Ustilug, Ukraine (Pages 115-122)

« Previous Page

Table of Contents

Next Page »

[Page 115]

Fillins – Institutions and Organizations
by M.K.A.

Translated by Ala Gamulka

a. Local authorities

Until WWI, Ustiluh was not considered a city. The Starosta (mayor), appointed by the district authorities would take care of the census. He also was the liaison between the local population and the authorities in all matters that were under the central offices.

There was very little attention paid by the authorities to municipal matters. It was confined to road repair (what repairs!) and sidewalks (wooden) and the cleanliness of the town.

The master of the town was the officer who was appointed to keep the peace with the help of a few policemen.

The conquering Austrians organized the town well, but it was actually a military rule.

During Polish times, a local council was established. The Jews were in the majority, but they still could only be represented by a vice–mayor. It was the teacher Shlomo Kant.

There were elections for the executive of the Jewish community. It was to deal with all religious matters. The chairman of the executive was Michael Krakower. He was unaffiliated. In the next elections, Yitzhak Yeshaya Eksmit of the general Zionists was chosen.

b. Economic organizations and institutions

There were two economic organizations in town: the guild of the Jewish merchants and the association of the Jewish craftsmen. Two banks, managed by capable hands, were attached to these groups. They were most useful for the members. There was also a Benevolent Society that gave loans without interest. In addition, there were several small societies in various circles.

c. Charitable institutions

The Orphans committee took care of all their needs. Funds were received from outside and from within. When the community was established, there was an assistance committee that looked after poor families and all the needy.

[Page 116]

Earlier, there were several general charity collectors: Yossel Tiles the shoemaker, Berl Schlachter, son of Avraham the ritual slaughterer, Haim Wolf, the teacher and several women in the community. The population trusted them and always helped them to look after the needy in the community.

In addition, next to every Shtiebel or House of Learning, there were public figures who look after these matters.

Synagogues and Schools
The Great House of Learning
The Danche House of Learning
The Rabbi's House of Learning
The Dveinhauser House of Learning
The Tailors' House of Learning
The Trisk Shtiebel
The Rozhin Shtiebel (Tsurtkov, Hosiatin, Sadigura and Boyan)
The Nesekhizh Shtiebel {Steppan)
The Kuzmir Shtiebel (Great Love)
The Beltz Shtiebel
The Radzin Shtiebel
The prayer group of the General Zionists
A few more small prayer groups

c. Educational and cultural institutions

There were three elementary schools in Ustiluh: government–Polish; Tarbut–Hebrew and national–religious– Yavne. The latter had Moshe Shpirer, the excellent educator, as its principal. (As to other teachers, read the article by B. Goldberg)

There were also private Heders where famous educators taught Torah: Mendele Fanik, Liptche Isenberg, Ber Tabakhandler, etc.

The two libraries, Hebrew and Yiddish, had thousands of books. The readers, mainly young, read much and were interested in all kinds of literature.

d. Political organizations

General Zionist Organization
Mizrachi and Young Mizrachi
Revisionists and Beitar

[Page 117]

Zeirei Zion and Poalei Zion
Hechalutz and Hechalutz Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Organization of trade unions (Communists?)
All this was erased from our land.

It is only the lonely building of the Great House of Learning that still remained. Its windows were broken and the building looked deserted, like an unfortunate old man whose family, relatives and acquaintances were slaughtered by murderers. In the end, even his eyes were gouged. It stands alone, deaf and dumb, unable to express its sadness and pain.

However, if one happens to go there, one would hear the voices of 4 000 people crying from underground.

Our land, do not cover our blood!

Cemetery in 1933

[Page 118]

Figures from the Pre–Holocaust Generation

Translated by Ala Gamulka

Akhiezer Goldschmidt, town cantor

[Page 119]

Shalom Sofer (SH”TZ) and his wife

[Page 120]

Volf Yokhenzon and his wife Sheindel

Left to right: Yedidya Yokhenzon, Hinda Fleisher (nee Yokhenzon), Pinhas Yokhenzon

[Page 121]

Baruch Goldhaber (Liziner)

Yosef Rosmarin and his wife Hadas)

[Page 122]

blank

« Previous Page

Table of Contents

Next Page »

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
This material may not be copied, sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be reserved by the copyright holder.

JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.

Ustilug, Ukraine Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page

Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
This web page created by Jason Hallgarten