“Maccabee” (sport) and the Hebrew language A rich library that was not a Party one was established at the sport club

Party groups started to be formed. It got a little “crowded” to work together. Friction arose that grew in intensity. It came to a split in the Maccabi organization. And so a few members created a workers' dramatic group that got organizational help from Mlawa chaverim. Greenberg was at the head of this group. It carried through several theatrical works with much success.

[Page 74]

Before World War I, during the Czarist rule in Poland, there was no compulsory government school, only private ones. One such school belonged to Moishe Lerer. In a room of his own living quarters, he installed some school desks and a table and that was the whole school. There boys and girls learned together for two hours daily, Russian and Yiddish. Naturally, persons with a higher education could not come out of such a school.

Teacher Flam's school, its pupils with the teacher in the middle

A better type of school was by the teacher Flam. His school consisted of two rooms. On the wall hung a large portrait of Czar Nicholaas the Second and smaller pictures of his family members. Beneath the Czar's picture, mounted on a step, there stood the teacher's table covered with a green tablecloth. On the table – a globe and writing material. On both sides of the table – two blackboards. On one of them one of the pupils would write the date each day and on the other there hung a large Russian map.

[Page 75]

In Flam's school, classes took place from eight in the morning until twelve noon. Subjects were: Arithmetic, History of Russia, and other subjects. The primary language was Russian. Boys and girls were taught together but they sat on separate benches. The separate rows of benches also served as “dividers” according to the level of the students. In each division one studied for a year. If the students made progress they were moved forward one division.

Those, though, who “sinned”, i.e., did not do their homework or disturbed, the teacher seated closer to him. That was the worst punishment for the students. If such punishment made a small impression on the student, the teacher would use a rod that he held in his hand always. Between seventy to eighty children of various ages attended this school.

In 1914, when war broke out, the schools closed. During the German occupation three Jews: Rabinovich, Divan and Tchurek, opened private schools where Hebrew was taught, but unfortunately they did not have much success. At the same time, a woman arrived from Warsaw by the name of Indik, and opened a girls' school (“philological pension”). Beside the fact that tuition there was very expensive, she did have success. To start there were two departments, but in time the school expanded and had five departments.

There were very good pedagogues in the school. Subjects taught were: German, Polish, French, Latin and Hebrew – the same subjects as in the Polish men's gymnasia. Frau Indik's school did not have official sanction. At a later term, evening classes were organized there for older youth.

The Bund organization brought down teachers from Warsaw and opened a school with Yiddish as the language of instruction.

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