[Page 187]

They took me to the now famous Warsaw Alleyway in Przytyk, where the historic Monday played itself out.

The small houses on the alleyway were low and faded. However, they looked very sharp, cut with newly installed windowpanes. One could also see newly installed shutters and doors. According to the “newness” one could determine the way that one should go. If you see a new pane with a new shutter, it is a sign that there they “spent more time.” If you see new panes with a new shutter and new doors, it is a sign that they had “gone through the door and the gate.”

The small house in which the Minkowskis lived was completely “renovated.”

A daughter of the Minkowskis brought the key, and opened up for me the room in which they live. I do not know why my eyes focused upon the trampled straw that lay scattered around the beds. Hanging on

[Page 188]

the wall near the beds was a bedsheet with a stripe of blood, and the Minkowskis' jacket streaked with blood. On the floor – blood, blood… My eye cannot move from the footprints in the straw, former human footprints, made by boots – and they had their effect. One is so sharp-eyed here that the smallest scratch, some sort of nuance, tells you, speaks to you above everything… someone from the wild jungles comes to mind – you learn from the steps – the steps of the beasts.

The grandmother Keila Minkowskiz next to the house of the murder victims		The youngest witness in the Przytyk court case, six-year-old Shmuelik Minkowski

The room, I wish to state, has two parts. One part: A broken table and beds, a ruined door and windows. The second part, let us say, is the peaceful side. There is the hominess of

[Page 189]

the Minkowski family. I will tell you the truth, that second side had no les effect on me. I present it to you: A noodle board hangs on the wall, a poor, Jewish noodle board, kneaded with dough, certainly from middle dough, from a pair of cakes for the Sabbath. In the kitchen, on an old-fashioned cloth, sits a lantern with broken panes. Minkowski's daughter tells me that the lantern was her brother's. He would use it on his way home from cheder. Now it sits with all four sides open…

Now the “decorations” of the house: a towel holder on the wall. A gypsum figurine of a girl lies in the straw. The figurine lies on its side and smiles foolishly…

A piece of pipe hangs from a wire in the middle of the room, shouting out with such a black mouth, telling how it was broken in the middle.

And the shoemaking workshop… Some sort of threatening fear calls out from there. An awl lies on the table with its tip up… waiting. For What? For books? Leather? Who knows why one needs pointy tools now?

A shoemaker's bench is overturned with three legs upward. It lies so helpless, like a wounded calf… It says: turn me right side up, and – I am lying here…

I enter a wooden house, soaked in hominess.

A short, wrinkled, elderly women stands in the kitchen. The wrinkles are over her entire face, as if drawn by a feather, one by one.

There are no deep slices of life. This is how the years left their mark on her face, like a tree.

The wife of a small-town Jewish tradesman knows all the pain and joy of life. Until recently, the 70-year-old Keila had a husband.

Since that day when they killed her son, the old face of the elderly woman, hardened like a bowl, cannot forget the difficult experiences. She has wept so much that weeping is normal. Her mouth with the empty gums is half open. The pits on her face come from herself alone. Her eyelids blink, and one cannot tell whether or not she is weeping.

[Page 190]

What I did not want to ask her: how old was she, what does she live from, how many children she has, how is her health –she looked at me with her smooth, weeping face.

Is this a wonder? An axe was placed before the old woman's eyes, an axe which did not want to retreat. She told me that “Since they had killed my Yosele with an axe, the axe remains before my eyes. At night, I pick it up, and the axe falls upon me… I go to a corner – I see the axe. I go outside to the store for a few pieces of wood, and I run back: I have seen the axe…”

The little house where the murder took place is nearby. The old woman laments, “I cannot go in to see Yosele's house. I already tried going there ten times, and my feet will not take me there. I return back…”

Such a parent – she again turns her face to me, upon which every fold weeps separately –one does not merit that a child should “beg” of a mother…

(From the material sent by YIVO).

A few days before the famous Przytyk Pogrom, a pogrom took place in the small Jewish village of Klwów, not far from Przytyk. Men, women, and children escaped from Klwów as if from a fire. They took what they could with them – of course, things that were most needed. A feeling of panic pervaded everywhere.

When the refugees were seen in Przytyk, it left an impression upon the Jewish residents and evoked a terrible feeling. Of course, they were all accepted in Przytyk and arrangements were made to the extent possible.

I recall how it was the day before. We were short on bread, so we quickly made pancakes for the unfortunate refugees.

[Page 191]

One day, people began to say that a mass of 300 peasants, armed with scythes, pitchforks, and rods, were marching toward the town. Having the events of Klwów already before our eyes, the Jews of Przytyk quickly alerted the self-defense. However, this time there was a miracle. When the camp of wild peasants reached Podgajek, they encountered a Christian from Przytyk. The peasants stopped him and began to ask him about the situation and morale of the Jews of Przytyk.

“What?” said the peasant, “You are going to attack the Jews of Przytyk? Do you not know that they are armed from head to toe, and the Jews of Klwów have come to help. You are going to a certain death.”

When the peasants heard such an evaluation from a Christian, they returned home. However, they did not give up on their hooliganic deed, and returned later to perpetrate a true pogrom. Since it did not happen (at the time), we felt a bit of relief.

The estimation of the Jews of Przytyk regarding those facts is etched in our minds. Logically, this was a mystery. What does it mean – peasants are organizing to perpetrate a pogrom, they are already at the gates of the town, and they encounter a Pole. He spoke a few words to the crowd, and – the peasants disperse. The majority of the Jews of Przytyk reached the conclusion that he was none other than Elijah the Prophet. Of course, people had already seen various signs in that man that confirmed the thesis.

Our father Hershele of blessed memory struggled with the difficulties of livelihood for his eight children. He was always a sturdy man. His main business was with the Christians. He never had time. Merchants from Warsaw and Tomaszów would come to us. We also exported merchandise (iron implements) to the Margolis brothers in Radom.

We lived on Warsawer Street. There were two

[Page 192]

Translator's note: the following is a translation of most of the right column. The left column is truncated, and therefore not translated Telephone Report Radom, June 8 (by telephone from our special representative). The court business began at 9:00 a.m. The trial had reconvened after a five-day recess. It continued with the further interrogation of the witnesses. The first witness called was Janina Karmaszok, the daughter of the famous Przytyk hero Karmaszok. She aroused great interest in the courtroom. After administering the oath, the judge asked a few questions. Chairman: What did you see? Witness: I saw how one of the Zhidkes was shot. Chairman: What were the Jews shouting at the time they were attacked? Witness: The shouted “Kobiak – Shegetz.” Chairman: Who was shot? Witness: Kirszencwajg. Chairman: Which Kirszencwajg? Witness: Lozer Kirszencwajg. Procurator: What was he wearing? Witness: In a leather cloak with high boots. Judge Plewoko: What were the Jews doing? Witness: They were standing with rods and sticks. Judge Plewoko pointed out several inconsistencies in the declarations of the witness. Judge Plewoko: Did the peasants have weapons? Witness: No. Lawyer Kriger: Was your father arrested? Chairman: I do not allow the question. Lawyer Najewicz: I demand that we turn away from that question. Chairman: I have already done so. Judge Plewoko: Who perpetrated the beating? Witness: The tinsmith Feldberg beat one of ours. Then, the 11-year-old Ludwig Zolczewski was then heard. He denied that he had seen how Kirszencwajg shot. Chairman: Does the witness know the nickname that Kirszencwajg called out? Witness: Heicakes. Judge Plewoko: Toward whom did the Jews shoot. Witness: Toward the peasants. Judge Plewoko: Toward whom did Kirszencwajg shoot? From Our Special Representatives to Radom Witness: To Kobiak. Judge Plewoko: Did the peasants not throw stones? Witness: No. Then the two witnesses Kornapel, a young peasant, and Jan Wyszniak, the son of the killed Wyszniak, were led in. Wyszniak had been put in prison for attacked Jews. Kornapel did not accede to the subpoena of the court, and therefore he was not present at the trial. The police looked for him and brought him to court.

A section from the report on the court case in a Yiddish daily newspaper from Warsaw

[Page 193]

businesses of old [used] iron in our house. When the pogrom took place, the hooligans burst into our shop and wanted to take the scythes and long iron bolts to use to kill Jews. Our mother, peace be upon her, an energetic woman, told them, “You want to cut off the heads of the Jews with the scythes?” She chased them out of the shop. On the other hand, Jewish youth indeed took various iron rods, and chased the pogromczyks with them.

Our father suffered greatly from the pogrom. His entire business was with the peasants from the surrounding villages. After the pogrom, he was afraid to travel to the villages. The peasants beat him until he bled. His face was beaten and his lips were swollen. The beaters shouted to Father: “Jewish rat, go to Palestine, you are stinking up our country.”

Eliezer Blatus said to Father: “Hershele, do not be silent, bring the gentiles to trial.” My father traveled to BiaŁobrzeg, and they were accused in court. The trial took place, but the peasants were outside of the court. The judge then told Father: “Now go to Palestine…”

During the Pogrom, the wild peasants hacked the windowpanes and broke the shop windows and doors. We hid in the attic so that the Radom police would not kill us, for there was a fear that they might discover us…

On the day of the excesses, when the pogromczyks were pushed away from the part of the city leading toward Radom, I was taking a badly wounded horse merchant in a carriage to Dr. Chodowski, who lived in the part of the town where there were still beaten pogromczyks – in Podgajek.

Ragolski's house where the Minkowskis lived stood opposite Dr. Chodowski. I looked at that place with suspicion. I went to the house, and when I crossed the doorstep, I saw a terrible picture: at

[Page 194]

A section from the proceedings of the court case in a Yiddish daily newspaper from Warsaw

[Page 195]

the entrance lay Minkowski with a cracked head, without signs of life. A pool of blood surrounded him. A bit further lay his badly wounded wife, groaning and mumbling something form her lips. The dwelling was demolished, and the walls were splattered with blood. A young child peered from under the bed with terrified eyes. I approached him and tried to comfort him…

On that day, the Jews, especially the youth, not only acted heroically, but also succeeded in beating the hooligans.

My parents Moshe and Mindel Malcmacher lived in the market. My father was a used clothing tailor, who traveled to fairs with ready-made clothing.

My parents were very pious, and therefore sent me to study in the Beis Yaakov school. The teacher Sara Baum taught us Yiddish, Hebrew, prayers, and good character, but no worldly subjects. I had to go to the “Powszechny” [general or primary] school where they taught Polish, arithmetic, history, and natural sciences. However, this was not sufficient for my parents. I studied with Nechama (nickname: the homeless).

I was at school on the day of the pogrom, and heard a commotion and shouting in the middle of my studies. I peered out of the window on the second story and saw the peasants plundering merchandise from the stalls of the Jews and beating Jews. I ran from school, and ran from one end of the market to the other end where my parents had their clothing stall. I shouted that they must immediately bring the merchandise into the house. At first, they did not understand anything. Only when I myself started hauling the merchandise did they understand what was transpiring. Our stall was already empty when the pogromczyks reached that end of the market. The used clothing merchants of Radom had not moved from the place, and the incited peasants badly beat one of the Radomers, Moshe Sztecher, and pillaged his merchandise. My father grabbed a bar and said that he would

[Page 196]

not hide, he must kill at least one attacker. Even though I was a child, I understood that my Father was in great danger. I ran to him and shouted, “Father, they are pillaging the merchandise from the house!” He quickly entered the house. I took advantage of the moment, and quickly locked the door from the outside and did not let him do so.

The anti-Jewish boycott strengthened after the pogrom. A Polish tailor opened a used clothing business, and we no longer put out our merchandise. However, many of the peasants were used to my father, but were afraid of the picketers, so they would come to purchase their clothing at night. Jews also stopped sending their children to the Powszechny School. Thus, I remained at home and did not complete school. I helped my parents with their work. I sewed and cooked. My mother would travel to Łódź to bring merchandise from the wholesalers.

An associate of my father, Yidel Golczewski, took me into Beitar, to which I belonged until the outbreak of the war.

We were robbed a year before the war. That day, my mother brought in a large covered truck of bales of clothing merchandise from Łódź. We placed the merchandise on the beds, and lay down atop the merchandise. When the thieves entered and were unable to steal the merchandise, they lulled us to sleep and took all three “heads” of the Singer sewing machines. This was Friday night. On Saturday morning, when the worshippers saw that my father had not come to services, they came to use on their way home and saw that all the doors were open, and we were lying down on the beds sleeping. Thus did they save us.

After the robbery, everything stopped for us. The journeymen went around unemployed, for there were no sewing machines. My father completely lost his head, but my mother did not lose her spirits. The thieves, incidentally Przytykers, sent people and offered to return the “heads” for a certain sum. Later ,they demanded more, which was already not possible.

[Page 197]

Finally, we purchased two heads, and later one more. The tailoring business then returned to its work.

In the meantime, “good friends” informed the merchants in Łódź that the tailoring business was not operating. They had a great panic, and made an effort to take back the merchandise that my mother had taken on credit. My mother calmed them – and paid for the merchandise by the deadline…

Victims of the pogrom in Warsaw after receiving their certificates for aliya to the Land of Israel		Victims of the Przytyk pogrom

The population of Przytyk was about 500 families, 90% of which were Jews. Several German landowners also lived in town. The Jews earned their livelihoods from business, hand-working, labor, as well as business with the villages and farms.

When Poland became independent after the First World War, the Jewish youth created a “union” – without the form of a political party. Shortly thereafter, a Zionist movement and the workers organizations began to crystallize.

In the beginning, Hashomer was the strongest Zionist party. Its

[Page 198]

first activity was in the direction of clarifying the significance of aliya to the Land of Israel. In tandem, the workers organization under the influence of Bund began to develop. Its activity was primarily in the cultural and professional arena. Both parties were certainly similar in numbers, but the Zionist influence was more strongly felt in town. Thanks to this, several Przytyk youth made aliya to the Land of Israel.

The Zionist movement grew and compartmentalized, and encompassed an entire set of groups, such as: Mizrachi, Beitar, General Zionists, and Poalei Zion. Poalei Agudat Yisrael was also considered by us to be close to Zionism. Each group conducted its own cultural and sporting activities.

The radicalization process of the Jewish youth did not bypass Przytyk. The Communist party was established. The middle class of the town also organized themselves into a merchant union and a handworkers union, the activity of which was primarily in the social and societal arenas.

Anti-Semitic hatred strengthened in the entire region during the 1930s. Endekje picketers, armed with sticks, used to stand next to Jewish businesses and stalls in the town, especially during market days, and foment incitement and clashes. Police involvement helped little. In general, the hooligans ignored the six Przytyk policemen, and were not greatly afraid of the Radom police, who sometimes appeared sufficiently resolute, for the entire region belonged to the Endekjes – and that was why the Sanacja regime did not want to help very much.

Seeing the growth of the Endekje bands and the incapability or unwillingness of the police to help, the alert Jewish youth of the town came to a unanimous decision that a course of self-defense must be set up so as not to leave Jewish lives and property open to wantonness. The anti-Semites of the town itself were not that well organized and strong, but they had reliable help from the surrounding towns: Klwów, Odrzywół, Drzewica, Opoczno, Nowe Miasto, and Kaszów.

At one point, news came to us in Przytyk that the Endekjes were preparing a March on Przytyk in September 1935 in order to drive out the Jews. On

[Page 199]

the designated day, the anti-Semites blockaded the highway from Radom in several places, utilizing all military principles, so as to not permit any police assistance from Radom. However, the Jews also did not want to rely on the police. The already organized self-defense, the living kernel of which consisted of about 20 men, armed with brass knuckles, revolvers and sticks, were ready to mobilize several hundred Jewish fighters in the case of necessity. (The writer of these lines was in the leadership of this self-defense.) The members received appropriate instructions about where to be and how to react to possible provocations and conflict. There was a belief that the marchers to Przytyk had certain information about our decision to stand against them. In the last minute, they abandoned their plan…

I must note that many of the members of the P.P.S. and ordinary liberal folks helped a great deal – with propaganda and publicity – fighting against the anti-Semitic pest in Przytyk and the region.

Six men of Przytyk who were freed by the Polish court gathered in a restaurant in Radom From right to left: Furst, Cuker, Krengel, Zajda, Bornsztajn, Honig

  Przytyk, Poland     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 22 Jan 2023 by JH