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I became a Reisha [Rzeszow] resident in 1910, arriving there from the neighboring city of Ropczyce, which had a reputation for its rabbis and rebbes. I found a considerably large city with a rich Jewish Orthodox and national life, with a fine Zionist small world where one could live communally and in a traditional Jewish way. A city with synagogues, kloyzn [small houses of prayer], and Hasidic shtiblekh [small Hasidic houses of prayer]. There was a small Hebrew school there created by the famous Jewish scholar, Reb Abba Apfelbaum with the Hebrew teachers Naftali Gliksman and Meshulam Dudzon. The Folks-Zeitung [People's Newspaper], a Yiddish weekly, was published in Reisha, edited by Naftali Gliksman. After he emigrated to Eretz Yisroel, the newspaper was published by Leon Wizenfeld until his departure for America. Wizenfeld is now in Cleveland, Ohio, in America, where he publishes an English illustrated newspaper named The Pictorial Voice. After the First World War, I edited the Folks-Zeitung with a

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supplement of the Polish weekly newspaper, Żydowski Przeglad Rzeszowski [Jewish Review of Rzeszów], with the participation of Dr. Fishl Hopfen, the well-known Jewish lawyer and Zionist leader in Reisha, who survived the Nazi hell.

Reisha had a good reputation throughout the Jewish world as a national, Zionist city with well-known leaders, personalities, educated people, as well as poets and writers, as well as great Jewish personalities. The city rabbi was the rabbi and the brilliant man, Reb Nusan Lewin, and his successor, Rabbi Reb Ahron Lewin, who perished among the martyrs at the hands of the Nazis in Lemberg with his brother, Rabbi Yehezkiel Lewin, the rabbi in Lemberg.

Let us remember the Jewish political leaders of the city from all parties and sides: Reb Asher Zilber, Dr. A. Hochfeld, Dr. H. Wachtel – the so-called “government men.” The Jewish national, Zionist leaders were: Dr. Hofpen, Dr. Ahron Wang, Reb Chaim Wald and his children – Dr. Moshe Yeri and Meir Yeri in Israel and another daughter and son in the country [Israel]; Lev Chaim, Bernard Fisz, Poalei Zion [Marxist-Zionists]; Reb Elihu Wang with his [Theodor] Herzl beard and appearance, Reb Abba Apfelbaum, Simkha Zajden, Dr. Yeshaya Yare, Yakov Alter, Moshe Hofszteter, Dr. Tzvi Korec, Dr. Kanarek, Dr. R. Szildkraut, Kalman Kurcman, the kehila [organized Jewish community] secretary, the young lawyer Moshe Reich, also women leaders: Mrs. Anna Kahane, Ester Wizenfeld, Dwoyra Abramowicz, Ruchl Tenenbaum, Ruchl Hochman and incalculable others who are difficult to remember.

The Mizrakhi [religious Zionists] organization also was very active in Reisha with its political leaders like Hirsh Moshe Eizen, Naftali Tuchfeld and others. Our kindly landsman [man from the same town], Simkha Tzvi Leder of Washington, greatly informed us about Orthodox Hasidic Reisha in his book, Reisher Yidn [Reisha Jews]. Let us also remember our Reisha writers like Berish Wajnsztajn of New York and his poetic epic, Reisha, in Yiddish and in Hebrew, Nakhum Szternhaim, the people's poet and composer, Dr. Benyamin Szlager and his biblical story, Frei zikh Harts [Heart, Free Yourself] in Polish, about David and King Solomon, which I have translated into Yiddish with the title, Yedidia and which was published in installments in the Lemberg Togblat [Daily Newspaper] (I have this book in Polish and in my Yiddish translation and it would be worthwhile to translate it into Hebrew). Dr. Benyamin Szlager also wrote a work about Spinoza with a forward by Dr. Yehoshua Thon. Reb Abba Apfelbaum published important scholarly scientific books, Toledot Yehudah Moscato [The History of Yehuda Moscato], Toledot Reb Azaryah Figo [The History of Rabbi Azaryah Figo] in Hebrew and other treatises.

Interior of the Old Synagogue with the Bimah [Torah reading desk]

A brother of the great Jewish scholar, Dr. Shimeon Bernfeld, who occupied a respected place in the city's Zionist life, also lived in Reisha. Later, a Zionist activist, Hirshhorn, became an advisor to the Ethiopian King Haile Selassie.

[Page 428]

Zvi Shimkha Leder

Reisha was the midpoint between the two large cities of Lemberg and Krakow in the Austrian province of Galicia and had a population of over 25,000 (in 1900), among them around 8,000 Jews. Although the Jewish population was a minority, Jewish influence on city life was great. Jews occupied the head of the table in economic life. Almost all of commerce – from food, textiles, paper, wood, building materials – as well as all industries were in Jewish hands.

The most famous lawyers were Jewish. They occupied an important place at the city's city hall. At the beginning of the 20^th century, the city had a Jewish city prosecutor and investigating judge. The Jewish lawyer, Dr. Wilhelm Hochfeld, was one of the leaders of the Polish city council. For a long time, he also was head of the Reisha organized Jewish community. The Reisha taxman was Dr. Yosf Teler. The [recorder] of vital records was Dr. Kamerling. Those mentioned above as well as 90 percent of the Jewish doctors, lawyers and other Jewish professionals were assimilated Jews.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, when Zionism was at its beginning, Reisha already had a considerable number of Zionists. The Hovevei Zion [Lovers of Zion] Society existed then, founded by the followers of the Enlightenment: Chaim Wald, Naftali Gliksman, Aba Apelfeld and Kalman Kurcman. The first one was one of the most recognized political leaders in the city. Chaim Wald was a tone-setter among the Jews both in municipal and national politics.

The youth society, HaShakhar [The Dawn], existed then in Reisha, founded by Moshe Wiznfeld and Meir Elenbogen – two young Enlightenment followers. The latter was the grandson of the Sotiniwer Rabbi, who lived in Reisha. Meir Elenbogen left the world in his young years. The majority of the members of the Zionist organization consisted of the Jewish young people. There already was a Poalei Zion [Marxist-Zionist party] then, too, led by the young, intelligent Mordekhai Buchbinder, who organized the first strike of the trade employees (salesclerks) in Reisha.

Jews also occupied a high place in the medical profession. The best doctors were Jews. There were several doctors among the non-Jews in the city who also devoted themselves to politics. One of them – Dr. Jablonski – was the city mayor.

The Jews also occupied an important place in the bank and finance businesses. In my years, Reisha had five Jewish banks that functioned exclusively with Jewish capital. The majority of the accounts in the Reisha branch of the Austro-Hungarian bank were for Jews. When I say “Jews,” I actually mean

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Jews with considerably long beards and peyes [side curls] in long, black kapotes [long, black coat worn by Orthodox Jewish men] and black, velvet hats, which was then the Jewish attire in Galicia. Among the rich, Jewish bankers, Reb Yakov Nusan Kaner, Reb Noakh Szpira, the Szajnblum brothers, Reb Berl Minc and Reb Berish Stajnberg, were at the head. The latter also had rabbinical ordination. He also was the shofar [ram's horn] blower at the city kloyz [small house of prayer]. The above-mentioned as well as other rich men in the city were almost all Hasidim who regularly traveled to their rebbes, as was then the custom.

The biggest manufacturer of whiskey was Reb Asher Zylber, a rich man. He was a Rimenower [Rymanów] Hasid. When the Rimenower Rebbe visited Reisha in 5662 (1902) and half of the city of Jews prayed at the train station, he stayed in Reb Asher Zylber's house.

There also was a large confectionary factory in Reisha that was founded by Yosf Ajlbaum.

The export of eggs was exclusively in Jewish hands. The largest egg merchants were Malekh Lion and Wajnberg. They employed hundreds of Jews who worked throughout the year sorting through and packing thousands of boxes of eggs that were exported to Germany. The largest merchants of flour and food were Jews. Wagons of flour, sugar and other foods arrived in Reisha on the train every day and were loaded into the large Jewish warehouses.

At the corner of Teper Alley was a large soap and candle factory that belonged to the Cynerman family. They were called zayfnzinder [soapmaker]. Another soap and candle factory was at the corner of the street that bordered on Hajwel. The owner was Reb Meirl Lectcier (His name was Meir Adler. They received the name “Lectcier” because they manufactured likht [candles].) In the last century [19^th], the city did not yet have any gas or electric lighting. They made use of kerosene lamps, but the main means of illumination was the tallow candle. Tallow candles in the thousands were used in the thousands in schools, synagogues and by the Christians. These factories also manufactured yahrzeit [memorial] candles. They build up a large industry. Their products were sold in all parts of the country.

Shmuel Fet, the father of Reisha journalist and Zionist activist Ben-Zion Fet, was one of the large merchants of building materials. The largest locksmith and iron workshop, which produced balconies, fences, gates, window frames and other metal products for house building, was the Adler brothers. The largest carpentry workshops also were Jewish and employed a large number of workers. Jews also were involved in the architecture trade. The trade of stone, sand and crushed stone belonged to Layzer Koric. He built the city's sidewalks and also paved the streets and installed the sewer system.

All of the beautiful, large hotels in Reisha belonged to Jewish owners. The most beautiful and most modern was the Hotel Krakowski. The most beautiful and newest coffee houses, with the exception of Lotszk's, belonged to Jewish owners. Ninety percent of the beer hall and tavern owners, as well as waiters, were Jews.

The trafik [tobacco store – name derived from the Arabic tafriq – to distribute – and the Italian traffic – to trade], where tobacco, cigarettes and snuff was sold, were rented and managed by Jews. As these smoking articles were under a government monopoly, the gentile owners rented the concessions to Jews who turned them into large businesses, because in addition to tobacco and cigars, they sold various articles that were free of the monopoly. The main Reisha tobacco store was managed by Reb Yitzhak Landau, a Boyaner Hasid and the leader of prayers in the Boyaner kloyz [small house of prayer] in Reisha.

The cloth trade lay exclusively in Jewish hands. Reisha, where there were around 20 distributors, was known as the center for cloth merchants. The largest of them was Chaim Wolf

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Bau, Skharye Jezower, Yosf Faywel, Herman Lubasz, Mendl Korn, Shimeon Sandhaus, Kahane and Braun, Shimeon Druker and others.

The retail trade was also 90 percent in Jewish hands. Only around 10 city retail businesses were non-Jewish. The Jewish retail businesses were modern, with splendidly arranged windows with goods as in the modern cities.

The largest brick factory belonged to the Minc family. They were also large-scale forest merchants. The greatest traders in coal, wood and building materials were the Druker brothers. Mikhl Berman was the owner of the largest iron and steel business in the entire county. The Rajzners manufactured soda-water drinks, syrups that were provided to the city and its surroundings.

There was a district chief of staff in Reisha – a division of the national government in Lemberg – that was called starostwa [county office]. In addition to the municipal courts, there also was a district court. All of the courts were located in a beautiful, large building that was the castle of the Polish princely Lubomirski family several hundred years ago. The criminal jail, in which criminals from all cities and shtetlekh [towns] in Reisha County were housed, was located in the lowest part of the giant building.

The shtetlekh Tyczyn, Błażowa, Sokołów, Medynia, Kolbuszowa, Głogów, Czycz, Frysztak and others, as well as many villages, belonged to Reisha County. Jewish merchants from the above-mentioned shtetlekh came to Reisha in open and covered wagons that were similar to the American pioneer covered wagons. The provincial merchants would come in them to buy various goods and, also, to take care of their businesses. The city gentiles, enemies of the Jews among them, lived peacefully there with the Jews, because they had to go to Jews for favors and loans.

The gentile city population then was divided into two classes: the educated belonged to the first class; the majority of them were city officials and professionals. Poor workers and janitors who almost all worked for Jews belonged to the other class.

Reisha had a Jewish kultus gemeinde [religious community] with its own city managing committee that was recognized by the Austrian government. The leaders of the community were elected through special Jewish city elections. A community president, a vice president and a number of members were elected to a community council. The elected legislative body carried the legal name Kultus Gemeinde, in simple Yiddish – Klal. The Klal had its own building at the market with offices that were supported by the Jewish residents from taxation by the Klal. Every Jewish resident had to pay community taxes based on their income. The poor did not have to pay anything.

[They] made a supreme effort on the eve of the elections…several parties would participate in the elections. Several of them, mainly the Hasidic, carried out the political war not only with ballots, but also with their fists. It often came to fighting and also

Jews and Poles leave the Reisha Fair in an open cart

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Interior of the Synagogue with the Almemor [elevated platform from which the Torah is read]

During those years, Di Yidishe Folks-Zeitung [The Yiddish People's Newspaper] was published in Reisha – a weekly newspaper published by several Zionists and followers of the Enlightenment. The editor was Naftali Gliksman, a Hebrew teacher and follower of the Enlightenment. The newspaper was very dedicated to Zionism, but it also was devoted to city politics and often sharply attacked individual people because they did not agree with their politics. This led to a movement to found a second weekly Yiddish newspaper particularly aimed against the writers and publishers of the Der Folks-Zeitung. The founders of the opposing newspaper were Efroim Hirszhorn, Bernard Fisz and Mendl Karp, a follower of the Enlightenment and a journalist, and I, the smallest among them. Mendl Karp wrote the editorials, Efroim Hirszhorn took over the political part. This part fought against the workers and editors of Der Folks-Zeitung. I wrote articles about Jewish local and world news. The fighting newspaper did not last for long because of financial difficulties. On the other hand, Di Yidishe Folks-Zeitung published for several years.

Reisha had several active journalists and writers. One of them was the activist, Ben-Zion Fet, whose editorials were also often published in the Lemberg Togblat [Daily Newspaper]. He was also one of the best speakers in Reisha. He gave the best years of his youth to the Zionist movement and also contributed greatly to Jewish cultural life, not only in Reisha, but also in all of Galicia. He died in Tel Aviv, where he was the sports editor for the daily newspaper, Haaretz. Moshe Wiznfeld and his brother, Leon-Leib, also occupied an important place in journalism. Leon Wiznfeld published his own newspaper in Reisha, Di Gerikhtikeit [Justice] and also was a co-worker at the Krakow Tog [Day]; today he lives in Cleveland and publishes his own newspaper. In Reisha, he was a great follower of Dr. Nusan Birnbaum [Matisyahu Akher]. Mendl Karp, Leon Chaim. Nakhum Szternheim, Naftali Gliksman, Efroim Hirshhorn and others also belonged to the group mentioned.

In addition to the Jewish khederim [religious primary schools], where the sons of Orthodox parents studied, the city also had

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modern Hebrew schools for children from modern Jewish houses. Among the Hebrew teachers, Aba Apelbaum, Nafatli Gliksman and Meshulam Dovidzon were at the head. The first two were from Reisha; the latter came to Reisha from Eretz Yisroel. He was a good pedagogue and was very beloved, particularly by the Jewish young people. Dovidzon contributed greatly to spreading the modern Hebrew language in Reisha. On the 28|^th of December 1952, the Reisha Jews in Tel Aviv celebrated his 75th birthday. He died in Nir David, a kibbutz [communal settlement] in the valley where his older son is a member.

Reisha had many synagogues, houses of prayer, kloyzn, shtiblekh [one-room prayer houses]. The two large, beautiful synagogues – the city synagogue and the Wolya synagogue – were property of the Jewish community. They were large and magnificent buildings. The large city kloyz, the house of prayer, the tailors' and porters' small synagogues also belonged to the Jewish community. These synagogues and kloyzn were grouped together. The Sancer kloyz – a rented house – was on the other side of the entrance to the house of prayer. The Dzikówer kloyz stood on Zylber's plot; there was a Boyaner kloyz in Treper Alley. There also was a kloyz in Ruskiwicz, which was called “the Tsukeris,” because it was founded by a Jew named “Tsuker.” There was a synagogue at the market that carried the name Hakhevra Bikur Holim [Sick Visiting Society], where merchants who lived at the market prayed. Not far from the chicken square, near the butcher shops, was a small synagogue that bore the name Linas haTzedek [organization to visit the sick]. Further on the Wolya, across from the market there also was a small synagogue in a rented house with the name Gmiles Hasidim [Charity]. Jews who were employed packing eggs prayed there. The synagogue was actually called the “Egg Packer Synagogue.” The Hasidic kloyz and smaller synagogues were completely independent of the Klal. They were managed by the Jews who prayed there. They did not know of synagogue members then. The largest expense was “rent.” This was received from promises and aliyahs [payments for being called up to read from the Torah]. The second expense was several pounds of candles a week and wood to heat the synagogue in winter and was also was covered by the aliyahs.

The prayer houses were managed by two gabbaim [assistants to the rabbi] who were elected for a year. The voting was called kalpe [ballot box]. It happened in this way: the names of each candidate were written on a paper. The papers were placed in a yarmulke [skull cap] and they were mixed. A boy under the age of five drew out the first and second papers. The one who was written on the first paper was officially elected as the head gabbai; the second one as the second gabbai.

The municipal public bath was the property of the Klal. It was called a steam bath. The Klal rented the public bath for the year. My uncle, Tuvya Nider, managed the Reisha public bath for many years and he actually was called Tuvya der beder [Tuvya the bathhouse attendant].

The Klal also had a Jewish hospital for the poor sick. This was a small, old cottage with three large rooms in which were several beds. The hospital was located on Griner Street. As a boy, I remember when we lived with my uncle, Layzer Koric, not far from Griner Street, other children and I played on the large empty town square. Wandering circuses, menageries, etc., were on the empty town square during the summer. The square abutted the old cemetery on the east. At the entrance to the cemetery was the above-mentioned hospital. I would often look into it. It would break my heart seeing the helpless, sick old men who sat or lay on the beds and waited for the Angel of Death…

The majority of the Jewish population in Reisha were Orthodox. They wore the traditional Jewish clothing that consisted of a long, black caftan and a black velvet hat. The

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middle-class Jews were well-dressed; their beards nicely combed and their peyes [side curls] pasted. The Hasidim, on the contrary, wore their peyes long, drawn out; they let their beards grow long, their nostrils adorned with brown snuff and the collars of their shirts spread open. The caftan had two inside pockets from which a handkerchief often hung out. On Shabbos, every married Jew work a loose black silk robe; several enlightened Jews wore top hats on Shabbos. They prayed at the synagogue.

Reisha was a true Jewish city with a Jewish atmosphere, with an unashamed Jewish way of living. On Shabbos, a Hasidic Jew would walk in the street wrapped in a large woolen talis [prayer shawl]. On Sukkous [Feast of Tabernacles], he would proudly carry the esrog [citron] and lulav [bunch of palm and other branches] in the street. On a summer Shabbos, at the meal, one would hear the singing of the Shabbos melodies from the homes in all of the streets where Jews lived. Jews would recite the blessing for the new moon aloud in the streets. No one disturbed them. The gentiles, who would be in the street then, would stop to look, but would not interfere. The gentiles did no disturb or make fun of Jewish religious life.

[Page 449]

Leon Wiesenfeld

First today, when Jewish Reisha lies in ruin, when our once beautiful and interesting city no longer exists and has been erased from the Jewish map, when not one Jew is found there, it comes to me with the deepest pain in my heart to write about Jewish life in Reisha, which was brutally annihilated by the nation of “philosophers and poets.”

In 1920, when I left Reisha for the last time, approximately 10,000 Jews lived there. At that time, the long-time deeply rooted Polish anti-Semitism reached its power and there was certainly no [reason] to be envious of the Jews. This was just a year after the bloody pogrom in Reisha, which will later be described in detail. The economic boycott against the Jews was raging then in its complete fury and the complete hostile relationship of the Polish masses to the Jews carried serious dangers with it.

However, despite the dangers, the Jewish merchants again and, perhaps, with strengthened stubbornness, carried out their daily business. But not all former merchants could do this because a greater number of them were impoverished then. The poverty originated with the Russian invasion in 1914 when a large portion of Reisha Jewry ran away to other Austrian provinces. However, no one died of hunger then.

A great deal could be said about the Jews in Reisha, without a doubt a great deal more than I can in this circumstance. Therefore, I will limit myself here only to several details about the life of the Jews in Reisha during my own times.

What kind of Jews lived in Reisha during my young years up to my departure from the city in 1920? They did not differ in almost any way from the Jews in other Galician cities and especially not from the Jews in the middle of Galicia. Reisha, like every other city, had good, nice, God-fearing, honest Jews. But there was no lack of bad Jews. There was a large number of Hasidim, followers of the Baal Shem's doctrine or of other rebbes.^[1] There also was a significant number of misnagdim [opponents of Hasidism], who carried on a relentless struggle against the Hasidim. There also were pious men, who were not Hasidim and not misnagdim, but in truth were honest men. In addition, there were also the so-called “progressives” or as they were then called, “German” Jews who spoke German and also “Jews of Moses' belief,” who were assimilated and considered themselves Poles. In short, there was no lack of any kind of Jew in Reisha, as in all of the cities in Galicia.

The Reisha Jews put together a community of which one did not have to be ashamed and, particularly, not the small, but very active group of followers of the Enlightenment and even less with the Jewish professional intelligentsia, although they were almost all completely assimilated. There were no prominent men in the actual sense of the word in Reisha, although several followers of the Enlightenment

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and the intelligentsia could be thus characterized. In our time, we had two well-known rabbis, Reb Heshl Walersztajn and, later, Reb Nusan Lewin. Both were giants of Torah. We also had our own Hasidic Rebbe, Reb Lozerl, but he also was far from being a prominent man.

On the contrary, we had several fine members of the middle class in whom a large number of Reisha Jews truly took pride. The most important of them were Reb Motish Eksztajn, a Dzikower [Tarnobrzeg] Hasid; Noakh Szapira, Asher Szenblum and still several others whose names I cannot remember as I write these lines. They all, with those I have forgotten, were community activists and Jewish representatives. They led the municipal kehile [organized Jewish community] and several of them were also radnikes [town councilors], the representatives of the Jews at the city council. Not all in Reisha gave these men their trust or liked them. The majority of the Jews in Reisha considered them their representatives.

No important communal Jewish organizations existed at that time. A Hovevei Zion [Lovers of Zion] union which only had the slightest influence if I am not making a mistake existed at the time of my first departure from Reisha until the end of my 17^th birthday. The leaders of this Zionist organization were Moshe Dovid Geszwindt, Aba Apelbaum, a Jew, a true scholar, and still very young, but already highly intelligent, Kalman Kurcman. I do not remember how many members Hovevei Zion had. However, Reisha was then still very far from being a Zionist center.

As I write these lines, I remember the time when I studied at Reb Mendl Banc's kheder [religious primary school] at Royzn Street. I sneaked out of kheder and ran with other boys to the market to see Dr. Theodor Herzl, who was then taking a trip through the Jewish cities in Galicia and who had stopped by us in Reisha.

The market was packed with Jews of all shades who had assembled around the house of the Jewish Kultus Gemeinde [religious community] where the guest was awaited.

When Dr. Herzl pulled up to the Kultus Gemeinde in a horse-drawn carriage accompanied by Moshe Dovid Geszwindt and others, gentiles passing by stood and marveled at his beautiful stature.

My older brother, Moshe, who was then studying at the kloyz [small house of prayer] with other young men and was completely absorbed in Hasidus did not come to see the guest. I, therefore, ran to him at the kloyz to tell him what an extraordinary, beautiful person Dr. Herzl was. However, Moshe threw a strong fist at my face and screamed: “Go back to the kheder. You sheygets [gentile boy].”

The Reisha young people and, particularly, the older Jews were not then ripe enough for new ideas. As much as I remember, this lasted until the time of my departure from Reisha to America. Reisha until then was a city of Jewish fanatics and a small number of progressives and intelligentsia.

I was away from my home for nearly five years, not only in America, but also in other West European countries, such as England, Germany, Holland and Belgium. During that time, I absorbed a bit of worldly knowledge and, with my own look at the world, I was convinced that only socialism could solve the global Jewish question. I then also had written several notes in Yiddish newspapers in America and several articles in a London Yiddish newspaper and looked at myself with considerable pride as a future “great journalist.”

When I later returned to Reisha, to my great surprise, I found an almost entirely different Reisha from that which I had left five years earlier. Firstly, Reisha now had a socialist organization that had not been in existence when I left. Secondly, Zionism was now very popular among the young Jews as well as a significant number of the adult Jews. Even my brother, Moshe, was already also a Zionist and even a bit of a leader of a group of former kloyz young men he had brought into a small, Zionist union under the name Hashakhar [Rising Dawn]. And more: Moshe also flirted with journalism and had written for Hebrew newspapers.

To my even greater surprise, a Yiddish weekly newspaper came to life in Reisha, under the name, Neye Folkszeitung [New People's Newspaper], around which not only Zionists but also those who were not Zionists were gathered.

[Page 451]

Moshe Wiesenfeld

The main concept of the Neyer Folks-Zeitung [spelled Neye Folkszeitung on the previous page] was Zionism. However, it also had other tasks, among them the reform and democratization of the Jewish kehile. The newspaper led a very strong fight against the old, severe, conservative and, if truth must be told, reactionary methods at the Kultus Gemeinde [religious community]. The newspaper doubly attacked several of the most important representatives at the kehile who also were city councilors at the city council, which was no less reactionary. The newspaper demanded democratic elections and, until such changes were made, an improvement that was needed by the population, Jewish and non-Jewish.

This courageous struggle, with which not all Jews agreed, simply because they had not yet grown toward a democratic order, strongly influenced many others, particularly the young. At that time, a beautiful Poalei Zionist [Marxist-Zionist] organization then existed in Reisha, which was led by its founders, Markus Buchbinder and Bernard Fisz. For a time, the leaders of this organization stood with the Neyer Folks-Zeitung and helped it a great deal, but later, a “black cat” ran between the two Zionist parties. Anger broke out and this led to the founding of a second Yiddish newspaper, Di Gerektikeit [The Justice].

The Poalei Zionists were not the official originators of the new newspaper, which was later published under the name, Di Gerektikeit. The actual founder was Efroim Hirshhorn, a bank officer, but the Poalei Zionists supported it and even contributed a little money when it was founded. Mendl Karp was designated as editor of the newspaper. He had journalistic ambitions that he could not fulfill with the Reisha Folks-Zeitung. He had then written several articles for the Lemberger Togblat [Lemberg Daily Paper].

All preparations for Di Gerekhtikeit were already made when Efroim Hirshhorn, Yisroel Duker and the other initiators suddenly decided to postpone the publication of the new newspaper. In the meantime, I traveled to Berlin for several weeks and completely forgot about the second newspaper. In Berlin, I was a guest at the famous Café des Westens, which was “the spiritual home” of Jewish writers from all countries. All of the famous Jewish writers from Russia and other countries who lived in Berlin would be regular customers there and among them a large number of German-Jewish writers.

In this coffee-house, one could learn from the conversations among those famous people more than in the best schools: Jewish history, literature, old and new political philosophy and so on. There I became acquainted with many people, of whom one particularly drew my attention. This was Dr. Nusan Birnbaum, born in Vienna of Galicianer parents. I was pleased with his beautiful, long beard, his high, good-looking forehead, his flashing eyes, his capabilities as a great debater and his great Jewish nationalism.

I had the honor of becoming a close friend of Dr. Nusan Birnbaum and in the end fell completely under his influence and accepted his theories of national Jewish autonomy in the eastern countries and of the Yiddish language as the general, Jewish national people's language with full recognition by the governments.

When I returned to Reisha after several weeks, I carried out propaganda among my friends and acquaintances for them to become followers of Dr. Birnbaum's theories. The idea of publishing another newspaper was revived again.

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Efroim Hirshhorn came to me and invited me to become a co-worker at the newspaper as co-editor with Mendl Karp, with whom I was a good friend since my years in kheder [primary religious school] when we both studied with Wolf Pakales.

Two weeks later, we published the first issue of the second Yiddish newspaper in Reisha. The other co-workers were: Duker, an intelligent sign painter; Hirshhorn, Tzvi Shimkha Leder, who was then already a Yiddishist [an advocate of Yiddish and Yiddish culture]; and one or two others whose names I cannot remember. The Neye Folks-Zeitung did not make known the publication of Di Gerekhtikeit and completely ignored it. However, in this way, it also ignored the readers of Yiddish newspapers and those who did buy it were unsatisfied with it and particularly strongly criticized our editor, Mendl Karp.

Hirshhorn and Duker, the newspaper's financiers, then decided that Mendl Karp was unfit to be the editor. They designated me as the editor of the newspaper which was published bi-weekly. Under my leadership, the first two pages were given over to world matters and particularly to Dr. Birnbaum's program. The remaining pages were completely dedicated to local matters and particularly to fighting our competitor, the Neye Folks-Zeitung. This task belonged to Hirshhorn and Duker. The second issue was a great deal better than the first.

The third, fourth and fifth were still better and the audience began to take the newspaper seriously. However - and when in such cases is there not a however? The money from Hirshhorn and Duker began to run out. We did not have any money and as the printer had very little belief in our possibilities of receiving credit, Di Gerekhtikeit died after its sixth issue, even without a respectable funeral.

Immediately after, a wanderlust again awoke in me. I traveled to the Scandinavian countries and when I came back five months later, there was no trace either of the Neye Folks-Zeitung. The publisher's money ran out and it, too, breathed out its soul. This was the end of the Reisha newspaper system in those years.

Advertisement for the Neye Folks-Zeitung

The loss of the first Yiddish newspapers in the history of Reisha made a very small impression on the majority of Jews. Jewish life continued further and undisturbed in its old way. Elections were held to the Kultus Gemeinde [religious community] and the newspapers, which were already strong then, carried a great campaign with other progressive citizens. Jews and Poles demanded that the new elections to the city council, which were held almost at the same time [as the election to the Kultus Gemeinde] should be democratic. They demanded a voting system that recognized first, second and third ballots in both institutions. However, achieving this was a dream that was still very far from accomplishing. The old reactionaries were again elected to both the Kultus Gemeinde and the municipal community council. However, the campaign that the Zionists carried out for their candidates left a strong impression on a large number of Jews in the city.

The influence of the Zionists kept increasing and more Jews joined the Zionist organization. Of special importance were the young, who increasingly accepted

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Zionism. This was mainly due to the gymnazie [secondary school] student, Shmuel Laufban. He was one of the best students at the gymnazie. At the same time, he also was a very good teacher and had a great influence on the students. His sister, a highly educated young woman, also had a great influence on the young women. Others were the student, Rajchman, son of an official at the tax office an assimilated [Jew]; Yosf Szturch, my relative Kanarek, Horner, the son of the owner of the Imperial Hotel near the train station. Little by little they were able to win a large number of both genders for Zionism and this gave the Zionist organization moral and political power.

Thus it continued until the outbreak of the First World War. The war was a heavy blow for the Jews in all of Galicia. In Reisha, just as in other cities, thousands of people ran away at the invasion of the Russian troops and this put an end to Jewish life, beginning at the long Galician-Russian border to almost the gates of Krakow, where the Russians were stopped. When the Russian Army was later pushed back, the majority of Jews returned to their cities and shtetlekh. Reisha refugees also returned in a great majority, but a number of them remained where they had found a place of refuge.

The majority of those returning found their homes and businesses completely looted. However, despite this, many of them were able to stand up on their feet. A considerable number of them even soon became rich again. However, it again was very difficult for the poor to arrange their affairs and they came to the Kultus Gemeinde for help. However, this was only a half hardship - the greatest hardship was that anti-Semitism in Reisha, just as in almost all other cities in Galicia, reached an unheard-of level. During the invasion, they had hoped that the fleeing Jews would not return anymore. When they did return, a hate was awakened in them that had had no earlier equal.

However, despite this, the businesses were not bad. Jews continued to do business and even the very poor little by little began to find firm economic ground under their feet. The rampaging of the anti-Semites, which became great and more threatening with each day, also did not make a great impression on them. The Reisha weekly Polish newspaper, Głos Rzeszowski [Voice of Rzeszow], which always was a malevolent anti-Semitic tract, kept agitating the Poles against the Jews. In a new issue, this newspaper pointed to Jews who were becoming richer every day while the Poles became poorer. During the years of the [First World] war, this newspaper was spread far and wide among the peasants in the surrounding villages and completely poisoned the minds of the peasants there, although they had not been as impoverished by the war as the newspaper wanted to convince them they were.

In my father's tavern, the old Moczkuwka, the peasants ranted against the Jews and kept threatening that they would settle accounts with them “when the time comes.” These and other threats were heard in all the other taverns in the city itself and in the inns in the villages, too. However, only a small number of Jews took them seriously. The majority of Jews believed that this was a passing phenomenon that would disappear on its own. The evidence was that the Gentiles continued to trade with Jews even in the worst anti-Semitic shtetlekh around Reisha.

At the same time, the military situation for Austria became even worse on every front. Particularly when America entered the war and strengthened the power of the western nations. Each new day was an unavoidable message of the defeat of the German and Austrian armies. This encouraged the Poles and anti-Semitism kept growing. The Jews in Reisha also began little by little to take the anti-Semitic threats more seriously. At that time, I created the Yidishe Folks-Zeitung, a weekly in the Yiddish language. I did this not with the purpose of carrying out a struggle against our enemies, because Gentiles did not read Yiddish. My purpose was to inform the Jews in Reisha about all of the threats, events, so they could prepare “for whatever misfortune came.”

The newspaper was favorably received by the majority of the Jews in the city. It also was welcomed by the Jews in Łańcut, Tyczyn, Błażowa, Rozwadów, Głogów, Kolbuszowa and several other shtetlekh [towns] around Reisha. The Yidishe Folks-Zeitung [Jewish People's Newspaper] had more readers than the first two newspapers combined. With the strength of my newspaper, I succeeded in making clear to my readers that danger existed and was becoming worse each day. However, not all Jews took my warnings seriously.

[Page 454]

This lasted until the Austrian Army collapsed on all fronts and were forced to capitulate.

Poland was again revived as an independent state and Galicia, which had been a part of Austria for 150 years, was united with the new Poland. Then the various persecutions against Jews immediately began, although the new government in Warsaw had proclaimed full equal rights for all Polish citizens without distinction as to religion and nationality. First it was the so-called Hallercziks [followers of the anti-Semitic Polish General Josef Haller] who carried out pogroms against the Jews. Then there were immediately panics in smaller cities in all parts of the new Poland, so that the situation was, in truth, very threatening for the Jews.

The anti-Semitism in Reisha and the surrounding cities was already strongly felt, but there were no attacks carried out on Jews and the Jews lived quietly and many were completely unconcerned. However, Reisha's time came. This was on the 3^rd of May [Constitution Day] 1919 when the Poles celebrated their great national holiday.

Translator's note:

1. The Baal Shem Tov was the founder of Hasidism. Back

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