Hrodna, Belarus

Our sincere appreciation to Yosef Starowolski, Secretary of Grodno former residents society in Israel, for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

I want to thank a magnificent volunteer, Linda D. Epstein, from Washington, D.C., who scanned each photo from the Grodno Yizkor Book, thus enabling us at last to see the faces of our long-dead relatives on this website. Her outstanding generosity coupled with her time & skill are outstanding. We are all greatly in her debt. This brings to an end my term as Coordinator of the Grodno Yizkor Book.

Miriam Margolyes

Encyclopaedia of the Jewish Diaspora

Memorial Book of Countries and Communities

Volume IX

GRODNO

“GRODNO FORMER RESIDENTS SOCIETY” IN ISRAEL

Edited by: Dov Rabin

Editorial Committee:

Itzchak Yellin, Iser Kulik of blessed memory, Shmuel Dimant, Moshe Alperstein, Chaim Pasmanik

Chairman of the “Encyclopaedia of the Jewish Diaspora” Organization
Ch. Berlas, Jerusalem

Published by the “Encyclopaedia of the Jewish Diaspora” Organization, Ltd.

All rights reserved –Printed in Israel, Jerusalem 1973

Publication Committee

Itzchak Yellin, Shmuel Dimant, Moshe Alperstein, Shimon Mass, Moshe Notes,
Chaim Pasmanik, Eliezer Palnitzki, Mordechai Kustin, Iser Kulik of blessed memory.

United Grodner Relief in New York
Grodner Mutual Benefit Organization of America and Canada
Grodner Yizkor Book Committee in New York
Grodner Club of New York
Grodner Organization of Montreal
Landsleit Organization of Grodno in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

“Organization of Grodno Emigres” in Israel

Yellin Itzchak – chairman; Palnitzki Eliezer – vice chairman;
Pasmanik Chaim – vice chairman; Alperstein Moshe; Gershuni Freda; Dimant Shmuel; Zachri Aaron;
Mass Shimon; Naor Chaim; Notes Moshe; Menaker Dov; Kustin Mordechai;

Grodner Organization of America and Canada

Jack Kahn – General Secretary, New York;
Abraham Malevitch – Los Angeles;
Abraham Schultz – New York;
Herman Javlokov; Morris Leon; Jack Bendetson; Jack Kei; David Anski – Montreal;
Joseph Kagan – Chicago

Translator's footnotes

[1]		“Vaad Lita” was an umbrella organization of Lithuanian Jewish communities at the time. Return
[2]		The abbreviation KK (Kuf Kuf) that appears here prior to the name Grodno stands for Kehillat Kadosh, which means “Holy Community”. This is a common notation for any Jewish Community. Return
[3]		Shabbatai Tzvi was a false messiah of the mid 1700 s. His movement caused great upheaval in European Jewry for the next century or so. Return
[4]		The acronym alef beit dalet stands for Av Beit Din, the head of a Rabbinical court of a community. The title here implies that from this time, the religious leadership of the community became fragmented, no longer under one head. Return
[5]		Misnagdim or mitnagdim are opponents of Chassidism. Return
[6]		The Haskala movement was the movement for Jewish modernization in Europe of the 1800s. Maskilim are people who ascribe to the Haskala movement. Maskilim began to release themselves from the strictures of traditional Jewish life and law. Return
[7]		A Kollel is an institution where young married men spend their time studying Torah. Return
[8]		This appears to be the second main division of the book. In this section, the articles generally list the author's name. The items main items are numbered according to the alef beit (as in the first section); however this numbering stops in the middle, at the Culture and Society section, page 441. There is no consistency as to whether the author's names are in full, or fully or partially initialed (e.g. D. R., D. Rabin, or Dov Rabin). I followed the Hebrew text exactly in this matter. Return
[9]		Hachshara is activities meant to prepare members of a Zionist movement for immigration to the Land of Israel. Hashomer Hatzair is a left wing socialist Zionist movement. Return
[10]		Levush is an acronym for a well known medieval Torah commentator. The Great Synagogue in Grodno was obviously named after him. Return

History of the Jewish community of Grodno / Dov Rabin
Aleph. The Beginning of the City of Grodno	17
Beit. The Beginnings of the Jewish Settlement	18
Jews in Grodno during the 16^th century, expulsion and return	20
Gimel. Period of Growth (1503-1647)	24
1. The general and economic situation	24
Status of the Jews of Grodno	24
The beginnings of oppression by the Christian citizens	27
Means of livelihood of the Jews	29
Struggles of the Jewish artisans	31
2. The community	31
The controversy in the Rabbinic election process	32
The first Rabbis of Grodno	33
3. Grodno – The main “Vaad Lita” community ^[1]	35
“Vaad Medinat Lita” and its organizations	35
The boundaries of the community of Grodno ^[2]	38
The uniqueness of the community of Grodno in “Vaad Lita”	40

4. The Chain of Rabbinical Succession	42
5. Beginnings of Aliya to the Land of Israel	43
Daled. Period of Seige and Distress (1648-1764)	44
Times of trouble for the people of Israel	44
From war to war	44
False accusations and blood libels	46
Economic struggle, debts and taxes	47
Grodno – a major Torah center	51
Echoes of the Shabbatai Tzvi Movement^[3]	55
The community “The Other Side of the River” on the other bank of the Neman	56

He. The Years of the Division of Poland (1765-1793)	59
Oppression	59
Blood libel of 1790	60
The time of the Kosciuszko rebellion	60
Characteristics of development	61
The last heads of the Rabbinical court of Grodno^[4]	63
The dispute between the Chassidim and Misnagdim^[5]	63
Men of stature	64
The social assistance organization	67
Grodno – the center of Hebrew printing in Lithuania	69
Vav. Period of Economic Instability (1794–1840)	72
1. Under Russian rule	72
New administration, old and new problems	73
Citizens scheming against Jewish rights in Grodno	73
Blood Libel in 1816	73
Communal activities and pleadings of Zundel Zonnenbergg	74
Military Service Decree	76
Opposition to the Education Legislation	77
Grodno Jewry during and after the Polish Rebellion	78
Period of Riots in Russia, 1881	79
2. The economic troubles of Grodno, and the livelihood of the Jews	80
Backwardness of the city economy and the situation of the Jews	80
Jewish livelihood and their economic situation	82
Industry	84
Beginnings of the emigration to America	86
3. City of Torah	86
A People Occupied with the Torah	86
Rabbis and Scholars	88
The liquidation of the Hebrew printing shop in Grodno	93
4. The Enlightenment (Haskala) Movement^[6]	94
Jewish schools for general education	94
Public Atheistic Heresy – The Public Library	96
The struggle between the Maskilim and their opponents	97
Maskilim Authors in Grodno	98
The Founding of Social Institutions and Organizations	109
5. Love for the Land of Yisrael	110
The First Olim to the Holy Land from Grodno	110
Kolel Horodna ^[7]	115
The beginning of the Hibat Zion movement in Grodno	115
First agricultural settlers in Eretz Yisrael from Grodno	117
Zayin. The Years of Recovery of Grodno Jewry (1891–1914).	120
1. The general condition of the Jewish community	120
The Period of final glory	120
Facing animosity and an oppressive regime	121
2. Jewish Self Defense	123
3. Jewish economic system	130
Sources of Income	130
The Tobacco Industry	131
New Immigrants from Lithuania in Mozesville, Argentine	136
4. The Spiritual Social Category of the Society	137
The Character of the Leadership of the Kehila	137
The Kehila Leadership	137
Torah, Charity and Benevolence	140
Beginnings of Assimilation	143
5. The Revolutionary and Social Movement among Grodno Jewry	145
First revolutionary Seeds	145
The Beginning of the Jewish Workers Struggle in Grodno	146
The Revolutionary Activity – Ebb and Flow	152
6. Grodno– Center for the Rebirth of Nationalism and Hebrew	158
The Hibat Zion movement in the nineties	158
Cultural activity for Hebrew education in Eretz Yisrael	160
Grodno – One of the Zionist Centers in Russia	161
Poalei Zion	165
Grodno – Center of Hebrew Education	173
Various Zionist Activities: Jewish Literary Society	185
Bereishit immigrants from Grodno for settlement in Eretz Yisrael	188
Chet. The First World War (end of 1914 – April 1919)	198
1. A Year of riots, accusations, and expulsion	198
2. The German conquest	200
The occupation regime; Distress and famine; New forms of livelihood	200
“Vaad Adat Yisrael” The Jewish Communal Committee comes to the aid	202
Jewish cultural awakening	204
“Groups” and the “Kibbutz” Jewish artisan organization	205
3. Russian and German revolutions	213
Bad times	213
“The Grodno Republic”	215
The foundations of the democratic Jewish community	218
The elected city council	221
Trade unions	223
The Zionist movement comes out into the open	225
Tet. The New Polish Regime (May 1919 – September 20, 1939)	230
1. The beginning of Polish rule	230
Attacks and libels against the Jews	230
The pushing out of Jews from their economic position, and lowering of their status	232
The weakening of the social structure	233
Nationalistic Zionist awakening	234
Grodno – a center of the third Aliya	237
2. Two months of Soviet conquest	241
3. The front of oppression and hatred	243
4. Slander, attacks, and unrest	247
Comments, footnotes, and sources of information	256
Notes and bibliography	258

THE FINAL GENERATION OF GRODNO JEWRY^[8]	273

Aleph. The struggle for survival
The Jews of Grodno – their status and struggles / D. Rabin	273
The status of the Jews in the city	273
The struggle for survival in the present and the future	275
Jewish industry (at the end of the 930s) / Wolfe Jalovitz	281
The Jewish cooperative / Yitzchak Gozansky	286
The Interest free loan fund / D. Rabin	291
The Technical School / the editorial committee	293
Our Professional school / Benjamin Gordon	295
“ORT” organization in Grodno / D. R.	297
Professional and economic activities of workers / Dov Rabin	299
“Hachshara” of the “Hashomer Hatzair” pioneers^[9] / Elimelech Horowitz	305

Beit. Communal Activities
Worrying trends contrasted with gladdening revelations / Dov Rabin	307
Jews from Galicia –their influence on the community/ Yitzchak Soloveitchik	309
The community – its leadership and institutions	311
The community (1919-1928) / Aaron Shulkes	311
The community and its institutions (1929-1931)/ Yitzchak Soloveitchik	312
The status of the community (end of 1935) / A. Shulkes	316
The makeup of the leadership of the community/ the editorial committee	317
Gimel. Torah and Religion
Yeshiva “Shaarei Torah” and its leaders / D. Rabin	321
Synagogues and study and prayer houses / Dov Rabin	329
The Great Synagogue “Levush”^[10]	331
Houses of study and prayer halls	334
Synagogues and houses of study in the Forshtot	345
The old synagogue in the suburbs / Zvi Belko and his students	346
Rabbinic leaders / Rabbis Yosef and Shmuel Rozovski	349
Cantors of the city / D. R.	355
Daled. Movements and Trends
The Zionist Movement
The Zionist Center / Yitzchak Soloveichik	359
“WIZO” chapter / Sara Soloveichik	361
“Akiva” youth movement / Pnina Orenstein	361
“Mizrachi” / the editorial committee	363

Socialist and Pioneering Zionism
Implements for the workers of the Land of Israel/ David Ben-Dov (Berman)	367
Poale Zion = Socialist Zionism (1921-1933) / Eliezer Palnitzki	368
“Dror” (Freedom) youth movement / Moshe Melamed	375
“Hechalutz Hatzair” / D. R.	381
“Hashomer Hatzair” movement	382
The beginning of the movement in Grodno / Yakov Horowitz	382
The core of the movement at its outset / Matityahu Shor
Against the darkening skies (1934-1938) / Elimelech Horowitz	391

The Revisionist Zionist movement / Yelin Mor	393
The mosaic of Grodno Zionism / the editorial committee	395
“Agudat Yisrael” / D. R.	397
“Bund” / D. Rabin	397
He. Education and Haskala
Community Schools.
The beginnings of the Talmud Torah / D. R.	403
The national school of the communal committee (1924)/ Efraim Neimark	404
How we were taught at the “Talmud Torah” / Tzila Stein-Tamir	405
The first Hebrew kindergarten of the “Tarbut” organization / Sara Schlossberg-Rebeikov	409

The Tarbut school system
The beginning and development of Tarbut in Grodno / D. R.	411
Tarbut in Grodno / Yaakov Naor (Feibushvish)	413
The Tarbut Gymnasia / Elimelech Horowitz	419
The A. D. Gordon teachers seminary / Menachem Zaharoni (Yaroshevsky)	420
The balance sheet of the Tarbut organization and its promoters / D. R.	425
“Tushia” school / Bryna and Elimelech Gornitzki (Goren)	431

The Orthodox school system
The Orthodox “Yavneh” girl's school / D. R.	433
Principals and teachers in our school / Moshe Alperstein	436
The Yiddish secular “Zisha” school / D. R.	439

Culture and Society
Jewish newspapers in Grodno / Dov Rabin	441
Jewish theatre in Grodno / Shimon Finkel	443
A principal city for lovers of Jewish theatre / D. Avitzur	449
The Jewish Public Library / D. Rabin	451
Jewish sport in Grodno / D. R.	453
Touring for acquaintance with the vicinity club	455

Health and Welfare	457
The Organization for protection of health (“TOZ” (Towarzystwo Obrony Zdrowia))/ B. Abramovitz	457
Medical institutions and shelters / D. Avieli	458

Memories and Stories from Writings of the Old Timers
The first teachers / Hillel Iser Janowski	463
Vilbushewitz family / Nachum Vilbush	466
Three at the outset of their journey through life / Gedalia Shklarsky	471
Kahanshtam my music teacher / Reuven Vigdorovich	472
In the underground – with Leib Yaffa / Moshe Aaron Avigal (Beigel)	473

“Hechalutz” Olim Tell their Stories
The first group of the third Aliya from Grodno/ Yedidya Janowski	477
“Cherut and Techia” youth movements / Yaakov Janowski (Yaniv)	482
Hachshara in Grodno in 1920 / Yitzchak Amdurski	485
As we went on Aliya / Dov Rabin	488

Outstanding Personalities
Grandmother / Rachel Adiv	493
My family / Esther Berman-Kopelovich	496
Danche / Yosef Efraimi	500
The Outbreak of the Storm (September 1939 – June 21, 1941)
The end of Polish rule / D. Rabin	503

Two Years of Soviet Rule
Temporary salvation and fear / D. R.	503
The Jewish youth stick together	507
Hashomer Hatzair groups / Hassia Belitzka	507
Beitar / Moshe Notes	509
My visit to Grodno / Tuvia Ezrachi Berger)	510

The Holocaust
Destruction and heroism / Dov Rabin	519
At the gates of Hell	519
The period of the ghetto	531
The story of the destruction	547
Heroism amongst the flames	573
The community at its extinction	593

Jews from Grodno in Auschwitz
In the path of suffering and annihilation / Moshe Notes	607
About the Grodno women in Auschwitz / Zipora Pikovski-Loshovitz	613
From the Valley of Death / Hillel Shklarski	613
The beacon of Jewish Grodno / Dov Rabin	617
Grodno natives in Israel and in its wars / Dov Rabin	619

Translation of photo captions from Grodno Yizkor Book
Photographs from Grodno Yizkor Book
Index of names mentioned in photo captions