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In the many towns and larger villages that surrounded Volkovysk, there were Jewish communities that were uprooted during the Holocaust. A number of them (Zelva, Svislucz, Piesk, Porozovo, Krzemienica, and others) had special Memorial Books written for them. Seeing as all of these towns utilized Volkovysk as a center, we see a need, in this book, to tell about these towns as well, where Jews resided, and made their final voyage during the Holocaust by way of Volkovysk, seeing that the Germans brought them first to our city, and from there they were taken together with the Jews of Volkovysk to the extermination camps.

This town, found on the banks of the Zelvianka River, that empties into the Neman, is at a distance of 20 km from Volkovysk. There were tens of villages around it, and estates that were populated by Russians of the Orthodox faith, and a minority of Poles, but also Jewish families lived there. They made a living by managing the estates of the nobility who preferred to live outside of the country.

During the First World War, when the German Army moved forward and captured several fortifications in which Russian soldiers were entrenched, the Russian Orthodox population began to transfer itself into Russia. Tens of thousands of Jews did the same, who lived close to the long German-Russian border, and in this way, long ranks of Jewish refugees were formed, who moved to the east, and along the path of their flight, many stopped and stayed in Zelva. The residents of Zelva received these refugees graciously, and helped them get settled in the town.

The Germans controlled this part of the world for about three years. They attempted to implement law and order in the area that they ruled, set up a citizens committee, headed by a German-speaking Jew, opened a school, especially for Jewish children, and slowly, slowly, life began to return to normal. But it became quickly evident that the Germans utilized the local committee for their own advantage. They implemented forced labor, especially in the forest, and confiscated everything that had remained in the possession of the residents. Lack of food became increasingly acute, and hunger grew, there was much suffering and these tribulations fell upon the Jews.

The town passed from one sovereignty to the next during the war years, and after the Bolshevik Revolution, a communist regime was established in the town, but it did not remain in power very long, because the Poles captured the town. In the interregnum, between governments, there were many groups that came through the town, which pillaged, plundered and destroyed whatever remained of the Jewish possessions – and very little remained indeed.

In 1793, the Russians invaded Zelva, a town in which there were then 846 Jews who paid taxes. By 1897, the number of Jews had reached 1,844, and they comprised 66% of the entire population. When the independent government of Poland was established after the First World War, the number of Jews in the town was 1,319, and they were 64% of the population.

The Rabbi, understandably, filled an important position in Jewish life, in whose hands were the ledgers of the town in which he recorded births, marriages, and also provided various ritual rulings, and decided on questions of Kashrut, etc.

The Rabbi lived in the house beside the synagogue,

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and his modest stipend was insured by an exclusive franchise for the sale of yeast. The second in stature was the Cantor, who was also the Shokhet and the Mohel. The Khevra Kadisha, whose members were volunteers, dealt with funerals and burials. There were public servants righteous women, and others, who dealt with the needs of the poor, widows and orphans.

At the approach of Passover, the institution of Maot Khittim was organized to provide the needy with matzos. Before the High Holy Days, platters would be set out in the various houses of worship, and each plate had a label describing the beneficiary of the donation. In the synagogues and the Batei Medrashim, there were always volunteers who were available to lead the congregations in prayer, read from the Torah, or blow the shofar, etc.

The Schulhof square was the very center of the heart of the community, and it was here that all the community buildings were to be found. The single synagogue of the town was built of brick and stone. The Holy Ark was the product of an artisan's labor, to which he had dedicated decades of his life. By hand, he constructed and created an outstanding artistic piece, using only primitive methods (no electricity was available). When the ark was opened, a Torah scroll would be presented in the paws of a lion, and above the front opening winged creatures began to beat their wings, accompanied by the sounds of drums and cymbals. A picture of this Holy Ark appears in Volume IV of the Hebrew Encyclopedia.

Every community event, event family events, took place on the Schulhof. It was here that weddings were held, Bar Mitzvah celebrations, funerals, etc. When the deceased was being taken for the last journey, all the Jewish stores would be closed. During the month of Elul, the square would be teeming with people. Men, women, children, would all come to pray and say Selikhot at the second watch of the night, carrying lanterns in their hands. On the High Holy Days, during the recesses between prayers, the square would fill up with Jews, all wrapped in their prayer shawls. These were the ‘strictly observant' who would come and go to their homes, not relying on the eruv.

Every Bet HaMedrash had bookcases stuffed full of books on religion and thought, and at every opportunity, especially between the afternoon and evening prayers, the scholars would give lessons in the Gemara or the Mishna to the common people. Religious articles were usually brought from the big city, although Leibl the Scribe of Zelva itself made no small contribution on his own.

There was a Fire-fighters organization, on the face of it, municipally run, but all of its members except for the head, were Jewish, and they were also the ones who established the Fire-fighters' orchestra. The meager equipment to put out fires (several hand pumps and pails) was housed in a wooden building in the center of town, that also served as a theater as well. If a fire broke out, the fire fighters immediately gathered , and those who owned horses harnessed them up, in order to bring the fire fighting equipment to the scene of the blaze, even though they were usually late, and only the wind could arrest the spread of the flames…

Most of the families were blessed with an abundance of children, and lived in simple houses that passed from generation to generation by inheritance. A barn or stable was usually attached to the house, as well as a storage bin for firewood. Behind the house was a small plot of land, and also several furrows for vegetable planting.

On the outskirts of the town, along the banks of the Zelvianka, there was a pasture of several hundred dunams, that served as a natural pasture for the farm animals, and it belonged to the Jews. Jewish herdsmen would lead the cows out to pasture.

There was a water well in the center of the square, and it provided for all the water needs of the house, and during fair days, also for the farmers and their horses. The homemakers would wash their laundry in the Zelvianka River. On washing day, the children of the family were also recruited to help. There were

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other wells in the vicinity of occupied houses.

The Bath House was open only on the weekend. Every family was in the habit of bathing as a matter of course. After spending a couple of hours in order to be scrubbed down with a brush, then hot water, followed by cold water, they would return home clean and freshened. In the summer, they preferred to bathe in the river, and because of this, many knew how to swim.

The Cold House was a wide cellar at the end of the Schulhof square, in which hundreds of tons of ice blocks were stored, that were carted voluntarily from the Zelvianka during the winter. This ice was life-restoring during the summer months, and was especially critical for sick people running high fever. The tried and true remedy in these instances was – to put ice on the forehead. During the summer, the ice also served to preserve foodstuffs and to make a primitive form of ice cream.

The Diet was not particularly outstanding. The main intake was bread, potatoes and dried corn, and in the fall, also fruits and vegetables. The better off people would put cucumbers in casks and store them for the winter. Meat or fish was eaten only on the Sabbath and Festival Holidays.

Zelva was known as a commercial town as early as 1800. In those days, the Jews started to bring cows, horsed and leather from Moscow and other cities. This event was publicized between the main road and the railroad track, and merchants from the area, both near and far, would come to the town.

The Zelva fairs gained quite a reputation. Every town would prepare for the fair, because the income from that single day would keep them for several weeks. The farmers would begin to stream in from daybreak on, either on horse or on foot, to the fair, in order to get a good spot for their wagons.

About half the Jews in the town were either merchants or storekeepers. The commercial center, built like a square, was owned by a German family, that charged a rent to the storekeepers and the adjacent houses, that ringed the center on three sides, since the fourth side was set aside as a market for cattle.

The selection of merchandise in the stores was modest, and limited in the extreme. Those who were in need, made do with the least they could get, and accordingly, the revenue in most of these stores was minimal. The burden of taxes was great, and the Polish treasury official Grabski^[1] was particularly outstanding in squeezing the Jews, and who in his time was the prime mover for a substantial aliyah, named for him – ‘the Grabski Aliyah.’

Translator's footnote:

1. Also referenced in Dr. Einhorn's book in the chapter on Yudel Novogrudsky. See the first part of this Trilogy, p. 264 Return

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