[Page 29]

[Page 30]

[Page 31]

The town of Horodlo lies between two solidly Jewish communities – Ustylúh in the east and Hrubieszow in the west – on the western bank of the Bug river. Surrounded on three sides by broad fields, between villages and agricultural settlements, it is crowned by ancient forests that stretch far into the distance east of the Bug.

The town is old, and is mentioned in Polish history as early as the 15th century. The Jewish community dates back to the same period. Though it was not large in number, it was significant in its quality. The Horodlo community included many who were learned and scholarly. It was headed by the Rabbi, who was renowned for his knowledge of Talmud and commentaries, and famous for his incisive intelligence. Even unlearned Jews joined his classes and were remarkable for their modesty, simplicity, and their Jewish decency.

The Horodlo community was also unusual in its economic makeup. Manufacturers and merchants headed the economic scale, followed by owners of notions shops and shoe stores, then by grocers and shopkeepers. Below them economically were artisans and craftsmen: tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, etc. These were simple Jews, who worked hard at their various trades to earn a living. This group also included the itinerant peddlers, who made the rounds of the villages, selling various goods to the Gentiles

[Page 32]

in return for agricultural products, which they then sold to businessmen who operated on a larger scale.

The town was divided into two sections. Its central part, which included the broad marketplace and adjoining streets, housed the Jewish neighborhood. The other parts, along the roads to Ustylúh, Hrubieszow, Dubienka and villages in the vicinity, were inhabited by Christians.

The fact that Jews occupied the town center gave it a Jewish character. Though Jews constituted only one-third of the population, Horodlo seemed to be a largely Jewish town. Its Jewish quality was especially noticeable on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, when the entire town seemed to be at rest.

The large synagogue in all its glory was visible in the middle of town, which was the center of the Jewish area. It was constructed like an ancient fortress: the walls were made of stone, the windows were tall and vaulted, and its towering, sloping roof was the highest in town. There were two additional halls in the building, which served as prayer venues: the Radzyn “small synagogue” and the artisans' synagogue. The congregation of the Radzyn Hasids was remarkable for its scholarship and sharp intellect. When you entered the synagogue, you'd see Jews bent over volumes of Talmud, Mishna, and religious laws, immediately marking them as Jewish scholars.

The artisans' synagogue was used on Saturdays and holidays by hard-working Jews. The house of study (beit ha-midrash) was not far from the synagogue. That was where

[Page 33]

The Great Synagogue

As noted earlier, Shabbat and holidays had a great effect on the town. One could sense the approach of Shabbat

[Page 34]

as early as Thursday, when Jewish housewives began preparing the Shabbat dishes. At that time, ready-made bread was not available in the bakeries; every household baked bread on the eve of Shabbat for the week to come. It was common to see Jewish women late on Thursdays kneading dough for bread and other baked goods, which were placed into the oven before dawn on Friday. One could easily sense the approach of Shabbat in the air.

In the late afternoons on Fridays, when the shops would close and the artisans stopped working and locked their workshops, the Jews of Horodlo shed all their cares. After washing, they would wear their festive Shabbat clothes and walk sedately to the great synagogue, one of the small synagogues, or the house of study. Now they looked like aristocrats and nobles, as they studied enthusiastically. After prayers, they strode joyously back to their homes. Indoors, all was neat, gleaming with cleanliness, with a festive light reaching into every corner. Each family sat at their table, celebrated the Shabbat meal, and seemed to have attained a higher plane of living, filled with light and joy.

Early on Shabbat morning, they would wake and go to the synagogue for several hours of study before prayers. After prayers they went home to eat the rich Shabbat meal, and then returned to the synagogue for further study.

This was the Shabbat routine of the Horodlo Jews, suffused with study and prayer, pleasure in the special dishes, and release from all weekday cares.

Before a Jewish holiday, the city was enveloped in the same atmosphere, though two or more weeks earlier.

The approach of Passover could be sensed long before the actual date.

[Page 35]

A page from the community's chametz-selling record-book[2]

[Page 36]

Preparations for Passover began immediately after the fifteenth day of Shevat; these included scouring the flour mill for remnants of any leavening, and baking kosher matza.^[3] In those days, people in the Polish towns had not heard of ready-made matza made in kosher matza plants, as is the case today. The matza was baked in a bakery that had been specially prepared for Passover. Two bakeries in Horodlo were prepared to bake matza for each Jewish family in turn. The impending holiday could be felt a few weeks earlier, by way of the following indications: the bakeries were made kosher, and the matza-carrier placed the long matza-basket on his shoulder in order to walk from the bakery to their homes one by one.

As the matzas were being baked, the housewives started to scour, clean, whitewash their walls, and clean out their kitchens thoroughly for the holiday. All the Jews in town were busy preparing. When it was time for the Seder on the eve of Passover, all the Jewish homes cast off their weekday took on a special aura of sanctity, and the holiday's atmosphere spread through the entire town. The Jews then looked as though they were liberated, the houses were bright and joyous, the synagogues were scoured and lit up, and full of congregants and students, and the entire Jewish community seemed to be glowing with delight. On holidays and Shabbat, the Jews of Horodlo observed the old rule set by the sages: “Devote half to God and keep half for yourselves.” They spent most of the day studying, praying, and conversing; the rest of the day was spent enjoying the delicious holiday meals.

The Horodlo community had few wealthy Jews. Most of its members made their living by commerce and

[Page 37]

small shop-keeping; a few were artisans. Yet their hearts and hands were always open towards those in need. The town leaders and activists helped a family known to suffer from hunger by raising enough money to support them. If a Jew was harassed by the authorities, the town's notables worked tirelessly to relieve the pressure. All the Jews in the town joined family celebrations, as it did at times of sorrow. The Jewish residents had a strong sense of mutual responsibility and brotherliness.

Most of the Jewish families were long-time residents, with histories going back many years, possibly for generations. No one knew when they had come to Horodlo. This was why there were no lonely Jews in the town; the families were branched out and interconnected, and everyone had many relatives thanks to their parents, who usually lived in Horodlo or nearby, as well as in distant towns. All the classes of Jews lived in the same town and created a unified community, part of the organic fabric of the Jewish community of Poland.

Relations between Gentiles and the town's Jews were not always bad. The old-timers would talk about times of peace and quiet, when the Gentiles treated the local Jews with respect, as befits old-time residents.

The creation of a new Polish state in 1918 swept the Polish population with a wave of nationalism saturated with anti-Semitism. The Poles in Horodlo were infected by this fanaticism, and began to exhibit hatred towards the

[Page 38]

town's Jews, who were as deeply rooted as the ancient trees in the municipal park. The Jews were told on various occasions that they were considered low-status citizens and strangers in the revived Polish state.

At first, this animosity towards Jews was limited in scope and was felt in narrow circles; however, it later began to spread to the majority of the town's Poles. Jews felt physically endangered if they walked at night on streets where Poles and Ukrainians lived.

From right: Henekh Zuberman, Ben-Tziyon Bergman, Binyomin Berger, Tzvi Zaltzman, Eliezer Lerner, Moyshe-Khayim Bergman, Yekutie'el Zavidovitsh, Dovid Lerner, Fishl Gertel, Shimen Zuberman

As anti-Semitism grew in Poland in general and in

[Page 39]

Horodlo in particular, Jewish young people began to become more self-aware, the Zionist movement became the main social trend, and the idea of returning to Palestine swept the majority of Poland's young Jews. Zionist groups were formed in Horodlo as well, and included most of the young Jews; these Zionist groups took up substantial action to rebuild the Land of Israel. They collected money for the Jewish National Fund as well as for Keren HaYesod, started Hebrew classes, and carried out various cultural activities.^[4] Organizations of young pioneers were formed, such as He-Halutz and Beitar. Community activity was dynamic and vigorous.

As animosity towards Jews increased as well as economic pressure on the part of the Polish government, the young people began thinking seriously about other safe places. Members of the pioneering youth organizations went to training farms and prepared to emigrate to the Land of Israel. A different segment of the Jewish population, who were not enthusiastic about the notion of a Jewish renaissance, also realized that the changed conditions in Poland offered no prospect of a decent existence for Jews; they, too, began to dream of emigrating to other, safe countries, such as the United States, Canada, and South America.

In 1933, the most malevolent person in human history, the bloodthirsty murderer Hitler (may his name be blotted out), came to power in Germany, and brandished his sword against the entire Jewish people and the Jews of Poland in particular. His rise to power, along with that of his party–the savage Nazis– encouraged the dark forces in Poland. The anti-Semitic political parties, always vociferous Jew-haters, intensified

[Page 40]

their persecution of Polish Jews. Waves of malice increased, providing such a focal point for the Poles that they were unaware of the coming war their great historical enemy was planning.

Polish animosity towards Jews escalated and became ever more dangerous. The general atmosphere grew more and more oppressive and unbearable. The Poles began to vilify Jews and refer to them as an alien element in the country, especially as concerned the local economy. The head and members of the government constantly talked of “the Jewish problem that must be solved.” Economic pressure on the Jews intensified, anti-Jewish regulations were promulgated from time to time, and the Jews of Poland found it increasingly difficult to continue their economic life. Many Jews were dumbstruck at this new situation, and asked themselves whether they could consider Poland – where they had lived for centuries – as a secure home in the future.

Increasing Jew-hatred also led to heightened Zionist and community activity, which encompassed more and more members of the Polish Jewish population. The impulse to emigrate to the Land of Israel, as well as to other safe countries, spread further, and engulfed almost all the young people of Horodlo. Even those who believed that the new conditions were temporary began to doubt their conviction and began to think about emigration, or moving from their small hometown to larger Jewish communities. The number of Jews emigrating to the Land of Israel and to North and South America rose.

[Page 41]

The End of the Horodlo Jewish Community

Despite the pressure to emigrate, most of the town's Jews remained in place, and the Jewish community continued its traditional way of life. After all, not everyone could leave their established home in Horodlo and take to the roads. Most Jews lacked the means to emigrate or move to other locations.

The Horodlo Jews continued their humble lives, making no great demands. They could not imagine the possibility of a general extermination, nor could they sense the impending genocide of the Jews of Europe and Poland. Like many Polish Jews, those living in Horodlo believed that the crisis of malice and evil would pass with no serious consequences.

Alas! In 1939, Hitler's army stormed through Poland and took the entire country in a few months. The Nazis began executing their plan to murder and exterminate the large community of Jews in the country. Once they had occupied Poland, they turned their attention to other European countries that had been conquered by their armies. After occupying these countries, the Nazi military immediately began to slaughter their Jewish communities mercilessly. Millions of Jews were killed by various horrendous methods. Men, women, and children were burned in the crematoria built by the savage murderers. The Horodlo community was not spared from this cruel fate; all the men, women, and children were massacred.

The few survivors have borne witness to the bitter end of the Horodlo community

[Page 42]

and the end of the Jews, accompanied by suffering and pain. The survivors successfully saved themselves from the hands of the murderers by staying in various hideouts through many difficulties and dangers. The remaining sections of this book present their accounts.

Translator's Footnotes

1. Ein Yaakov is a 16^th-century compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. Return
2. Chametz is the term for foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat, or benefit from chametz during Passover. A person or a community may sell or give the chametz to a non-Jew, and is released from responsibility. Return
3. The fifteenth day of the month of Shevat was set by the post-biblical sages as a holiday celebrating trees. It usually falls in January or February. Passover usually occurs in March or April. Return
4. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria for Jewish settlement. Keren HaYesod was established in 1920 to provide the Zionist movement with resources needed to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Both organizations continue their activities to this day. Return

  Horodło, Poland     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 15 Jul 2024 by LA