Remember Jewish Szczebrzeszyn

Pronunciation: Sheb-resh-in

HISTORY OF JEWISH SHEBRESHYN

Szczebrzeszyn is a city in southeastern Poland in Lublin Voivodeship, in Zamosc County, about 20 km. west of Zamosc. It is not known when exactly Jews started to settle in Szczebrzeszyn. Some researchers claim that first Jewish settlers may have come to the city as early as in the beginning of the 15th century or the end of the 14th century. The first synagogue in Szczebrzeszyn was most probably built at the beginning of the 16th century. It was destroyed during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, when the Cossacks murdered most local Jews. At the end of the 16th century, the Jews of Szczebrzeszyn erected a beautiful Renaissance synagogue. A session of the Council of Four Lands took place in Szczebrzeszyn in 1701.

In 1765 there were 444 Jews living in the city. After 1815 -- when Szczebrzeszyn was incorporated into the Congress of Poland -- no restrictions were imposed on the settlement of Jews. In 1815, the Jewish population was 1,083 (31% of the entire population). The population was also recorded as follows: 1827 -- 1,605 (38%); 1857 -- 2,449 (44%); 1897 -- 2,644 (42%). In 1913, there were 3,965 Jews, 4,014 Catholics, 346 Orthodox Church Christians, and 1 Protestant living in the city.

Similar to Zamosc, poor Jews and wealthy Jews lived in different parts of town. The poor Jews lived in the Zatyly district, today located near the bus station. The intelligentsia lived on Zamojska street. Isaac Beshevis Singer's grandmother, Tema Blima Szejner, was from the city. When she was 19, she married Szmul Zyngier from Tomaszow. Singer mentions his grandmother Tema in his autobiographical
novel In My Father's Court. In the 1880s, tzadik Elimelech Javorov Hurowitz resided in city. Other city notables included scholars Jakub Reifman (19th c.), Issachar Ber ben Natan and Jakub (16th c.).

In 1906, a Loan and Savings Society was created and composed of 5 Poles and 4 Jews. The Jewish representtatives were Abraham Bronsztajn, Jakow Mindberg, Gerszon Kuper and Mordko Flajszer. Szyja Wajs became a representative to the General Labour Union, which also held a rally in the city in 1922. Lejzor Chaim Sztrajcher owned a photography shoppe called 'Venus' before the outbreak of WWII.

In the 1913 election to the city council, Jewish political parties won 10 seats. The Bund won 5 seats, Zionists won 3 seats, Poale Zion Left won 1 seat, Agudas Israel won 1 seat. Some Jewish contributions to cultural life in Szczebrzeszyn is outlined in the book The Zamoyski Schools in Szczebrzeszyn 1811 - 1926: A History -- which was published in 1927 in Szczebrzeszyn.

In 1939, around 4,000 Jews lived in Szczebreszyn. Jews also lived in rural villages near Shebreshyn: Czarnystok (unknown number of Jews), Radecznica (unknown number of Jews), and Sulow (18 Jews).

THE HOLOCAUST IN SHEBRESHYN

On Oct. 13, 1939, a degree was issued to the Jewish population in town: "All Jewish men, from 15 to 60 years of age must present themselves at city hall on at 8:00 in the morning for compulsory work. They must bring brooms to sweep the streets, hammers and shovels. As of this day, Jewish residents are permitted in the streets only between 600 hours and 1800 hours. Their homes must always be accessible to the security forces -- gendarmerie and local groups." On Oct. 14, 1939 -- in spite of the fact it was the
Sabbath -- the Germans ordered the Jews to clean the streets for the entire day. They treated them brutally -- cut off, or even tear out their beards, curse them, beat them, etc. In mid-October, a police force was formed in Szczebrzeszyn -- composed of 60 men -- and was instructed to persecute the Jewish population of the city. On Oct. 20, 1939, the following declaration was provided to city residents: "Jewish taxpayers belonging to the Szczebrzeszyn municipality are obligated, before the 25th of October, to declare their entire estates. All manner of assets must be declared (cash, real estate, immovable goods, mortgages, debts, merchandise, etc.) Failure to follow this order, giving false or inaccurate declarations, will result in confiscation of the entire estate with no appeal."

Zygmund Klukowski, a doctor in the city, provided a witness account of events in the city. He writes: "On October 22, 1939: When all the Jewish men were assembled in the city hall courtyard, the real looting began. Jewish stores were thoroughly emptied out, merchandise taken out onto the street. Later, they were collected and laid out at the courthouse and city hall and then transported away in trucks." On Nov. 1, 1939, Klukowski writes: "Every day now, many Jews pass through Szczebrzeszyn on foot -- in wagons, men, women, children carrying sacs, packs, bedding -- chased out by the Germans from the western parts of Poland and heading somewhere East." Beginning on Dec. 22, 1939, all Jews from age 10 years upward were required to wear white armbands, bearing a six pointed star, on their right arms. A sign must be visible in front of every store indicating whether the store is an Aryan or a Jewish one.

Starting on Feb. 7, 1940, Polish bakers received an order not to sell to the Jews. Jews were told that they could buy bread only in Jewish bakeries. But there is no bread in the Jewish bakeries due to this order. Several hundred Jews from Kalisz and Wloclawek were re-settled in Szczebrzeszyn. The Judenrat was forced to provide several dozen men for work in Zamosc each day. On July 17, 1940, 130 young boys were selected for forced labor. Only 98 showed up. The S.S. from Zamosc was dispatched in all directions to search for the escaped boys. The whole police-action was watched by a large part of the Polish population. Some of the onlookers showed no sympathy and even joked throughout it, per Klukowski.

Starting on July 18, 1940, any Jews found outside the city without permission will be severely punished and sent to slave labor. Klukowski recalls, "The Jewish laborers are sent to Bortatycze and Bialobrzeg outside of Zamosc. The work consists of digging ditches in order to drain the swamps there. They must work standing in the water. They sleep in barracks that are incredibly dirty. They must make this trip (to the labor camp) every day, and if they make the slightest mistake, they are beaten with clubs. The Jewish slave laborers are covered with lice. They are mostly boys, 17-20 years old." Another source indicates that Jews in Szczebreszyn, ages 15 to 60, were also taken to work in military encampments in Zamosc and forced in slave labor to build an airfield near Budaczew.

In August, 1940, Borotski -- the Polish mayor -- decided to convert the synagogue into a movie theatre. On August 14, 1940, Klukowski recalls: "Halfway through the night, the hunt and capture of Jews began. We were awakened by the sound of break-ins into the Jewish houses opposite. On our street, the janitor at city hall and two young civilians took part freely in this 'work'. The searches for Jews carried on all night until 5:00 am. We heard constant shouting and banging on windows and doors. The screams and the
racket intensified after two o'clock. Then soldiers arrived from Zamosc, and things really got going. They went around searching the houses where searches had already been conducted by the civil forces. The result of the night's raid was two truckloads of Jews taken to Zamosc. The captured were, of course, beaten mercilessly. All the Jewish homes are filled with a painful silence, and in some, desperation. The conditions are aggravated by the fact that many Jewish women are penniless, and the Christian merchants will not sell them anything anyway." Starting in August 1940, trainloads were sent to Belzec, which at the time was a slave labor camp. On Sept. 9, 1940, a German soldier grabbed an elderly Jewish man and shoved him through a doorway and into the pit where the cellar used to be. The old man, called Bryks, had not noticed the approach of the soldiers and had not removed his hat. This is why he was punished. An order on October 23, 1941 required the Judenrat to ensure that baths are taken daily, that Jewish shave their heads, and that they shave their beards. In Feb. 1942, the gendarmes detained a 20 year old Jewish girl on the street for not wearing her armband. They led her to the outskirts of the city in the direction of Zwierzyniec, and shot her. On March 26, 1942, Klukowski writes, "Today they expelled all the Jews from Izbica and took them also to Belzec, which must be a horrible camp."

Starting in April, 1942, Klukowski notes: "There is a Jewish police force. It consists of eight young Jews in hats with blue brims and armed with rubber batons." Beginning in early 1942, the Judenrat members from Bilgoraj and Tarnogrod were arrested, and four members of the Zwierzyniec Judenrat were shot. On May 5, 1942, three Gestapo and their chauffeur arrived in Turobin and murdered 107 Jews in groups of four. On May 8, 1942, a group of Jewish men and women from Szczebreszyn were taken to Zwierzyniec and shot. The gestapo demanded three kilos of coffee, and 2,000 zlotes from the Judenrat for the bullets used. On June 23, 1942, Klukowski recalls: "In the afternoon, 20 old Jews were taken from jail at city hall to the field at the end of Pamfiger street. A grave had been dug by some Poles in the field. When the praying old men were brought to the field, several at a time were forced to lie face down in the grave. After they were shot with a machine-gun volley, the next bunch were forced to lie on top of them. And that's how, in three layers, they were all killed." Survivor Hanoch Becher was told by local Poles involved in burying them that some of the Jews were still alive when the earth was shoveled over them. On Sept. 30, 1942, a transport of 400 Jews from Radecznica and Gorajec was Sent to Szczebrzeszyn.

On Oct. 21, 1942, Klukowski recalls: "They were rounded up and driven to the market in front of the courthouse. They were dragged out of hiding places; gates, doors and shutters were broken in; grenades thrown into cellars. They were beaten, kicked, and in general tortured in inhuman ways. There was fire from revolvers, rifles and machine guns. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, around 900 Jews were led out of town -- men, women and children. They were herded with clubs, rifle butts, etc. and shot all along the route. Only the members of the Judenrat, and the Jewish police rode in horse-drawn wagons. The Aktion continued even after they had been led away. They found more hidden Jews. It was announced throughout town that the penalty for hiding Jews, or their goods, was death. Special rewards were promised for disclosing the hiding places. Those Jews now captured were shot without delay. The Polish population was conscripted to bury the Jews. The number of dead is difficult to ascertain. It is said 400 to 500. The captured were taken to the train station, and from there, I don't know." He continues, "The Jewish houses are sealed. Nevertheless, the hooligans break in. A lot of hooligans took part in the hunt and capture of Jews. They pointed out where Jews were hidden, took part in the hunt, even of little children, whom the police killed in front of everyone's eyes." On Oct. 26, 1942: "Our nurse saw with her own eyes how the gendarmes chased down a fleeing young Jewish woman, threw her on the ground, kicked her savagely, and then dragged her through the whole market by her hair to the station. My colleague, Dr. Matewszewski, was witness to the killing of five Jewish women, one after the other, by the Gestapo's Majewski from Bilgoraj." On Nov. 10, 1942: "In principle, all the Jews in the settlements of the Bilgoraj district, to which Szczebreszyn belongs, have been killed. The only ones remaining are those in the forests, valleys, etc." In total, there were six separate transports from Szczebrzeszyn to Belzec between May and November of 1942 totaling more than 5,500 Jewish men, women and children.

The once vibrant Jewish community of Szczebrzeszyn ceased to exist.

Please review the site content below. Zachor - We Remember.
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[1929 Business Directory] [Virtual Sztetl - Szczebrzeszyn]
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LINKS

Join the Szczebrzeszyn group on Facebook!


City of Szczebrzeszyn:

- Diary from the Years of Occupation 1939-44 by Zygmunt Klukowski
- Short stories by Philip Bibel
- Tales of the Shtetl by Philip Bibel

Survivors of Szczebrzeszyn:

Ita Ajzen Farber
Dvora Bajczer
Yankle Bajczer
Wolf Ber Bajczer
Avraham Becher
Chanoch Becher
Rozia Berger
Simah Elbaum Berger
Pinchas Bibel
David Blatt
Avraham Boim
Chaim Shmuel Boim
Fajge Etel Boim
Mendel Boim
Lejzor Bryks (went to China)
Avigdor Citrun
Nathan Citrun (Limoni)
Lea Doronbush
Holz Drajer
Shmuel Drajer
Mordechai Elboim
Binyamin Farber
Rajzl Farber Egerman
Chana Farber Wanger
Elisha Farber
Miriam Farber Shapira
Josef Farber
Menashe Farber
Ephraim Farber
Mendel Farber
Moshe Frost
Sara Ingber Fuks
Chana Honikman
Wolfe Velvel Ingber
Yehuda Kelner
Jankiel Lam
Esther Majmen Farber
Guta Mandel
Yakov Morgenstern
Jacob Nuss
Mendel Moishe Sternfeld
Calel Szpringer
Moszko Szpringer
Yosef Szpul
Naftali Sztejnkeler
Nahum Sztruzer
Hanche Waintraub
Sara Sztejnkeler Weingarten
Yehuda Weinstock
Yehoshua Zisbrenner

Rabbis of Szczebreszyn:

- Yeshayahu Menachem Ben Yitzhak
- David Ben Yakov
- Efraim Zalman Schor
- Asher Ben Yitzhak
- Chaim Zak, died 1699
- Yehuda Leib Katz, 1701
- Binyamin Katz
- Yosef Ben Matatyahu Delakrut
- Tsvi Hirsz, died 1709
- Aharon Shmul Ben Azriel Lemel Kahana, died 1756
- Yeshayahu Halperin
- Nathan Nute Ben Yeshayahu Shapira
- Yehoshua Heshel Hakohen Ben Avraham
- Aryeh Leib Ben Yakov
- Tsvi Hirsz David Halevi
- Yehuda Leib Margolis
- Zelig Perel, died 1837
- Jakow Rejfman, 1836
- Szmul Leib Zak, 1888
- Simcha Goldberg, 1900
- Abram Bronsztajn
- Efraim Fiszel Goldberg
- Jechiel Avraham “Chil” Blankman

Notable People:

- Leon Bibel (1913-1995) -- a painter, sculptor
- Philip Bibel (1909-2006) -- a writer, painter, sculptor
- Issachar Ber Cohen (Berman Aszkenazy) -- an eminent Talmudist

Genealogy:

Jewish Records Indexing Poland - Szczebrzeszyn
Jewish Vital Records in the Polish State Archives

Remember Your Family:

Central Judaica Database - Museum of History of Polish Jews
Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors on Facebook
Guide to the YIVO Archives
Holocaust News/Events from Generations of the Shoah Int'l
Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database
JewishGen Family Finder
JewishGen Holocaust Database
JRI-Poland: Search for Your Family
Museum of History of Polish Jews Introduction
Yad Vashem: Search for Your Family
Yad Vashem: Submit Names of Your Family Members
Yad Vashem Requests Photos of Shoah Survivors and Families


CONTACTS

U.S.: LublinJewish@gmail.com

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