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The history of the town of Kamin Kashirsk begins in the 14^th century. A series of historical articles from Starożytny Polska [Ancient Poland] and Słowiańsk Geographiczny [Slavic Geography] describe the city in the Volhyn region in the following words:

Kamin Kashirsk

From the book, Ancient Poland:

“In bygone centuries this was almost certainly a fortress, or an important settlement for another reason, since Kazimir the Great retained for himself complete rights in it at the time that he signed a peace agreement with the Princes in the year 1366.”

The Lubartowicz family – Sanguszko had owned the estate [Sanguszko-Kashirsky line]. One of the family sons, Michal, who lived at the beginning of the 12^th century, began to sign himself under the name of Prince Koshyrski; the last of that dynasty of princes, Adam Aleksander voivode Wołyński, died in 1656 [1653]. He was known for his religious orthodoxy and his generosity to houses of prayer and was responsible for erecting the Dominican monastery in Kamin. His sister (Anna Sanguszko), who was married to Jerzy Krashicki, brought to the marriage the Koszyr estate. Their son, who lived about 1776, was Antoni M. Krashicki, Choronzi.

“The village is small and poor, there are the remains of a fortress and a deep moat separates the wooden palace from the garden.”

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Kamin Kashirsk, once called the village of Kashir, is in the region of Kowel, district and police jurisdiction of Kamin Kashirsk, 54 verst from Kowel, on the Zyr River.

The police jurisdiction of Kamin Kashirsk includes the towns of: Kamin Kashirsk, Vielka Glusha, Baranovo, Sasitshna.

Jewish houses – 80. Peasant farms – 140. Ground of the landowners [poritzes] – approximately 2,000 desyatina [desyatina is a Russian measure of land equivalent to roughly 1.1 hectares or 2.7 acres], the same area that the peasants have. The soil is sand with lime on a bed of lime.

Kamin is an old settlement from the time of Kazimierz the Great. It was a border city with Lithuania. It was under private ownership of the Kashirsk Sanguszka, the last of the dynasty of Odom, of the Volhyn Wojewod. The Dominican monastery was founded in 1628. That monastery no longer exists. Through the marriage of the sister of the last Sanguszka of that lineage to Jerzy Kraszicki, that property transferred to the Kraszickis. Now, it is in possession of the monastery. The remnants of the former castle exist to this day.

The old castle was destroyed by the Haydamaks during the time of Jan Kazimierz.

In 1870, the population of Kamin was 493. 57% were Jews. There were 96 houses, 3 Orthodox churches, a [Catholic] church, a synagogue, a water mill, a pharmacy, 18 stores, and 4 markets.

A Catholic parish (from the year 1637) of the Kowel Diocese: 529 individuals, a division in Vorokmle, and a small church in Krymne.

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Kamin Kashirsk, a town in Poland, Polesye District. 862 Jews lived there in 1847. In 1897, 1,189 Jews (out of a population of 1,220) lived in Kamin Kashirsk. In 1921, there were 617 Jews (note from the editorial committee: According to our knowledge, 1,800 Jews lived in Kamin Kashirsk in 1921).

The gangs of Hetman Bulak Balachowitz perpetrated a pogrom in the year 1920, and burnt Torah scrolls that were there. (Note from the editor: In that pogrom, up to 120 Jews of Kamin were murdered, according to Encyclopedia Judaica).

Kamin Kashirsk is located in the Volhyn Gubernia on the Zyr River. It has a station on the Kowel railway. It has an elementary [folks] school and a middle school. It was known from the twelfth century. It has a sawmill and an oil press.

According to what we know to this point, Jews settled in Kamin Kashirsk more than 300 years ago. During the time of Bogdan Chmielnicki (Tach ve Tat – [1648-1649]) up to 100 Jewish families were living in Kamin. They were all murdered. Later, Jews settled once again in the Volhyn region, and the town of Kamin Kashirsk was slowly settled by Jews, who were involved in shopkeeping, farming, and winemaking.

Around a hundred years ago, Kamin Kashirsk was settled with more Jews. They then formed 57% of the population, which consisted of Russians, Ukrainians, and Poles. There was a synagogue, and Jews were involved with business. Restrictions against Jews existed, but Jews were allowed to live. Jews were involved in the grain business, and in provisioning the farmers. The market in the town played a large role in maintaining and strengthening Jewish business. They were involved in haberdashery, iron, leather, the food business, manufacturing, toys, and shoes. The number of tradesmen in the city increased: tailors, shoemakers, tinsmiths, bakers, carpenters, wheelwrights, furriers, hat makers, and book binders. There were wagon drivers for passengers and transport. Small and large

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brick kilns, oil presses, distilleries, wineries, candle factories, etc. developed (according to data collected by Yaakov Plott).

There were also village goers [i.e., peddlers], house painters, smiths, barbers, butchers, and glassmakers. There were members of the intelligentsia professions, including teachers, doctors, and lawyers, as well as members of the clergy, including rabbis, shochtim, and shamashim [beadles].

When the misfortune brought on by the Germans hit the Jewish community of Kamin Kashirsk at the onset of the Second World War, there were over 2,000 Jewish souls there.

Many years ago, Kamin Kashirsk was subordinate to the large city of Kowel. The small towns around Kowel had to pay taxes to Kowel. The book of Kowel states on page 24 that in the year 1700, Kowel also received taxes from Kamin Kashirsk, but in the year 1764, the same Yizkor Book notes (page 26) many towns that used to pay taxes in Kowel, but Kamin Kashirsk was not included. This indicates that Kamin Kashirsk was no longer subordinate to Kowel – it had become independent.

Kamin Kashirsk was also connected to Kowel through rabbis. Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh, the rabbi of Kowel about 150 years ago, had two sons and two daughters. One son was a rabbi in Stobychwa, and the second, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, was a rabbi in Kamin Kashirsk.

There were other great rabbis in Kamin Kashirsk. They will be written about separately in the book of Kamin Kashirsk.

Kamin Kashirsk was prominent in the entire area. Over forty small Jewish settlements in the area were affiliated with Kamin. Kamin became a very important city, with rabbis, rabbinical judges, shochtim, and their families, prominent people, institutions, and societies. It was typical that almost the entire town, the intelligentsia above all, had Zionist tendencies.

In 1915, Cossacks with the help of the peasants perpetrated a pogrom in Kamin. In 1919-1920, a pogrom was perpetrated by Bulak Balachowitz and his gang, and Jews from Kamin mounted a resistance. In 1937, a pogrom in the fashion of Przytyk came to Kamin [See Note 3]^[1]. Poles and Ukrainians pillaged, robbed, and injured Jews.

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In 1939, Kamin Kashirsk fell to the Soviets. Hundreds of refugees arrived (among them the Modzitzer Rebbe), and the Kaminers took them in with open arms.

In 1941, the Germans entered Kamin Kashirsk. The first eight victims fell at the time of Tisha B'Av, and by Rosh Chodesh Elul 5701 there were up to eighty victims. The ghetto was created on June 1, 1942. Jews from the region were confined there along with the Kaminers. The large slaughter took place on 27 Av. Up to 2,000 Jews were murdered. The liquidation of the ghetto and the final slaughter in the town took place on 22 Cheshvan 5703 [2 November 1942].

Germans, Ukrainians, and other Jew-haters demonstrated what they could do. They slaughtered and murdered the Jews of Kamin Kashirsk.

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It was an epiphany of pain, suffering, and saving oneself, alone in the forests. However, the Jewish city of Kamin Kashirsk, which Jews built up and fortified brick by brick, is no more. It was destroyed and annihilated, as if it never existed. The city of Kamin Kashirsk remains in the hearts of the surviving Jews of Kamin, spread out throughout the entire world.

The Jewish history of Kamin Kashirsk of the last fifty years can be found in a book entitled The Jews of Kamin Kashirsk -- a description of the people.

1. In Przytyk in March 9, 1936, when the peasants came to the seasonal fair, they attacked Jewish stall keepers and broke into Jewish homes; three Jews were killed and 60 wounded. The Jews organized a self-defense group, and in the ensuing clashes one Pole was shot and killed. In the subsequent trial no attempt was made to distinguish between attackers and defenders. The Jew accused of the shooting was found guilty and given a harsh sentence. As a mark of Jewish protest, the Bund announced a general strike starting on March 18, 1936; the majority of Jews in Poland, as well as many Polish workers, joined in the strike. Return

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The history of Kamin Kashirsk, its founding and development through the generation, is unfortunately unknown to us. We only know a little bit about the beginning of the Jewish settlement there. However, among the information about the history of the town of Ratno (Ratno Yizkor Book) collected from various sources, we find details from which we can infer that Kamin Kashirsk was already a town in 1366 which the kings at that time included in their peace treaties. The citation is as follows: “The peace treaty between the Lithuanian Duke Liubartas and the Polish King Kazimierz the Great from 1366: According to the treaty, King Kazimierz received Belz, Chelm and Ludmir (Wladymir) and received a row of settlements located on the east of the Turia (Tur) River: Horodlo, Lyubomil, Turisk, Ratno, Kamin Kashirsk, and Oblucyn.”

From this we learn that in 1366, Kamin Kashirsk already existed as a town. We also know that in the years 5408 and 5409, the bloody years of the Chmielnicki uprising (1648-1649), there were a hundred homeowners (families) in Kamin Kashirsk, and almost all were killed. There were 400 homeowners in Kowel, and all were killed. That is what is stated in the accounting of 744 destroyed

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communities, in which over 650,000 Jews were killed. They were perpetuated in the book Teet Hayaven by Reb Shmuel Feivish, the son of Reb Natan Feitel of the city of Vienna, brought down by Dr. Shimon Bernfeld in the book Sefer HaDemaot [Book of Tears], volume III, published by Eshkol, Berlin, 5664 [1904].

The great Russian-Soviet Encyclopedia writes about Kamin-Kashirsk. “Kamin Kashirsk is situated on the Zyr River at its confluence with the Pripyat River. The city was already known at the beginning of the twelfth century. It is located in Volhyn.”

The Great Jewish Encyclopedia published in Peterburg (volume XI) writes about Kamin-Kashirsk, “This is a town in the Kowel district, Volhyn Gubernia.”

According to the census of 1847, the Jewish community of Kamin numbered 862 individuals.

According to the census of 1897, the Jewish community numbered 1,189 individuals out of a general population of 1,220 residents. The census does not consider the surrounding gentile streets such as Zastawia, Wolia, Dolniki, and Zachrezia.

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Like all other cities in our area, the Jewish settlement in Kamin Kashirsk did not know of an organized communal structure that would have supervisory authority over the Jewish religious institutions. Rabbis, rabbinical judges and shochtim earned their livelihoods independent of the community. Beis Midrashes, synagogues, and Hassidic shtibels were built and maintained by their worshippers. It was the same with the bathhouse and the mikva [ritual bath], which were maintained by their users. The cemetery was maintained by the Chevra Kadisha [burial society]. The Talmud Torah and Bikkur Cholim [Society for tending to the sick] were maintained by gabbaim [trustees], who collected a certain sum monthly to maintain these institutions. This went on until the Polish regime passed a law with various regulations to create a Jewish community structure with autonomous rights, which would supervise the religious institutions of the Jewish population. This structure would also create new institutions to take care of all the religious needs. It would collect taxes from the Jewish population to cover the expenses. Anyone who refused would be forced to pay by the Polish authorities.

Elections for the first communal council took place in Kamin Kashirsk in 1927. The towns of Lyubashov, Pnivne, Greater Lisha, Smaller Lisha, and all surrounded villages of the town also belonged to the communal council. An election committee to conduct the elections was formed. The following candidate lists were entered: 1) Religious, lead by the Trisker Hassidim; 2) Merchants; 3) Hand workers; 4) Kobriner Hassidim; 5) Lyubashov; 6) Pnivne, 7) Greater and Lesser Lisha. The following were elected from Kamin Kashirsk: 2 parnassim [communal administrators] from the religious Triskers: Shabtai Zafron and Aryeh Dekelbaum; 1 parnas from the merchants: Gedalyahu Grimtlich; Hand workers – Nachman Moreida; Kobriners – Fishel Linzen; Lyubashov – 2 mandates: Yaakov Poltshuk and Shimshel Shklov; Pnivne – Avraham Katzman; Glusha, one mandate – Chaim Goldshul.

At the first meeting

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Sh. Zafron was elected as chairman, A. Dekelbaum as cashier, Yisrael Burstein as secretary and officer, and as shamash, Feivel Tarme. A site for the communal council was rented from Reuven Linzen. It was decided that the community must immediately take over the shechita [ritual slaughter] in order to cover the communal expenditures that were already needed. The shochtim would become communal officers, and the butchers would have to pay fees to the community for shechita. The excess of the shechita money would be used to cover other expenses.

Of course, this would lead to disputes. The shochtim, Reb Yitzchak Plott and Reb Mordechai Kaminska, found it difficult to agree. They had been independent in their livelihoods throughout all the years, and now they were made dependent, in that strangers from the communal council would now be their bosses. The butchers did not want to agree at all, knowing that it was easy to agree with the shochtim regarding the shechita fees, sometimes more, sometimes less. However, now the communal council would set a specific price, and they would have to be paid immediately. Nevertheless, the communal council imposed this. They also had to pay a larger monthly salary to Rabbi Perlin, for he was now considered a communal officer. The communal council had to oversee the tax system, and every Jew had to pay the amount assessed by the council on an annual basis. (Then the fight grew even larger because everyone claimed that they had been assessed too high a sum…)

The elections for the second communal council took place in 1931. The same list of candidates was entered, and almost the same people were elected, with some exceptions: In place of Gedalyahu Grumatlich^[1], Leibush Lew was elected. Instead of Fishel Linzen, Avraham Leib Katz was elected. Shabtai Zafron was named chairman, and Leibush Lew was elected as cashier.

During that term, the communal council was located in the house of Sh. Zafron, which was the Folks Bank until that time.

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However, the communal council was unable to work calmly. It was always full of internal schisms. This was regarding various civic matters as well as issues relating to the towns of Lyubashov and Glusha, where there were battles regarding rabbis and shochtim who were overseen by the communal council in Kamin. If something was not smooth for one side, the other side always tried to prove that it was correct, and that the communal council was one-sided.

Large disputes took place in the city at the end of the term. The communal council had to deal significantly with the old “disease” – the question of rabbis. One would have thought that this would have been cured already.

The Kobriner Rebbe, Rabbi Noach Rabinovitch, who lived in our city, took a son-in-law from the Rebbe's court of Radom, and gave him the “rabbinate of Kamin Kashirsk” as a dowry. In truth, he also had rabbinical ordination from the Polish authorities – which according to the new law required rabbis to have a certain degree of secular knowledge. However, our city sufficed itself with the authority of the rabbi and Gaon Rabbi Perlin of blessed memory, even without the certification of the Polish government. The Kobriner Hassidim demanded that the community take him as rabbi as well, and give over the registration books to him , for he had taken a Polish exam. However, the majority of the communal administrators [parnassim] were against this, and things became quarrelsome in the city. Almost the entire town was involved. Complains about the matter were presented to the highest authorities, asking that they adjudicate the matter of the rabbinate.

This continued until the elections for the third communal council in 1936. Each side was prepared to vote for its representatives. The left leaning Poalei Zion party^[2] decided to enter the communal elections. A committee of its most active members was formed. Its program was to create a worldly community, not only for religions purposes, but also to maintain cultural institutions to the extent that it was possible to create new

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institutions, to support the Zionist Keren Kayemet LeYisrael and Keren Hayesod funds, as well as the pioneering Hachshara points for the Land of Israel.

In that spirit, strong electioneering agitation took place in the city and in the entire area, and that party won. The list of left leaning Poalei Zion^[2], list number 5, called “For the Working Land of Israel” obtained five mandates. The religious and the merchants – two mandates; Great and lesser Glusha – one mandate; Pnivne – one mandate.

The following were elected: 1) Gershon Sokol; 2) Leibush Lew; 3) Yosef Bokolczuk; 4) Chaim Polczuk; 5) L. Zelcer; 6) Leibush Goldstein; 7) Aryeh Dekelbaum; 8) Chaim Goldshul; and 9) Yechiel Guber.

At the first meeting, Leibush Goldstein was elected as chairman and Leibush Lew as cashier.

The new committee as well, for which there were great hopes that they would be able to do more and create some new positivity in the city, remained in the previous situation. The old disputes and battles between the sides of the rabbis, the Beis Midrashes, and the internal affairs of the community [continued]. Furthermore, anti-Semitism strengthened in the city. Business was taken away from Jewish hands due to the official “Owszem” politics. In our town, it reached the point where the city market took place on the gentile streets. There was a pogrom in the summer of 1937. Many Jewish businesses were pillaged. This greatly disrupted the work of the communal council.

In praise of our communal council in all of its terms, it must be stressed that our Hatechiya School was always treated positively, with moral support, according to the possibilities that it had within its power, until the Second World War in 1939.

1. Same as Grimtlich above, but spelled differently here. Return
2. Poalei Zion had split into a left leaning and right leaning factions in 1920. Return

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