[Page 1]

A period of 32 years has passed since the horrifying disaster and the terrible tragedy that befell Gwoździec Jewry and the surrounding area.

This memorial book is dedicated to the memory of our families, our loved ones, our townspeople and the surrounding area. The impression of the events of the horror and the holocaust are engraved forever in the heart of each of the surviving remnant.

The reasons that caused a long delay in the publication of this memorial book are not only technical, organizational and financial, which should not be ignored either, but mainly psychological - the sense of fear of the dimensions of the tragedy and a mental inability to adapt to the cruel and terrible reality, which is: live with the dead.

In the post-Holocaust period, we were not yet ready and able to understand the tragic facts, as they really were, because they are beyond human imagination. For many years reason could not adapt to all the things the eye saw and the ear heard, to understand what we knew, what the German killers and their Ukrainian and Polish assistants did to us together.

We were beaten with a silent shock and subconsciously refused to reveal the terrible truth to ourselves in words. Perhaps this was also one of the reasons we refused to publish what we knew. There were even those who were surrounded by a voluntary subjective mental slumber.

There were those who became indifferent, so to speak, who could not adapt to normal life but also did not want to die. I believe our enemies also intended for the surviving remnant of the Jewish people to suffer from all those negative effects.

The reality and the renewed threat of extermination by our Arab neighbors influenced us not a little to wake up to a new and practical life, and thus the time has come to publish the document on the destruction of the Jewry of our town of Gwoździec and the nearby villages. The publication of a memorial book is of great importance from the following two rationales: the personal-local rationale and the social-political rationale. On the first level, the book contributes to maintaining the Jewish tradition – “Zachor” (remember) - maintaining a mental connection with our loved ones, in addition to the custom of lighting memorial candles and saying Kaddish One or two days a year.

We will read from time to time in the memorial book, to keep the phrase “to remember and not to forget”, we will remember what was lost to us, and we will also commune with the memory of our saints.

The legacy of our generation, the Holocaust generation, will be handed down and passed on to the descendants of the surviving remnant - Gwoździec and the surrounding area, who live in Israel and the Diaspora, when

[Page 2]

they will open the memorial book in time and know the names of their forefathers, members of a centuries-old holy community of a vibrant Judaism. In the town of Gwoździec lived and acted intellectuals and ordinary people, rabbis, tzaddikim, Torah scholars and functionaries. Merchants traded in it, artisans worked in it, carters lashed with their whips, pious women gave charity in secret and young children memorized their studies and walked around its streets.

In the book before us, we commemorate over a thousand names (1231) of the saints of the town of Gwoździec and of the people of the nearby villages, which were recorded by a resident of the town, Meir Lerer, according to his rare memory and according to data from some of the rest of the surviving remnant.

The list contains about two-thirds of the saints of the town and the surrounding area, who perished in the Holocaust. Please forgive us for missing the names of some of the saints and for inaccuracies in the names, which were recorded incorrectly.

We bring here memories from the days of the Holocaust, recorded by some of the town's survivors, who lived through the terrible period by hiding with some of the Righteous Gentiles, in the town and in the surrounding area, and one who fought in the ranks of the partisans.

We have endeavored to perpetuate the history of the town, the daily life of its residents, religious cultural pattern, customs of weekdays, Shabbats and holidays, political social life, sporting and cultural activities, days of joy and mourning, and above all the solidarity of the majority of the residents of the town and the surrounding area with Zionism and the desire of many to immigrate to the Land of Israel.

The material that we publish is unfortunately scarce, because despite our repeated requests, only a few were found who contributed articles.

Some of the required and requested data have not yet reached us, and in order not to further delay the publication of the memorial book, lest we miss the deadline, it was decided to publish it now. We have added a number of photos to the book, which we believe are of a general public nature, or of a historical documentary nature.

Here is the place and the opportunity to briefly describe the foundation and activities of the organization of Gwoździec expatriates and the surrounding area in Israel.

At the time, a resident of our town, Meir Lautman, collected the addresses of the surviving remnant of our town and the surrounding area in Israel and the Diaspora. Ten years ago, Shaul Kugler, the writer of these lines and Sima Blumenthal z”l joined him. A meeting of the organization was held, in which it was decided to hold mourning gatherings every year on the 22^nd day of Elul or on a day close to that date. A memorial plaque was erected in the Holocaust basement on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and later the organization participated in the erection of a

[Page 3]

regional memorial tombstone (Kolomyia and its daughters) in the cemetery in Nachalat Yitzhak near Tel Aviv.

Now the activity is mainly focused on the publication of this memorial book. The continuation of our activity will be in the organization of memorial gatherings, and maintaining contact between the town's expatriates and its survivors.

Some say that the origin of the town's name derives from the name of an ancient fortress that stood near it many years ago, which was called Gwozdiez, which in Polish means - a nail.

It is known that Jews settled in Kolomyia and Horodenka in the 16^th century, therefore it can be assumed that at the end of this century there was a Jewish settlement in Gwozdiez (which is about 20 km from Kolomyia), and it can be determined with certainty that in the 17^th century Jews lived there and also established a community there. Evidence for this is the existence of the synagogue in Gwozdiez, built of wood, from the 17^th century. A picture of the synagogue is preserved in the museum in Ramat Aviv (North Tel Aviv), and it was also written about it in the encyclopedia of Pablo Link and others. Based on this historical evidence, we learn that the Jewish settlement in Gwozdiez existed for more than 300 years. The synagogue mentioned above, and most of the town's buildings, were burned during the first world war. Gwozdiez - like the whole region known today as the South-West of Soviet Ukraine - has gone through different political incarnations. In 1772, it passed from Poland to Austria, and in 1918, Poland returned and Poland regained its control over it. During the period of the Austrian rule, the area, and Gwozdiez within it, was known as Eastern Galicia, while under the rule of Poland it was called Eastern Poland. According to today's political borders, the area is near the Romanian border with the Soviet Union. From the beginning of the Second World War (end of September 1939) until the middle of 1941, the town was under Soviet rule and thirty-two months under German occupation, the time of the Holocaust. At the end of March 1944, it was annexed to the Soviet Union.

According to a conservative estimate, there were about 2,000 Jews, most of them young, living in Gwozdiez and the surrounding area before the Second World War.

The surviving remnant from the Holocaust, including those who fled to the Soviet Union, numbered a total of fifty-eight people, of which thirty-two settled in Israel and 26 who found refuge after the war in North and South America.

In the period between the two wars (1918 - 1939), emigrated from Gwozdiez

[Page 4]

dozens of Jews, most of them survived, including about fifty people, who immigrated to Israel.

Only a few of the expatriates of Gwoździec have memories of the life in the town before the First World War, but most of the surviving remnant remember the town from a later period and only a few of those who lived through the German occupation hiding in the town and its surroundings know how to somewhat describe the destruction of the Gwoździec Jewry.

The town is in a valley, except for the western part which is on a mountain slope halfway between the cities: Kolomyia and Horodenka to the northeast, about 20 km in each direction, and also at an equal distance to the town of Obertyn in the northwest and about 15 km to the town of Zablotow in the south. Gwoździec belonged municipally to the Stanisławów district.

At the beginning of the First World War, the Austrians retreated and the town was occupied by the Russians. A short time later they also retreated and the Austrians returned. During this period there was an unorganized escape of Jews from the town, but in 1916, when the town was on the Austrian defense line, the Austrian authorities organized the town's Jews to a general evacuation and transferred the Jews to Moravia in the Czech Republic, along with all the other Jews of the area and provided them with a minimal means of subsistence, they were also allowed to make a living from crafts and trade. The non-Jewish population was allowed to disperse in the nearby villages.

Again, the Austrians withdrew from the town, this time for a short period, but after that came a dark period, when the Russians burned most of the town's houses, including the historic synagogue.

After the war, some of the Jews who were evacuated from Gwoździec to the Czech Republic remained and emigrated from there to different countries, but most of them returned to Gwoździec, which was in the hands of the Austrians. The Jews managed to squeeze into the houses in the town and its surrounding that survived the fire, and those among them who were left without a roof over their heads began to rebuild their destroyed houses.

The borders were not yet stable and Gwoździec went through short various occupations - Ukrainian nationalist, Romanian and finally it was occupied by the Polish army.

When the Polish rule was established, the Jews adapted to it and engaged in trade, crafts, renovating and building their homes. The means for construction came from savings, which they saved during their stay in the Czech Republic, current income, help from relatives in the United States and compensation for war damages.

The buildings of the town were mostly made of wood, except for a small number of houses

[Page 5]

Which were built of stone, bricks, beams and tiled roofs. Almost all the stone buildings were used for public needs: a public school for 7 classes, a courthouse, a post office, a cultural center called “Sokol”, and the Catholic Church “Kosciol”. The Jews built small wooden synagogues and only the great synagogue of the Rabbi of Gwoździec was built of stone.

Apart from these, there were two more stone houses in the town, one owned by the Polish Somurek family, and the other owned by the Jewish Gottlieb family.

There was a train station in the town, where thousands of passengers passed from Kolomyia to Horodenka, Zalishchyky, and freight trains in both directions.

Near the railroad tracks, a small river named Chernivtsi flows to the north. A wide, paved and gravel-covered road crosses the town along its length, which was known as the “King's Road”, which was paved during the reign of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef, a road leading to the cities of Kolomyia and Horodenka. Similar but shorter roads were also paved across the width of the town, and on one side of these roads there were sidewalks. The roads outside the town that led to the villages were narrow. In the summer they were dirt roads, in the spring and autumn they were muddy, in the winter - almost all season - the roads were covered with snow.

The town is surrounded by villages, fields, fruit trees and ornamental trees. To the west of it is a small forest leading to the village of Stari Gwoździec at a distance of two km from the town. In the other directions you reach the plain; in the southwest was the village of Maley-Gwoździec, in the south was the village of Kolchkovtsa, which became a suburb of the town, where a Jewish cemetery is located. Behind Kolchkovtsa is a large village of Blinitz (the village was a nest for nationalist Ukrainians), and near the town to the north of it lies the village of Stepkovtsa, next to it is the village of Chekhov and adjacent to it is the large village of Winograd. To the east of Gwoździec, in a mountainous environment, lies the village of Hamukovetsa, and to the southeast there was a colony of Poles - Mazorites.

The population in Gwoździec was over 2,500, including about 2,000 Jews and about 500 Poles and Ukrainians. The residents of the villages were mostly Ukrainians. Most of the Poles lived in the colony and a few in the surrounding villages, some of them owned estates. Few Jews lived in the villages. Near the roads between the town and the villages, Jews settled in individual houses and planted gardens and fruit trees of all kinds.

The climate in the area is comfortable. Spring is very pleasant. After the snowfall and the rains, the sun's rays and the spring winds dry the mud and growth

[Page 6]

grass. That's when the flowering of the ornamental and fruit trees begins, and close to the flowering the first leaves appear. Colorful and fragrant flowers are visible in the fresh green grass. The peak of spring - the month of May - is the most beautiful and pleasant of the months of the year. Plants and flowers, among them the “falcon” bushes in the form of clusters, are intoxicating with their spicy scent. The spring scents are accompanied by the chirping of birds. Occasionally it rains lightly.

The summer is relatively hot, especially in the month of July, but thanks to the rains, the air is ventilated and refreshed, except for periods when the rains stop.

The beginning of autumn comes after Sukkot and has a special beauty. The sun's rays shine on yellow and reddish leaves that cover the surroundings and the fields after the harvest. Despite the beauty, the nature of autumn is sad. Black clouds cover the surface of the sky, the plants wither, the grain fields are empty and birds leave the area. The autumn rains last intermittently for about two months, causing mud and sadness. At the end of the rainy season, it starts to snow. Everything is wrapped in white. During the winter, there are difficult days, especially when the wind blows. But most of the winter days are comfortable and there are no winds, and then you can enjoy the beauty of the season. The whole environment is white, the cold is intense and the sun shines several hours a day.

Agriculture is the most important industry in the region and from which most of the people made a living. Thanks to the abundance of agricultural produce, all food items could be purchased cheaply.

The soil in the area is mostly black, thanks to the rains and snows it absorbs a lot of water and is therefore fertile and suitable for agricultural cultivation, for growing fruit trees, forests and pastures. Sometimes there was a stoppage of rain in the summer, which caused a drought in the summer grains and the yield of the garden fruit, or there was a stoppage of snow in the winter, and then this caused the grain plants or fruit sprouts to remain without the snow cover and then they were destroyed by the frost. During the period when the rains stopped in the summer, the Catholic Church used to take the believers out into the streets for special prayer processions in which the Christians asked for mercy from heaven, for the removal of the evil of the decree.

The owners of the large agricultural estates in the area were Polish noblemen, as well as the Catholic and Pribyslav churches. The rest of the agricultural land belonged to Ukrainian farmers, who were divided into smaller plots of land. The division of the lands caused quarrels, fights and trials.

[Page 7]

The agricultural cultivation of the poor farmers was primitive: they were helped by horses, bulls and for the most part the work was done by hand.

The owners of the estates and farmers with large areas of land gradually perfected the cultivation of their fields. Agriculture was not planned and the farmers grew grains, vegetables, pasture and fruit trees, as well as dealt with the branches of the barn and the chicken coop according to tradition. Agricultural produce was abundant, except in drought years. There was especially an abundance of edible fruit crops. The fruit season lasts all summer months and one month in autumn. The fruit is fine and has many varieties and species. At the beginning of summer, large and white cherries ripen, followed by small red and black cherries. These varieties are sweet and grow on tall trees. Large red, sweet and sour cherries (Marlan) and small red and sour cherries (Winchel) which grow on small trees. These two varieties are especially good for making turnips. After the ripening of the cherries of various kinds, various plums, pears and apples of many kinds ripen.

In the fall, sweet black plums ripen and these are good for making the popular turnip (povidel). Also ripen winter apples, golden and black apples, which grow on small and medium-sized trees, and at the end of the season, walnuts that grow on tall trees are ripened, as well as various varieties of raspberry and a kind of a strawberry, which grow around in the summer months. In the summer they usually dry apples, pears and plums for the winter.

The barn and poultry industries in the area are developed. There is almost no fish, so they used to bring live fish from the Obertyn area. The years of drought did not cause a shortage of grain because there was always a large stock of grain in the warehouses of farmers and grain merchants.

The inhabitants of the villages (except for a few Polish and Jewish families) were Ukrainians. Their dwellings were built of clay mixed with straw and straw roofs. Only a few farmers had wooden houses. Their food and clothing were mostly self-made. The rest of the supplies, such as fabrics, leather, clothes, shoes and boots were bought in the cities.

The typical clothing of the Ukrainians was the “kozhuch” which was made of sheep's fur, dyed white, made by themselves. Sometimes they were dressed in spring and autumn in kozhuchs and walked barefoot. On Sundays and holidays, the Ukrainians used to wear clean clothes, boots or polished shoes. They kept their festive and traditional clothing until the day they died, so they will be dressed in them at their burial.

Every village had a Pribyslav church where a priest served. Also,

[Page 8]

each village had a village chief and his secretary.

In the villages there were public schools for four or more classes. The spoken and dominant language was Ukrainian, but the majority of the population was illiterate. The intelligentsia strata were very few in number. Only several people knew the language of the country - Polish.

In Gwoździec, the Jews established a regional commercial center which served as a place to buy and sell agricultural produce, other commodities, work tools, animals and more.

The livelihood of the town's residents was mainly from trade. There were many shops with all kinds of goods, which were often brought from Kolomyia. Portage and transporting goods served as a source of income for the local carters. In the town there were merchants of grains, fruits, eggs and livestock, and a number of wealthy merchants, who had trade relations with their colleagues in distant areas. Most trading operations were done every week on Monday, the day of the weekly fair. As early as Monday, traffic would begin by car and on foot from the surrounding villages as well as from towns close to the goods market in the center of the town, and the cattle market in the suburbs near Kolchkovtsa.

In the goods market, the villagers sold grains, vegetables, potatoes, fruits, grains, poultry, eggs and dairy products. The prices of the goods were according to the trading rules; that is, supply and demand. The buyers were mostly Jewish merchants who bought for commercial purposes. Jews and Gentiles also bought for their own needs.

In the livestock market, there were plots fenced off by wooden fences, and each type of animal had its own plot. Jews, Ukrainians and Poles bought and sold cows, carts, bulls, horses and sheep to each other. Jews did not trade in pigs.

There was a lot of commotion in the markets. Voices of people and animals were heard, and in addition were heard the music and shouts of disabled Ukrainian beggars with visible wounds and those with imaginary disabilities. A shrill and disgusting noise was made by drunks and pigs, especially the baby pigs.

By the markets, Jews and Gentiles sold baked goods, candies, soft drinks, sausages and pork. During the days of the fair, the shops in the town were full of buyers, curious and thieves. Pubs called restaurants were full of drunks. The trade movement was stopped only when the evening arrived, but in the restaurants the drinking and gorging continued until midnight.

Similar fairs were held on other weekdays in other towns and cities according to an agreed schedule between the local authorities, which was changed sometimes because of holidays that fell on the days of the fairs.

[Page 9]

Jewish fruit merchants used to buy fruits and nuts in the winter or spring before the flowering time, for the current season and for the following seasons. These deals did involve financial risk and there was danger in picking the fruit from the tall trees and taking down the nuts. The town's merchants made up the majority of its residents, but various craftsmen also found their livelihood here, in tailoring, sewing, shoemaking, carpentry, glazing, metalworking, bodywork, blacksmithing, butchering, baking and hairdressing. Over time, a profession developed in the town that women and girls engaged in - a knitting craft, which was called “pilten”, that is, knitting curtains and tablecloths. A small factory for soda water and a small factory for filling beer bottles from barrels, which were supplied to restaurants and shops, were established in the town.

Near the town by the Chernova River on the way to Khamokovce, there was a small flour mill, which operated with the power of the water flow produced from the river. There were legends about this mill that spoke about demons and spirits roaming around it at night. Although no one believed these stories, no one dared to “risk” visiting the flour mill at night. On the side of the mountain on the way to Stari Gwoździec there was a seed oil factory called “Ulynica”.

The transportation that was available to the residents of the town was the train, and over time a cooperative association of bus owners that traveled on the Gwoździec - Kolomyia line was organized. Merchants and carters had their own horses and carts which were used for travel and transporting cargo. Some of the residents of the town would travel with them as hitchhikers, in order to save the travel fees.

Sixteen Jews in the town were engaged in independent liberal professions.

Doctors: Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Berger. Pharmacists: Keller, Margalit and Mannheim. Lawyers: Gevirtz Sobelzon and Rauch. Notary: Adlerstein. Dentist: Baumblad.

The lawyers' and notary's assistants were: lawyer Finkelstein and several people without legal education - the brothers Wally, Tsiokel and Dzoni Lagstein and Schickler. Teacher Flinkt, who at the time was the principal of the Baron Hirsch School, served on behalf of the government as a teacher of Jewish religion, although he was not religious, he also served as the chairman of the Kolutos Gemeinda (Jewish community). The community leaders and its dignitaries from the spiritual aspect were Overbach, the judge Yosef Friedman,

[Page 10]

the butcher Mordechai Gerlich and after his death - his nephew Leibush Gerlich.

The government in the town was in the hands of the Poles; the head of the town was called Bormistsh and the head of the police called Commandant. Poles also made up the senior staff in the town, in the court, in the police, in the prison, in the post office, in the train station, and in the school, except for the Jewish teacher Flinkt and the anti-Semitic Ukrainian Dr. Vekretzky. The veterinary doctor was Ukrainian-nationalist called Dr. Kuchork.

The Catholic Church had no political and economic influence, it only dealt in the field of religion.

There were three female clerks who worked alternately at the notary; the Polish girl Anila (Chikovska), who is among the Righteous Gentiles for rescuing and providing shelter to the Neibnerer family during the Holocaust, Malacia Rainer and Yeta Blumenthal from Kolomyia.

In Gwoździec there was a pious Polish midwife named “Di Boba”, her name was Bechenska, and she often boasted that she was the gentile who helped give birth to hundreds of Jewish sons and daughters.

The birth registers of the population in Gwoździec in the period up to the First World War were managed by David Greenberg. He was known in the town as “Der Maatrikäl Fırer”. Since official documents of the town were burnt during the war, Greenberg was involved in restoring birth certificates for those in need.

Yosef Schmelzer, a resident of the town, loved medicine and had a lot of knowledge in that area, and although he lacked a formal medical education, he would give patients medical advice, free of charge. Sometimes the town's doctors, especially Dr. Shwartz, also consulted with him and asked about his opinion on complicated medical matters.

The only bank in the town was the “P.K.O.” (Polish State Savings Bank) in the post office building. Since the withdrawal of savings money from this bank was limited to 100 zlotys per day, it was not used as a commercial bank. The use of checks from commercial banks, as it was customary in large cities, was very rare in the town.

The monetary unit was the zloty, this currency was stable and five zlotys were equal to one US dollar, or 25 zlotys were equal to one British pound sterling.

Payments were made in cash or bills (Wexlin).

[Page 11]

Taxes The Polish government imposed heavy taxes on the Jews: turnover tax, income tax, property tax, besides the payments for various licenses and municipal taxes. The imposition of taxes was arbitrary. Orderly bookkeeping (as proof of turnover and profit) was customary only among large merchants. The majority faced the tax authorities helplessly. The taxes, some of which were not paid, would have resulted in foreclosures. Due to the threat of the appearance of the sequester (court bailiff) they would hide goods, cash and valuables. The taxes and the foreclosures that followed, particularly bothered the Jewish population.

The classes in the town were: a. Few rich. b. The majority belonged to the middle class and below. c. Poor (but not beggars, there were no such in the town). d. Unemployed - the majority of the youth belonged to this class.

The atmosphere that prevailed in the town was a religious Jewish atmosphere, although not fanatical, similar to many Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe at that time. Three generations merged here. Two of them, the elders and the adults, observe the religious observances, tradition and customs, while the third generation - the younger - systematically distanced themselves from the religious observances, and contented themselves with a liberal tradition. However, thanks to the tradition of honoring parents and the Jewish community, there were no cases of the Shabbat or holiday desecration in public. The modernism of the young people was similar to that of young people in other Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe in the period between the two world wars. The religious Jews were mostly Chassidim, who were divided into different groups, each group and its rabbi, Beit Midrash “Stiebel”, ba'alei tefillah (prayer leaders), gabbaim, shamash and more.

The Great Synagogue, called “Di Kloise”, was a two-story building built of bricks – on the first floor was the men's prayer house and above it, ladies' section which could be reached via external wooden stairs. This synagogue belonged to the Rabbi of Gwoździec and was named after him. He also owned a residence and the courtyard next to the synagogue. The Rabbi of Gwoździec moved from the town to Viena during the First World War and settled there. He sometimes visited the town and its surroundings, together with His sons, Abraham, Shalom and David, with two or one of them. The rabbi used to pray with his Chassidim in his synagogue, when he came

[Page 12]

to the town for a week and he would stay with one of the dignitaries of the town, who made several rooms available to him, in which he would receive visitors who came to ask for his blessing, which was an accepted and popular practice. He had regular procedures for receiving the public: in the entrance hall sat gabbaim, who wrote down the names of the visitors on slips of paper (kwitelech). The requests were in matters of health, livelihood, marriage of girls, release of boys from the army, domestic harmony, etc. The order of the meetings with the rabbi was determined by the shamash. Of course, there were also exceptional cases where people entered the rabbi outside of the queue. These were extremely urgent matters, saving lives, dignitaries and rich people, and more. Sometimes crying women would appear who would forcefully break into the rabbi's room shouting: “Rabbi helpt!” – Rabbi, help me! The gabbaim would try to take these women out, but with the rabbi's intervention, this was prevented, and he would give them his blessings; his influence was great. The women would calm down and leave the place with a smile on their faces - a kind of deep mental expression, “we achieved what we wanted”.

The rabbi, traditionally dressed, with a noble appearance, a beard and well-kept sideburns, was sitting by the table on which was placed a Gemara book. When the visitor entered, he would extend his hand and invite him to sit down. The visitor would place on the table the Kwitel and a sum of money called “Pidyon”. The rabbi would calmly slip the money into his pocket, look through the Kwitel, address the visitor by his first name, hear what he was asking for, bless him and sometimes bless a coin - a talisman, a virtue against harmful people. At the end he would hand out his hand to the visitor, a sign that the visit was over, and then the next visitor would come in. When visitors would come with their children, the rabbi would greet the children very heartily.

The visitors to the rabbi were not only his Chassidim from the town and the surrounding area, but anyone who felt the need to do so without distinction of Chassidic affiliation with other rabbis.

The Rabbi of Gwoździec also used to visit other places where his Chassidim lived, especially in the town of Obertyn. Gwoździec was also visited by other rabbis who had Chassidim there, and sometimes also famous and well-known rabbis. It was also customary among the Chassidim to travel to the place of residence of their rabbi, his “court”: “Zu Inzer Rabbi” – “to our Rabbi”.

In the synagogue of the Rabbi of Gwoździec prayed his Chassidim and the rabbi of the city, Reb Ze'ev Averbach, and his son Moshe'le. This son remained single, as he lacked the courage to marry. The clowns of the town said that once someone said to Moshe'le why aren't you getting married? After all, your father also got married at the time!

[Page 13]

Moshe'le answered: “What is the wonder? After all, my father married my mother!”.

Neta Schmutz served as a prayer leader (Ba'al Tefillah) in this synagogue. The rest of the synagogues in the town were built of wood. Rabbi Yosef Friedman and regular Chassidim used to pray in the Beit Midrash. In the synagogue named after the Rabbi of Boiner prayed the butcher, Leibush Gerlich, and of course the rabbi's Chassidim. The Chassidim of the Rabbi of Wiznitz rabbi had their own synagogue, in which Hersh Kopel Meltzer and Azriel Schmitt served as prayer leaders.

In the synagogue named after the Rabbi of Chortkov prayed his Chassidim, the prayer leader was Berel Shekler. In the east of the town, on the lot, in the Great Synagogue, which burned down during the First World War, foundations for a large synagogue were built, but in the end, they built a small synagogue on some of the foundations, where the craftsmen used to pray. The gabbai of the synagogue was the shoemaker Shmuel Avraham.

There was also a synagogue of the Rabbi of Sadigor's Chassidim, and the prayer leader there was Yosef Schreier. Jews also prayed in private homes - Shtieblich, one of them, was in Binyamin Shikler's home. The source of funding for the building of the synagogues and their maintenance was from the donations of the town's Jews. As it was customary in cities and towns in Poland, which had Jewish settlements, Gwoździec also had a recognized Jewish community called “Di Kolutos Gemeinda”. This community had ongoing income from slaughter fees and regular government support. The expenses were: salary payments to the rabbi, judge and slaughterer, as well as the maintenance of the bath house, the mikveh and the cemetery.

There were no Jewish beggars in the town, but there were poor people in it and people in need of Gmiluth Chasadim (charity) loans. The town's functionaries volunteered to help the poor. To the praise of the functionaries, men and women, it should be noted that they did their job by giving in secret.

Families of eight or more members lived in the town, but over the years the large birth rate stopped.

The parents educated their children according to the traditional biblical education. The boys learned from young age in the “cheder”, reading the holy tongue and prayers. At the age of five-six they began to learn the Chumash and gradually also Rashi, Onkelos' translation and writing in Yiddish. On Shabbats, they learned Pirkei Avot, and before the holidays and days of mourning, the scrolls, the Passover Haggadah, special prayers for the holidays, etc.

[Page 14]

Educational Institutions

The boys were burdened by the many studies that were imposed on them. From the age of seven, they studied before noon secular studies in a public school, and in the afternoon and in the evening, they continued the sacred studies in the “cheder”. The melamedim were: Laizer (he was known only by this name), Elazar (Lazar), Shlomo Lerer and others. When they reached the age of mitzvot, some of the boys would study Gemara with the town scholars, the Dayan, and also with other scholars who came to the town, settled there and made a living by giving lessons. The girls studied at home or in private lessons reading the holy language and prayers. Since it was not customary to send girls to the cheder, they had more free time to study in the public school and read fine literature.

Before the First World War, for a short period during the war and after it, in addition to the state public school, there was also a 4-classes school for Jewish youth named after the Baron Hirsch. After its closure, most of the youth attended a 7-classes Polish state school. The level of education at this school was relatively high, and most of the students completed all the classes and thereby acquired a basic general education, and especially mastery of the Polish language and basic knowledge of the Ukrainian and German languages.

The graduates of the public school were able to take the entrance exams for the gymnasium for the fourth grade. The older generation in the town - men and women - knew how to read the holy language, and the majority, men, who studied in their past in the “cheder” – knew Chumash, Rashi, chapters of the Gemara and also how to write in Yiddish. Only a few of them studied in public schools, which were then only in the foundation stages. A few studied in secondary and higher schools, but all members of the older generation highly valued the studies and understood their importance in providing children with education and knowledge.

Since there was no high school in Gwoździec, and keeping children in cities in which there were high schools involved considerable expenses, only a few of the youth were privileged to enjoy the luxury of an education as well as the right to wear high school uniforms.

Because of their parents' poor financial situation, many talented boys and girls had to settle for public education, nevertheless they continued to study in private lessons or in an autodidactic manner, and indeed, there were only a few who completely stopped any form of study or further training.

The spoken language among the Jews of Gwoździec was juicy Yiddish with a pleasant accent, in the accepted dialect in the area. Apart from Yiddish, the youth knew the languages of the country, that is Polish, Ukrainian and also German, only in general. The adults' knowledge of these languages was more limited. Usually,

[Page 15]

daily life was dominated by the official Polish language, and only talented young people, or few whose language at home was Polish (and these were often assimilated), spoke fluent Polish.

Zionism as a national renewal movement appeared in Gwoździec even before the First World War, when it was accompanied by the revival of the Hebrew language. In the eyes of many, both adults and teenagers, learning and speaking Hebrew was considered a great honor, and this served as a sign and symbol of education.

In 1907, a Hebrew seminary was founded in Gwoździec, which was supported by tuition, which was collected from the parents of the students. Leah Latner studied at the seminary and later served as a pedagogical assistant and thus became the first Hebrew teacher in the town. In the period after the First World War, there was a large turnover of teachers who taught Hebrew for different periods of time, but throughout this entire time, Yosef Scherzer continued to serve as a Hebrew teacher. In the thirties of the 20^th century, he was joined by Meir Altenhaus (who changed his name to Naveh), one of the founders and members of Kibbutz Gat (near the historic Philistine city, mentioned in Joshua 13:3).

Among the Jews of the place there were also people from the intelligentsia, but only a few had an academic degree. A broad class of intelligentsia and autodidacts was created and expanded with the foundation of the various parties and their development.

The slumbering town woke up only during various electoral campaigns: to the parliament (the Sejm) and to the Senate, to the local municipalities and to the Zionist congresses (by selling shekels). In the course of time, the public became more vigilant and sharper in relation to the elections. Due to the founding of political movements in the cities of the region, functionaries would visit Gwoździec. These functionaries later founded branches of parties, which were known by the name “Farien”: “general” Zionists, Revisionists, “YAP” (Yidishe Arbater Party) whose members were Bundists or belonged to communist groups. Some of the latter were banned and were tried or sent straight without trial to the Bereza Kartuska concentration camp.

Among the functionaries of the Zionist parties were Alter Samet, Meir Eisenkraft, Hersh Leib Glasberg, Chaim Haspel, David Stettner and others.

In 1926, a law student named Schauber arrived from Kolomyia. He was tall, elegantly dressed and wearing a student cap. Schauber spoke eloquent and polished Polish apart from Yiddish which he spoke fluently; he also knew how to give a speech in these languages. He stayed with the owner of the restaurant, Oracia Shalem,

[Page 16]

and made a living by giving private lessons to some of the graduates of the public school, who considered to continue their studies in high school. Schauber himself, a trainee of “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir”, founded a nest of this movement in the town, but did not connect the nest with the regional leadership in Stanisławów nor with the main leadership in Lviv. He was a proud man and kept a distance between himself and the members of the nest, who used to address him by the nickname “Pen” (Mr.). A short time later, members of “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir” from Kolomyia visited Gwoździec and even expressed their astonishment at Schauber's strange behavior. At that time, it was learned that Schauber had changed his mind and moved to the revisionist movement, and therefore tried to attract the youth of the nest, but without success. The nest of “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir” has already counted dozens of teenagers, boys and girls. Then appeared in the town functionaries of the movement from the surrounding cities, among them was Meir Lederfind from Kolomyia, and Menachem (Monia) Linder from Saniatin. Local leadership was chosen, and groups were organized according to age. The leaders of the groups taught the theory of Zionism and the theory of socialism and had conversations with their trainees about these topics. They taught Hebrew, spoke and sang in this language and taught pioneer dances, organized trips and summer camps in the Carpathian Mountains, together with the members of the movement from other villages in the area.

Schauber's place was succeeded by Munia Linder who finished his matriculation exams even before that, and he used to come often to Gwoździec. Munia was a handsome guy, brown-haired and tanned. In the summer, he appeared in the “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir” uniform and rode his new bicycle. He was talented and also a good orator, fluent in four languages: Yiddish, Polish, Hebrew and Ukrainian. He had a pleasant baritone voice, and to his credit, he contributed a lot to the development of the nest and youth activities. He was loved by all the residents of the town, young and old. Finally, Munia Linder left the “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir” movement and joined the Communist Party. He studied economics at the University of Lviv and excelled in his knowledge. He was perished in the Holocaust in the Warsaw ghetto.

In the wake of the “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir”, other Zionist youth movements were founded in the town, such as: “HeChalutz”, whose founders were members of “HaShomer Ha'Tsa'ir”, the “Betar” movement, whose founders and commanders included Reisela Seltzer, the “Bnei Akiva” movement, whose founders were activists from the “general” Zionist Party and the “HeChalutz Ha'Tsa'ir”.

The only anti-Zionist youth movement was that of the “YAP”. The goal of many of the Zionist youth movements was to immigrate to the Land of Israel, and some of their members - as was customary in this period - went to train in board factories - Tartaks, in the Carpathian towns of Nadvarna, Dilatin and others. Upon completion of the training, these teenagers were candidates for certificates, which meant immigration to Eretz Yisrael.

[Page 17]

Sports and Drama Fans

The spiritual - artistic life and the sporting social activity also gained momentum when a few years before the founding of political youth movements in Gwoździec, Moshe Probizor organized a sports team for soccer, “Dror” and a drama class for theater plays.

The residents of the town were eager for theater performances, which took place in the “Sokol” hall, which was owned by the town. The premiere of the play “Yosef in Egypt”, under the guidance of Moshe Probizor, was a success, as well as other performances in which the amateurs proved their talents, and some such as Moshe Orbach, Zisale Schreier and Pesach Sheiner, seemed almost like professional actors. Another drama class was founded in which Mendel Tzomer and Naftali Shalem stood out as actors.

In the sports activities of the local soccer team excelled Moshe Orbach, who was a coach in this sport since his childhood in Vienna. Another player, who also excelled in the soccer team, was Carl (Hanan) Lindauer, who played as a child in Saniatin. Over time, great footballers grew out of them, among them: the Dutsia brothers, Eliezer and Chaim Greenberg, Gedaliah Shmelzer, Matityahu Rauch, Dov (Berale) Haspel and others. Another soccer team named “Melot” (Hammer) was organized. The popular sport was swimming in the Chernova River in the summer. In the winter, when the river water was frozen, boys and girls skated across it. Another popular sport in the winter was skating on the snow. After a lot of snow had fallen and it was very cold, with no wind, dozens of teenagers were climbing in the evenings with slides (Schlitens) on the road leading to Stari Gwoździec and slide downhill for half a kilometer or more, and repeat this several times.

Other entertainments were the dance balls. Young people, who were not members of youth movements, learned ballroom dancing and organized balls themselves from time to time.

A common pastime was a trip back and forth on the sidewalk (trotoer) along the boardwalk. When there was a pleasant weather in the evening, and especially on Saturday evenings and holidays, young and old would go along the boardwalk while talking about different topics. It was pleasant to hear the voices and laughter of the young people. Sometimes lively political debates took place on the sidewalk, with everyone loudly defending their views.

[Page 18]

Antisemitism

The town's Jews, like all Polish Jews, suffered from the anti-Semitic Polish regime. The Hebrew youth were “reminded” of his Jewishness even in the government school - its principal, “pen director” Svitalski hated Jews and had a special pleasure in mocking the Jewish students for mistakes in the Polish language, and used to mockingly imitate their Jewish accent. During the breaks, there were groups of Polish and Jewish boys who would fight with each other. The Jews in the Polish army suffered from gross anti-Semitism in particular. When a Jew was called to serve in the army, and he would be a duffer, he was often ridiculed and abused, and there were cases of physical and mental harm. On the other hand, it happened that Jewish boys, especially those who were recruited into the cavalry, excelled in military service and were even proud about it. When they arrived to Gwoździec for vacation, they were bragging with their polished uniforms. Their parents were also proud of their successful sons, but as mentioned, they were only a few. Most of our boys had an aversion to military service and they always looked for ways and means to avoid it. One of the tried and accepted methods in Eastern Europe was the “flagen”, that is, voluntary and planned physical suffering. During a certain period before the date of their reporting to a military medical committee, the boys of the town would observe a severe “diet”, exercise, go on trips, dance at night and make noise in the town. These means would cause them to lose weight and sometimes even get sick. About two months before the date of their reporting in the spring months, we had a season of “flagers”. The “patent” of the “flagen” was known to the members of the medical committee and the “flagers” were recruited as needed, and those who were underweight were given a year's postponement. With this method, the Poles over time eliminated the acts of the “flagen”.

There was no electric lighting and no plumbing in Gwoździec. In the evenings, kerosene lamps were lit in the streets, and over time, a gas lantern was installed in the center of the town, which was powered by a battery. For home lighting, they used kerosene lamps and candles. To walk the streets in the evening, they used flashlights.

Fresh water was drawn from deep wells found in every quarter of the town and its surroundings. For heating, they used wood and coal. Heating was as essential as food, and it was necessary to prepare a stock of wood and coal in advance for the winter.

[Page 19]

Jewish life in the town

Life in the town was monotonous, especially in the winter evenings, when the weather was stormy. In the evenings they would sit in the houses and warm themselves by the stoves, neighbors would come in, drink tea, play chess, dominoes and cards or have conversations about various topics. Many took advantage of the winter evenings for reading, studying, sewing, knitting, etc.

When the weather was nice, the youth would gather in their residences, sing and dance. Members of the “general” Zionist party gathered in their residence, the “Farien”, which had a radio receiver, that was operated by batteries. It was the only radio receiver in the town and they used to listen to news and other programs. Thanks to the radio, many visitors came to the “Farien”, who sat for hours next to the receiver.

The “Farien” Club was in the home of the Neuberger and Reiter families, on the main street and it was always lit up in the evenings.

Gwoździec was a quiet town. Life was peaceful and without surprises. There were large Jewish families in the town and everyone knew each other.

It was a common custom to invite relatives and friends to family events, and all the residents of the town knew about what was happening.

The Jews of the town were moral keepers and only a few deviated from its laws and ways. A close social bond existed between them, and only in a few cases did fights break out. Relations between the Jews and Gentiles were good, at least above the surface. Poles were called here “Di Poliaken” and the Ukrainians – “Di Goyim”. The Poles called the Jews “Zhedzhi” and the Ukrainians “Zhidi”.

There was a police station in the town, which also served the surrounding area. The officers were busy with work, especially on fair days, when they had to take care of the drunken Ukrainians and Poles, who quarreled with each other and thieves who were caught while performing crimes. There were also cases of quarrels on the occasion of family parties among Ukrainians and Poles and the police had to intervene. A case of murder once happened in the town, when one night a policeman, who was loved by the entire residents of the town, was shot dead in the center of the town. The reason for the murder and the name of the murderer were not known to the public. Police detectives also operated in the town, they infiltrated political organizations and recruited informers, with the help of which they managed to catch mainly active communists. Trials were held for them and the verdicts were harsh. Suspects of communist activity were sometimes arrested and sent without trial to the Bereza Kartuska concentration camp. Among the communist prisoners in the prisons and concentration camp were also some young Jews.

[Page 20]

Similar to other Jewish settlements, the Jewish life in the town was interesting and diverse. Preparations for Shabbat apparently lasted all six weekdays. The preparation for the holidays began several weeks before their arrival, while the preparations for Pesach began after Shavuot. In almost every Jewish house in the town they baked on Friday morning and on the eve of the holiday goods for Shabbat, for the holiday and for the whole week. The housewives were expert in baking and among them there were experts, whose baked goods were delicious and reputable. The traditional pastry was the “mandbortschnik”, that is, a pie made of mashed potatoes with the addition of flour, eggs and oil. The “mandbortschnik” was most delicious when it was fresh, and eaten with cold milk. It was also accepted to bake “malai”, which was a pie baked from corn flour. They also baked “plamplatzlich”, which are pita breads which were eaten fresh spread with butter. They baked braided challahs made of fine white flour, for Shabbat and holidays, and special large challahs for Purim. Also, they baked cookies and sometimes fine strudel and floden and bread made from grain flour for the week. Only a few stopped the tradition of home baking and started buying baked goods at a bakery. When the baking work on Fridays and on holiday evenings ended, the work of making various food items would begin, and also the preparation (on Shabbat evenings) of the traditional “tsholant”. In the afternoon hours, when all the baking and cooking tasks were finished, they would begin to clean the house, and in fact complete the cleaning, which was done during the week. It should be noted that cleanliness was usually kept on in every Jewish house in the town.

After a meager lunch in order to have an appetite for the Shabbat night meal, they would wear Shabbat clothes and welcome the Shabbat or the holiday properly. The foods on Shabbat were of course traditional as well, and even though they were always the same, everyone missed them. A special local dish was the “kalachika” - meatballs mixed with bread, which were very tasty when eaten with “mandvorcshnik” or challah. The foods on the holidays were also special: dairy products on Shavuot and sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot.

Towards Pesach there was a special bustle, which started after Shavuot. With the opening of the Winschel fruit season, the bustle for making “kosher wine for Pesach” would begin. After Hanukkah, they would buy poultry, especially geese, which were fattened up so that they would be fat, they would buy potatoes, and some would prepare reserved flour for matzahs. They would also buy kitchen utensils, sew and buy new clothes, shoes, etc. - all these as preparations for Pesach. Immediately after Purim, renovations would be done in the houses: whitewashing the walls, scrubbing the floors,

[Page 21]

airing clothes and bedding, washing and a thorough cleaning. Finally, it was time to bake the matzahs. Some of the inhabitants of the town were engaged in this occupation as part of their livelihood. Baking matzahs was a unique ritual. The renovations of the baking places and of course, the process of making the ovens kosher, were done under the supervision of the rabbi. Each family had a reserved place for baking matzahs. Those who did not prepare preserved flour themselves, would buy white flour “kosher for Pesach”, the amount of flour was determined according to the size of the family. The housewives would come at the time appointed for them when they bring the flour, they often came with their children. The bakers would stand ready at the baking place while the customers and their acquaintances helped them. During the time the matzahs were baking, the housewives would meet with relatives, friends and acquaintances, talk to each other and wish each other greetings, and their wish was to meet again during the matzahs baking time next year.

The cleaning work for Passover was done really fanatically, and everything was shining for the holiday. The whole town was prepared for the holiday. Two Seder nights would be held properly, with the proper kashrut and in a festive way. On the Seder nights, the Jews of the town had a uniform status in term of social and economic status. As it was customary in a small town, there was no lack of pranks, and here is a story that happened in the town: on one Seder night, the wife of Sankala the carpenter filled the glasses of wine, and a large glass full for Elijah the prophet. When the door was opened for him - a figure wrapped in white clothing appeared, who walked away in silence. The whole family was shocked. The housekeeper fainted, and the rest of the people shouted hysterically. After the act, it turned out that it was not a miracle. A quarrel broke out between the neighbors Nachman Bergman and Sanny Letner (Sankala) the carpenter. A few days before the first holiday, Nachman decided to “trick” his neighbor, he put on a big white shirt and a white hat, waited by the door of Sankala's apartment for the “third glass” and the well-known result became a local folklore in the town.

Each holiday had its own traditional religious character associated with it. Traditional holidays related to the seasons and to nature were: Pesach, Lag Ba'Omer, Shavuot and Sukkot. A religious-popular holiday was Simchat Torah. Holidays of miracles and heroism were: Hanukkah and Purim, and holidays of reckoning were: the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

To all these holidays and of course to Shabbat, Gwoździec Jewry paid a lot of attention and treated them with reverence. In the month of Elul, they used to go or travel to the graves of the ancestors, where they would light candles on the gravestones and ask the deceased for their mercy, ask them to strive hard in heaven for the sake of those living on earth. At night, Selichot would be said in synagogues and in public. The Ba'alei Tefillah, Ba'alei Tekiha,

[Page 22]

and Ba'alei Keriha would practice each according to their talent and accent, so that their appearance on the Days of Awe in synagogues would be beautiful for God as well as for the public.

Before Yom Kippur, the town used to observe the tradition of “Kaparot” (atonement) - atonement for one's soul before Judgment Day. The Kaparot, that is the birds, were slaughtered and eaten at the feasts before and after the fast. Before the prayer of “Kol Nidrei”, one person from each family would bring two large candles, and light them in special chambers or in hallways. The smell of the multiple candles was well felt by the crowd and caused some a headache and sometimes even to vomit.

During the reading of the Torah on Shabbat and especially on holidays, they would raise donations to the inspection of the synagogues and their maintenance, and to the Israel National Fund.

On Shabbats and holidays, except for the Days of Awe, family visits were made, it was especially customary to make these visits (according to advance notice) on Pesach and Simchat Torah. The hostesses, well-known housewives, would serve the guests, who were mostly relatives, fine foods, which were prepared according to the best art of baking and local cooking. In preparation for Purim, they would make large and fine challahs for the head of the family and the sons. In addition to the challah, they would bake Oznei Aman and raisins' cakes, and the best among these cakes were the “floden”. Some of them would be kept for the eve of Pesach, to symbolize the end of eating Chametz.

On Purim they used to dress up. Children and adults would dress up as all kinds of characters, pass among the homes and collect money for the poor. In the evening, they would send a gift basket exchange to the relatives, which was often mixed with homemade baked goods. In the evening, every Jewish family would solemnly eat a Purim feast.

As mentioned, the Jews of the town respected the Shabbats and the holidays and none of the secularist young people dared to desecrate the Shabbat or the holiday in public. All the adults would observe the fasts of the traditional fasting days. Over time, the young people used to fast only on Ninth of Av and Yom Kippur. Only a few stopped fasting completely, but no one dared to eat in public during these two fasting days. In the synagogues it was a custom to throw thorns on the Ninth of Av, and this was usually done by children, who would have great joy when they managed to hit a Jew's beard and cause him trouble in removing the thorns from his beard.

In addition, they used to tie the tassels of the tallits between two worshipers and the children would rejoice when they saw the efforts of the worshipers to untie the ties.

[Page 23]

After Shabbats and the holidays, gray days would come. For the adults, there was always the problem of livelihood and nothing else. On the other hand, most of the youth did not find their place and did not know what to do. A few were privileged to study in high schools and managed to pass the matriculation exam and obtain the coveted title at that time - “maturnet” (metozista): high school graduate.

Some of the graduates were privileged to attend a university, almost all of them studied abroad. Two of the students who finished their studies before the outbreak of war were: Shmuel Gottlieb who studied rabbinate in Warsaw, and Eliezer Greenberg who studied medicine in Italy. Two other students - Ezra Rauch and Yosef Strauss returned in 1939 from abroad to Gwoździec for a summer vacation and remained there due to the outbreak of the war - all four of them perished in the Holocaust. Few of the youth studied and engaged in traditional professions: tailoring, sewing, knitting, hairdressing, shoemaking, etc. A few engaged in trade as assistants to their parents and some became independent traders. By the way, it is worth dedicating a few lines to Shmuel Gottlieb who was an interesting person. As a child, Shmuel excelled in learning Torah and continued to study Talmud with his grandfather Reb Yaakov, who was known as a sharp scholar. When Shmuel grew up, he taught himself bookkeeping and became interested in fine literature and political literature. He read a lot of socialist literature and was influenced by the communist ideology and the construction of socialism in the Soviet Union. Despite his view, he continued to visit the synagogue on Shabbats and holidays, to fulfill his duty to his parents and grandfather. He was a priest, and as is customary, during the Priestly Blessing, he also went up to the dais to bless the public. In this regard, Zoikel Legstein once commented to him: “Shmuel, please do not bless for the sake of the socialist revolution”.

Shmuel decided to acquire a formal education no matter what. He and his friend Asher Fishman, who shared the same view, contacted a German high school in Bilsk, which was in Polish Silesia, and prepared for the exams. They came to Bilsk, passed the exams and were admitted to the sixth grade at the German high school. Asher Fishman stopped his studies before the matriculation exam, while Shmuel Gottlieb continued, passed the matriculation exams and continued at the University of Warsaw in Jewish theology, and was awarded the title of Rabbi.

Some of the youth emigrated to the countries of North and South America, to Australia, to Western Europe and some to the big cities in Poland.

Most of the Jewish youth aspired to immigrate to Israel. Few have passed the required training in order to be candidates for Aliyah. A few received certificates and immigrated legally, some of the youth immigrated illegally in Aliyah B, without any training.

[Page 24]

With the Outbreak of War

In the years 1938-1939, life in the town was dormant. The Jews still rejoiced on Shabbats and happy occasions and mourned the dead. They recovered from their grief and went on with their occupations or their work, but there was a strange kind of silence and a feeling of insecurity, a kind of unnatural peace and a fear of the calm before the storm – and the reasons for this situation were many. Due to another restriction on immigration to the Land of Israel, with the publication of the British “White Paper” and the spread of the warlike atmosphere, there was general astonishment due to the strange German-Soviet agreement, and finally the explosion happened. On the morning of Friday, September 1, 1939, the war broke out: Nazi Germany attacked Poland.

The German invasion to Poland frightened the Jews of the town and especially the families of those recruited into the army. Everyone followed the course of the war with great concern and saw the rapid defeat of the Polish army. The town took in a small number of refugees who fled from central Poland. On the town's roads, convoys of cars were seen, with military personnel and Polish civilians fleeing to Romania. Fear gripped the town's residents from a German occupation. The only source of news about what was happening in Poland and in the world was the only radio in the town was in the “Farien” of the “general” Zionists, in the home of Naiburger Reiter. From him we learned about the declaration of war by England and France on Germany and all of us were certain that the end had come to the satanic regime and German militarism. About two weeks passed and the residents learned that the two powers England and France had only begun to organize for the war and in the meantime the Polish army had been defeated and completely collapsed, while the German occupation began to spread.

At that time, strange news arrived from Moscow, followed by broadcasts from the radio station in Kyiv in the Ukrainian language, which was understood by the people of the town. In them, instructions were given to the Red Army to cross the border on September 17 and move to western Ukraine and western Belorussia (eastern Poland), in order to liberate the brothers and sisters from the rule of the Pomishtchiks and the Polish estate owners. Then news spread of an enthusiastic welcome to the Red Army in the cities and villages of former Eastern Poland.

After a few days of the absence of a governing authority, of insecurity and uncertainty, the first companies of the Red Army arrived in the town in tanks and cars and were received with great enthusiasm by the Jewish population

[Page 25]

and by a few among the Ukrainian population. Friendly talks about life in the Soviet Union were held between the Soviet officers and soldiers, including Jews, with the Jews of Gwoździec. The Soviets willingly answered questions and talked about the abundance in their country, that “there is nothing to worry about”, and that there will be employment and livelihood for everyone… As it turned out later, the liberation soldiers were instructed to tell and answer about the “abundance”. The behavior of the Soviet officers and soldiers raised suspicions when they accost the clothing and footwear stores, textiles, leather, food and especially watches. They usually bought from whatever was next to them and paid any price. At first, the merchants of the town, who were expecting buyers during the Polish rule, were happy that now a period of economic prosperity had arrived, but when they realized that they were suddenly left without goods and with money of poor value, it was already too late. The Soviet wolves devoured almost everything, and the merchants managed to hide only a small part of their goods. Although they already understood that the economic situation would worsen, the town was cheerful. These events occurred on the Ten Days of Atonement and Yom Kippur, when the Soviet armored corps continued to pass from Horodenka through Gwoździec to Kolomyia.

During the breaks between prayers, the worshipers would leave the great synagogue and look at the moving tanks and the soldiers smiling and waving their hands at them and greeting them.

Following the Red Army, the Soviet administration appeared and with it the secret police and militia officers. Their first action was to capture Polish officers and refugees, who were on their way to Romania, and after their capture they were taken in trucks out of town, probably to Kolomyia and from there to the east. Then active former Communist Jews and their supporters surfaced in the town, among them the young men: Mendel Shalem, the tailor, Moshe Koren, the son of Hanich who owned a large hardware store, Mendel Tzomer and others. Mandel Shalem and Moshe Koren were former communist prisoners.

Mandel Shalem was appointed the mayor of the town, Mandel Tzomer as his deputy and Moshe Koren got the position of the mayor's secretary. Some time later, Moshe Koren was removed from his position because of his “bourgeois” origins, he left the town and disappeared. Mendel Tzomer was also removed from his position, while the proletarian Mandel Shelem continued to hold his position until the outbreak of the German-Russian war. In cooperation

[Page 26]

with part of the Jewish population, the Soviet administration organized and established its rule in the town and with the help of communist activists, pseudo-communists and Ukrainian nationalists, they organized the administration in the surrounding villages. However, the Soviet propaganda took root in Gwoździec and the teenagers, who were disappointed with the Polish government, found a vent in a new activity and saw their future in studies, constructive work and initiative.

In the meantime, the Jewish population watched propaganda films and heard lectures by military personnel and Soviet citizens on the history of the October revolutions, on the heroism of the Red Army and the nations of the Soviet Union, with each lecture ending with sayings praising the liberating Red army of and especially the leader of the nations, the great Stalin, etc., etc. Dance balls were organized with Soviet soldiers and civilians and the friendship between the local people and the guests or the new settlers was palpable.

When the days of euphoria passed, they woke up to a harsh reality. There were still a shortage of jobs and the stores were empty. The merchants held a lot of bills of Soviet money instead of goods, and the rest of the population has no money or groceries left. The Polish money would serve as a convertible currency - zloty against the ruble, but the purchase value of these coins was very small. A black market for clothes, shoes, various supplies and heating materials was organized. The supply of essential food items to shops was lower than the demand and long queues were formed in front of the shops.

Compared to the lack of food and clothing, the Soviet regime granted the freed population the right to vote in a kind of “plebiscite”. The choice was to accept Soviet citizenship and join the family of nations in the Soviet Union, or reject its acceptance. The strange democracy of course made sure to win a victory in favor of the Soviet regime - a little less than 100% - and so the freed population became Soviet citizens with the full rights according to the “most democratic” Stalinist constitution in the world. Soviet passports (identity cards) were distributed to the new citizens and new civil rights and duties were created. The propagandists explained how lucky the residents of western Ukraine and western Belorussia were, for obtaining the coveted Soviet citizenship so easily, while the residents of the Soviet Union paid for it with millions of victims.

The legal Sovietization began: nationalization of property, agrarian reform, organization of cooperatives, consumerism, establishment of Sovkhozes (government agricultural farms)

[Page 27]

and the founding of Kolkhozes (collective agricultural farms). Owners of estates and the heads of the Polish regime were arrested, and transferred to the East.

The Soviet administration copied the organizational methods from the Soviet Union to the occupied territories and by doing so it achieved the exact opposite of what it thought it would achieve.

Since the Soviet rule caused a decrease in the standard of living of the majority of the population, all these factors had the effect of creating a hostile atmosphere towards the government among the local population. During this time, the residents of Gwoździec “learned” how to organize public assemblies, which ended with applause and voting to approve decisions that had been determined in advance, as if expressing unqualified support for the genius policy of the Soviet regime and for the great leader Stalin. Along with the many shadows cast by the Soviet regime in the town, there were also positive aspects: education was free and everyone enjoyed free state medical care and new jobs were created, although the wages given for the work were barely enough to survive.

Life in the town was rough and boring. The poor printed press “on behalf” of the government and the monotonous radio broadcasts only increased the boredom.

A few of the youth, who found it difficult to adapt to the conditions that prevailed in the town, moved to other places (in the former Polish territories), while two managed to go to Eretz Israel: Malka Shikler and Busia Schreier, who even before the occupation married citizens of Eretz Israel and became Palestinian citizens.

With no other available option, the population had to adapt to the difficult and strange conditions that were created.

Dozens of Jewish youths found their place in the new regime. They were influenced by the progressive ideology, joined the Komsomol and even deeply learned about the Stalinist constitution in it. During the period of Soviet rule in Gwoździec and the surrounding area, which lasted over 20 months, from the end of September 1939 to June 1941, this rule was established only superficially. The majority of the Jewish population regarded this regime out of fear or loyalty because it prevented a German occupation, but without a doubt, the majority of the Ukrainians, the Poles and the Jews generally hated the Soviets and their regime.

There have been changes for the worse on the Jewish Street. The many shops, which were full of goods, disappeared, and in their place were established shabby consumer shops, which were mostly empty of goods. When groceries arrived, long lines formed to distribute them. Sometimes the head of the town, Mandel Shalem, gave instructions to sell groceries outside

[Page 28]

The queue to “friends”, who came in droves from the surrounding area.

Hither and thither, there was black market trading in the town, but only a few had the means to buy these commodities at the high prices of this “market”.

Jewish tradition was severely damaged. Desecration of Shabbat and holiday in public has become a routine. Nevertheless, most of the adults kept the tradition of the ancestors.

There were relationships between couples in the town, which caused the birth rate to increase, compared to the increase in mortality among the elderly.

The period of Soviet rule in Gwoździec and the surrounding area was indeed short but fateful. The Jews of the town hoped that the difficult period of the Soviet regime would pass when Germany experienced a lightning strike and the Jews might then be free to their fate.

The general opinion that prevailed among the Jews of Gwoździec (except for a few) was that the Soviet rule was the complete opposite of what they expected from it and hence it was the fatal and the most tragic reason why they did not prepare for a mass escape to the Soviet Union immediately after the outbreak of the war (German-Russian).

On June 22, 1941, early in the morning, the Germans attacked the Soviet Union, and thus the most brutal war known to history broke out. The Jews of Gwoździec were frightened, and stood helpless.

For two or three days it seemed that it was possible that the Red Army would recover, reorganize and launch a counterattack, so that the town and its surroundings will remain distant from the fighting area. But unfortunately, the reality was different - there was a panicked retreat of the Red Army together with the Soviet administration, which also left with some local collaborators. This is how the Soviet authorities betrayed the unprotected Jewish population, a population that welcomed them in the fall of 1939 with open arms, and helped with the organization of their administration. The Soviets had the means of transportation and self-defense. They didn't even try to encourage the Jews to flee and acted secretly, when they fled in the dead of night and left the Jewish population at the mercy of Ukrainian murderers, who only expected to the arrival of the German murderers.

Our Jews were left with a bitter taste from the Soviet rule, and the elders of the town remembered the troubles of the vacant - the evacuation - during the First World War. Well, what to do, should we run the risk of escaping, whether by car or on foot, when the roads were already full with Ukrainian thugs? Is there any chance at all in the situation that has arisen to reach the Soviet Union? And if so, what is expected there? Whether to remain under a German occupation and local Ukrainian regime? The dilemma was

[Page 29]

Terrible. The Germans increased the bombardment, the armored tanks and soldiers advanced rapidly, and with their fighting method they cut off entire areas.

The general opinion was to choose from the two cruel choices the seemingly easy way at the moment, that is, to stay and trust fate, whatever happens, and in the worst case, at least die at home.

This is how the last opportunity to escape from the hands of the German murderers and their assistants was missed. Only a few escaped from Gwoździec. A few arrived in their escape to the Soviet Union, the majority got stuck on the way and returned to the town. There were some who were captured by the German army, and returned to Gwoździec. After the retreat of the Red Army, there was fear of the local Ukrainians, and fear of the approaching Germans.

The heavy tension subsided somewhat, and a small ray of hope appeared on the horizon, when at the beginning of July 1941, Gwoździec was occupied by a Hungarian military unit. The military rule was indeed in the hands of the Hungarians, but the administration was in the hands of the nationalist Ukrainians. The role of the head of the town was given to a notorious Ukrainian - Takchuk. Hungarian officers confiscated comfortable apartments from the Jews. This was interpreted as a sign that they intended to stay in the town, and the opinion was that the Hungarians might not allow the Ukrainians to murder Jews. But the Ukrainians began to rule, arrested Jews, who had previously worked for the Soviets, beat them, and threatened to kill them, but with the help of the Hungarian officers, they were released a short time later.

The Jewish population was only concerned with searching for food, and avoided moving around and being seen outside as much as possible. Except for a few - doctors, a dentist and some tailors and shoemakers, there was no employment. Studies in Jewish educational institutions were stopped as well as cultural activities and mass prayers. Economic life in the town was almost paralyzed completely. The consumer shops, the only ones that were left from the Soviet rule, were eliminated, and a new currency (zloty) appeared, but they did not acquire trust for this currency, nor for the old currency. Food could be obtained from the farmers in exchange for clothes, valuables, jewelry or dollars. Life in the town was very difficult, there was complete insecurity, and who knows What awaits us in the future? The summer of 1941 was the last summer when it was still possible for the Jews of Gwoździec to breathe fresh air, eat fruit from their trees and vegetables from their gardens (or obtain these supplies from relatives and friends) , to live in their apartments and sleep - albeit with fear - in their beds. There was also the possibility of taking short trips, visiting the grandmothers and grandfathers with the grandchildren, walking with the children and basking in the summer sun. The vegetable

[Page 30]

around them and the fresh air made them forget about the sad situation for a little time.

A hope arose in the hearts of the Jews, that perhaps America will join the war in the coming days alongside England and Russia against Germany, and the war will end this summer with the fall of Germany. In the meantime, summer prevails and, in this season, they can hold on.

In the meantime, eyes were directed to the Jewish Committee House, which was organized by the government, and stood in the center of the town. According to the order of the Ukrainians and through the Jewish committee, Jewish men showed up for cleaning work in the town in the apartments of the Hungarian officers. The cleaning work in the town was accompanied by beatings by the Ukrainian supervisors.

On a clear day in August 1941, an order was given by the Ukrainian rule to all the town's Jews from the age of 17 and over must show up with agricultural tools. The order was accompanied with a warning that the fate of those who do not show up will be death by shooting. The Jews showed up at the appointed time and place and were led by armed Ukrainians out of Kolchkovtsa (near Gwoździec), to the place where there had previously been a Soviet airport.

The Jews were ordered to dig and remove mines buried in the ground. The Ukrainian plan was to kill the Jews by shooting at the end of the demining work. The Ukrainian murderous plot became known in the town, and women quickly organized and gathered next to the Baumold House, the residence of the Hungarian military governor. He accepted the delegation for an interview, heard about the terrible plot, and also received a ransom. He immediately acted to revoke the decree, and thus the mass murder was thwarted. Only later did it become clear that those destined to be murdered did not know at all what was expected of them.

This time, the mass murder of Jewish men in Gwoździec was not carried out, however the terrible tragedy was approaching.

The summer of 1941 passed and for the last time the Jews of the town prayed during the Days of Awe, most of them alone. With great sadness and bitter tears, they recited the prayer “Unetanne Tokef” - who will live and who will die.

Autumn has begun, the harvest in the fields has ended and the leaves have fallen from the trees. Black clouds appeared in the sky and hid the sun's rays. Flocks of birds were seen flying in the gray and sad sky. Rains began to fall and autumn winds began to blow, the black soil turned to mud, and the Jews of the town sank deep into it and were in a strait with no way out.

The German killers in uniform appeared in the town. They arrived and the Hungarians left. The brutality of the diabolical collaboration between the Germans

[Page 31]

and the Ukrainians began. A ghetto was established in the central and eastern part of the town. One day in November 1941, the Jews of the town were ordered within a few hours to concentrate in the ghetto.

The deep sorrow for the loss of many does not silence the terrible pain for the loss of the closest ones. May these words will be an eternal memorial candle to the memory of my dear family.

A few witnesses who survived the Holocaust spoke and wrote about the Holocaust period of the Jews of Gwoździec and the surrounding area. We published their testimony in this book.

The Holocaust of the town lasted five months and this terrible destruction took place in two stages: the first - six days after Pesach, on the 27th of Nisan 5702 (April 1942) and the murdered were brought to burial in mass graves in the cemetery near Gwoździec. The second and final stage of the destruction was a week before Rosh Hashanah 5703 - the second deportation of the Jews of Gwoździec to Kolomyia and from there – deportation to the Belzic death camp. Regarding these Jews, we only know the terrible end - they are gone. It is not known which of them died a “natural” death in the crowded cars, and who arrived to the final station - in Belzic.

The tragedy is also that there is no living witness left from the Belzic death camp to tell what happened.

The construction of the life of the Jews of Gwoździec lasted about 300 years, while the destruction lasted less than six months.

The first tragic question is: how did it happen that only a few of the Jews of Gwoździec who lived in the German occupation regime were saved – only one percent compared to three percent, which was the average of the survivors of Polish Jewry. The answer is tragic. In many areas in Poland, the topographic area made it possible to escape or created natural hiding places. In these areas and especially in large forests, partisans were organized, who were mostly haters of Israel, but there were also liberal partisans, who accepted Jews into their ranks, and in the big cities there was an underground, which issued “lions” certificates to Jews. Many of the Jews of Poland were sent to labor and death camps. The work made it possible for a few to survive this hell.

The constructive life of the Jews of Gwoździec lasted about 300 years, while the destruction lasted less than six months.

These objective conditions did not exist in our environment, nor in the Belzic death camp, to which the Jews of Gwoździec were sent.

The second tragic question is: why the number of Gwoździec Jews

[Page 32]

who fled to the Soviet Union is so small? - About 1% compared to about 8% of the Jews of Western Poland who fled to the Soviet Union, the answer is also tragic.

Immediately after the occupation of Western Poland, many Jews were deported by the Germans to the East. There were also cases in which a significant portion or even almost all of the Jews from the towns that were close to the German-Soviet border were forcibly deported to the East. The Jews from Western Poland had a period of over a year and a half (September 1939 - May 1941) in which they could decide whether to flee or to stay. On the other hand, unfortunately for us, the Jews of Gwoździec, like the Jews in the eastern territories of Poland, had only a few days to decide whether to stay or escape, and since escaping was dangerous during a time of brutal war and under the circumstances described in this book, one can understand the terrible tragedy of why only a handful of Gwoździec Jews survived.

[Picture on the right – Dayan (judge) Friedman]

[Picture on the left - Rabbi Shapira]

[Page 33]

[Picture on the upper right - Rabbi Shapira's wife]

[Picture on the upper left - Rabbi Friedman's wife]

[Picture on the bottom – The sons of Rabbi Shapira z”l. On the right, Reb David, who serves as rabbi in New York, on the left, Reb Shalom z”l, who perished in the Holocaust]

[Page 34]

[Picture on the right - In the center of the town (1938)]

[Picture on the left – Coachmen in the town]

[Page 35]

[Upper picture – The Betar team in town]

[bottom picture - A group of the Hebrew school students]

  Hvizdets, Ukraine     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2025 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 6 Mar 2025 by JH