Remember Jewish Kryłów

Pronunciation: Krill-ov

HISTORY OF JEWISH KRYLOW

Kryłów is a village in southeast Poland, with a current population of around 350. Krylow is 20 km. south of Hrubieszow, situated on the Bug River on the border with Ukraine. A nearby village called Prehoryle, with around 400 people, was previously a part of Krylow.
Krylow is no longer its own locale in Poland and is incorporated with the village of Mircze. The first mention of the Jewish community in the village of Kryłów was in 1563.

The location of the village on the main road contributed to its economic development. Weekly market days took place in the village as well as six fairs a year. Many of the residents were involved in shoemaking or the weaving of cloth and linen. In 1915 the village was occupied by the Germans, who remained until 1918. From 1823 to 1862, the Russian authorities forbade Jews to live in Krylow because of its proximity to the Austrian border. Still, it appears that many Jews were living in the village during this period anyway. During the First World War, some Jews left the village because of its close proximity to the battlefront and moved to larger towns in the area. The Jewish district in Krylow was located next to the castle (the castle remains are still visible).

In 1676, 42 Jews lived in the village. The Jewish population numbered 45 in 1676 and grew to 227 by 1736. Kryłów placed restrictions on settlement in 1823, when the Jewish population numbered 186. In 1856, there were 537 Jews in the shtetl. In 1860, the total population was 1,219 residents, including 588 Jews. In 1860 the village had two brick houses, 114 wooden houses, two inns, one mill, and two ferry boats. In 1860 there were 60 farmers, 50 traders, 38 craftsmen of 16 varying crafts, and 10 other workers in the village. There were 2,314 inhabitants and 1,512 Jews in 1897 and 1,286 inhabitants and 750 Jews in 1921. Many of the Jewish inhabitants left the village during World War I. Leading up to WWII, there were at least 1,500 residents living in the village.

NEARBY VILLAGES

It is unclear what the Jewish population of Krylow was in 1939. A group of Jews from Krylow escaped Poland in August of 1939 to Colombia, South America -- barely escaping the German invasion. A nearby village called Liwcze, near Dolhobyczow, had 50 Jews in 1939. It is not clear if there was any Jewish population in the nearby rural villages of Mircze or Dolhobyczow.

On the right bank of the Bug River is a village very close to Krylow called Wołczków (Wolczek). Local Catholics in Krylow contend that Jews had a second cemetery at this location, dating back to the 1500s. Although later a cemetery was established in Krylow at Nadbużna Street, this first cemetery at Wolczek was used previous to the new cemetery. During the Holocaust, Wołczek was completely burnt down by the Ukrainians. After the war, the area of the former settlement found itself in the border zone. Today, the area of the Jewish cemetery in Wołczek is covered with a forest. The last known burial at this location may have been in the early 1800s.

KRYLOW DURING THE HOLOCAUST

The ghetto in Krylow was established on August 2, 1941. A group of 750 Jews were put into forced labor at the Mircze labor camp, near Krylow. It is unclear what their labor activities were. Some of the Jews in the Krylow ghetto may have been from outside locations. The majority of the residents in the village may have left prior to the establishment of the ghetto, crossing into the modern Ukraine (Wolyn district, which was then a part of Poland) because many Jews in Krylow had relatives in locations such as Wlodzimierz Wolynski and Ustilug and Poryck. Jews who remained in the town were deported to Belzec gas chambers, and possibly Majdanek, in the summer of 1942. These deported Jews included between 150 and 750 individuals. The ghetto was liquidated, without any survivors, on
July 31, 1942. It is unclear how many Jews perished in the Holocaust from the village, but only a handful of Jews would survive.

Jews in the Ukraine (former Poland) were gunned down by the German Einsatzgruppen. The Jews of Krylow who had fled to Wolyn province were primarily murdered in Piatydnie (along the road between Ustilug and Wlodzimierz Wolynski) or in the area of Poryck (also in Wolyn area -- south of Wlodzimierz) before the end of summer, 1942. More data about the Piatydnie and Poryck Pogroms is available.

JEWISH CEMETERIES, SYNAGOGUE, PRAYER HOUSE IN KRYLOW

The synagogue and Jewish cemeteries were destroyed in the Holocaust. The synagogue in Krylow was located at ul. Sokalska. It was established in 1893 and was made of brick. There is no material trace left of the building. Also, a wooden Jewish House of Prayer existed between the early 1890s and 1915, when it was destroyed in a fire.

There is an old Jewish cemetery and a new Jewish cemetery. The old Jewish cemetery is located in what is now Ukraine, but was considered a suburb of Krylow previously. The village is called Wolczek and it can be found on a map. This cemetery was established in the 1600s. Despite that the cemetery in Wolczek was destroyed and is located in a dense forest area, the fencing is still in tact. It has been 200 years since the last burial took place in the cemetery.

The new Jewish cemetery in Krylow is located at the north side of Nadbuzna Street, parallel to main road alongside the ridge of the Bug river valley. At this location is a small creek and a river stream called Buzek. The Jewish cemetery in Krylow was established in the first half of 19th century on river slope about 200 meters from the Krylow-Hrubieszow road. Gravestones are present at the cemetery, but none of them are in their original locations. In 1994, two tombstones were found and re-erected by a volunteer caretaker from Krylow. A local resident reported seeing a gravestone at Hrubieszowskiej Street at the Szpindow residence.

The Nazis reportedly created a vegetable garden at the location of the former Jewish cemetery. The monument marking its location is not actually where the cemetery is located. Instead, the cemetery is behind the house located at Nadbudzna Street #12. The only way to access this location is to go through the yard of the resident living at this house. Additionally, as of 2016, the cemetery is in very poor condition with overgrowth from local brush and weeds. Also present is an influx of ticks.

MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS

Photos of Krylow today are here.

In the Krylow today, there is a monument dedicated to Christian victims of the Ukrainian uprising, but there are no monuments dedicated to the Jewish victims of the community. In 2012, there was a cleaning of the Jewish cemetery by the non-Jewish residents of the town, including: Jaroslaw Chachula, Stefan Gancarz, Marek Kolcon, Grazyna and Henryk Zurawski. They reported that there are five visible gravestones, including one from as early as 1876.

Three sources where additional information may be available about the Jewish population of Krylow: (1) Amtliches Gemeinde - und Dorfverzeichnis fur das Generalgouvernement auf Grund Der Summarischen Bevolkerungsbestandsaufnahme am 1. Marz 1943 , Herausgegeben vom Statistischen Amt des Generalgouvernements, Krakau 1943, p. 39. (2) Kubiszyn M., Krylow, [in:] Traces of Jews.
Lubelszczyzna , Lublin 2012, pp. 216-217. (3) Relationships from the time of the Holocaust. Inventory, Vol. I-VII, Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw (Poland), 1998-2011.

No Yizkor book exists to remember the Jewish residents of the village.

Please review the site content below. Zachor - We Remember.
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[Surnames and Researchers] [History] [Holocaust] [Wikipedia - Krylów]
[Krylow Jews killed in Wolyn] [Old Cemetery] [Map of Krylow]
[1929 Business Directory Listing for Krylow] [Unidentified Jews]
[Photos from Krylow Today] [Family Research in SE Poland]
[Memories of Jewish Krylow]
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"Books of addresses in Poland for trade, industry, handicraft and agriculture" from Warsaw, lists the following Jewish business leaders in the village in 1929:

occupation (Polish), occupation (English), names
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Betonowe wyroby - concrete production. Szmul Biterman; Dawid Klajner; Kos Eger (Ajger); Abus Szyler
Blawaty - clothing. F. Grinwald; J. Gromb ; S. Kam; Moshe Eliyahu Kessel; I. Szturm; L. Szlechter.
Bydlo handel - cattle trade. Aron Lebert
Cegielnie - brickyard. L. Bichler; M. Bier
Fryzjer - barber. H. Berger, A. Sztajnberg
Galanteria - fancy goods. N. Krajner; B. Zynger; Ch. Zysman
Jad-odajnie - restaurant. P. Golab
Jaja - eggs. Eliyahu Mondszajn
Kolonialne art. - groceries. S. Unruch
Kowale - blacksmith. Hryniewicz M.
Krawcy - tailor. B. Bidler; B. Boden; D. Salit (Szalit)
Lasy eksploatacja - forest explorer. Josef Biterman; W. Wajntraub
Maka - flour. J. Ros; D. Zynger
Piekarze - bakers. J. Rojter; A. Sztycer; H. Szyler; G. Berger G.; K. Szajd.
Rozne towary - various food goods. H. Bichler; L. Bichler; L. Biterman; M. Kuperman; Ch. Szmarak
Rzeznicy - butcher Brener A.; Golab Sz.; Kanel J.; Szczucki I.; Szutowski K.; Topol S.; Brener M.
Skory - skins. Bichler M.; Szturm B.; Szturm L.
Spozywcze - food and beverage. Arfin M.; Biterman Ch.; Biterman R.; Engelsberg J.; Engelsberg R.;
Flis Ch.; Flis J.; Fuks Sz.; Krajner B.; Krajner L.; Lacher G.; Lacher M.; Najman E.; Nirensztajn E.;
Perelmuter Sz.; Pracon A.; Rozenfeld Szimson; Szturm Ch.; Szyler H.; Wajntraub M.; Wertman C.;
Wertman H.; Bichler G.; Cwylich E.; Grinbaum Ch.
Stolarze - carpenter. Hocyk K.
Szewcy - shoemakers. Gorski L.; Janusz T.; Lesniewski S.; Marciszuk F.
Tytoniowe wyroby - tobacco products. Kazimierak J.; Szutowski R.
Woda sodowa - soda/water. Bichler L.
Wyszynk trunkow - alkohol (retail of liquor). Buszkowa W.; Kasprzyk J.; Rzadca F.
Zboze - grain. Bichler A.; Gertel J.; Krajner D.; Szturm M.
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