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By Mordechai Lustig
from Nowy Sącz
Translated and Edited by William Leibner
Additional Editing by Toby Bird
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| Mordechai Lustig or Markus Kannengisser with his concentration camp hat and concentration camp number at Mauthausen Concentration Camp |
| Original Hebrew Title of the Book
'Blood Stained Feathers' On The Background Of the City Of Sandz
Mordechai Lustig/Markus Kannengisser Docostory Inc. |
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| Hebrew editor; Rachel Manor Managing editor; Docostory Inc. Graphic artist; Niva Itzuvim
The book was published with the help of the following organizations: The Azrieli Group The Conference on Jewish Claims Against Germany The authenticity of story and facts are the sole responsibility of the author. The Docostory Company, the shareholders, managers, workers take no responsibility for the contents and facts reported in the book. They are solely the responsibility of Mr. Mordechai Lustig. Any law suit resulting from the publication of the book has to be directed at him. The company merely printed the material as submitted by the author. The company has in no way shaped or influenced the story.
The Publishing Company Docostory Inc |
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The book is dedicated to the memory of my dear parents; my father Yaacov Lustig the son of Esther and Levy Kannengisser. My dear mother, Ita, daughter of Miriam and Shalom Lustig. My dear sister Rachel, daughter Ita and Yaacov Kannengisser, my dear brother Moshe Yossef, son of Ita and Yaacov Kannengisser. To my paternal and maternal relatives who underwent terrible sufferings before they were killed by the Germans and their helpers during the war and whose places of burial are unknown. |
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| MAY THEY REST IN ETERNAL PEACE | ||
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| The city of Sandz |
Translator's Note: The author of the original Hebrew book used many expressions and terms that needed explanations and some research. We tried to explain and clarify the terms and ideas that were used. We also felt that the author frequently moved from item to item abruptly. We abridged certain passages to clarify and render the text more comprehensible.
The city of Nowy Sacz pronounced Nowy Sonch in Polish and called Sandz in Yiddish was established by royal decree about 1258 on the site of a village named Kamienica. Sandz was a royal city located between Krakow and Lemberg, Galicia, Poland. The hamlet developed rapidly since it became a commercial center and handled most of the Polish-Hungarian trade. Sandz received many royal privileges, notably tax reductions and the right to hold annual trade fairs. The city had a royal residence where the king stood when he visited the city. Throughout the ages, the city was plagued by fires, wars, invasions epidemics and floods. Following a series of disasters, the city faced total economic disaster and decided to call on the Jews to help. Jews were allowed to move to the city and open businesses so as to give the city an economic boost. The easements were promulgated in 1765 and had the desired economic effects. Jews began to move to Sandz in larger numbers. Of course there were some Jews in Sandz before this date but little is known about them. The stagnated economy of the city started to thrive with the arrival of the Jews. The Jews concentrated in lending money, textiles, wines, honey and tobacco.
In 1763 there were already 23 Jewish homes located near the royal residence of Sandz. The Jewish community or “Kahal” was established in 1765 when the Jewish population reached 509 souls. The Jewish population steadily grew and built a synagogue and a school for Jewish children. In 1710, Jews started to move to the center of the city or more precise to the market square and vicinity. As the Jewish population increased in Sandz, Jews also started to settle in the vicinity of the city, namely in the hamlet of Grybow where 200 Jews lived already in the year 1800.
The Jews of Sandz operated the flour windmills and provided a variety of services to the local population. Jews also run the inns and pubs in the city and periphery. In 1770 Sandz was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the collapse of the Polish Kingdom. The Austrians incorporated the city into their empire. Many of the Polish feudal restrictions against the Jews were eased or removed. Jews could now leave their places of residence and move to the city of Sandz. The Austrians liberalized trade regulations but almost doubled the taxes of the citizens and they enforced the tax collections to the penny. Tax arrears were collected without mercy. There were still commercial laws aimed at the Jew like the trade in wheat was forbidden to them. Jews could not hire Christian workers or buy Christian homes. The Jews appealed to various authorities to reduce the tax burden but the Austrians refuse to budge. The situation improved slightly following the 1848 revolution when most of the restrictions were slowly reduced or eliminated . Most of the merchants in Sandz were Jewish. In 1880, the Jewish population reached 5,163 while the total population of the city was about 11,158. About 1830 Rabbi Chaim Halberstam also known as Divrei Chaim ( name of his book) was appointed rabbi of Sandz. He converted the city to a Hasidic bastion. Sandz became the most influential Hasidic center in Europe under the rabbi's guidance. The rabbi greatly influenced Jewish life in the city of Sandz.
The fires of 1890 and 1894 almost wiped out the Jewish quarters of the city and impoverished the Jewish population. These disasters were followed by a wave of anti-Semitic pogroms that the army had to put down. Still, the Jewish population kept moving to the city where it hoped to improve its lot. By 1910, the Jewish population reached 7,900 while the total city population reached 25,004. The non-Jewish population grew much faster in the city than the Jewish population. The Russians invaded Sandz during World War One and caused havoc amongst the Jewish population. The Russian army was known for its brutality to Jews. The Cossacks went on a rampage and broke into Jewish stores and homes, robbed and stole what was at hand. Many Jews had fled Sandz prior to their arrival to the interior of the empire. Many of them decided to stay and not return to Sandz. Others returned and found their homes vandalized and their business structures in shambles. The Jewish economic recovery in the city was slow. The American Joint Committee stepped in to help the poor Jews as did the American Association of Sandzer Jews. Jewish welfare agencies also actively helped the poor people. The Polish government enacted laws that were directed against Jewish businessman and weakened the recovery programs of the Jewish help organizations. In 1921, the Jewish population reached 9,000 people; the Jewish population still grew but very slowly. Most of the commercial activities in the city were in the hands of Jewish merchants, namely the food and textile sectors.
Religious orthodoxy dominated the Jewish community of Sandz. Rabbi Halberstam's descendants continued to rule Jewish life in the city. This domination was being challenged by the Zionists especially the Zionist youth. The struggle stopped during World War I but resumed following the end of hostilities. Zionist organizations opened branches in Sandz, notably the “ Mizrahi” or moderate religious Zionist party. The members of the party were harassed by the more orthodox elements in the city and even chased out of the synagogues when they came to pray. The General Zionist or middle of the road Zionist party was well represented in the city as was the Zionist labor group, notably the “Poalei Tzion group that soon split into a right faction and a left faction. The latter attracted the Ringelblum brothers namely Emanuel Ringelblum who would later become the historian of the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw. Another personality that joined this group was Raphael Mahler who would become a famous Jewish Polish historian. The Revisionists and Wizo also had branches in Sandz. All of these Zionist groups made serious inroads into Sandz and challenged the orthodox leadership of the community.
The Jewish youth movements ranging from the Aguda or ani-Zionist orthodox party to Betar or militant revisionist party were very active and highly competitive. They provided an outlet to the Jewish youth that was slowly being excluded from the Polish youth clubs. Sandz even had a strong “ Bund” or Jewish workers party branch and even a communist group that had to operate underground since the party was outlawed in Poland. The Jewish community supported a variety of cultural and social activities in the city. Jewish schools were opened where Hebrew or Yiddish were used as the medium of instruction. Anti-Jewish incidents continued to take place in the city. Boycotts of Jewish stores or acts of vandalism occurred quite often. Despite everything, the Jews volunteered en masse to join the Polish civil defense organization in the city. The young Jews were of course drafted to the army where they fought against the German army. But nothing could stop the German war machine and they entered the city of Sandz on September 6, 1939. The city had a total population of about 34,500 inhabitants that included about 13,000 Jews. The fate of the Jews under the German occupation would be described in the following pages by the shoah surviving native son of Sandz:
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