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A recent study by Karl Izhanski^[3] (1957) titled Archeological Anthology reports excavations in Zamość province and in Hrubieszow, including that of the Grabowiec fortress.

This study show that almost all the settlements between Włodawa and Kovel were established in the 15^th-16^th centuries, but that settlement in the region began in the 13^th century. The young scholar Izhanski mentions a group of Polish archeologists who were searching for the remains of prehistoric settlers and excavated on the site of the Grabowiec fortress; however, he does not mention actual finds.

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It may be assumed that princely landowners began settling the area haphazardly. The Grabowiec territory was the property of Lithuanian princes, mostly the descendants of Gediminas (d.1341-1342). King Casimir the Great seized the entire region in 1366, and handed the fortress over to Duke Jerzy Narymuntowicz of Belz Province. However, the latter continued to attack his neighbors, and the King had to send Sendzhivie^[4] of Szubin to retake the fortress. It was granted to Duke Siemowit IV of Masovia as a dowry in 1388 when he married Alexandra, the sister of Władysław II Jagiełło. Siemowit established a town according to Polish law and built a church.

In 1447 Grabowiec became the property of Władysław I, Duke of Masovia and Belz, and was then re-established under the Magdeburg rights.^[5] The rights included permissions to hold fairs, produce beer and spirits, and chop wood from local forests. Utilizing the forests in various ways enabled the area to export wood, which was in high demand in the West, as well as to produce semi-industrial products such as tar and pitch. The Grabowiec merchants shipped the products in carts to the Bug River. They were then floated down the river to Danzig, where they joined other goods exported to western Europe. Materials on this are included in the book by Rashadski,^[6] Trade Routes from the Time of Ancient Rus.

Izhanski believes that the first Jews in Grabowiec settled behind the fortress's walls, and later left it for the lower-lying area around the synagogue (no trace of a former synagogue has been found). Interestingly, he reports that Jews of the time wore the same clothes as the Christian population. By noting this, he emphasizes that the Jews of Grabowiec were granted special rights; a law passed in Piotrków ordered the Jews to wear special yellow hats and caps. Izhanski wished to emphasize these special rights, although the ruling Communist party of his time practiced an anti-Semitic policy. Moreover, he presents a 1710 document from the archive of the Lublin Court, that ruled against a Christian, Stash Kluska,^[7] whom the Jew Nachman, son of Michael Meirovitz of Grabowiec, accused of spreading malicious gossip and false accusations. There are no details of the gossip or the bill of indictment.

After the death of Władysław, who left no heirs, the town was included in the property of the King of Poland, who appreciated the benefits that Jews were likely to bring and therefore granted them security and encouraged their economic activity. Thanks to this policy,

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the Jews of Grabowiec played significant role in the development of the entire region. It is worth remembering that the Jews originated in higher civilizations and brought with them much commercial and production expertise.^[8] According to the historians Philip Blich and Jan Jachovski,^[9] the Jews migrated from many areas: Crimea, Belorussia, western Poland, Germany, Bohemia, and Moravia. They were seeking better conditions, after the Mongols had invaded Crimea and Belorussia; the Crusaders had taken over Germany; and the Hussites were defeated in Bohemia and Moravia.

There is information about the Jews of Grabowiec in the Responsa of Rabbi Joseph Meirzon, titled Masse'ot Yosef; he was the rabbi in the town of Freibnitz,^[10] near Leipzig. At the time, Jews from Grabowiec travelled to Leipzig in convoys of wagons. Page 75 of the Responsa mentions a rabbinical trial between the Grabowiec merchant Eliyahu Marchowitz and his partner Moshe Brodavka of Zamość. Marchovitz suspected his partner of selling goods to a third person he had met in an inn, without informing him. The rabbinical judge Rabbi Eliezer of Leipzig presided over the trial, and complained to Rabbi Meirzon that Brodavka was unwilling to accept his ruling, which stipulated that the profit should be shared; he was willing only to reimburse the value of the goods.

We may surmise that this Jew was not the only Jewish merchant from Grabowiec who had commercial connections with Leipzig, one of the main centers of commerce between Poland and Germany.

All the available sources supply only partial documentation for the period. Information for other periods is very sparse, and cannot illuminate all aspects of community life of the time. Thus, for example, we know almost nothing about the life of the Jewish community in Grabowiec before or after the 17^th century.

Whatever the reasons that impelled Jews from different countries to seek refuge in the region, over time the new settlements grew similar to each other (with certain differences). This was the case in Grabowiec as well. The non-Jewish population also changed. During the feudal period, which lasted from the period of the Polish kingdom into the kingdom's partition at the end of the 18^th century, most settlers were subjects of their landowners and the target of their whims. Following the agrarian revolution during the last days of independent Poland,

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wealthy Jews received plots near the forests for grazing; the Christians received estates and were able to purchase land from the landowner. These factors led to the formation of the 19th-century town that we knew.

It is difficult to estimate the number of Jews in Grabowiec during the early periods (we do not have details of a census or of taxation in different areas). The only numerical data usually refer to poll tax and other taxes. These, however, cannot serve as a realistic basis for estimating the size of a community. Dr. Shiffer's estimates are actually quite arbitrary, and his approach is subject to criticism.

The Cossack rebellion against Poland, led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky, broke out in the spring of 1648. It caused the ruin and devastation of Jewish communities, and the severe disruption of Jewish life in Poland. Jews remember these events as “the evil decrees of 1648-1649.” Cossack battalions reached Grabowiec as well in the course of the rebellion. The monographs about the Khmelnytsky rebellion written by non-Jews do not provide enough information on the course of events in the Grabowiec region. The Russian historian Kostomarov^[11] was the only one who dedicated a few pages to the region, in his 1884 book about Khmelnytsky. Grabowiec merits several lines in his descriptions. We learn that the non-Russian Orthodox population (Catholic Poles, and Jews) organized against the forces of Colonel Nebaba. We also know that refugees from Grabowiec fled to the nearby town of Włodawa, where thousands had been killed after the Cossack conquest. Włodawa, which was larger, apparently seemed to promise the Jews greater security, although its fortress had been destroyed by the Cossacks. As usual, Cossack units attacked estates and settlements, and wreaked havoc on nobles and Jews. Some Russian Orthodox peasants joined the Cossacks in their ravages, attacks, and plundering, but some remained loyal to the Polish noble and their Jewish neighbors. Interestingly, some young Jews of Grabowiec resolved to fight to the end, and joined in the defense of the fortress.

Three Hebrew chronicles include details about the Jews of the Grabowiec area

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during the rampages of 1648-49. They are Tzok Ha-Itim by Meir Ben Shmuel of Szczebrzeszyn, Yeven-Metzula by Natan-Noteh Hanover of Zaslav, and Tit Ha-Yeven by Shmuel Feivish Ben Natan Feidl of Vienna. These chronicles are intended to educate future generations about the catastrophe that overtook the nation during the events of 1648-49; the writers used their limited personal experiences as well as information they had learned. Tit Ha-Yeven recounts that Włodawa “became a center for Jews who had fled from captured fortress towns.” Grabowiec was one of the few places that were considered fortress towns. Meir Ben Shmuel of Szczebrzeszyn also hints at this when he states, “In a fortress town nearby, on the road to Zamość, Jewish heroes stood their ground like giants and did not flee helplessly, although the poor suffered terrible deaths.”

The testimony in Tzok Ha-Itim is especially important, as it complements the few details in Kostomarov's book about Khmelnytsky and the events of those fateful days. It also augments our knowledge of the feelings within the Christian population as well as the life of the Jews inside the fortress.

After the Cossack invasion, Grabowiec stagnated, despite the relief and concessions offered by Jan Albrecht, Zygmunt II and Zygmunt III. Stanisław Sarbiewski, the starost of Hrubieszow, restored the fortress and was given a mark of distinction by the Sejm.^[12] But a 1765 survey found the fortress in ruins, and the town on the decline.

Grabowiec is listed in the volume of estates as a private town, or settlement (osada). Jewish rights were at times very limited, and based on rights granted in similar settlements. Most Jews made a living as small shopkeepers or peddlers, and a few were artisans. There was a weekly fair, and traders traveled to fairs in other towns.

The town did not show steady improvement. On the contrary, there were downturns as well as rises. One reason for the many downturns was the fires that often occurred in the town and destroyed most of the structures, most of which were constructed of wood. However, the residents recovered from each conflagration before too long, and rebuilt the town. The landowners supplied lumber from their extensive forests.

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Fires were common in all towns at the time, and the communities supported each other in time of need. However, a massive fire was usually followed by a prolonged decline in population.

Official numbers for 1790, before the conflagration, have the Grabowiec population as 5,100, 1,600 of whom were Jewish. Following the disaster, the population fell to about 3,000, 900 of them Jews.

Based on information currently available, we may state that any development after a period of decline resulted from the initiative and vision of Jews. The town's economic and demographic rise began after Jews started to arrive.

The few available sources about the internal and economic lives of the Grabowiec Jews during the 18^th century are incidental, and a complete, detailed picture is not possible. Any attempt to delineate their economic activity would necessarily be partial, and based on circumstantial evidence. We know that danger threatened: the rising tide of anti-Semitism began to affect Grabowiec. The hatred planted by the Catholics in the hearts of the Russian Orthodox priests spread to the primitive minds of town dwellers and villagers alike. There were outbursts of libels and violence against Jewish neighborhoods and villages. Grabowiec, too, was affected by these developments. The growing animosity between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches was a significant factor in these episodes.

Our source for these conditions is the memoir of the writer Nishitzki,^[13] a member of the nobility, who wrote about Bishop Varshnitzki^[14] of Krakow. The latter owned the Grabowiec estates at the time, and his deeds still sound chilling. “…He revered the clergy, but harbored special hate towards Jews and heretics.” “Heretics” refers to members of the Russian Orthodox church. His friend, the anti-Semitic physician Sebastian Goretski,^[15] published an anti-Jewish book titled Clear Evidence, in which he states, “It would have been best if we had killed the Jews or expelled them. However, we were struck blind and could not carry this out. As according to God's law and the laws of

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nature, they are eternal slaves, they should be deprived of all rights, turned into slaves, and treated in the same way that landowners treat their serfs.” We can imagine the suffering undergone by the Jews of Grabowiec under Varshnitzki's rule, and can assume that at that time the Christian population was able to freely attack the local Jews and their property. The landowner Titchempi ruled the region in the mid-18^th century, including the estates of Shidliska, Chartoriya, Zubovitsa, Vakyov, Haniatichek, Grabowiec, Bronislavka, etc.^[16] At this time, ritual trials of Jews were held in Lublin; the defendants included Jews living in towns in the Lublin province. A blood libel trial in nearby Wojsławice had a strong effect, reported in Professor Balaban's book on the history of Frankism.^[17] It is mentioned by the contemporaneous Jan Mitchinek,^[18] who also believed in these libels against Jews. However, Grabowiec is not mentioned in any source on these ritual trials. If we assume that Grabowiec was not accused of any of these events, it was due to Titchempi, the landowner, who was apparently not connected to Frankism; the Frankists who often spread such rumors were not to be found in Grabowiec.

It should be noted that the towns in the area were focal points of Frankism, yet we do not know whether they influenced the Jews of Grabowiec. However, the list of Frankists who converted to Christianity after the debate in Lwów (July 7 – September 10, 1759) does not include anyone from Grabowiec.^[19] Any influence they might have exerted was clearly unsuccessful.

Decisive historical events that took place in Poland during the 18^th century led the Kingdom of Poland, which was suffering from a lack of firm leadership, to its collapse and division among neighboring powers. These historic processes affected the status of the Jewish community, the internal relations within the autonomous body (“The Council of Four Lands”), and the Jews of the large cities who were heavily taxed.^[20] Many Jews moved to small towns, a fact that caused a significant change in the development of Grabowiec, especially an increase in the number of artisans. People no longer believed in businesses that did not have firm economic foundations.

According to the first census, done before the first partition of Poland, Grabowiec had 70 buildings in 1763. In 1792, 29 years later, the number had risen to 98. The Jewish population had also increased.

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This was due to natural increase as well as to the settlement of Jews from other locations.

The Jews of Grabowiec were not only merchants and artisans, but also leased orchards. This was common throughout Lublin province, where Jews often cultivated orchards. They all worked hard to make a living.

The town's history went through many cycles, often changing hands or undergoing fires. A description of life in Lublin Province by David Eliashevich in Ha-Melitz (1894, No. 39) is as follows: “The Jews of Grabowiec, though few in number, lead a Hassidic life, and their synagogues are very lively; they preserve their way of life against changes for the worse.”^[21]

As usual, the lives of the Grabowiec Jews followed their own trajectory. They established many institutions that enabled them to fulfil their own religious, social, and economic needs. The most important of these were the synagogue, houses of study, cheyders, and – in the interwar period – two Hebrew schools and a rich library that included books in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Polish. There were also institutions and organizations for charity, aid to the needy and sick, secret charity, aid to poor brides, Zionist clubs, etc. As far as economics were concerned, a weekly fair was held in the town (in addition to the shops and workshops), and merchants travelled to fairs in the nearby towns.

Prior to World War I, public Jewish life in Grabowiec followed time-honored tradition. The rabbi and the elected members of the community council were of high standing in the community, and represented the Jewish population to the authorities. Their work was limited to safeguarding the community's property and ensuring that religious life continued, including educating the young for a life of Torah and religious commandments. There is no information about the numbers of members in Hassidic sects, but they were certainly influential in the community and significant in the elections to the community council.

The twenty years of Polish rule were years of harassment towards Jews. Grabski and Slavoj-Składkowski were instrumental in their impoverishment.^[22] Economic boycotts, rabid anti-Semitism, and encouragement of emigration as a political solution to the plight of the Jews paved the road for Hitler's troops and turned the Poles into active or passive partners in murder. Anti-Semitism increased considerably beginning with the second half of 1935, after the death of

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Marshal Pilsudski. Governmental attitudes towards Jews changed from tolerance to hostility. Emanuel Melzer's study “Polish Diplomacy and the Problem of Jewish Emigration in 1938-1939” points out that propaganda for the emigration of Jews from Poland seemed to offer the only solution to both problems – that of Poland and that of its Jews. The Polish government's need to “get rid” of its three million Jewish citizens was certainly at the roots of the hostile attitude towards the Jews during the Holocaust – an attitude that was expressed in acquiescence, at least silence, to the Nazi extermination of the Jews of Poland.

For young Jews, this was a period of confusion and seeking. Following the “fourth wave” of Jewish immigration from Europe (1924-1928), Palestine was suffering from an economic crisis and unemployment.^[23] Many young Jews in Grabowiec felt despair, hopelessness, and a lack of purpose. This was the background of the rise of the Zionist movement, with all its branches, in the town. Some emigrated abroad, to America. But quite a few realized that the solution was emigration to Palestine. Zionism in Grabowiec grew out of reality at all levels of life.

This has been a portrait of the town, partial though it may be. Yet it does depict the spiritual and social ferment among the Jews of Poland. Like all the other Jewish communities of Poland, the Jews of Grabowiec, too, were completely eradicated.

I remember you well, Grabowiec, my home town. You are engraved on my heart in fiery letters that illuminate my soul. I drew my inspiration from you and spread my wings wide to become independent through the storms of life. My cradle stood upon your soil, and the childhood that provided a strong basis for my body and soul took place in you. Your essence, my town, accompanied me throughout my life and inspired me to humanism and spiritual growth. My parents, relatives, and friends supported me; my teachers from early childhood on to the book-filled house of study supplied me with knowledge; and the local library, leaders and friends enriched me.

Oh, all of them live on in the crannies of my soul, and console me for the cruelties of life. Their lives were rich, full, and crammed with many various experiences. Their noble spirits and qualities shaped their personalities and dictated the course of their lives.

Grabowiec, our town, was quiet, but was always active and receptive toward Jewish education. The young people were aware of developments in the fields of Zionism and education – they mounted drives to contribute to the Jewish National Fund and the United Israel Appeal. They would gather and sing Zionist pioneer songs.

Not much seemed to happen in Grabowiec, but each family constituted a world in its own right. There weren't many rich people in the town (and the wealthy were only relatively so, compared to most of the Jews, who owned no property at all). Yet the residents were generous, cared for the poor, and helped in cases of need. People gave out of their own inner need to do so, and there were hardly any refusals.

When I remember all these experiences, on holidays and on weekdays alike; the variety of Jewish residents including Hassids and Zionists, shopkeepers and artisans, my heart aches and my soul flutters. My only prayer is that the murderers be cursed for all time.

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Not all days were radiant. I remember the poverty and hardship, as well as the times when the young people were debating their future. But the social organization of the town was an amazing human asset that is still admirable today. There is much to be learned from our small town: a social life that protects members from isolation and assures them of support in their social group, the kind of support that enriches our lives. The social organization is based on positive qualities, including the rejection of shaming and hate towards others, and providing mutual help based on the Talmudic tradition that all Jews are responsible for one another; finally, the injunction to offer hospitality was widely observed. We remember how every Jew who joined prayers in the synagogue was invited to take meals in peoples' homes.

Most of the Jews were merchants, large or small, who derived much of their income from the weekly fairs, when even the tailors and shoemakers became merchants. Thousands of peasants would come to the fairs; they were noticeable thanks to their special way of dressing. They brought wares produced on their farms, such as fruit, vegetables, butter, eggs, chickens, domestic animals, and grain. When they had sold their produce, they would go to the shops

Partial view of the Grabowiec fair

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and the market stalls, where trousers, cloaks, shoes, boots, and other wares were on display.

The tavern owners pressed their families into service to watch their customers. The farmer's wagons stood behind the stalls, emitting sounds of chickens, geese, and ducks. The domestic animal fair was beyond the bridge, and was run by grain and animal merchants. The pigs were in one corner, which grew filthier by the minute, and made unearthly sounds.

The market vendors manned their stalls summer and winter. In winter they warmed their feet a bit in a fire-pot. Men and women from the nearby villages came to the market. Dust-covered Jews arrived, in clothes of the same pattern. A Jew might arrive with a parrot perched on a music box. The parrot would pick out a piece of paper out of a basket, and a peasant would buy it for a few pennies, sure that it foretold his future…

The taverns filled with clients – those who had done deals and wanted a strong drink, as well as rowdies who frightened everyone with their unbridled behavior and drunkenness, and were always seeking a fight. They would often start a riot, on the pretext that the tavern owner was overcharging them by using tiny glasses for smaller amounts of drink. The Jews would then run away.^[1] I remember one instance when Berish Boym “paid back” two Gentile toughs who had dared to hurt one of the local Jews. They fled after Berish beat them up.

Such were the incidents and events, sad, joyous, and interesting, that took place in our unforgettable town. We were born and grew up there, where our dear ones lived through joys and sorrows. They were murdered there, along with six million innocent martyrs of our people.

We will never forget them. Our children and grandchildren, and all who follow them, will hear about their lives and the life of our hometown.

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