ad HaKahal [Community Council], which had led the religious Kehile. At that time, the Democratic Community was born, based on proportional representation among all groups.

The Bialystok Relief Organization and other American organizations, as well as relatives abroad, sent support funds to the Jewish community, its institutions, and, to a large extent, individuals. The Kehile considered itself a government that represented its own interests. It began establishing new, modern institutions, various types of schools, and an artisan school for boys and girls. The community also cared for the health of the Jewish population, orphans, the disabled, and others. Later, when the flow of funds stopped, the community no longer cared for these groups, and all the institutions had to fight for their survival. They had to raise funds independently to maintain them.

The community board lost importance, and social and cultural work became decentralized.

In 1928, the Pilsudski Decree concerning religious communities was published. That same year, the first Kehile of this kind was elected. The “Bund” and Poalei Zion occupied the left wing. In the center were the General Zionists, craftsmen, and several other economic groups. The right wing was held by Mizrachi and Aguda.

In 1933, the community was elected for a second time on the same basis. The Bund did not participate in that election.

On November 30, 1937, new elections were held for the Community Administration and the Community Council (third term).

On February 27, 1938, during a meeting of the Community Council, Sh. Goldman was appointed Chairman and M. Visotsky Vice-Chairman.

In October 1938, the Ministry informed them that Sh. Goldman would not be confirmed as Community Chairman, and on October 23, at a meeting of the Community Council, lawyer Tsvi Klementinowski was elected president.

Since the Community Council elections required government confirmation, the previous council remained in power until July 1939. Below, we provide details regarding the composition of the Kehile and its members.

Chairman of the Community Council: Y. Lifshits; Chairman of the Administration: Tsvi Cohen; Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Budget Committee: B. Shmid.

Members: B. Subotnik, Kh. Oldak, Sh. Puninaski, Y. Inditski, Kh. Stolyar, M. Kh. Hershkovitsh, B. Fisher, A. Goldberg, A. Kh. Yoshpe, L. A. Levin, F. Melnitski, H. Shvets, Y. Petsiner, M. Kvyatovitsh, and F. Tsitron [Citron].

Director: Engineer A. Barash. The secretary, Sh. Ravet, managed the Jewish Communal Registry. HaRav Dr. G. Rozenman was the presiding rabbi, but did not interfere in rabbinate affairs.

The economic department was headed by officials Sukotski and Shinyak. The cash and accounting department was headed by Grosman and Kamenetski. The legal advisor to the Kehile was lawyer Varshavski.

The Administration was located at 7 Sosnove [Sosnowa] Street. The study library was also located in the same building. The librarian was Yerukhem Bakhrakh.

On July 4, 1939, the Kehile received a message from the Starostva [Office of the District Governor] stating that, the following people had been confirmed in office according to the Ministry's rescript of July 20, 1938:

Chairman of the Community Council: Tsvi Klementinovsky. Vice President: M. Visotski. Chairman of the Administration: Kh. Oldak. Deputy Chairman: B. Subotnik.

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The composition of the new Kehile was officially published on July 6, 1939.

The Administration: Kh. Oldak and Y. Goldberg (Zionists);

Y. Vaks, B. Floymenboym, Dameratski, and P. Feygin (“Bund”); B. Farbshteyn (Aguda); F. Melnitski (Craftsmen); Y. Rubinshteyn (Merchants); Petsiner and Schvets (Poalei-Zion); B. Subotnik (Mizrakhi).

The Community Council included: Sh. Goldman, Shobfish, Lev, Novodvarski, Melamdovitsh, Psakhye, Kimkhe, and M. Rubinshteyn (“Bund”); Tsvi Cohen; B. Schmid (H. Grad replaced him after his resignation); and Tsvi Klementinowski (Zionists). HaRav B. Halpern - he later became a Kehile official and H. Bagon replaced him- (Mizrakhi); Dr. Grosfeld, Schuster, and Beknshteyn (Poalei Zion); M. Visotski (retailers); Goldberg, M. Y. Leyzerovitsh, and Spektor (Craftsmen); F. Waynberg and M. Mavshovski (Aguda); Atlasovitsh (Revisionists); A. Tiktin (after his resignation, Y. Lifshits replaced him); and M. Kuryanski.

On July 11, the first meeting of the Kehile Administration took place under the chairmanship of Kh. Oldak, during which social, economic, and monitoring commissions were selected.

Then, on July 14, the first Community Council meeting took place under the leadership of Zvi Klementinowski.

Many social and cultural organizations and institutions were officially registered as property of the Kehile, but in reality, they were completely autonomous

The Rabbinate of Bialystok was located at 25 Nay-Velt Street. It consisted of ten rabbis: Meir Shtsedrovitski, Nachman Bishkowits, Ari Shapiro (son-in-law of Rabbi Chaim Herz, son of HaRav R' Rafael of Volozhin), Simcha Malin, Moyshe Malin, Pinchas Ayznshtat [Eisenstadt], Boruch-Eli Kaplan, Krupinski, and two “moyre-hoyroes” [rabbis and religious judges].

The Kehile bath, the city's only public bath for Jews and non-Jews, was located on Nadretshna [Nadrzeczna] Street in a house donated to the community according to M. Monasevitsh's will.

The kosher poultry slaughterhouse was under the supervision of the Kehile. It was housed in two premises, one of which was on Penkna Street.

The Khevra [Chevra] Kadisha was located on Nay-Velt Street. The old Chevra Kadisha existed even before the old Jewish cemetery opened. The new Chevra Kadisha, which had officially approved statutes, was established in 1855.

Immediately following the 1937 pogrom in Pshitic [Przytyk?], the editors of “Undzer Leben” initiated the formation of a relief committee within the Kehile. This committee was expanded and consolidated during the 1936 pogroms in the Minsk-Mazowiecki region and later in Czyzew.

A large committee was formed and elected a Presidium. It consisted of Chairman HaRav Dr. Rosenman; Vice-Chairmen Dr. Raygrodski and B. Subotnik, the editor P. Kaplan; and Yakev Lifshits.

The other committee members were Y. Pelnitser, F. Melnitski, Kh. Oldak; the lawyers Varshavsky, Tsvi Klementinowski, and Ogushevits as secretary. When a large stream of refugees passed through Zbanzin (Zbąszyń), the community established the “Committee for Refugees from Germany”. The committee was led by two prominent industrialists, Y. Zilberfenik and L. Polyak, and the lawyer Tsvi Klementinowski.

In September 1939, the committee was transformed into a “General Committee” for refugees arriving from small border towns. Large-scale activities followed, but the committee's activity was limited to only a few weeks.

The Commitee Maykhl Kosher [Kosher Food] which provided kosher food for the Jewish soldiers and Jewish prisoners.

In 1944, the Jewish Hospital in Bialystok was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

The first hospital was founded in 1840 by Sender Blokh in a rented house on Shpitalne [Szpitalna] Street (formerly called Khaye-Odem Street) in the shulhoyf. Twenty-three years later, two years before his death, Itshe Zabludowski donated a courtyard with a front building and a garden on Old Boyare [Stare Bojary] Street (later Varshever 15) for the purpose of establishing a Jewish hospital.

He left 3,000 rubles for the construction of a second building and 5,000 rubles, the interest from which was to cover hospital costs. The building was erected in the courtyard in 1872, and a second two-story building was built in the second courtyard in 1893.

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In recent years, the Jewish Hospital was a renowned institution, both in Bialystok and in the surrounding area. It had a good reputation among all sections of the population, even among non-Jews. Its medical and surgical departments were particularly well-equipped and included an outpatient X-ray clinic. The hospital also served as a university clinic where young doctors could expand and complete their practical and theoretical medical studies.

In the years leading up to the Holocaust, Dr. Kaplan was the hospital's chief director. Dr. Rosental worked in the surgical department. Dr. Frishman coordinated the medical department.

Dr. Lukatshevski, Dr. Eynhorn, and Dr. Treyvush worked with him. Drs. Shatski and Gavze led the Ear, Throat, and Eye Department. Dr. Krinsky headed the Dermatology Department.

The younger doctors were Dr. Y. Sokol, Dr. Vasilkovski, Dr. Soloveytshik, Dr. Kutman [sic], Dr. Krupnik, Dr. Ayznshteyn [Eisenstein], Dr. Fisher, Dr. Kramazh, Dr. Levy, Dr. Novogrudski, and Dr. Naum Klementinovsky.

At one of the last meetings of the new Municipal Administration, the new supervisory board of the Jewish Hospital was elected: Dr. Raygrodski, Dr. Sokol, Domeratski, Engineer Lunski, Dr. Grosfeld, Vider, and Leyzer Kane.

The old age home (“Bogadelnye”) was located on Gumyener Street in a building constructed in 1882. Its founders were Yekhiel-Ber Volkoviski, Yakev Shloyme Barash, and Leyb Yevnin. Under the leadership of charity overseer Fayvel Tsitron [Citron] and, later, Benyamin Citron, the facility was modernized and established a special medical department headed by Dr. Naum Klementinowski.

The most active public figures in recent years were M.D. Fridman and Y. Beyrakhovitsh.

At the Municipal Council meeting held on August 3, 1939, the following people were elected to the old age home's Administration: Khemyovitsh, Kanel, Vaynshteyn, Grad, and Goldberg.

The Women's Committee consisted of the following women: Shvartsman, Pintel, Khemyovitsh, Viksman, Safer, Veyksman, Saper, and Valdman. Mrs. Khinke Grinhoyz was the chairwoman. The committee played an important role in caring for the facility.

In 1939, 150 elderly men and women stayed at the old age home.

The almshouse was located in a dilapidated old building at the old Jewish cemetery on Surazer [Suraska] Street. The cemetery was established in 1777 and had already ceased to be used by 1860. In 1886, fifteen disabled individuals were housed in the almshouse.

In 1909, communal activists Ayzik Horodishtsh, Maks Barash, Merlinski, and Treshtshanski added a building to house 50 disabled individuals.

In 1913, a new two-story house was constructed and an additional story was added to the existing building. Electric lighting and a bathhouse with bathtubs were also installed.

By 1939, the facility housed 140 disabled retired individuals.

The Women's Committee took care not only of the old age home, but also of the almshouse.

The following were elected to the new Administration on August 3, 1939: Beyrakhovitsh [Beirachovich], Boyarski, Psakhye, M. Movshovski, and Veydenboym [Weidenbaum].

The “Committee” was founded in 1869 by Rabbi Meir Markus, A.F. Blumenfeld, Meir Vaynreykh [Weinreich], Moyshe Rubinshteyn, and others. In 1878, the “Committee” established a women's society, “Soymekh Noflim” [He who lifts the fallen]. In 1879, the “Committee” was renewed on a more solid basis. The following departments were established: Yad Kharutsim [Hand of the Able], Khevra Yoldes [Organization for Women Giving Birth], and Hakhnosas Orkhim [Hospitality].

The gaboim [secretaries and charity overseers] of this “Committee” considered themselves, in effect, the highest gaboim, and the “Committee” performed most of the functions of the Kehile, which at that time, however, had not yet been legalized by the authorities.

The “Committee's” activities became increasingly limited from year to year, and public interest in the institution diminished.

After the Kehile was legalized by the government and became a separate government, the “Committee” lost its influence and virtually ceased to exist.

In 1921, a group of community workers founded the organisation “Tzedakah G'dolah” (“matan baseter”, giving charity in secret) with the goal of consolidating religious philanthropic activities. Its leadership was in the hands of Chairman Mordekhay Zilberblat, and Vice Chairman A. Kantorovitsh and M. Weidenbaum.

In the spring of 1939, Jews in Bialystok waged a fierce election campaign for city council seats. There were three lists: the “Bund”, the Jewish Democratic Bloc (Zionists), and the General Jewish Bloc.

On May 21, the election results were announced. The following seats were distributed among the 48 council members:

Ozon [Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego] - 21 seats, Endekes [Narodowa Demokracja] - 5 seats, P.P.S. [Polska Partia Socjalistyczna] - 6 seats, the General Jewish Bloc - 3 seats, the Jewish Democratic Bloc - 3 seats, and the “Bund” - 10 seats.

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The following were elected as members of the council:

“Bund”: Yakev Vaks, lawyer Yosef Fin, Benyamin Floymenboym, Sha'ul [Saul] Goldman, Leyzer Shobfish, Shmuel Feygin, Moyshe Melamdovitsh, Rivke [Rebecca] Kustin, Eliyahu Domeratski, and Y. Kreyn.

Jewish-Democratic Bloc: Lawyer Hirsch (Tsvi) Klementinowski, lawyer Reuven Nakhimovsky (Zionists), and Dr. Yakev Grosfeld (Poalei Zion).

General Jewish Bloc: Dr. Aleksander Raygrodski, Yaakov Lifshits, and Bonim Farbshteyn.

The representative of the largest Jewish group in the city council, B. Floymenboym (“Bund”), was elected as “lavnik” (lay judge) in the magistrate's office.

However, because B. Floymenboym was a member of the magistrate, Hersh Lev (“Bund”) took his place on the city council.

The Study Library

The Study Library was founded by the Kehile [Jewish community] on January 15, 1933. The initiator of this important cultural achievement was Pesach Kaplan, who also directed the library for six years. In the short time of its existence, the Study Library gained full attention and recognition within Yiddish-speaking cultural Bialystok. It fulfilled the idea and purpose of its founding. Scholars, educators, writers, speakers, researchers, and students drew from the treasure trove of Jewish knowledge concentrated in the library.

By 1939, the library held around 14,000 volumes in fields such as history, philosophy, theology, social sciences, literary criticism, geography, Judaic studies, and Jewish classics in Hebrew and Yiddish. Special emphasis was placed on literature from or about Erets-Yisroel (Land of Israel). There were many rare editions, first editions, and a very important department–the Regional Department–which contained everything related to the history of Bialystok and its surroundings.

There were a dozen old registry books from the 17^th century and important documents. According to a decision by the library administration, this Regional Department was to bear the name of the late co-founder and former vice-chairman Dr. Sh. Gutman.

The Library Administration consisted of the Chairman Pesach Kaplan, the Vice-Chairman Khaykel Oldak, the secretary Y. Inditski, and the members Apt. [Apothecary] Neidus, Apt. Kuritski, B. Epshteyn, and A. M. Sheynman.

Yeruchem Bakhrakh served as librarian. The library was maintained by the Kehile and was named after Dr. Yosef Chazanowicz, the founder of the National Library in Jerusalem.

The Sholem Aleichem Library at 36 Syenkevitsha [Sienkiewicza] Street was among the jubilarians celebrating its twenty-first anniversary. It was established on May 13, 1919, marking the third anniversary of Sholem Aleichem's death, by the “Youth Association,” which had been active since 1916. By that time, the “Youth Association” had already begun collecting books, thereby laying the foundation for the library.

In its anniversary year of 1939, the library held a collection of 50,000 volumes in eight languages. It served 3,500 active readers from diverse social backgrounds, with more than 10 percent of its readership comprising non-Jewish persons. A dedicated study room was available for those engaged in scholarly work, offering a substantial selection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and periodicals.

Printed bulletins were issued several times annually, providing updates on newly acquired books, literary events, anniversaries, and commemorations of prominent authors. The library played a significant role in the cultural life of the Jewish community in Bialystok and was considered one of the key contributors to intellectual advancement and cultural development within the Jewish quarter.

The Chairman of the library was Y. Rivkind, and the librarian was Khayim Levinski. In May 1939, the library's Administration resolved to publish a commemorative volume in honor of its twentieth anniversary. However, this initiative could not be realized.

The Yehoyesh Reading Room, located within the Jewish Circle of Literature and Journalism at 36 Kupyetska [Kupiecka] Street, was established on December 2, 1927, in honor of the poet Yehoyesh, who had passed away earlier that year in the United States. In addition to the domestic Jewish press, the reading room held nearly all Jewish newspapers published abroad, amounting to approximately 150 different editions.

The Esperanto Society in Bialystok was named after the creator of Esperanto, Dr. Ludwik Zamenhof, who was born in Bialystok in 1859 and died on April 17, 1919, in Warsaw. The society was founded in 1920 and was simultaneously preparing to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its existence.

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The Economic Council

In general, it was a very difficult time. The economic depression caused widespread unemployment. Particularly within Jewish circles, despair and resignation prevailed.

On the one hand, there were the high state taxes on income and profits, on property and patents, as well as various municipal levies. On the other hand, the antisemitic front, which had set itself the goal of destroying above all the Jewish merchant and retailer, paralyzed Jewish economic life. Jewish Bialystok, however, with its consistently vigorous dynamism, its incredible energy and strength of will, did not lose courage even in these difficult times and sought–and found–means and ways of helping itself in the economic struggle.

The Jews of Bialystok established new institutions, founded new organizations and societies for mutual aid, and in 1937 created a council of all economic organizations. In doing so, they not only ended the bitter competition among themselves, but also consolidated their economic forces.

The Economic Council mediated commercial disputes. It launched a “patent-aktsye” [fundraising campaign] and successfully advocated within the Kehile for various subsidies to support those suffering from the economic depression. Some 1,700 craftsmen, 800 retailers, and 600 merchants participated in the Economic Council. The Council instructed its representatives in the various financial institutions, monitored their activities, and became an economic force within the Jewish communal life of the city.

Despite the general economic crisis, the upswing in the textile industry that began in 1926 continued until 1939. The fabric factories operated at full capacity. There were numerous orders for goods.

Products were manufactured that could compete with those of the manufacturers from Lodz and Bielitz. Orders came from the Polish state. Bialystok products were exported to Africa, Australia, China, India, and various British colonies. They even received orders from the Soviet Union.

In 1939, there were 110 manufacturers in Bialystok: 60 larger ones with their own machines and 50 smaller ones. In total, 120 “zats-machines”^[4]. Annual production amounted to approximately 40 million zlotys, with a total weight of 6,500 tons.

More than 20% of this was exported to 25 different countries. The remainder was used for domestic consumption. The textile factories employed over 7,000 workers, both Christians and Jews.

The Bialystok manufacturers were organized in an association called the “Industrial Association.” It was headquartered at 38 Syenkevitsha [Sienkiewicza] Street and encompassed the industry of the entire voivodeship. It had representatives in the “Vilna-Bialystok Chamber of Commerce.” The association was a member of the “All-Polish Industrial Federation” and of the “Textile Union” in Lodz.

The association had the following sections: taxation matters, social insurance, legal assistance, and interventions.

The association was founded on December 8, 1918, and celebrated its 20^th anniversary in the winter of 1939. It was established during a period of severe industrial crisis in Bialystok. The main purpose of the association was to support the interests of masters who had returned from Russia and Germany.

The Textile Masters' Association was the first professional organization to be officially recognized by the labor inspection authority.

The association was continuously active in all economic activities of the workers of Bialystok and also engaged in cultural work among its members.

In 1928, the association published a journal – the first professional magazine for Jewish textile masters written in Yiddish.

By 1939, the association had more than 60 members, including professions such as spinning masters, weaving masters, machine operators, and dyeing masters. Non-Jewish masters were also members of the association.

Previously, this association functioned as a club for merchants and manufacturers. Once the political situation stabilized, the club began operating as a professional organization and, in recent years, became a strong and solid economic institution. It defended the interests of merchants and small industrialists by intervening in tax matters and creating favorable credit opportunities.

The headquarters was located in Warsaw, at Senatorska Street 22. In Bialystok, the office was located at 6 Marshal Pilsudski [Pilsudskiego] Street.

The association was deeply committed to supporting Jewish merchants in neighboring towns, especially during the Brisk relief campaign.

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It operated through the Industrial and Commercial Bank and the Colonial Merchants Bank.

In 1938, the association founded an interest-free loan fund, which developed significantly even in its first year.

The Small Traders' Association was founded in late 1927 on the initiative of Moyshe Visotski. In its first year, 150 members joined. Later, when membership reached 700, the association relocated to a larger premises at 27 Kupyetska Street.

An arbitration tribunal was established, which by 1932 encompassed 19 different trade sectors. The food and colonial goods sector, which had the largest number of members, was headed by Yakev Cohen, who served as vice-chairman of the association that year. (The chairman was M. Kvyatovitsh, and the second vice-chairman was Y. Broynrat.)

By 1939, membership had grown to 1,100, and the association had developed a vigorous program of activities. M. Kvyatovitsh, who had served as chairman until 1938, was appointed director.

The Jewish Craftsmen's Association was officially recognized under the name Idishe Handverker-Gezelshaft in Bialystok. It was founded on February 23, 1918, through the initiative of Tsvi Vider.

By 1923, the association counted approximately 400 members; by 1926, around 600; and by 1928, membership had already surpassed 1,400. Despite this steady growth, the association faced a persistent state of crisis. The Industrial Law of 1927 marked a turning point, presenting the association with several key structural tasks: a mass campaign to acquire craftsmen's licenses, the transformation into a federative union of independent guilds and trades, and the establishment of a craftsmen's bank.

The association was headquartered at 21 Kilinskyego [Kilińskiego] Street. Tsvi Vider served as chairman for many years; vice-chairmen included Pesach Melnitski and Y. Plonski.

The affiliated guilds and trades included: the needleworkers' guild, bakers' guild, metalworkers' guild, woodworkers' guild, leatherworkers' guild, as well as barbers, butchers, and the wage-weavers' section.

The last available statistical data stem from a survey conducted by the Joint Distribution Committee in 1921. In the 1930s, semi-official and private sources reported approximately 2,000 Jewish artisan workshops employing 2,600 wage workers in Bialystok.

By 1933, the number of registered members in the Craftsmen's Association had reached 1,653.

The Butchers' Association was founded on February 25, 1924, by the butchers themselves, after both the Merchants' Association and the Craftsmen's Association had refused to admit this section. In its early days, when the association had only a small number of members, it operated out of a private apartment. As membership grew, it moved into its own premises on Zamenhof (Yatke) Street.

Following the enactment of the Industrial Law, organized butchers across the country sought official recognition of meat slaughtering as a craft. As a result, the association was restructured into a butchers' guild.

Beginning in 1936, when Madame Pristar led a violent campaign advocating for legislation against kosher slaughter in Poland, members of the butchers' guild lived in constant fear of what the future might bring and engaged in a fierce struggle against the proposed law.

The leather and tanning industry played a significant role in Bialystok, particularly before World War I. In the 1880s, the leather industry developed strongly in both Bialystok and Krinik [Krynki]. Before World War I, the Grodno Governorate counted approximately 200 leather manufacturers employing around 6,000 workers. Bialystok was the center of the leather industry and played an important role in the development of Poland's leather sector. Within the Bialystok Voivodeship, there were 5 leather factories in Zabludave [Zablodow], 4 in Sokolka, and 42 in Krynki.

Both the timber trade and the construction sector experienced a severe crisis in the postwar years. There were various reasons for this, such as government legislation, export restrictions, and the clearing system. The timber trade, which had suffered greatly from the decline in exports, could not be compensated by increased domestic consumption. There were no signs of a rise in construction activity. In the final year of 1938 and in 1939, prospects in both sectors began to improve. To defend the interests of the timber trade in the Bialystok region, a timber section was established in 1937 at the initiative of a group of timber industrialists within the “Greater Bialystok Industrial Association.”

The Payen Bank, located at 5 Gildova Street, was the oldest Jewish credit society.

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It was founded in 1901 and, for a short time, gained the trust of the Jewish population and built a large clientele, with deposits amounting to one million rubles. Its primary purpose was to provide small loans to its members. During World War I, its operations were interrupted and resumed during the first German occupation. However, the period was extremely difficult. Only in 1924, when the Polish currency was stabilized, did the bank resume regular business activity and began to grow steadily year by year. By 1931, deposits exceeded 3 million zlotys. At the beginning of 1931, the bank had 2,800 members.

The Municipal Credit Society was founded in 1907 and remained active until World War I. On January 1, 1921, the society resumed its operations. The bank was located at 17 Kosciuszko Street.

The Bank for Trade and Industry, located at 13 Kosciuszko Street, was founded in 1910. Its operations were interrupted during World War I but resumed in 1922. In recent years, it was considered one of the most stable cooperative banks in Poland.

The Balebatim Bank, located at Rynek Kosciuszko 17, was founded in 1928.

The Colonial Bank, also known as the Colonial Merchants Bank, located at 1 Pilsudskiego Street, was founded by members of the Merchants' Association. It was later transformed into an independent financial institution.

The Cooperative People's Bank was located at 5 Syenkevitsha Street. In August 1939, B. Floymenboym was appointed director of the bank.

The Interest-Free Relief and Loan Fund, affiliated with the District Merchants' Association, was founded on July 1, 1926, as a rescue committee for impoverished Jews. The initial $300 was donated by the “Joint.” On January 1, 1928, the rescue committee was officially registered under the name Jewish Interest-Free Loan Fund.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Contents in [ ] are from the translator. Contents in ( ) are from the author. Return
2. I would like to point out that there is a chapter with similar content by what appears to be the same author on page 38 ff of the English section of this Yizkor book, see “The Community before the War”. However, it is a separate translation and considerable abridgement of the original text, made by Rabbi Lowell S. Kronick, as mentioned on page V. Return
3. “Great Charity”, a central fund for various charitable purposes. Return
4. “Zats-machines” may refer to a type of textile processing equipment used in small and medium-sized workshops, possibly semi-automated sewing or embroidery machines common in pre-war Bialystok. Return

During the two decades in which Dos Naye Leben and Undzer Leben were in circulation, Jewish Bialystok saw the publication of numerous other newspapers and magazines as well:

• Volksblat: A daily newspaper, published in the summer of 1919, issued by the Zionist Organization under the editorship of M. Shtutshinski. The main contributor was Y. Shteynsapir. The newspaper appeared for only two months.
• Bialystoker Shtime: A weekly paper, published in 1924. It was issued by the contributors Moyshe Visotski, Y. N. Shteynsapir, and M. Sirote. The paper existed for only one and a half years.
• Bialystoker Idisher Kurier: It was published daily, later weekly. Issued by Y. N. Shteynsapir. This paper also did not appear for long.
• Naye Bialystoker Shtime: A weekly paper founded in 1929. Publisher was M. Visotski (with the support and close collaboration of David Sohn from New York). Over 200 issues were published before it was discontinued.
• Bialystoker Handelstsaytung: It was published every Friday.
• Undzer Shpigl: A weekly family journal.
• Bialistoker Ekspres
• Undzer Tsaytung
• Der Veker: A weekly publication of the Bund organization in Bialystok. In August 1939, a special issue was published under the editorship of Mordekhay Lev.
• Undzer Veg: A weekly publication of the Zionist Organization in Bialystok. The [latter mentioned] two party newspapers did not appear regularly.
• Dos Vort: A missionary magazine. A “monthly journal for the development of religious life.” It was published from 1927 to 1934. Editor was Reverend P. Gorodishtsh.

In 1939, the editorial team of Undzer Leben and the management of the publishing house Prese consisted of:

• Pesach Kaplan, editor-in-chief
• A. Berezinski, Y. Rubinlikht, and M. Goldman, associate editors and members of the management
• Y. L. Shatski, editorial contributor
• B. Gutman, chairman of the publishing house Prese
• M. Rubin, administrator
• R. Reysner, Kh. Matinko, and V. Reyser, management members
• V. Sulkes, proofreader

In the fateful year of 1939, the final anthology “Our Jubilee 1939 – Twenty Years” was published, featuring a drawing by the artist Y. Rozanyetski – a high-rise building bearing the inscription “Dos Naye Leben” [The New Life]. This [newspaper] was located on the first floor, while the newspaper “Undzer Leben” [Our Life] occupied the fifth floor. The high-rise had not yet been completed at the fifth floor, which symbolized the decision to continue building – always further and higher. And beyond that… The jubilee issue was the last major achievement of the publishing house.

The publishing house Prese released the Bialystok Lexicon in 1935, edited by Pesach Kaplan, Y. Shatski, M. Goldman, A. Zbar, and A. Brezinski. It contains biographies of Jewish personalities from Bialystok, although many are missing.

The publishing house also issued further editions of Pesach Kaplan's Krylov's Fables in Yiddish translation. Earlier editions had been published in 1917 by the Kultur-Lige Bialystok [Bialystok Culture League] and in the years 1922–1921 by the Albeck Publishing House.

When we mention the “Kultur-Lige,” we are referring to an important historical fact: in 1918, it formed a committee to develop rules for Yiddish orthography. The committee consisted of Pesach Kaplan, Jacob Pat, and Mordekhay Khmelnik. These rules became the foundation for the spelling used in Undzer Leben and by the publishers Albek and Prese. In the Jewish cultural world, these rules are referred to as the “Bialystok Orthography.”

In the year 1939, the publishing house Prese also released Biblishe Gezangen [Biblical Songs] by Pesach Kaplan in three volumes – nearly the entire Tanakh, the Five Books [of Moses], rendered in Yiddish in poetic form.

This publishing house also issued The RAMBAM^[3] by Pesach Kaplan, as well as A. Brezinski's Di Khoreve Heym [Our Destroyed Home].

In 1939, Praktikal Arifmetik [Practical Arithmetic] by Mordekhay Zabludowski was also published.

The “Jewish Circle of Writers and Journalists” was founded on October 17, 1921, at the initiative of N. Zabludowski, P. Kaplan, A. Kotik, A. Albek, Y. L. Shatski, M. Goldman, D. Sapir, and N. Glogovski.

On July 7, 1926, the circle was legalized. On December 2, 1927, the circle opened a Yehoyesh Reading Room, which still existed in 1939.

In 1927, the circle organized an art exhibition by the then-young artist Ben-Zion Rabinovski (Benn), who later emigrated to Paris and is today one of the most famous artists in France.

According to the membership list of the “Jewish Circle of Writers and Journalists” from the year 1933, the “literary-journalistic family” of Bialystok consisted of:

A. Albek, A. Brezinski, M. M. Berkh, M. Goldman, Y. Varshavski, Ts. Vider, Kh. Visotski, M. Visotski, N. Zabludowski, Mordekhay Zabludowski, A. Zbar, A. Trizhanovitsh, L. Treshtshanski, B. Tabatshinkski, Sh. Lampert, Y. Lis, Dr. Y. Lukatshevski, Sh. Lev, D. Sapir, the honorable Mr. Amiel, L. Fayans, Y. Furye, A. Feygin, P. Kaplan, L. Rozental, Y. Rubinlikht, Y. Ruzhanski, Y. L. Shatski, Y. N. Shteynsapir, Y. Shapiro, and N. Sheynbrun.

In 1939, M. Vadyas became the chairman.

One of the most interesting cultural institutions in Bialystok was, without doubt, the dramatic-musical-literary association “Idishe Kunst” [Jewish Art], which was founded as early as 1906 and, in its later development, had a significant influence on the cultural and even political life of Jewish Bialystok.

It was established by a group of enthusiasts, including Yakev Topitser, Ana Horodishtsh, Y. A. Batser, Y. Goldshmidt, Sapirshteyn, Ana Mirkin, Dara Movshovitsh, and Soloveytshik.

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In 1907, after receiving government approval, the dramatic section was inaugurated with a performance of the play Leydn un Shafn by Jacob Pat at the “Harmonya” Theater. In 1908, the government approved the association's statutes. Dr. Hurvits became chairman.

On July 29, 1909, the Hebrew teacher Nachum Zemach, together with a group of amateurs from the “Idishe Kunst” association, staged the premiere of Musar Na'ar HaRa [The Moral of the Wicked Boy]. This was the first attempt that later led to the founding of the theater group Habima.

On May 26, 1912, Sh'ma Yisroel by Ossip Dimov was performed, translated into Hebrew by Pesach Kaplan.

A choir was also organized within the association, conducted by Pesach Kaplan and his assistant Hirsh Grokhovski. Shortly before World War I and during the war, the association ceased its activities. After the occupation of the city by the Germans, the association was revived in 1915. It was reorganized by Pesach Kaplan and Jacob Pat.

After the end of the German occupation, the circle around the “Idishe Kunst” association became deeply involved in Jewish politics and founded the Jewish People's Party, which created the Bialystoker “Kultur-Lige“ and also laid the foundation for the daily newspaper Dos Naye Leben.

The pioneers of Jewish theater and cinema in Bialystok were Yosl Berman and Khayim Gurvitsh, who directed the “Harmonye” Theater and later also the “Roskosh” [Rozkosz, Pleasure]. In 1908, the two established the “Modern” cinema on Lipove Street. Later, they also took over the cinemas “Illusion” and “Ves Mir” [The Whole World].

In 1912, they rebuilt the burned-down textile factory owned by Literer and turned it into the “Palas“ [Palace] Theater, where the association “Idishe Kunst” [Jewish Art] organized performances of its dramatic section during the German occupation. Later, a permanent Jewish troupe performed there for four years.

In 1939, the Palace Theater was run by the sons of the founders and once again became a venue for Jewish literary, musical, and cultural events.

In 1915, the “Hazamir” [Nightingale] was also founded–a separate Zionist choir with an orchestra of 40 men–which, however, joined the “Idishe Kunst” association at the end of 1916.

In 1926, the Jewish revue theater “Gilorino” [or Gila-Rina, “Joy and Song”] was founded on the initiative of Y. Topitser and V. Bubrik. Literary responsibilities were handled by P. Kaplan, Goldman, M. Khmelnik, and Mandlbroyt. Musical direction was taken on by Ts. Berman, while artistic design was in the hands of Y. Rozanyetski and B. Rabinovitsh. A few years later, the theater was closed again.

The Jewish theater “Yung-Studye” [Young Studio] was directed by Sh. Kozak. In May 1939, a revue performance was still staged at the Palas Theater by the dramatic section of the kibbutz “Amal”^[4]. The Jewish theater “Amkho” [Your People] also continued to perform.

The fine arts of Jewish artists from Bialystok have held an important–and at times even the foremost–place in Jewish art in Poland since 1924.

The most well-known painter in Bialystok was Ben-Zion Rabinovitsh, a son of Shloyme-Yakev Rabinovitsh, who began his artistic work in the modest attic room of his father's home. His exhibitions in Bialystok, Warsaw, and Vilnius between 1927 and 1930 brought him one success after another. In 1930, he left Bialystok and went to Paris as a scholarship recipient of the Bialystok municipality. His first paintings, signed with his short name Benn, already made him one of the leading Parisian artists. The landscapes exhibited by M. Dunyets [Michal Duniec] in 1930 in Warsaw brought him great success. Later, he relocated his artistic creativity to Vilnius.

Y. Rozanyetski [Rozaniecki] also went to Paris with a scholarship from the Bialystok municipality. After a year there, he returned to Bialystok. In 1939, one month before the Holocaust, a reproduction of his painting “Zamenhof's Birthplace” was published.

Y. Tinovitski [Tynowicki] went to Germany and studied there in Koenigsberg and Offenbach. He returned to Bialystok as a first-class graphic artist.

Henokh Pres worked for a long time as an art teacher in Bialystok schools. Later, he successfully exhibited his paintings in Warsaw.

Note Koslovski [Nota Koslowsky] was an art teacher at the Bialystoker “TsiSho” schools^[5]. He later became one of the most important Jewish painters in America. In 1938, after an extended journey to Erets-Yisroel, he published an album of oil paintings depicting landscapes and local characters from there.

The Jewish sports movement in Bialystok began to organize in 1918 with the founding of the sports club “Maccabi.” Since the club operated without official authorization from the authorities, its activities were suspended.

In 1920, Pinkhas Ginzburg and Simkha Levin took the initiative to obtain legal recognition, which was finally granted in 1923. However, the approval was not given under the name “Maccabi,” a symbol of Jewish heroism, but rather under the name “Jewish Sports Club” (ISK). Chairman was Yakev Beker, vice chairman was Shimen Sokolski.

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Departments were established for gymnastics, athletics, football, and tennis.

In 1932, there were five sports organizations in Bialystok: the “Jewish Sports Club,” “Maccabi,” “Shtrol” [Ray], “Morgenshtern” [Morning Star], and “Hapoel” [The Worker]. The last three were workers' groups.

By 1939, only three sports clubs remained: “ISK-Maccabi,” “Hapoel,” and “Nordia.” The chairman of “ISK-Maccabi” was Dr. Pines.

There were always very good chess players in Bialystok. The chess master Akiva Rubinshteyn was a native of Bialystok. But it was only in 1922 that a youth group of chess players was founded, although it was neither very active nor played regularly.

In 1924, when a group of older chess players was established, the two groups united and received official recognition from the government. By 1925, the club already had its own premises.

In 1926, the first chess tournament took place. Aharon Zabludowski became the chess master of Bialystok at that time.

In the years before the Second World War, the Jews of Bialystok had access to various important social and relief institutions. These were of great significance to large segments of the local population. Among these institutions were:

• The “ORT,” whose vocational schools taught useful trades to Jewish youth and also to adults;
• The “Oze” – “Toz”^[6], which oversaw the medical supervision of Jewish children and took care of their health and hygiene;
• The organization “Linas HaTsedek,” whose members spent the night with sick Jews and also provided other forms of assistance;
• The organization “Linas Khoylim” [Linas Cholim], which helped support poor, sick Jewish families;
• The society “Csentos” [Central Society for the Care of Orphans], which cared for Jewish orphans;
• The “Women's Protection Association,” which looked after fallen Jewish women and offered them social protection, created employment for destitute women and girls, introduced courses in domestic work, led a campaign against human trafficking, etc.;
• The society “Marpa,” which dealt with combating tuberculosis and sent patients to specialized sanatoriums;
• “Jewish Invalids,” the association of Jewish war invalids. It advocated for the support and protection of the rights of Jewish war invalids and also provided medical assistance to the invalids and their wives and children;
• “Gmiles-Khasodim” [Gemilut Chasadim]. This institution helped needy Jews with interest-free loans, which was a great relief for these Jews;
• “Maykhl-Kosher” [Maachal Kasher]. This society systematically provided kosher food to Jewish soldiers as well as to arrested Jews in prisons.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Contents in [ ] are from the translator. Contents in ( ) are from the author. Return
2. I would like to point out that there is a chapter with similar content by what appears to be the same author on page 38 ff of the English section of this Yizkor book, see “The Community before the War”. However, it is a separate translation and considerable abridgement of the original text, made by Rabbi Lowell S. Kronick, as mentioned on page IV/V. Return
3. Acronym of Rabbi Moyshe Ben-Maymon [Maimonides], a great Sephardic poet and philosopher in Spain, 1135-1204. Return
4. The Bialystok Kibbutz Amal [Work] was a training center for young Zionists preparing to emigrate to Erets- Yisroel. Return
5. An acronym of Tsentrale Idishe Shul-Organizatsye - Central Yiddish School Organization, a secular, yiddishist and socialist school system. Return
6. Both words mean the same thing, oze= board of health [Russia], toz= board of health [Poland] Return

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