Remember Jewish Chelm — Zionism is Freedom

Remember Jewish Chełm

"All roads lead to Chelm,
All the world is one big Chelm."
- Isaac Bashevis Singer

HISTORY OF JEWISH CHELM

Chelm is located in southeast Poland and has a current population of 67,700. The city is southeast of Lublin, north of Zamosc, and 25 km. from the border with Ukraine. The first mention of Jews living in the city is in the 14th Century. The first Jews arrived in Chelm was in 1205. By 1630 the Jewish population was 30% of the total city population. From 1648 to 1657, there was a Cossack war of liberation from Poland called the Khmelnytsky Uprising, during which 400 Chelm Jews -- approximately 75% of the population at the time -- were killed. Most Jewish Ukrainian communities were devastated by the uprising and ensuing massacres.

The community had been revived by the beginning of the 18th century, when the Jews of Chelm played an important part in the export trade. The Jewish community numbered 1,500 in 1765, 1,902 in 1827, 2,493 in 1857, 7,226 in 1897, 13,537 in 1931, and more than 15,000 in 1939. The Jewish population in 1921 was 12,064 out of 23,221 total. By 1939, the Jewish population rose to more than 15,000. Chelm was highly regarded as a center of Torah study in Europe.

The region of Chelm-Belz sent delegates to the Council of Four Lands in 1677, 1711, 1724, and 1762. In some of those years it was the Chelm-Zamosc delegation. In 1880, a train line was established between Brisk and Chelm, and later the line included Wlodawa. Among the business operations in Chelm were: oil works, which belonged to Kalman Frydman; the tannery owned by Szlomo Szajer; and two workshops manufacturing brass articles owned by Chil Uger and Pinkas Lew. Later on, dentists Dwojra Lorber, Chana Birenbaum and Chaim Liszczyn had their own practices. There were three pharmacies in town, run by Jakub Horowitz, Szloma Birenbaum and Berek Gutharc. Printing houses were operated by Wajnsztajn, Josef Bronfeld and Erlich. Before the outbreak of WWI, the community owned one synagogue, a house of prayer, six religious schools, two mikvot and a cemetery. The kehilla financially supported the orphanage at 80 Lubelska Street and an old people's home. An amateur Jewish theatre was active in the town. Newspapers in the town were the Unsere Shtime, the Chelmer Folksblat weekly, and the Unser Tsukunft daily.

Houses of prayer (cheders) were operated by W. Berger at 6 Budowska Street; S. Glencer at 4 Budowska; H. Moncarz at Podwalna; David Sobol at 53 Lubelska; B. Bibel at 11 Pokrowska; M. C. Oksman at 24 Pokrowska Street; P. Buksman at 11 Siedlecka; S. Grinberg at 19 Siedlecka; I. Lejber at 15 Siedlecka L. Friedman at 26 Pocztowa Street; G. Hipszman at 22 Pocztowa Street; A. Nuclack at 7 Seminarska Street; B. Goleman at 16 Pocztowa Street; K. Morgensztern at 14 Budowska Street; A. Ochman at 6 Seminarska; B. Sznol at 28 Pocztowa; I. Recter at Pocztowa; A. Grinberg at 8 Pocztowa; M. Sztajnberg at 7 Seminarska; J. Sznajderman at 7 Seminarska; S. Sznajderman at 28 Pocztowa Street; and A. Zak at Pocztowa Street.

In Chelm, a Talmud-Torah school was founded in 1922 and located at Mlodowskiej 15 and a Beit Yaakov school for girls was also created. In 1915, a common school for Jewish children, led by Klara Morgenstern, was created. It was located at Budowska 14 (now Narutowicza). There was also a Tarbut school. Starting in 1918, the Jewish community had its own co-educational gymnasium at Budowska 9. The leader of the school was Edward Fuhrman and other teachers were: Hersz Friedman-Reinbarz, Yaakov Jakub Heiter, Maria Heiter-Oberfeld, Anna Hoffmann-Taaska, Kazimierz Jaworski, Gustaw Gerson Mandelkiern, Klara Mandel-Corps, Moses Morgensztern, Debora Rottenstreich, Adam Sunderland, Jakub Zinneman, Jakub Grynberg (secretary), and Doctor Yaakov Iwry. In 1919, the Chelm Library was founded and located at Pijarska 5. In addition to collecting books and creating magazines, it also organized cultural and educational events. In time it was moved to Lubelska 70.

The influential conservative religious party Agudas was founded in Chelm in 1931 by Anszel Biderman. The Bund Workers Union was established in Chelm around 1917. Srul Frajd (carpenter) and his brother Mordko, Moszko Szimel, Perec Szyfer, Bajla Traist, Majer Guss (Hus) and Chava Tuchman were active in the local chapter of the Bund. The Tarbut Jewish Cultural and Educational Association, a Zionist school organization, was based in Chelm on Narutowicza Street 14.

In 1934, the newly elected Town Council was composed of 20 Poles and 12 Jews. In 1936, in the Board of the Jewish Community of Chelm had 5 Orthodox representatives: Judka Mendelson, Abram Frydman (labourer), Anszel Biderman (real estate owner), Jankiel Korenblit (merchant) and Szymon Sajkiewicz (merchant). Poale Zion-Left introduced three of its representatives to the Board: Mordko Ela Goldman, Chaim Jankiel Bekier (upholsterer) and Berysz Akselrod (teacher). Local Zionists were represented by Abram Aron Szajn, while the Revisionist Zionists by Szyja Tenenbaum.

Before World War II, the Jewish Merchants Association was operating in Chelm at Lubelska 47 and was led by the notable Chelm industrialist Isaac Lederman. The Intellectual Club in Chelm met at Bella Lewensztajn's house, Lubelska 8. The Jewish Social Club was located at Lubelska 70 in Chelm. A branch of the Jewish Health Care Society (TOZ) in Chelm was located at 6 Sienkiewicza Street.

The Jewish charities Linas ha-Cedek and Committee for Helping the Poor existed. The charitable organization Hachnasat Kala, which collected funds for wedding and dowries for poor Jewish bridesmaids, operated at Uscilugskiej 13. The Hachnasat Orchim Organization, which was providing aid to traveling Jews, was based at Mlodowska 15a. The charitable organization Gemilut Chesed also existed. The
Malbisz Arumim Association, which provided poor Jewish children with shoes and clothing, had its headquarters in Chelm at Uscilugskiej 13. The Chelm Bikur Cholim Society supported the sick.

In 1916, at the initiative of I. Achtman, N. Goldfaden, J. Rozenblat and I. Zygielbojm, a Jewish dramatic circle was established in Chelm. There was also a Jewish Students' Choir in Chelm, which was especially supported by the Zionist organizations in the city. A chess club was established in 1914 by S. Eliasberg, Sz. Farber, M. Sekular, A. Dajzman, Ch. Cegelman and E. Erlich. In 1927, the Jewish Gymnastic and Sports Association "Makabi" was established. There were sections for tennis, gymnastics, and other athletics. It was located at Lubelska 50. The Jewish Sports Club "Jordan" operated in Chelm between 1925 and the Holocaust. It included swimming and athletics sections.

The Chelm Jewish community population in 1939 was 15,500. Nearby communities included:Andrzejow (40 Jews), Bukow (30 Jews), Busowno (15 Jews), Chutcze (100 Jews), Dorohusk (430 Jews), Jozefow in Chelm County (6 Jews), Kanie (20 Jews), Liszno (45 Jews), Lukowek (Jewish population unknown), Radzanow (20 Jews), Rejowiec (3,500 Jews) Ruda Huta (250 Jews), Ruda Opalin (25 Jews), Sajczyce (Jewish population unknown), Sawin (882 Jews), Siedliszcze (1,500 Jews), Sielec (250 Jews), Staw (25 Jews), Swierze (800 Jews), Uhrusk (100 Jews), Wojslawice (1,200 Jews) and Zarzecze (100 Jews). The Jews in these communities were largely murdered in the Shoah.

CHELM DURING THE HOLOCAUST

The Chelm Ghetto was established in 1940 and lasted until November 15, 1942. It included ~11,000 Jews from Chelm and 2,000 from Slovakia. The street borders of the ghetto were: Lwowska, Uscilugska, Wojslawicka, Partyzantow and Pocztowa. Nazis took over the city on Oct. 7, 1939 and immediately initiated a series of pogroms in which scores of Jews lost their lives. Included in these massacres were executions of Jews at the cemetery. On Dec. 1, 1939, 1,800 Jewish men from Chelm and nearby Hrubieszow between the ages of 15 and 60 were driven in a death march to the Soviet-held town of Sokal. En route, 1,400 of the men were shot. Only 150 survived. Judenrat members in Chelm county included Anshel Biderman, Mechel/Mejer Frenkel, unknown Dreszer, Arie Frajberger, Dr. Maurycy Kleinhaus, Szaja Tenenboim, Dr. Eliyahu/Eliasz Tisch, Mordko Rajz, Szaja Zylberman, and Pinchos Szwarcblatt.

On 31 May 1941, 1,800 Jews from Chelm were forced to work on road/railway construction projects, in forestry labor, at a quarry, at a sawmill in Zawadowka, and for the military. Another 250 Jews from Chelm were interned at labor camps, the majority at a camp established by the Inspectorate of Water Regulation (Wasserwirtscharfsinspektion) in Kamien. In June 1941, 100 additional ghetto
residents became the first inmates of another Water Inspectorate camp, established in Chelm for the purpose of reclaiming swampland. Another 1,440 Jews from Chelm performed forced labor each day at a forced labor camp in Chelm, where they worked on land renewal. Some Jewish women worked as domestic servants for German civilian and military authorities, while men worked on public works projects, unloading coal at the railway station, removing gravestones from the Jewish cemetery to use as pavement, and extending the municipal water system. In April 1942 -- after Aktion Reinhardt was developed -- many able-bodied Chelm Jews marched to Wojslawice, Sawin, and other places in the Chelm district for slave labor.

A vast network of labor camps were set up in and around the Chelm area. Jewish slave labor was used at these locations, and few Jews survived the sadistic conditions of them. Among the labor camps were: Bialopole Labor Camp, Busno Labor Camp, Kanie Labor Camp, Kulik Labor Camp, Liszno Labor Camp, Rejowiec Labor Camp, Zawadowka Labor Camp, and a group of labor camps near Wlodawa (Adampol, Hansk, Holeszow, Horodyszcze, Rossosz, Swidnik, Swierze, and Ulany). Additionally, many Jews from Chelm were transferred to the Sobibor sub-camps of Dorohusk, Dorohucza, Kamien, Luta, Nowosiolki, Ossowa, Ruda Opalin, Sajczyce, Sawin, Siedliszcze, Staw, Trawniki, Ujadzow, and Zmudz. Those who did survive these camps were ultimately sent to the gas chambers at Sobibor.

Prof. Stanislaw Batawia of Poland says that the Chelm Lubelski Hospital patients -- including 128 women, 304 men, and 18 children -- were shot on the hospital grounds, and then mass-buried under the eyes of the Polish hospital staff in Jan. 1940. The S.S. wanted the hospital for its quarters. The Chelm Jewish community, until 1942, was working to support its destitute members in an impossible situation. By late 1941, the Jewish community had established three community kitchens, a medical clinic, and a 25-bed hospital for infectious diseases. After a typhus epidemic in November of 1940, the medical staff in Chelm were caring for 6,828 impoverished community members.

In December, 1939, S.S. man Richard Nitsche of Wlodawa sent 50 Jews from that town as hostages to Chelm -- where they were beaten up cruelly and the next day they were allowed to return. Additionally, around 20 Jews from Rejowiec who were found in Izrael Werman's ice cellar were dispatched to Chelm, including Motel Eisenberg with his family, Shimon Derlichman, Avraham Derlichman, Feyge and Avraham Finkelstein, and others.

On April 11, 1942, a deportation of Jews from Chelm to Belzec took place. The 'transport watchers' knew it took place because an empty train returned to Zamosc. The following day, 2,500 Jews were evacuated from Zamosc to Belzec. After this, there was a lull in the evacuations for the rest of April -- probably due to Belzec's limited reception during the reconstruction of gas chambers.

Another mass deportation from Chelm took place in May of 1942, and ~4,100 Jews (including 2,000 Slovakian Jews) were sent to the Sobibor death camp. On October 27, ~3,300 Jews were sent on a forced march to Sobibor, some 50 km. north of Chelm. On November 6, 1942, around 10,000 Jews of Chelm were sent to Sobibor for extermination. Around 500 Jews were left in Chelm at this point, and used for slave labor. Rabbis Gemaliel Hochman and Jehuda Zund Richl were
assassinated in early 1943. Hundreds of Jews were deported to Sobibor again in January and February of 1943. Only a handful of Jewish workers were left in the city's prison; of these, 15 survived and were liberated on July 22, 1944. Several Jews lived in Chelm until the 1950s.

The Nazis destroyed most Jewish buildings, including the synagogue located on the corner of Krzywa and Szkolna Streets. A small synagogue in Chelm was built in 1912 from donations of the Jewish population. In 2006 the synagogue was turned into a Polish bar called "McKenzie Saloon". About 21 houses of prayer in the city were private. Most of them were situated on Adrjanowska,
Lubelska, Szkolna and Wesola Streets. The oldest house of prayer, owned by Fiszel Lowensztajn, stood at 8 Adrjanowska Street and dated from 1852. In 1862 another prayer house that belonged to Mr. Rajtman was established at 2 Siedlecka Street. In the 1880s new prayer houses owned by the families Rozenter, Engel, Wajc, Horowic and Nuwendsztern were established.

The Nazi murderers also killed an estimated 30,000 Soviet Prisoners of War and Italian Prisoners of War and buried them in the Borek woods, near Chelm. Josef Reznik, a Jewish soldier in the Polish Army who had been incarcerated in Majdanek, was forced to bury these victims with 300 other Jews. The Nazis in charge of the deportations and murders in Chelm were Hans Ansel, Hans Augustin,
Adelbert Benda, Hermann Benzler, unknown Berger, Artur Bernat (Bernard) from Silesia, Bielisch (or Max Beulich), Dr. Bohrmann, unknown Braunmiller, unknown Dietrich, Alfred Eggert, unknown Fisher, Dr. Gerecht, Gerhard or Erhard Hager, Claus Harms, unknown Holtzheimer, unknown Horn, Werner Kalmus, Stanislaw Koltun, Johannes Krauz or Kraus, Erich Langer, Karl Leistikow or Leistiko, Rolf Mauer, Ludwig Pruckner, Hugo Raschendorfer, Adolf Reinert or Reiner, Emmanuel Schafer, Schlesinger (Szlesinger), Konrad Schloegl, Erich Scholz, unknown Selch, Eduard Shutt or Schmidt, Bernhard Staszek (Staschek), unknown Steinert, unknown Stoffel, Rudi Theimer, unknown Urban, and Dr. Workman. Hermann Rohlfing was the chief of the death camp in Borek near Chelm during 1943-1944, was responsible for the murders of thousands of Chelm Jews. The Yizkor book mentions Jewish collaborators Bochenski, Feldman, Pinkhassel, and chief of Jewish police Pinchas Szwarcblat(t).

The Chelm cemetery is located at Kolejowa Street and dates back to the 17th Century. Fifty graves are still visible at the cemetery and a memorial has been erected to memorialize the community. In 1935, the caretakers of the cemetery included: Jakub Zalctreger, Abram Szerer, Lejb Lejzerowicz, Bajla Nudel, Menacha Kupfersztok, and Stanislaw Hajczuk. Once a thriving Jewish city, today there is no Jewish population or sign of Jewish life in Chelm.

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