[Pages 171-176]

Up to the 1840’s, Boryslaw^[1] was a mountainous hamlet with a very small Jewish community.^[2] But after mineral wax^[3] was discovered within its boundaries, Boryslaw developed rapidly and the number of Jews increased yearly. Jews from Drohobycz used to come to Boryslaw to search for wax and oil. They dug pits forty to seventy meters deep without safety devices and brought out the wax by lowering men in large buckets into the pits to dig and bring up whatever they found. Everything was done in a primitive manner, without machinery or tools. The excavated rocks were then dispersed on the ground and poor people^[4] would extract wax from them. These [workers, who extracted wax from the stones] were called lepakys^[5]. The well owners were Jews from all over Galicia and so were the majority of the workers. A minority of the workers were Christian peasants from the Drohobycz area. In the first period, until 1880, some 2,500 Jewish male laborers and about 500 Jewish women were employed in this industry. The women extracted the wax from the discarded stones. The wax was then melted. The laborers who did this work were called shmeltzers.^[6] Production in this primitive fashion continued until about 1890. Jews came to Boryslaw from all over the area to earn their living in this industry and as a rule would return to their homes in Drohobycz, Bolechow and Skole for the Sabbath. Only a small number made their homes in Boryslaw. In 1860, only 1,000 Jews were living there. By 1869, there was already an established Jewish community^[7]with a synagogue and twelve Jewish schools.^[8]

Before the adoption of modern industrial machines operated by steam or electricity, there were four classes of Jewish laborers:

1. Workers on the surface

2. Workers inside the wells

3. Kuczynnerzy^[9]

4. Washers of the soil wax (veshers)^[10]

Between employers and employees stood an intermediator called a plustok;^[11] his exact duties and the nature of his work is unknown.^[12] He acted as both instructor and cashier and would also arrange accommodation, mainly for the rural laborers. In the first years the workers were paid in kind, with the produce of the mines.

The Jewish population increased from year to year. By 1890 it was 9,047 but then, in 1900, there were only 7,086 Jews out of a total population of 11,631. Despite their numbers, Jews did not occupy important jobs in the industrial part of oil production. Before the modernization of the industry, 3,000 Jews (500 of them women) extracted ozokerite from the rocks. Their daily wages were forty-eight kreutzer of which two kreutzer were paid to the cooperative to which they belonged. A digger (Hauer) received sixty to eighty kreutzers a day. The carriers and washers (Waeschers) were mostly Jews. The workers who turned the treadmill mechanisms (Kurbeldreher) were Ruthenian and Mazur ^[13]peasants.^[14] But aside from them, the melting of ozokerite was only in Jewish hands. The 1890's brought major changes in the composition of the labor force. The Laender Bank of Vienna purchased large areas in Boryslaw and established vertical shafts (Schaechte) not in the old, primitive way, but with modern steam and electrical machinery. Both the Bank of Galicia and the Laender Bank which owned most of the oil wells, tried to push out the small producers. They accomplished this with the help of the National Office of Mining, which was formed in 1880, and the Bergbau-Polizei-Vorschriften,^[15]new laws which the process of excavation. These regulations put an end to previous mining processes. Modernization and mechanization of the mining process brought about increased production. Prior to 1914 there were 268 mining shafts [oil wells] and 22,876 cisterns.

The small and medium size producers began selling their wells and mines, thus creating, between the years 1896-1898, a crisis for the Jewish labor force, which was left without work or income. More than 2,500 Jewish families, about 6,000 people, who were thus excluded from the production process were on the verge of starvation. The banks which owned the wells employed only Christian laborers, claiming that Jewish labor was insufficiently trained. The Christian managers of the wells would openly reject Jews looking for work, telling them: “go look in Palestine”. Christian laborers would not allow Jews to be hired. Only 170 Jewish laborers found employment in the few Jewish firms and even then, not as trained workers, but as operators of water pumps, day laborers, coal shovelers, and other unskilled or ancillary jobs. Gentile workers, even those organized in the P.P.S.^[16] claimed that all the jobs were their monopoly. The Jewish community in Drohobycz and Boryslaw cried out to the Jewish world for help. Committees for the collection of funds were established. Organizations such as ICA,^[17]Alliance,^[18]and Galizische Hilfsverein^[19]collected half a million gulden. The Jewish workers themselves turned to the Second Zionist Congress, which took place in Basel in August, 1898. The workers chose Dr. Herzl as the Boryslaw delegate to the Congress and for this purpose they collected shkalim. ^[20]The Congress received a petition signed by 172 workers. ^[21] In one of the first meetings, Dr. Herzl acknowledged in public the receipt of the petition in which the workers' harsh situation was described. In a few words, Dr. Herzl described the Jewish role in the discovery and production of oil, the establishment of the industry, and the exclusion of the Jews after foreign interests had bought the wells. The Congress did not have the power to do anything concrete for the Jews. Dr. Herzl turned to the Viennese Alliance which promised financial help. The Alliance's representative, Dr. Friedlaender, travelled to Boryslaw and formed a committee of assistance [whose members were] Kornhaber, Pomerantz, Liechtenstein, Eher (the Jewish School principal) and two representatives of the workers. Mme Baroness Hirsch^[22]contributed 10,000 florins and with the help of the Alliance, 500 workers emigrated to America.

Dr. Abraham Saltz, who was at that time chairman of the Ahavath Zion^[23]in Tarnow and engaged in the establishment of a Galician Moshava^[24]in Palestine, saw these workers as suitable candidates for this settlement. Both he and Dr. Saul Rafael Landau looked to the Jewish aid organizations for help. In March 1899, Dr. Landau brought a delegation of workers to Vienna and presented them before Von Gutmann, one of the coal mine owners in Maharish Ostrau^[25] and efforts were made to employ them in the mines. Dr. Landau also helped Dr. Saltz in enlisting potential candidates for emigration and settlement in Palestine. The General Assembly of Ahavath Zion, held in Tarnow, April 25-26, 1899, debated plans for the emigration of 800 families of workers from Boryslaw. Two of the families' representatives, Haim Friedmann and Yaakov Streuser, described their desperate situation and harsh conditions and demanded that every effort should be made to help them emigrate to Palestine. The Assembly decided to send fifty workers promptly to the Moshava “Mahanaim”^[26] in Palestine to be employed in a variety of jobs. To this end the Board of Directors was instructed to collect funds from all the [Jewish] Austrian communities to cover the expenses.

Ahavath Zion sent an appeal to the Jewish communities in England, Germany and other countries concerning the workers of Boryslaw and demanding help [raising funds] to make their emigration to Palestine possible. Dr. Landau travelled to Germany to discuss the matter with the Bnai Brith Lodges. The fundraising succeeded and large sums were collected.^[27] However none of the emigration plans were carried out.

Among the workers not absorbed into the industrial process were two groups: the independent entrepreneurs and the daily wage-earners.^[28] The first group made a living through brokerage and the contracting of various services and ancillary jobs. Despite their independent status, their economic conditions were strained. Most of them were lebacy^[29] but only sixty of them “earned” their living. How did they earn it? The oil which formed in the shafts was stored in large containers near the mines. From there it was pumped by pressure pumps (Druckpumpe) through pipes to the railway station where giant containers, each 50,000 hectoliters in volume, stored the oil. In many instances the diameter of joining pipes was not exact or the pipe would burst and oil would spill to the streets. The lebacy, who would be on guard around the clock waiting for this opportunity, would rush to the spot with barrels, gather the oil and sell it at reduced prices. Often the mine guards would confiscate the oil. Eventually the mine owners drove the lebacy, who numbered more than sixty, out of business.

The other unemployed men became horse and cart drivers,^[30] night watchmen or small contractors for a variety of jobs. Their situation was dreadful and even those who managed to earn a wage lived in appalling dwellings in crowded conditions, while their Gentile co-workers were settled by the mine owners in comfortable, attractive buildings. The wealthy Jewish well owners (those who were still owners of independent operations) had to change their production techniques as well. They merged into companies and even established a Jewish bank to finance their industry. However it could not compete with the Laender Bank and the American, English and French companies that came at that time to exploit the oil wells. The strict rules and laws on production were also a factor in the closure of the small firms. By 1899, of the hundreds of original firms, only two remained in business.^[31] This, of course, was of utmost importance in the development of the crisis described earlier.

Boryslaw was not an independent kehilla.^[32] It was part of the Drohobycz kehilla and had only an economic committee with representatives in Drohobycz. Actually Jewish Boryslaw was dependent in all its matters on the decisions made for them in Drohobycz. Since the late 19th century, efforts had been made for an independent Boryslaw kehilla, but the Drohobycz kehilla was against it. Independence was finally obtained in 1928.

There was, however, a [Jewish] cemetery in Boryslaw^[33] founded in 1886 on a lot donated by David Lindenbaum and managed by the [local] Hevra Kadisha^[34]until 1928. The cemetery was expanded in 1913. In addition, the Jews of Boryslaw had a bath house^[35] in a building of its own. In 1890, the Viennese Alliancefounded an elementary Jewish school with 353 pupils. The number of students rose to 403 in 1896 and 554 in 1901. Later the school was incorporated into Baron Hirsch's Educational Network.^[36]

n Kislev, 5647 (1887)^[37] the first Society of Hovevei Zion^[38] was founded in Boryslaw. It was similar to its sister societies active then in Russia.^[39] Its goals were:^[40]

1. “To lend an hand to the poorer Sons of Israel willing to find refuge in the Land of Israel, to live [there] from the labor of their hands, in the work of the field and the industry of their deeds.

2. To try to expand the idea of Erets Israel in our land of Galicia by a special periodical newsletter that our Society intends to publicize after G-d Almighty will expand our limitations and our expenses will be covered by donations from our learned friends and not from the Society's purse. And if this publication will bring harvest or fruits [earn money] let it all be part of our society's fund”.

This society was the only one in Galicia to publish the extent of its activities in Hamagid^[41] The rules of the society stated that:

1."... every man who lends his hand to our society shall give an advance payment of not less than fifty kreutzers and the rich will better [this sum] but the poor will not worsen it. And every month (there shall be a payment of] twenty kreutzers to the fund of our society not counting donations and the redemption of vows, every man according to the call of his heart.^[42].

2.The money gathered by the Society will be sent directly to Jaffa, to the head of Hovevei Zion there, since according to the laws of our country we cannot join forces with societies from countries abroad. The money will be sent once a year or twice a year according to the decision of those presiding over the society or otherwise if a majority of members decides thus in due place and due time.

3.The society will be governed by twelve delegates chosen from members of the general assembly by the majority of their peers in a written ballot once a year and by their decision, all the matters of the society will be determined. They will serve in office for one exact year and their name shall be called “Committee of the Chosen”.

4.Anybody recognized as Israeli [i.e. Jewish TN] may enter our society upon the approval of the majority of its members but for those known to be bad, vile or unscrupulous who might damage the society by their behavior.

5.The members of the presiding committee above mentioned will elect from them a “Head of the Society” and one deputy to fill his place in his absence and an agent in whose hands the society's fund will be entrusted, a scribe,^[43] a secretary to manage the protocol books in order and by the regulations and a bookkeeper and all of them together shall be called “The Leading Committee”.

6.The chosen will convene once a month to:

discuss the matters of the society and the arrangements needed for its benefit so it may endure

to call for general assemblies when needed

to appoint two of its members (rotationally every month) to collect the fees and monetary debts.

7.General assemblies will be held once a year in Hol Hamoed Sukkoth^[44] and at that time the Leading Committee will present its report on the activities during the year, and at other times [a General Assembly may be called] upon request by the majority of the chosen and the right has been given to the members to present their opinions anytime they wish to do so and to discuss new matters as well as annulling old [resolutions] made by members”^[45]

This society, which in a short while numbered 112 members, succeeded in its goals and even founded a special synagogue, the Hovevei Zion Society Temple.

But the Hassidim^[46] who were numerous, undermined the society's activities and compelled the Rabbi^[47] to dissolve the society. This [anti Zionism] lasted only for a short time.

Efforts to re-establish the society started in 1891 and at the beginning of 1892 a new society was formed, numbering fifty young Bnei Zion members, under the influence of the Hebrew author, Zvi Eleazar Thaler, who was serving at that time as a teacher in the Boryslaw school.^[48] They also founded a library and a reading hall. However, quarrels and the pursuit of personal fame contributed to the decline of the society.^[49] To try to resuscitate it, Dr. Friedmann, Michael Berkowicz and others visited [the town] on August, 23, 1894, and succeeded in establishing a committee headed by President L. Schutzman^[50] and consisting of: L. Kaufman (Secretary), Y. Moldauer (Treasurer), Kelhoffer (Scribe), Y. Waldmann, Wilhelm Rosenfeld, Y. Scheinfeld, M. Kreisberg, A. Schmer and R. Hauser. Indeed they returned the Zionist movement to life through lectures, balls and celebration of holidays^[51]. Almost immediately eighty new members (among them twenty women) joined. In due course the number of members rose to 300, a third of them women. In fact, a new society called Unity (Einigkeit) was formed and in its General Assembly the following were elected to the new committee: L. Schutzman (President), Gezelt (Deputy), Leo Kaufman, Spitzmann, Nadel, Rosenfeld, Rothenberg, Z. Waldmann, Mendelssohn, Kalhoffer, Singer, Speier and Itshak Ewen.

Despite antagonism from the Hassidim, Itshak Ewen founded a Hebrew school in April, 1893 for those children attending the public schools [in the mornings] so that they might learn the Hebrew language in the afternoon.

Boryslaw was privileged to have two famous Yiddish and Hebrew literary figures active in the field of education: Itshak Ewen and Zvi Eleazar Thaler. Itshak Ewen was born in 1861 in Rozwadow. After his first wife died, he married a native of Boryslaw and lived there for many years. He was influenced by the intellectuals of Drohobycz, earned his wages from being a melamed^[52] and published articles in Holders of the Faith^[53]and other papers. From 1893 onwards he was a regular contributor in Hamagid where he published articles, translations and short stories. He played an active role in the public life of Boryslaw and was instrumental in educating a whole generation of young people who joined the National Movement. When the Hebrew school of Boryslaw was forced to close, he moved to Lwo’w in 1895, established a school called "Education for Youngsters" there^[54] and published four pamphlets on the history of Israel^[55] written according to the strictest orthodox tradition. Since he was well acquainted with the oil business of Boryslaw he began to work in this field in 1902 but lost all his fortune and in 1909, emigrated to the USA, where he settled in New York working as an assistant editor in the publication, Otsar Israel.^[56] He began writing in Yiddish in several papers as well, especially Hassidic stories which made a great impression on Yiddish readers. In 1914 he became a regular writer in the daily Der Tog.^[57] His Hassidic stories, published in 1917 in the book, Fun der Guter Yidisher Welt,^[58] describe the life and daily lives of the Hassidim. Later in 1922, he published Fun dem Rebns Hoyz:^[59]the first part, Zikhroynes un Mayselekh fun Gute Yidn: Rozin un Sadigure,^[60] and the second part, Tshortkov, Husyatin un dos Sandzer-Sadigure Makhloykes.^[61] This was published later in Hebrew. He fell ill in 1925 and traveled to Vienna seeking a cure but died there on 16 Adar, 5675 (March 12, 1925).

Zvi Eleazar Thaler was a completely different type of person. He was born on July 18, 1840 (17 Tamuz 5600), in Zloczo’w. He received a traditional education but was influenced by the Haskala^[62]through his elder brother, Israel Thaler (1835-1921). His brother, who was a Hebrew teacher for many years in Galicia, emigrated in 5657 (1897) to Eretz Israel (Palestine) and became a teacher in Rehovot^[63] until he died in 1921. Through his brother, Zvi Eleazar Thaler found employment as Hebrew teacher in Botosany^[64] from 1866 until 1886. In 1892 he came to Boryslaw as a teacher of Hebrew. Even as a young man he had published articles and poems in the Hebrew press. In 1878, during the Berlin Congress that dealt with the problem of the Jews in the Balkans, he published a book in Hebrew, Teudat Israel (Brody, 5638 - 1878) on equal rights for Jews. He translated Lessing's play, The Jews, ^[65] into Hebrew and published the following works: a collection of poems entitled, Siftei Renanot (Drohobycz, 1892); Kol Elohim,a philosophical treatise in ten parts (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Mistarim,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Nahalat Avot, a short story, (Drohobycz, 5657 [1897]); Shlomim,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5665 [1905]); Osher Shamur,a short story, (Drohobycz, 5667 [1907]); Icharti Lavo,a short story, (Lwo’w, 5665 [1905]); Ziona, poems, (Drohobycz, 5672 [1912]); Hed Ha-Am, poems, (Drohobycz, 5673 [1913]). In Boryslaw he guided young people towards Jewish national ideals and centered around himself the cultural activities of the Jewish intelligentsia. From Boryslaw he moved to Pomorzany. He died there on the 19th Adar, 5690 (1920).

Another [famous] Boryslawian was the Hebrew writer, Dr. Michael Berkowicz. He was born on the 7 Shvat, 5625 (1865). He was educated in a traditional manner in Drohobycz and at the age of thirteen moved to Lwo’w, where he came under the influence of a circle of young intellectuals. He began learning [foreign] languages and science under the influence of Moshe Bernfeld, Dr. Shimon Bernfeld's^[66] brother, and Mayer Maimon, a pupil of Reb Nachman Krochmal.^[67] Severe economic hardship compelled him to work during the day as an apprentice in a commercial firm and study at night. He had already published articles and reports in the Hebrew press. In 1886 he decided to dedicate himself to study. He passed the matriculation exams with the help of his friends, Dr. Ehrenpreis, Dr. Yehoshua Thon and Dr. Mordechai Broide, with whom he founded the first Zionist Society, “Zion” (a major Jewish nationalist influence on the youth). Together with Dr. Ehrenpreis, he published works in Yiddish. In 1893 he entered the University of Vienna and the rabbinical beth midrash^[68], where he excelled in the field of Semitic languages. When Dr. Herzl appeared in public, Dr. Berkowicz stood at his right hand; he translated Herzl’s book, The Jewish State,^[69]into Hebrew and was his secretary and liaison with the Hebrew-speaking world. Dr. Berkowicz was among the founders of the Yiddish weekly, Der Yud, in Krakow and among the assistants of the publication, Welt. After returning to Vienna he joined the editors of Monumenta Judaica and published [scientific] papers and a peirush^[70] to the Targum Oncolos.^[71] From 1906 onwards, he taught religion in the gymnasium (secondary school) in Bilicz. He translated into Hebrew the Zionist writings of Dr. Herzl and published the archives and writings of the Jewish socialist writer, Aaron Lieberman. He died on 18 Tamuz, 5695 (1935) in Bilicz.

Another native [of Boryslaw] was the Hebrew teacher and writer, Avigdor Mermelstein (AMES'H), born in Boryslaw in 1850, son of one of the pioneers in oil refinery, Reb Biniamin Mermelstein. He had both a religious and secular education. As a young man he showed a tendency towards Haskala but since there was no opportunity to pursue this [in Boryslaw], he moved to Przemysl. There, under the auspices of the intellectual circle headed by Isaac Shealtiel Greber (who was himself influenced by the theories of S. D. Luzatto), he became fond of the idea of settlement of Erets Israel and the renewal of the [Hebrew] language and literature. In 1875 he was among the founders (in Przemysl) of the First Galicianer Society for Settlement of Erets Israel and was very active in its development. Mermelstein was one of the leaders of the Zionist Movement in Galicia and for many years occupied important positions in its organizations. Not only did he found the Society for the Settlement of Erets Israel in his town but also did much to promote the idea of settlement in other Galician towns. Until 1876, he worked as a teacher in Przemysl and then suddenly, embarked upon a tour of the world, visiting India and, some say, even Japan. On his way back, he visited Erets Israel for a brief time. Interesting enough Mermelstein did not like to speak about his travels. In 1879 he returned to Galicia and settled once again in Przemysl. For two years he co-edited (with Isaac Shealtiel Greber) a Hebrew biweekly, called Haohev Amo Verets Moladeto^[72]written from an assimilationist point of view and advocating outreach to the Polish people. The idea was "to awaken the love of our brother Jews towards the Poles, the masters of the land and our benefactors, teach our youngsters to speak the tongue of the people of the land, (i.e. Polish) so we will not be considered by them mutes who cannot open their mouths" (No. 12, p. 6). But his fervor for the Hebrew language brought him back to the National Movement, since Mermelstein could not agree with the idea of assimilation. Also at that time, news arrived from Russia regarding the pogroms, the awakening of the youth and the BILU movement.^[73] This reminded Mermelstein of his activities in 1875.

He joined the National Movement and served it faithfully until his death on September 14, 1925. From 1882 on, he was the living spirit in all activities regarding Jewish education, settlement of Erets Israel, and "national action".^[74] He was one of the first Hebrew teachers in Galicia who taught the "Hebrew by Hebrew" method.^[75] He also wrote political commentary in Hamagid and poems in the literary anthology, Otsar Hasifrut, edited by Gerber, and Sifrei Shaashuim, edited by Itshak Franhoff. He published Hebrew and Yiddish works in which he explained, in a simply stated style, the essence and goal of Zionism. Particularly popular were his articles entitled Der Tsionistisher Seyder,(1893), Khanuke likhter, (1897), A briev fun Tsion tsu alle ihre liebe kinder geshickt durkh ha-Tsiyoni oyf Tishe-bov shnas 1825 le-goluseynu (1894). Mermelstein ran the Hebrew school in Przemysl until he left in 1912. Afterwards he lived in Bilitz,^[76] where he was engaged in commerce.

In 1880, the Jews in Boryslaw numbered 7,363 (79% of 9,318 inhabitants) and in 1890 there were 7,752 (74.4% of 10,424). After 1890, there was a drastic fall in the number of Jewish inhabitants, 5,950 in 1900 (55.7% of a total population of 10,690), and only 5,753 (45.1% of 12,767) in 1910. Although their numbers in the oil industry were small, they had achieved an important status. Among the mine owners and directors of companies worth mentioning are:

1. Lipa Schutzman^[77]

2. Mark Mermelstein

3. Leopold Diamantstein

4. Lazer Lipa

5. Joachim Karpel

In technical matters, the prominent Jews were: Yehoshua Marcus Eisenstadt, Eng. Itshak (Isaac) Stiefel,^[78] Dr. Joachim Hausman, and Jozef Bloch, who published several of his investigations. As previously mentioned the Jews of Boryslaw made efforts to become an independent community (kehilla). This independence was achieved during Polish rule, mainly through the efforts of Leo Kaufman. On April 18, 1928, the Lwo’w Wojewo’dstwo^[79] permitted the Jews of Boryslaw to separate from the Drohobycz kehilla and establish an independent community.^[80] On December 10, 1928, the first Community Committee was formed; Leo Kaufman was elected Chairman of the Assembly and Leo Schutzman, Managing Director. After laying the foundations of an independent kehilla they called for general elections which were held on November 5, 1933. Due to the heated election campaign, the committee did not elect officers until August 7, 1934. Leo Schutzman was elected Chairman of the Managing Committee, Eliahu Klinghoffer as his deputy, and members: Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Avigdor, Abraham Abraham, Yehoshua Marcus Eisenstadt, Lipa Feuerberg, Mendel Freund, David Greber and Isaac Holzman. The following were elected to the General Assembly: Max Stern (Chairman), Abraham Garfunkel (Deputy), Melech Backenroth, Shmuel Bloch, Eng. Eleazar Lipa, Nahum Jolles, Moishe Lerman, Faivel Melzer, Nahum Roth, David Scheinfeld, Abraham Segal and Marcus Sternbach.

Before the war, these were the main Jewish [educational] institutions:

1. Talmud Tora Aleph, 200 pupils, headed by David Schreiber, Israel Lifshitz and Aharon Einstein.

2. The “Tarbut” Hebrew school, headed by Mrs. Freund, Mrs. Z. Goldstein and Eng. Stiefel.

3. Talmud Tora Beth, 100 pupils, headed by Mendel Freund and Isaac Wolf.

To maintain these institutions the kehilla had an annual budget of 5,000 golden Polish coins. The main welfare institutions were:

1. An orphanage run by Dr. Michael Maisel.

2. A day care for the children of the unemployed, founded by Mrs. Helena Pomerantz and Iza Schutzman.

3. Bnot Yesharim.

4. GMACH for prospective emigrants to Erets Israel.

The [religious] personnel was headed by Rabbi Dr. Avigdor Yaakov, Head of the Rabbinical Court of the Sacred City of Drohobycz, six dayanim (judges), six shochatim (ritual slaughterers), a secretary, and two clerks in the Community’s office. The yearly budget of the kehilla was 100,000 golden Polish coins.

[Pages 177-184]

Approximately nine kilometres south of Drohobycz, we find the town of Borysław. It is a small town, no different than the majority of towns in Galicia, poor, with small houses, and dirty streets. Most of the inhabitants work in trade. A large number are office employees, yet in spite of this, Borysław was well known in the outside world. This was not because of any special rights that Poland gave to any Jewish places under its rule in those days. At that time, Borysław was still a small, unknown village surrounded by dense forests. It was because of these forests that the town got its name (bory slawne), which means famous forests in Polish. To this day, one can see the tops of the Carpathian Mountains, where the villages of Boćków^[1] and Cisów^[2] stand out. This chain of hills extends from Borysław to the south. At present, one also sees another forest, a forest of towers, from which thousands of electric lights shine far and wide at night, creating a beautiful view for the eye.

Borysław was especially endowed by nature with oil, gas, and wax. When we speak of Borysław, we usually include Tustanowice and Mrażnica, since they were previously separate places. It was only in 1933 that the town absorbed them to become one large town, Borysław.

The portrayal of Borysław in a memorial book would not be complete without a description of her natural resources and the Jews of Borysław, whose contribution to and development of these resources was well known.

Borysław is one of the few places in the world where earth wax is found. The extraction of this substance and its processing was done mainly by Jews, according to information found on this subject. Here, we want to present a chronological report about the above-mentioned natural resources.

Sources of oil and wax from the depths of the earth were known to the inhabitants of the area for a long time; however the industry became important only at the end of the eighteenth century, or more accurately, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was then that the first exploitation of this rich natural treasure became industrialized.^[3] This was achieved by Abraham Schreiner, a Jew from Borysław.^[4]

According to the chronicle of 1770, the farmers of the village and its surrounding area were already applying crude oil to the axels of their wagon wheels. It is recorded that when a well was dug in 1771, a fatty, brown coloured substance was drawn from it instead of water. The appearance of this substance in the search for water was frequent. The Jews gathered it in barrels and used it to lubricate their wagon wheels, when they sold the trees they had cut down to the peasants in the villages throughout Galicia. It is said that they extracted sizeable amounts of oil from these wells. For example, from the wells in Nahujowice , a small village north of Drohobycz, 6,000 litres were extracted in one year. The price of a litre was 5.25 kreuzer and the annual income from this product was 36,225 gulden.^[5]

The product found in wells belonging to different owners could vary in colour. Some extracted a yellow-grey, easily flowing liquid, which could be used for illumination without processing. Others found a light brown substance that emitted a great deal of smoke and an acrid smell when burned. This was tar, called smoła, while the former was called crude oil.^[6]

Between 1815 and 1816, the supply of oil became so great that all could not be used to grease wagon wheels. The price of the lubricant dropped so that it was no longer profitable to extract it. The Jews of Borysław started to produce oil for illumination. They succeeded in obtaining licenses to light the streets of Vienna and Prague with their product. Furthermore, the city councils required such amounts that the Jews of Borysław could not supply them. In 1817, the streets of Drohobycz began to be illuminated with oil. For this also, there was not a sufficient supply.^[7]

The process of making lubricant to grease wagon wheels was very primitive. The raw material would be put into a pot, usually made of copper, up to two thirds of its capacity. The pot would be covered in clay or a similar material, and boiled over a fire until it reached a specific temperature. It would then be left for three days, after which the lid would be lifted. Two fifths of the oil would be removed for use as lighting fuel, and three fifths of the thick, black residue would be used as grease for wheels. To this, a certain amount of sand would be added.

The production of oil and lubricants for wagon wheels was completely in the hands of Jews,^[8] not only the Jews of Borysław, but also Jews in other cities. For example, it said that some of the crude oil, which appeared in the area around Słoboda Rungurska, near Kołomyja, was extracted by a Jew called Yehuda Kołomyja. He marketed it for greasing wagon wheels.^[9]

From the wells in Borysław, a mineral wax (ozokerite) was often extracted instead of crude oil. No one paid any attention to this substance, because at that time no one knew what purpose it might serve.^[10] In 1860, this changed. A steadily increasing demand for this substance arose. Candles began to be manufactured from it. In 1865, there were already twenty-two factories in Drohobycz, which used more than 10,000 kilograms of ozokerite. These factories, owned by Jews, were not large.

Because of the chemical industry, the demand for ozokerite kept growing. The Jews of Drohobycz became important producers of wax and were very enthusiastic about this business. From this time, this substance was of primary importance. Because of the complications of government licensing, there were difficult problems for those who pursued this endeavour.

One of the chroniclers of that period wrote as follows: “excavation beside excavation, shaft beside shaft.” Every bit of ground in Borysław is full of holes and digging sites. Thousands of barrels and pails were in motion, night and day, non-stop. Like a camel train, movement continued ceaselessly everywhere. Thousands of labourers worked to extract this substance from the ground that was so much in demand.”

In 1874, there were nearly 12,000 wells in the area between Borysław and Wolanka, 4,000 of which were operational, employing nearly 10,000 labourers, most of them from the surrounding villages. From this we can see how great the activity was. According to an inquiry that was made between 1897-1898, it is possible to know from official records and reports the locations of the mines, as well as the names of their owners. Ninety percent of them were Jews from Borysław and Drohobycz. Most of the wells were in the area called Nowy Świat, although there were quite a few between Borysław and Wolanka, in łoziny, Debra, and Moczary.

The wells were dug to a depth of four to five metres. The distance between one shaft and the next was six to seven metres. The sides of the shafts were made of boards to support the walls and minimize accidents, which caused death almost daily. Daily production from each well was between thirty and sixty kilograms. Gradually, production began to decrease, although there were some shafts where production remained quite high for a long time.

When oil was discovered in the wells, it was considered an unnecessary commodity. After everything was dug out of the well, the oil was buried in a hole, and once again they would dig for wax. Because grains of sand, as well as stones, would be found in the wax, it was necessary to clean it, since buyers demanded wax that was cleansed of foreign material. Purifying the wax became a separate task within the industry. In 1874, there were twenty-one factories dedicated to this process, the most important ones those of Mermelstein, Nuta Harz and Yekhezkel Hirsch.

After the cleansing process, the wax was used as paraffin for candles (kosher candles), not only for use in Borysław and Drohobycz, but also for export abroad. Large amounts of wax were extracted. According to the records of the trade office of Lwów, the amount of wax exported in 1865 was 150,000 kirtim.^[11] According to the same report, wax and oil produced in Borysław from 1855-1865 was worth fifteen million gulden.

This industry employed a large number of workers and supervisors. Many Jews worked in wax mining and processing. Only Jews were employed in processing. Those employed as kassierers (supervisors) were also Jews. They were so numerous that they built their own study house called the Kassierers' Study House, which lasted until the outbreak of the First World War. Among those from this group who died were: I.M. Eisenstein, who later became an oil producer and was murdered by Ukrainians, when the war broke out, Chune Bauer, and Moyshe Weitz, plus many other who died of natural causes, prior to the outbreak of the war.

Small refineries were also established in Borysław, such as Liebermann, Mermelstein, and Schutzmann and Partners, which operated until the outbreak of World War II. In Drohobycz, large refineries were established, such as the big factory of Moyshe Gartenberg; it was later taken over by Galicja, The refinery of Leiser Gartenberg, that afterward became the Nafta A.G. firm, then finally the government refinery, Polmin.^[12]

In various records for the year 1865, we see that on both sides of the Tyśmienica River between Borysław and Wolanka, there were 5,000 shafts. Among them were some large wells. The number of workers at that time was between 4,000 and 5,000 men, and the weekly production of wax was 6,000 centner. The annual production of oil was 90,000 centner and of wax, 25,200 centner.^[13] The price of the product varied according to demand.

Many people, looking for ways to make a living, streamed into Borysław. The manner of work was very primitive, disorderly, and clumsy. There was neither inspection nor planning with respect to geology.

In 1874, there were more than 800 projects. Most of them were not properly financed, and for that reason, were not viable. As examples of these large projects, it is worth mentioning that of Israel Liebermann, as well as one that was later called, Borysław A.G., whose shares were owned by the Jew Hartenstein.^[14] This company operated until the outbreak of World War II.

In order to organize these activities, particularly in dealing with the matter of the safety of the workplace, a government office was opened in Drohobycz to inspect wells and the operations in the region. The inspector Windakiewicz^[15] added up the number of all the oil wells in Galicia as follows: the area between Ratoczyna^[16] and Wolanka, including the 150 joch, in which there were 12,000 shafts, had 4,000 that were still in operation. The distance between one well and another was between 1.5 to 4 klafter.^[17] The depth of the shafts varied from 18 to 20 klafter. The average production in 1873 was 350,000 kwart^[18] of earth wax (3,500,000 gulden) and 220,000 kwart of crude oil (880,000 gulden). As far as working conditions and hygiene were concerned, he believed there was much to be done.

In 1886, new government regulations made improvements in the industry. Before sinking a shaft, permission was required from the office responsible for mining. These permits were granted under very strict conditions. The result of this change was that only proper wells, dug according to a rational plan, could continue to operate. As a result only 400 new shafts were registered in 1895. At the same time, codes of operation for the shafts were established.

The Jew Abraham Schreiner stands out at this time. Schreiner, like many Jews, made lubricant for wagons, using a copper pot with a lid made of clay. As was the custom, he made a small fire under the pot and left it to boil for three days, in order to get the required result. When he lifted the lid from the pot, he noticed drops of liquid on its inner side. When he collected these drops and tried to light them, he noticed that the liquid burned cleanly, without smoking. He made a second attempt, collected more drops, and took them to the pharmacist łukasiewicz in Lwów, who examined it and after several additional experiments, succeeded in creating a liquid, which when lit, burned with a pleasant flame. Thus, the production of oil began in Schreiner's town. The year 1853 marked the first production of naphtha. łukasiewicz received credit for the discovery, and in his memory, a monument was established in Krosno, the city of oil and gas in western Galicia, while Abraham Schreiner, who was really the true discoverer of the distillation process, was completely forgotten.^[19]

Abraham Schreiner's discovery was immediately utilised. In a very short time, refineries were established in Borysław, as well as Drohobycz. By 1855, refined oil was already used to light the trains and the hospital in Lwów. One hundred years have passed since the discovery of refined oil. Now we can see how greatly the oil industry has advanced throughout the world.

In 1885, the oil industry made a great step forward. Up until that date, people were interested only in extracting wax from the ground.^[20] After that time, they were interested only in oil. Laws governing the rights over hydrocarbons had great influence in the industry. By means of a law passed on 16 November 1869,^[21] the government assumed the mineral rights over oil, as it did for salt, etc. The Galician government vigorously opposed this law. Therefore, in 1862, a new law preserved the landowner's right to oil.^[22] For this purpose, there were new financial rules. A landowner could establish an oil mine on his property and could transfer the mineral rights to someone else with the provision that he retain twenty-five percent of the profit.^[23] This caused an increase in land sales, a business that was nearly always controlled by Jews. Schönholz's café in Drohobycz became the centre for land agents.^[24]

While it was still possible for a person of modest means to enter the wax industry, it became more and more necessary to have substantial capital. Partnerships were made but they were too weak to attract the necessary investment.

In 1886, new laws governing the oil and wax industries were passed. There was also a decline in the number of wells. At this time, deep drilling of wells began.^[25] The first well to be drilled was in 1865. Robert Doms, an industrialist from Lwów, did succeed in digging a well of forty klafter, but this was not drilled. At this opportunity, it should be stated that oil was first drilled in Wietze near Hanover, Germany. Shortly after, the first oil wells were sunk in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.^[26] In 1866, Albert Fauck dug an oil well using steam power to a depth of 250 metres. In 1884, the drilling system of the Canadian McGarvey was introduced to Borysław. It was brought to Borysław by the Canadian firm Bergheim.^[27] This system was used until around 1920. After it was introduced, it was possible to dig wells to a depth of 1,000 metres and the production of oil increased.

In 1895, drilling of the oil well Jakób in Schodnica, near Borysław reached depth of 302 metres, which produced enough oil to fill many cisterns. This advanced technology resulted in the development of Borysław. Also, refiners became interested in Schodnica; it was only when the supply in Schodnica diminished that Borysław once again became a major centre. The development of Borysław can be said to have begun in 1901. Wells of 1,000 metres depth and even deeper were dug that produced fifty one hundred cisterns of oil daily. Among these were the oil wells Albert (Potok) and Johanna 1 (Borysław), and many more. On June 13, 1908, the well in Tustanowice called Oil City was drilled to the depth of 1,016 metres. The chronicles of those days tell us the following:

“No one expected this amount of gushing oil flowing from the well, and no one was prepared for it. In the first twenty-four hours, two wells could provide 140 cisterns. This was the approximate amount that came from the fields where there was a stream of oil flowing. The amount grew before the eyes of the onlookers. Eight pumps worked ceaselessly but were not able to keep up with the flow of oil. The oil ran into the Tyśmienica River and further on to the right; hundreds of cisterns flowed into the Stryj River. Hundreds of workers were engaged in filling the rivers of oil with sand in order to stop its flow.”

Schodnica was a small town about eleven kilometres from Borysław, populated mainly by Jews, with many Jewish enterprises that played an important role in the oil industry. First there was the public company Rohag, whose name was later changed to Gazy Ziemne.^[28] Shares in this company were in the hands of the brothers Jacob and Gustav Goldmann and Imre Pirnitzer. They were Jews who had come from the management group. The enterprise, led by the engineer Joseph Bloch, was important in the oil industry. The next in rank of importance was the company called Urycka Spółka dla Przemysłu Naftowego, whose partners were the Gartenbergs, Schreiers, and Feuerstein. The founders of this company were the brothers Leiser and Moyshe Gartenberg. They came from the village Rybnik,^[29] near the right bank of the Stryj River, where their father had a small village inn. The eldest son Leiser had broad experience in business. In his younger years, he was active in the timber industry. When drilling for oil expanded, the need for lumber grew. Lazar Gartenberg established a small mill in Rybnik, operated by waterpower, and supplied lumber to Borysław. His business thrived.

The younger brother Moyshe was in the dairy business. He bought milk from the peasants and transported it to Schodnica and Borysław. He was famous and respected everywhere for his fair dealing.^[30] As time went on, he also expanded his business and did well. The brothers, driven by the business instinct, gave up their enterprises in 1895^[31] and invested successfully in oil wells in Schodnica. Their success inspired them. They dug several wells and purchased a large tract of land in Borysław on which they rapidly dug the following shafts: Gartenberg, Jadwiga, Feuerstein 5, Schreier 1-5, Jacob, and others.^[32]

To process the oil, they bought a refinery and established the company Eliezer Hersch Sternbach and Goldhammer. After they enlarged it, it became known as the big factory.^[33] After a few years they sold the big factory together with the wells in Schodnica to the Nafta A.G. firm. Leiser Gartenberg established a large refinery in Drohobycz, under the name Galicia A.G., while his brother Moyshe built the refinery, Jasło.^[34]

In addition, the Gartenberg brothers purchased a tract of land of 400 joch in Urycz, next to Schodnica, from the nobleman Lubomirski. On this property they established a mine that was famous for its good construction and excellent management. Until the outbreak of the war, this mine was in the hands of the Gartenberg family. Under the technical direction of engineer Isaac Stiefel, it became a great enterprise and held a prestigious place in the oil industry. It had its own gasoline refinery and pipelines that led to the railway station in Borysław.

Moyshe Gartenberg moved to Drohobycz, and, at the beginning of the twentieth century, when he moved to Vienna, the newspaper Neue freie Presse announced that the oil king Gartenberg had come to live there. Among his five sons, Ignatz was well known in the oil industry. When speaking about Moyshe Gartenberg, his wife Chaya Ottylia must be mentioned. She was the daughter of Henich Reingewirtz of Kropiwnik Nowy. Her good deeds and aid to the poor, sick widows, and orphans were well known in the Drohobycz area. She founded the Jewish Hospital in Drohobycz and, most important, she founded the Jewish orphanage but did not live to see it built.^[35] Suffering from a serious illness, she was taken to Vienna, but before the doctors could treat her, she died. We record these facts in recognition of the esteem of one of the praiseworthy Jewish daughters of Drohobycz and Borysław. May this be a permanent memory to her soul.

Here we must make mention of the firm Urycka Spółka^[36] in the village of Urycz. It employed only Jewish workers as carpenters, etc. Because the firm built housing for the workers, Urycz became a settlement for Jewish labourers, with its own synagogue, ritual bath, kosher slaughterhouse, etc. In 1941 the Nazis, may their names be erased, destroyed everything in Urycz. A Dutchman, Menten, a former forester in Podhorodce, befriended the Nazis at the outbreak of the war. Because of revenge and hard feelings, there was a terrible bloodbath in July and August. Close to 150 Jews were killed in one slaughter on that day and were buried in a mass grave. These were the hard-working, diligent people, as well as wealthier ones, including women and children. We should cite the names of all of the martyrs but will mention only the pipeline experts, Schlomo Nordlicht and Seinwel Binder, the mechanics, Wolf Roth, Moyshe Heller and Avigdor Halperin. May these recorded words serve as a perpetual memory of the martyrs.

We must also mention the firm of Abraham Backenroth and Sara Rivke Backenroth, who established excellent business enterprises in Schodnica that existed until the outbreak of the war.

Meanwhile, oil production increased greatly, reaching 300 cisterns per day. Tustanowice, Borysław, and even Drohobycz sat on land that resembled a volcano. It was enough for one to speak to create fire and smoke all over Borysław. On 17 June 1908, two army regiments were brought in to bring production to full capacity. However, the excitement did not last. On 4 June 1908, lightening caused a fire and the oil well, scaffolding and all, burned to the ground. The fire was so great that the flames and smoke could be seen all the way to Sambor.^[37]

Onlookers described the fire as follows:

“… A sea of fire, thick clouds of smoke, flames appear through the smoke as oil suddenly catches fire. It can be seen as far away as Tustanowice and Borysław.”

The conflagration lasted for about four weeks until it was finally extinguished by the Jews of Borysław, who succeeded in putting out the fire by laying sacks of sand on the flames, while dressed in asbestos clothing.

The well that was affected was re-established but never again reached its former level of production. In 1909, the amount of oil produced reached 2,905 cisterns but in 1913, only six cisterns.^[38]

There were enormous amounts of gas in the terrain around Borysław that were captured from the wells with the oil. For many years, no one paid attention to the gas. Large amounts escaped into the air without being put to use. Moreover, in many cases the gas was considered a hindrance during work and efforts were made to try to eliminate it. Between 1916 and 1937, the amount of gas reached 5,314,000 cubic metres. If we consider that until 1916, all the gas produced was not used at all, we can assume that during that time, the output of more than ten trillion cubic metres of gas in Borysław was wasted.

The discovery and use of the natural gas in Schodnica had an accidental beginning, around 1896-1897, in an abandoned oil well located near a mechanical shop. The well was sealed from the top with wooden boards, which left only a small, one-inch opening through which a small tube was inserted and connected to the workshop fire heater. In a primitive manner, the gas was used as fuel. The amount of gas that flowed from wells was negligible; it was considered a substance of little value. Because oil was available, there was little interest in gas, since one had to pay extra money for it. As a result, large tracts of land were wasted.

After some time, the gas that was found began to be exploited in Borysław-Tustanowice, in the same way that it was in Schodnica. Contractors were hired to install pipes linking the gas with various well sites. Hermann Dienstag and Motl Pomerantz worked in this field. The price of gas was not based on quantity supplied but on the volume of the heater. Gas was not measured until 1910, when the engineer Joachim Hausmann undertook to measure it. His methods were rudimentary and not exact. Hausmann used a manometer that indicated only orientation.^[39]

After a short time, it became apparent that the methods of producing gas interfered with the extraction of oil. The gas in the pipes retarded the flow of oil. By removing the wooden walls from the wells, not only did the operation of the wells improve, but the amount of gas that escaped into the air also increased. The large amounts of escaping gas interfered with the production of oil, since the decrease in the pressure in the ground did not propel the oil in the well. As many gas and oil projects opened in Tustanowice, the amount of gas escaping in to the air caused innumerable cases of poisoning among the workers.

Dr. Freund of Borysław controlled the sale of gasoline that was produced from gas. The pipe that delivered gas from his wells passed through the bottom hole of the barrel, which was sitting on the top of the storage tank. Cold water in the barrel transformed the gas into gasoline. Gasoline produced in this way ran through the pipe the cooling water inside the barrel. This primitive procedure made gasoline available for the future. In 1917, the engineer Warschtmann organized gas production in Tustanowice for Dembowski. This was a large enterprise that used the method described above. However, since gas produced in this way needed only a small amount of air, the high amount of air in gas produced in Borysław made it less effective. In 1920, the engineer Arthur Landes took out a patent on a more advanced method of production that was quickly adopted.^[40] It created the gasoline industry. Landes can be credited with the gasoline boom. Landes, who was born in Borysław, was murdered by the Nazis in 1941 in Drohobycz, together with his wife, née Heimberg. He created an industry that produced much wealth. One MME of gas produced 235 grams of gasoline. In Urycz, 600 grams were recovered from the same amount of gas

Jews played an important role in all the developments of the industry, as industrialists and as workers, both technical and administrative. Among the industrialists in Boyrslaw, we must mention the following: Moyshe Itzik Kornhaber, who founded the industry in Potok, and Lipa Schutzmann^[41] and his sons Moritz and Leon, who founded the firm Rela-Mela in the 1920s. During the war years, he was exiled to Siberia by the Russians and at the end of the war, he returned to Poland, a completely broken man. He died a lonely old man in Gdansk. His son Leon, who was the first president of the board of directors for the kehilla in Borysław, was also exiled to Siberia where he died.

Hermann Bloch was a high-ranking industrialist, who contributed greatly to the development of Mrażnica. David Fanto was the founder of a firm. In addition to these major industrialists, there were smaller Jewish entrepreneurs such as Mendelssohn, the Boryslaw factory Max Stern, and many others. Bergheim brought McGarvey from Canada and created the firm Bergheim-McGarvey. He is connected with the Canadian system of drilling.^[42] Among the technicians, we must mention I. Bloch, the engineers Lipa, Kessler, Landes, and Wolfstahl , all of whom were murdered by the Nazis.

Many Jews worked as supervisors at various wells. They were actually the overseers of the operations, even though, according to the government office responsible for the oil wells, others were officially appointed as managers. Jews were the main employees in the administration of the firms. As an example, one of the outstanding personalities was Dr. Moshe Freund, head of the largest firm, Małopolska Spółka Akcyjna. A large number of Jewish workers were employed in the Borysław oil industry; they worked in all aspects of operations. Jewish craftsmen supplied the tools and parts for drilling. Among them we should mention the metal working shop of Nadel and Katz, M. Ringler, Sh. Fliesser and others, who produced mining equipment of the highest quality.

Among the firms, we must mention Eifermann, Seeman, Eliahu Klinghoffer, and the firm D.T.H. whose owners were Spitzmann and Weiler. The agents Israel Horszowski and Josef Schechter looked after supplying drilling machinery. These Jews were also murdered by the Nazis at the time of the third Aktion in 1942.

Hermann Russ provided building materials, as did the brothers Kreisberg and Seinwel Reiter. Hermann Russ was also a construction agent. He was capable of erecting a derrick in twenty-four hours. Whenever a spark of fire began to grow, Russ was the first one to put it out, even though a new tower would have to be built if the fire were not extinguished.

There were tremendous quantities of oil in the wells; since it was impossible to collect all of it, it flowed into every stream and river. It was the Jews who changed this and made it possible to collect all the oil. A special category of people occupied themselves with collecting oil. They were called łepaks; the name derived from the Polish word łapac meaning “to catch”.

These “collectors” were a special breed in Borysław, recognizable from a distance. Usually they were elderly Jews. They would carry two pails on a yolk on their backs and gather oil up with a broom. That is how the “collector” would fill his pails. The oil was sold in small amounts after being cleansed by heating. Shmuel Garfinkel was one Jew who did this kind of work. These workers considered this kind of work a blessing since it enabled them to earn a generous livelihood.

In these industries there were many by-products and a great deal of waste, such as iron, for which there was no market. The industry had no use for such huge amounts of waste, and there was no way to store it. However, it provided worthwhile business opportunities. The scrap iron was collected by Jews and sold to scrap metal dealers. They best known among these entrepreneurs were Isaac Rotenberg, the machinist Melech, Josef Herschberger, and Bergman.

With the increase of the number of wells in Borysław, especially in Tustanowice, a new problem arose in Borysław. With such a glut of oil, there was no market for all of it. The existing refineries were not suitable and had not been built for such large amounts. There was also no storage for these great quantities.

A new firm called Petrolea was created, which built large facilities on land near the railway station. There were also the large companies, Karpaty Galicia, Uryczka Spółka Gaz Ziemnych, and others. There were storage facilities that could hold 1,000 cisterns and more of oil. Small businessmen stored the oil in exchange for payment in “natura,” that is for crude oil. A transport station was built that carried the oil through Petrolea's pipelines. This was a new method of transporting and delivering oil. In this aspect of the industry, Jews were also prominent.

The great amount of oil reserves caused the price to drop. The government had already started to use oil for producing steam power. Dr. Wasserberg, a lawyer from Lwów, appeared on the scene; he established the union of oil producers. The lawyer paid the producers of the crude oil five crowns for every centner of oil; this allow him to fill storage tanks to the full capacity. The government came to the aid of the producers by constructing a large storage facility called Polmin.^[43] These measures had a positive influence. The price of oil began to rise, and between 1910 to 1914, it reached 1,000 katrim for one centner. Both in Petrolia and Polmin, many Jews were employed. Some were managers.

It has been our intention here to give an account of the development of the oil industry in Borysław, to show the role that the Jews of Borysław played in this industry, and their lives and deaths in the course of several decades. It has not been possible to relate everything in great detail because ten years have passed since I left Borysław, and we have no documents in our hands. Our aim was to leave some kind of picture of Borysław. Whoever remained alive, who survived the terrible tragedy, will recall our Borysław, and then tears will certainly come to his or her eyes when reading these lines. May these lines serve as an eternal reminder of those Jews who lived and worked in Borysław. May their souls be bound up with those alive.

Editor's Notes

1. The village of Boćków, in Ukrainian Bochkov, and Velyikyy Bychkov, is located on the Tisza River on the border between Ukraine and Romania border in Transcarpathian Ukraine. Return
2. The village of Cisów, in Ukrainian Tysov, in the Dolina district, is located four miles WSW from town of Blechów. Return
3. The petroleum industry began to develop after the first successful distillation of naphtha in 1853 in Lwów. Return
4. Abraham Schreiner was the first to sell a large amount of distilled oil in 1854. Return
5. The Austrian gulden was the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1754 and 1892 when it was replaced by the crown (Krone) as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the gulden was initially divided into 60 kreuzer and after 1857, 100 kreuzer. Return
6. The yellow-grey, easily flowing liquid that needed little processing for illumination in the was called kipiaczke in the local dialect. The light brown oil that emitted a great deal of smoke and an acrid smell when burned was called ropa, or crude oil. “Smoła” means tar and can be a product from the distillation of crude oil. In the natural environment, tar is obtained from the pine roots. Stiefel may be referring to bitumen, a tar-like product that occurs naturally as peat. Return
7. Stiefel, writing from memory, has confused two separate events in the history of Galician petroleum. Around 1816, Joseph Hecker, an inspector of salt mines, who may have been born in Prague, made a distillate from crude oil that was pure enough to pass government tests as fuel for lamps. Lamps using this fuel were used in the towns of Sambor and Drohobycz. The city of Prague, intending to replace its street lighting with this fuel, ordered a large supply from Hecker. Unfortunately, he was unable to fulfill the contract, possibly because transporting the barrels of naphtha had been delayed by bad weather in winter, or possibly because his source of light crude oil was no longer productive. After paying a penalty, Hecker declared bankruptcy and retreated from this enterprise. Efforts to use distilled crude oil for lighting did not resume until the middle of the nineteenth century. Until this period, there were about forty wells producing crude oil in Galicia. Return
8. Jews were by no means the only people engaged in the processing and sale of crude oil and crude oil products. Many local peasants collected crude oil to sell as lubricant, and some, such as the peasant Bajtał in the Nahujowice area, even attempted the distillation of crude oil in a primitive manner. Return
9. A well, called “Skarbowy”. near Słoboda Rungurska in eastern Galicia, which had been discovered in 1771, was productive for over 100 years. Other wells were also dug in this region. Jews in this area were involved in the early years in these enterprises. The oldest Jewish firm in the area was Moses and Oradre (Rosenkranz).The name Yehuda Kołomyja, seems to be mythical. Return
10. Ozokerite had been used for candles in earlier times. Return
11. Stiefel has given a Hebrew plural to an old term of measurement. One kirets, korets, koretz or korzec in Polish, was a measurement of volume, equal to 123.6 litres. Return
12. The “great factory” of Gartenberg, Lauterbach, Goldhammer and Wagmann was sold in in the early years of the twentieth century to the Anglo-Galician Oil Company. It became known as Galicja, or Galicyjskie Towarzystwo Naftowe Spółka Akcyjna. The brothers Moses and Leiser Gartenberg were partners in this enterprise. Leiser Gartenberg did not own a refinery separately. Polmin was an entirely separate state-owned factory that was originally built by the Austrian government in the early years of the twentieth century. Return
13. The centner was an Austrian measurement of volume equal to fifty kilograms. Return
14. This firm was called “Borysław” Towarzystwo Akcyjna dla przemysłu Wosku Ziemniego i Oleju Skalnego. Return
15. Windakiewicz, Eduard. Erdöl und Erdwachs in Galizien. Vienna: Alfred Hölder, 1875. Return
16. Ratoczyna was a name of the stream and a 2,300 feet high peak located SE from Mraźnica. Return
17. Joch and Klafter are old Austrian measurements of area and distance. One joch = 5,775 square metres; 1 klafter = 1.896 metres. Return
18. Kwarta was a Polish and Galician unit of volume for both dry and liquid substances. It was equal to 0.96 litres. Return
19. Schreiner was not the only one to experiment with the distillation of crude oil. Many in the distant past had experimented with it and attempts in the area of Galicia were recorded in the seventeenth century. Schreiner produced a brown-greenish distillate that smelled unpleasantly and smoked when burned. He sold some of this to the pharmacist Mikolasz in Lwów. Jan Zeh, an apprentice in the pharmacy, experimented with creating a pure distillate. He achieved it and was awarded the patent for the discovery of naphtha. Ignacy łukasiewicz was a junior apprentice in the factory. Schreiner made his contribution by being the first to sell a large amount of his distillate for use as fuel for lamps. Return
20. Mining for crude oil continued from 1853 in the areas in Galicia where wax was not found. Since there were rich sources of ozokerite in the Borysław area, mining enterprises preferred to extract it, since the price was high. Return
21. The Austrian government claimed its rights over liquid hydrocarbons, such as crude oil, in 1854. Return
22. After 1810 in Austria, mineral rights to liquid hydrocarbons, such as crude oil belonged to the landowner, whereas the mineral rights to solid hydrocarbons, such as peat or ozokerite, belonged to the imperial government. After 1854, the Austrian government reclaimed its rights to all hydrocarbons, but when the Galician government objected, the rights to liquid hydrocarbons reverted in 1862 and to solid hydrocarbons in 1865 to the landowner. Return
23. The landowner, not the state, controlled the percentage of revenue he might receive for leasing the mineral rights on his land. Return
24. Schönholz' café in Drohobycz was actually the location of a kind of stock market where shares in oil wells were traded. Return
25. The law passed in 1884 and ratified in 1886, extended the mandatory distance between mines to ten metres. As a result, some wells were not compliant and were forced to close. Due to the primitive methods of mining, many wax shafts became flooded and were either closed or sold to larger companies. Deep drilling for crude oil began in this period in western Galicia but was not successfully achieved in the Borysław area until 1893. Return
26. Oil wells were excavated in western Galicia in 1854 by Tytus Trzecieski, who began to develop an oil industry in partnership with Ignacy łukasiewicz. Return
27. The company was known as Bergheim and McGarvey. It was not a Canadian firm. Bergheim was English. Return
28. The name of the company was Spółka Akcyjna Przemysłu Naftowego i Gazów Ziemnych. Return
29. The Gartenberg family came from Drohobycz. Return
30. It is unlikely that Moyshe Gartenberg delivered milk. Drohobycz marriage records indicate that the Gartenbergs occupied a position of high status in the community. Leiser and later, his younger brother Moses, entered the wax industry around 1860. Return
31. The Gartenbergs and their partners sold their wax refinery in 1895. Return
32. These wells were not in Borysław but near the village of Urycz. Return
33. The big factory was the wax refinery that was sold in 1895. The Gartenbergs and their partners, who were close relatives, open two oil refineries, one in Jasło and one in Kołomyja. There is no historical record that the Sternbach family was associated with Gartenberg brothers in their refineries. Return
34. These facts are incorrect. The big factory in which both Moses and his brother Leiser were partners, was sold around 1901 and became known as Galicia. The factory in Jasło was owned in partnership by both Moses' and Leiser's families and their relatives, the Schreiers. Return
35. The Jewish orphanage in Drohobycz was actually planned by Eliahu Feuerstein and erected by his son Jakob, the son-in-law of Leiser Gartenberg. Return
36. Stiefel is probably referring to the firm Urycka spółka dla przemysłu naftowego, the same firm he referred to above, owned by the Gartenbergs. Return
37. The date was actually 8 July 1908.The well that was on fire was called Oil City. Return
38. The well Oil City was actually destroyed in the fire and did not reopen. Return
39. Hausmann used a manometer, a device used for pressure measurements, which provided only a limited approach to the characteristics of the gas flow. The flow of gas is expressed in volumetric units. Hausmann did not quantify the volume of the flow. This was a problem in establishing a pricing for the delivered gas. --Alexander Sharon. Return
40. Landes patented use of active coal, which acted as an absorbent. --Alexander Sharon. Return
41. Both Kornhaber and Schutzmann were mayors of Borysław. Return
42. William Henry McGarvey brought the Canadian drilling system to Galicia. John Simeon Bergheim, a Englishman, was his business partner. Return
43. Stieffel is mistaken here. Polmin was a large refinery built in the early years of the twentieth century to extract benzene from crude oil. Return

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