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The founder of the school was Shloyme A. Elyovitch, a former teacher at the Shtutshin Yeshiva of Rabbi Y.L Khasman before the first world war. He came from a town near Vilna and got married in Shtutshin to Leyke Stanetsky and after the war (1918/19) he opened the school. At the same time the Hebrew school was opened which started an ideological and partisan (pertaining to a political party) struggle between the two camps (Yiddishist Bundists and Hebraist Zionists), who grouped around the schools. The struggle increased in in the year 1920/21 when Rabbi Y.L Khasman returned to town from deep inside Russia and found his former Yeshiva student at the head of the “heretical” school movement. However, the Yiddish elementary school maintained the struggle with the Rabbi and resisted the “competition” with the Hebrew “Tarbut” school for about ten years, until Shloyme Elyovitch and his family immigrated to South America (in the year 1928/29 when the school closed).

The Yiddish elementary School was based only on the ideas of the “Bund” – “Tsukunft” and the entire time struggled with financial difficulties, because the students in this school came from poor segments of the population. The founding managers of the school and the teachers (Y.Shustak, A. Rozenblum. Kh. Samsonovitch, Y. Persky, D. Tchosnek, Y. Binder and others) were satisfied with a very low and uncertain salary.

Besides their teaching hours, they dedicated their free time to the school and to cultural organizational work in town: organizing “literary trials”; organizing fund raising evenings;

The Yiddish School organization (Tsisho) in 1925

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open discussions on political themes; organized a Yiddish library and drama club. Those who belonged to the club were: Alta Balansky, Khava Kosovsky, Etke Gurvitch, Hertz-Leyb Rozhansky and Avrom-Arye Khazanovsky, Binyomin Presman, and Dovid Frish. The last three, together with Khaykl Rafalovitch ran the parent's committee of the elementary school.

After the school closed, the drama club continued to be active (under the direction of Moishe Tankus) and attracted young talents, graduates of the school (Malka and Taybe Balansky, Mashke Grodzhenstchik, Blumke Nutchovsky,and others) from which the majority later moved to the Zionist-Socialist youth organization “Frayhayt” (Freedom) and joined the “HeChalutz” (Pioneers), a few of whom are in Israel.

The general town public library evolved in parallel to the library of the “Culture-League”, which was established by the Folk-Shul (elementary school) through the “Bund-Tsukunft” and was run by Idl Tol from Kolene (later the secretary of the needle-union in Warsaw). At that time the general public library was run by Dovid Arkin and later by the writer of these lines.

Before the outbreak of the second world war the general public library had 250 regular readers from all social classes and groups and had close to 2,500 books (in Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish and Russian). The library contained the works of all the Hebrew and Yiddish classic writers as well as the newest books in both languages, which were published in the last decade before the war.

The general public library organized various cultural programs: presentations and lectures on literary themes, commemorative gatherings for well known writers and poets, small book exhibitions and the like. A group of cultural activists gathered around the library and inspired and controlled the general activity including organizational and financial.

The general public library was considered to be a communal institution for all social and political clubs in town and thanks to this developed progressively. The Nazi murderers annihilated this cultural institution and murdered its workers and readers who established and developed it.

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How We Helped the Needy

The rule of helping in times of trouble, subsidizing a poor man, distributing charity – was deeply rooted in the Jewish community in Shtutshin from way back. In my years, this social activity was displayed in various ways, through organizational help as well as through societies and associations (Interest Free Loan Society, Supporting the Poor and others), as well as individual donations.

I remember how Zusl Levit and others would take care of the fund of the Interest Free Loan Society, or how Borukh Furman and others slaved away for charity foundations. I also remember how the wealthiest men in town would go “from house to house” and collect donations to buy a horse for the wagon driver who was extremely poor, and whose horse had died from hunger and fatigue. When they led the new horse into the wagon driver's stall with great fanfare, at first, he was surprised. Then he looked at the horse's teeth and said: “Mine was worth five and this one is worth seven but it doesn't matter, may he live many years…”

I remember how Reb Avrom-Yakov would prepare for his guests on Friday evening. After reaching the end of the eighteen benedictions in his “new” synagogue, where he served as the rabbi's assistant, he would walk the length of the eastern wall where the wealthy men sat. then he would enter the “old” synagogue and take the same walk. He would approach his regular “clients”, whisper something in their ear and quickly return to his place in order to complete his praying.

Reb Avrom-Yakov Losh and his wife Minye

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When the crowd would leave after prayers, Reb Avrom-Yakov would stand in the courtyard between the two synagogues and watch to make sure each wealthy man took home guests. More then once, due to a misunderstanding or other reasons, guests would remain without somewhere to spend the Sabbath. That is when Reb A. Y. Losh would bring them to his home for the Sabbath, in addition to the guests who had previously been invited. He did this every Sabbath without exception. His wife Minye was always prepared for such occurrences and was busy all week preparing for the Sabbath for guests as well as collecting and distributing charity for the needy.

Etl Markash was also known for her generosity, offering help with an open hand. She had her regular “clients” who would come to her in the small park to cry out their bitter hearts. Women would come to her for words of comfort in times of trouble, advice in women's matters and a “quiet” donation for a special purpose.

A comforting word and advice, donations and help for another, were part of daily life for our mothers and fathers in Shtutshin, until the last day of their lives.

A marriage licence dated May 12th 1937, signed by the communal rabbi Reb Y.M. Rabinovitch

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During a regional gathering of fire fighters (1933)

The general Jewish delegation for the celebration of handing over an airplane to the Polish Army in the name of the District of Shtutshin (July 1939)

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