[Columns 269-270]

The old-age home

The ritual bath-house

[Columns 271-272]

[Columns 273-274]

Eliezer Arn Zomer

The Jewish population held elections for the community council twice during the existence of independent Poland: in 1924, and in 1931. The third community elections were slated for 1939, but at that point the destruction of the communities had begun.

On Wednesday, May 20, the community elections of 1931 were held in about 500 towns. A week later, there were elections in Warsaw, Lublin, Łódź, Lemberg, Krakow, Radom, and other larger cities.

The appeals to vote, presented below, are evidence that the election campaign was intense and bitter. Please allow me to present several extracts from my diary of that period. I was then 17 years old.

May 17, 1931

My father and I went to a bris today. Waiting for the rabbi, the crowd separated into groups, and talked. The main topic was the coming elections. People debated and bickered. The more observant folks argued that no “shaven-beards” should be part of the council; others asserted that “shaven-beards,” too, should be elected, if they were kind-hearted.^[1]

People talked about the Linas-Tzedek society, which had been founded only a few weeks earlier, and recounted that two members of the society had gone to a bris at the home of a rich Jew, and were denied entry.^[2] Two non-Jewish servants stood at the door, constantly shouting “Entrance to paupers is prohibited!”^[3] This incident made a grave impression on many, myself included.

The day of the elections was stormy, and agitation was passionate both on the street and in the houses of study. Agudas-Yisro'el (List no. 10) elected four delegates; the Zionists (List no. 7) elected three delegates; the other parties elected five delegates. The community elected 12 delegates altogether. I believe that the Bund and Po'aley Tziyon did not participate in the elections at all, boycotting the elections because of the infamous Paragraph 20.

Paragraph 20 was instituted by the Polish Minister of Education, Czerwinski, at the urging of Agudas-Yisro'el; this minister was applying the new ordinance concerning community elections.^[4] Paragraph 20 determined the system of compiling the voters' lists. Previously, every Jew who wanted the right to vote in the community had to submit a special declaration. Paragraph 20 introduced a new decree: the Jewish communities had to make up their own lists of voters. The paragraph ended with the following sentence:

“When the lists of voters for the community elections are set up, the Elections Committee can exclude persons who speak out openly against the Jewish religion.”

This paragraph enabled the exclusion of Jews who were clean-shaven, who didn't bow and scrape during prayers, or who smoked or kept their businesses open on Shabbat.^[5] The Jewish community was in tumult: medieval times were returning.

Preparations for the community elections in all the Jewish cities and towns, including Hrubieszow, were tempestuous. The uproar was so great that the central committee of Agudas-Yisro'el saw fit to provide a special explanation for Paragraph 20. The explanation ran approximately as follows:

“The paragraph seems to be simply and clearly formulated. Any person of sense understands that if the Jewish community is openly religious, the elections committee has the right to exclude those who are openly opposed to the Jewish religion. The concept of being ‘openly opposed to the Jewish religion’ is not at all vague. After all, the paragraph does not refer to the religious practice of people. Its meaning is clear: it deals with people who have openly declared themselves to be non-religious, or who have openly campaigned against the Jewish religion and the Jewish community as a religious institute. The relationship to the Jewish religion and the Jewish community is rather tenuous, and must not be put to the test by this regulation.”^[6]

This is the interpretation of Paragraph 20, which on the whole contained nothing new. Preparations for the community elections were becoming volatile. The Yidisher Ekspres newspaper of Sunday, March 22, 1931, contained the following note:

“Our readers are already aware of the incidents throughout the province as a result of Paragraph 20. All those with shaven beards are regularly excluded from the list of voters, as well as those who violate Shabbat in any way. The Bund and Po'aley-Tziyen are not taking part in the elections. The Jewish working class will not participate. Thus, the fanatically observant Jews are left with no tasks.

However, we have been told that the voters' lists throughout the province are already being examined; lists of non-believers are being drawn up in order to bar them from the voters lists. The Jewish population as a whole feels resentment towards those who wield power in the community, who now – with the aid of Paragraph 20 – aspire to lodge themselves on the backs of the miserable workhorse.^[7] Abstention from the elections expresses the protest of the Jewish masses against the community leaders, against the community's statutes, and against its politics.”

The Bund's Folks-Tsaytung of that period is also full of protests against Paragraph 20. Nevertheless, many workers went to the polls, and voted for the artisans' list. Thus, delegates who defended the interests of the working masses were voted into the council.

In 1934, I received a letter from my dear, unforgettable friend, Avrom Geduldik, with interesting details concerning the elections to the Hrubieszow city hall, which took place at that time. It is clear from that letter that the Jewish parties in Hrubieszow united for these elections.

Translator's Footnotes:

1. “Shaven-beards” refers to modernizing Jews, who shaved their traditional long beards. Return
2. Linas-Tzedek is a biblically-derived term that denotes a free hostel for the needy sick. Return
3. A Russian phrase is used, followed by a Yiddish equivalent in parentheses. I was unable to translate the Russian, and have translated the Yiddish equivalent. Return
4. Czerwinski's office was responsible for supervising the electoral process. Return
5. The original uses a Yiddish phrase linked to the custom of bowing and rising on one's toes during the central Shemone-Esrey prayer, recited three times daily. Return
6. The meaning of “barely steadfast” here is not clear. Return
7. This metaphor refers here to ordinary working people. Return

[Columns 275 - 276]

Translator's Note: Columns 275-276 consist of candidate lists for the various parties. The translation starts with the headings that run across the tops of both columns. The headings are followed by numbered lists according to party affiliation; my translation follows this layout. The text at the bottom of columns 275-277 extends across the entire page. Candidate lists nos. 3 and 9 are missing from the text. The letters in the street addresses are tiny and some are faulty. I was not able to translate of these street names.

Announcement “The elections committee for the Hrubieszow Jewish community council announces the following Lists of Candidates, according to Section 43 of the Elections Law of October 24, 1930 (Dz. A. N[o]. 75, P[aragraph] 592).”

No.	Last and First Names	Age	Occupation	Address in Hrubieszow
1	Hipsh, Simkhe	40	Dental technician
2	Amper, Yoysef	58	Teacher
3	Goldshmidt, Yankev	54	Mechanic
4	Esig, Yankev	60	Merchant	Lubelska
5	Ekshteyn, Moyshe	52	Merchant
6	Lenerman, Khayim	59	Merchant
7	Feler, Eliezer	51	Merchant
8	Fayntuch, Yitzkhok	65	Teacher	Lubelska
9	Tsukerman, Moyshe-Yankev	80	Merchant[1]
10	Vinderboym, Avrom	47	Merchant
11	Kats, Yitskhok	72	Shopkeeper
12	Zinger, Yoysef	53	Teacher
13	[ ?? ], Munish[2]	37	Purse-maker
14	Dikhter, Avrom	30	Merchant
15	Koliren, Yoysef	35	Merchant
16	Goldshteyn, Alter	32	Teacher	Lubelska
17	Royzman, Yisro'el	52	Hat-maker
18	Gayst, Sender	45	Harness-maker
19	Spektor, Shoul	38	Painter
20	Mayl, Gershon	50	Teacher	Lubelska
21	Gzhebiey, Avrom	39	Merchant
22	Goldfarb, Yisro'el	34	Merchant
23	Mangel, Shimen	56	Merchant	Lubelska
24	Meler, Eliezer	38	Tailor

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