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        The town had a good fire department that was provided with the latest equipment and machinery. The Polish city authorities were involved with the fire department, and provided the instructors, and the costs of the machinery were covered by donations. The firemen, who were recruited from among the Jewish men, were volunteers.

[Photo:] First Row, from right: Two Poles, Yonah Sapozhnik and Leibel Gurstein. Second Row: Shinder, Y. Kaminetsky, Shapiro, L. Warshavsky --- Y. Siderov, L. Goldman, B. Schwartz. Third Row: Y. Schwartzberg, Kotak, A. Bliakh, L. Oberman, Kachler, D. Yudelevsky, A. Braverman, M. Kalenkovich, and others.

        It should be mentioned that Drohitchin owned three steam mills (one already existed before World War I) that produced assorted flour and grain for the entire area. Windmills and horse-driven mills used before the War belonged to the past.

        Drohitchin even had a printing press, which was a rare commodity in smaller towns. Prior to this time, if someone wanted to get something printed, he had to travel to Pinsk. The new results of civilization and modernity that suddenly flooded Drohitchin were all due to the establishment of the district center. The fact was, however, that the pleasure of having the district government cost a great deal of money. At first it was expected that nearby Yanova would become the district center, but Drohitchin merchants and storekeepers greased some hands along the way, and for a small fortune were able to win the prize for Drohitchin. This was how Drohitchin became the regional government center.

Poles start an anti-Semitic campaign

        Very soon, however, the wheel turned, and the economic situation in town started declining, and each day things went from bad to worse. The reasons causing the economic decline felt in every corner and in every Jewish home were numerous and obvious.

        First of all, construction in town quickly came to a halt, and all the Jewish artisans were left without work or an income; since a large number of Jewish

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families had no money for food, which obviously had an effect on the income of shopkeepers and other businessmen.         Secondly, the flow of American money that had been sent to Drohitchin in large amounts in the years after World War I was now either held up or stopped. Third, the large landowner estates, which were a source of income for Drohitchin Jewish artisans, merchants and shopkeepers for hundreds of years, were liquidated. The Polish government took over those estates while the owners retreated to Russia with the Czarist army and never returned. Other landowners who did return couldn't administer their estate because of high taxes, and had to break up them into small farms and sell them. The result of this was that almost all estates around Drohitchin were parceled out and sold, either through the Polish authorities or the owners themselves.

[Photo:] The steam mill of Chaikel Miller and Yisrael Elazar Khorsel under German occupation in 1916.

In most cases, the land of the estates was distributed by the Polish government to the Polish legionnaires, the osadniks, who were relocated from central Poland. This was done with the express intention of the Polish rulers to transform the Polesia region into a Polish region, since previously it was mostly populated for a number of years by White Russian peasants, Jews and Ukrainians.

        Fourth, the Poles started oppressing the population, especially the Jews, with harsh taxes. The tax obligations strangled business, and therefore Jewish life. The Poles were simply skinning the flesh of every Jew. Every day, the sorrowful and well-known "Grabsky wagons" would go around Drohitchin, and the tax collectors would confiscate the smallest bags from Jewish homes. Whenever they would see the Grabsky wagons, Jews would turn pale. The tax collectors would confiscate merchandise, furniture, household items, and even the last pair of pants. This writer witnessed such sad events: a tax collector went into the house of the Brisk quilt maker and confiscated his only quilt machine, which was his only source of livelihood. He was a man burdened by many small children, fell down on the ground and started tearing his hair out.

        Fifth, the newly arrived Poles ( osadniks ) immediately started a quiet boycott of Jewish workshops and businesses. The Poles gave no work to Jewish craftsmen, and in contrast to the White Russians, the Poles were good tradesmen and wouldn't get anywhere near the Jewish artisans. The Polish craftsmen even took away the smallest bit of work that a Jew would get from village peasants.

Going from bad to worse

        The Poles were also experiences merchants, and a Jewish merchant or businessman could do business with the Pole the way he did with

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