Volodymyr-Volynskyi
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Volodymyr-Volynskyi Pol. Włodzimierz Wołyński, My grandfather’s Jewish world, in which he believed that “God wanted לודמיר .Ukr. Володимир-Волинський, Yid a beautiful land where people could live and be happy,” was almost completely destroyed by the Holocaust. Ann Kazimirski, Witness to Horror, 1993 A thousand years ¶ The millen- through Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland nium-old history of Volodymyr has to Galician and Volhynian towns and been described by many Ukrainian, cities, and further on to Kyiv. Due to Polish, and Jewish authors. The oldest their broad commercial networks, the mention of the town can be found in the Jews of the medieval Slavic state known 12th-century Primary Chronicle (also as ‘Kyivan Rus’ (also Duchy of Kiev) known as the Tale of Bygone Years), were mentioned in 11th- and 12th-cen- which reports that in 988, Prince Volo- tury medieval rabbinic sources. dymyr (Vladimir) Sviatoslavich of Kyiv presented this Volhynian city to his son The Jews of Volodymyr ¶ In the Vsevolod to rule. There is a questionable early modern times, the town’s Jewish Arabic source mentioning the Jews of population established a kahal – an Volodymyr in the 10th century, but this autonomous self-governing communal could not be substantiated. On the other umbrella organization. The authority hand, there are Old Rus sources testify- of the kahal of Volodymyr extended ing to the Jewish communal presence in over the smaller sub-kahals nearby: in town in the 13th century, supported by Lokachi, Kovel, Kysylyn, and some other external evidence of rabbinic responsa. places. The Jewish quarter was located The description of the death and funeral in the northeastern part of the town, of Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich in but Jews also lived in many other parts 1288 in the Hypatian Codex reads that of the town centre. The streets in the “a whole host of people of Volodymyr Jewish quarter bustled with trade; small wept over his death: men, women, and craftsmen offered their services here, children; Germans, Surozhians, and too. The Volodymyr Jews prospered at Novogorodians; and the Jews wept, as the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, they had wept when they were taken engaged in active trade with Lwów (now into Babylonian captivity after Jerusa- Lviv), Lutsk, and Kyiv. Commodities lem was conquered.” ¶ With time, the were freighted from Ustyluh down the Volodymyr-Volynskyi town turned into an important trade Bug River to Gdańsk, and then further centre. Merchants from Europe came to Western Europe and back. Volodymyr was a town where one could see Jewish merchants from Turkey, Italy, Kyiv, and Cracow. ¶ At the beginning of the 16th century and after Poland and Lithuania united their lands under one Common- wealth, Volhynia was incorporated into Poland, and the Jewish community pros- pered. Jews were active in crafts, trade, tavern-keeping, and tax collecting, as well as various lease-holding occupa- tions (leasing fish-ponds, weights and measures, customs, etc.). As elsewhere, the Jews suffered from the bloody mas- sacres during the 1648–1649 Cossack revolution led by Bohdan Khmelnyt- sky. Many Jews were killed during the mass violence of 1653, when the town was seized by the Commonwealth Lithuanian troops, and also during the Polish-Russian War (1654–1667), when the town was completely ravaged; there remained only two Jewish families in town. However, the community regener- ated fairly quickly. called Hibbat Zion (Heb.: The Love of Volodymyr-Volyn- ¶ skyi, , photo archive Modern times According to the Zion) was established in town, and from of the Historical Museum 1897 census, Volodymyr had 9,883 1906, there emerged also a branch of in Volodymyr-Volynskyi inhabitants, including 5,869 Jews (60 the Bund – the socialist Marxist Jewish A market day at percent). A Talmud Torah school was proletarian party. The newspaperHa- the town square in th Volodymyr-Volynskyi, opened towards the end of the 19 Melits (Heb.: The Advocate) reported s, photo archive of century. At the beginning of the 20th that in 1903, the town had a hospital the Historical Museum in century, a yeshiva and the Russian state and a pharmacy. Most Jews worked in Volodymyr-Volynskyi school for Jews were established. On the cattle (especially horse) and grain May 5, 1900, a great fire broke out and trade. According to the 1910–1911 destroyed 250 houses; six prayer houses census, 7,060 out of the 15,622 inhab- burnt down, and 68 Torah scrolls were itants of Volodymyr-Volynskyi were destroyed. The main synagogue also Jewish. At that time, in addition to suffered damage. This catastrophe the synagogue, there were nine prayer prompted the Jewish community to set houses. In the first decade of the 20th up a mutual assistance fund a year later. century, a Jewish vocational school was ¶ Various political parties emerged at established. Shortly before the outbreak this time, too. At the end of the 19th of World War I, representatives of century, a branch of an organisation religious and political organisations set The Great Synagogue in Volodymyr: the former was estab- in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, , photo archive of lished in 1925 and the latter in 1935. the Historical Museum in There were also schools with Hebrew Volodymyr-Volynskyi as the language of instruction, “Beth Yaakov” and “Javneh;” a private Jewish secondary school (gymnasium) with instruction in Polish; and a yeshiva for boys. The youth scouting organisations included “Ha-tsofim,” “Ha-shomer ha- leumi,” “Ha-noar ha-tsioni,” and “Bei- tar,” the socialist Zionist organisation “Ha-shomer ha-tzair,” and a branch of the Zionist-Marxist party “Poale Zion.” A community kitchen provided food for the needy. On the eve of World War II, several Jewish schools functioned up the “Kultura” (“Culture”) committee, in Volodymyr: a Talmud Torah school, which helped the Jewish poor and also a “Beth Yaakov” school for girls from ran a hospital, a theatre, and the Sholem the Orthodox families, and a primary Aleichem Jewish literature library. ¶ school, cheder. The yeshiva was attended After the outbreak of World War I, by 138 talmidim. The “ORT” craft school the Jews suffered each time the town trained tailors. There were also a library, changed hands, and the introduction a hospital, a national bank, a Jewish of the new order nearly always started orphanage, an old people’s home, and with acts of mass violence against the two cinemas. Jewish population. After the withdrawal of Austrian troops, for example, Polish The synagogue ¶ The largest of forces entered Volodymyr and carried the known Volodymyr synagogues was out pogroms. After almost two years of located in what is now Roksolany Street. fighting and alternate occupation by the But with the emergence of Hasidism, Polish Army and the Red Army, Volo- small prayer houses called shtiebels dymyr-Volynskyi (then Włodzimierz also appeared. The main synagogue Wołyński) eventually remained under is believed to have been built in 1801. Polish rule from September 13, 1920. The members of its congregation were ¶ In the 1920s and 1930s, the town mainly wealthy people. The building had about 20 functioning synagogues. survived World War II but was destroyed The Rabbi of Volodymyr-Volynskyi at at the beginning of the 1950s. Its walls that time was Yitzhok Grosman, who were so strong that tank carriers had to was succeeded in the 1930s by Yaakov be used to pull them down. Dovid Morgenstern, who died during the Nazi occupation. Technical and Rabbis ¶ The first important rabbi in Volodymyr-Volynskyi agricultural schools belonging to the Volodymyr was Yitzhak ben Betsalel, Zionist-oriented Tarbut network opened known as the Gaon of Ludmir (Ludmir being the town’s Yiddish name). He enjoyed great authority and was the leader of the community in 1542–1576. Volodymyr was the birthplace of his grandson, David ben Shmuel Halevi Segal (1586–1667), also known as “TaZ”, an acronym of the title of his major work Turei Zahav (Heb.: Golden Rose). David stands out as one of the most highly recognised rabbis of his time. ¶ The leader of the Hasidic community in Volodymyr-Volynskyi Shlomo Gottlieb Halevi Karliner became famous for many good deeds. Talmud Torah religious school on Kopernika (1738–1792) was one of the most influ- He helped people regardless of their Street in Volodymyr- ential rabbinic scholars in the history of creed or ethnicity. He wholeheartedly Volynskyi, . Photo by Boris Bertash, Hasidic Judaism. His mentor was Aaron embraced the teachings of Baal Shem digital collection of the Perlow of Karlin, who studied together Tov, the founder of Hasidism, that one “Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Centre (www. with Shlomo under the guidance of the should be ready for death when starting teatrnn.pl) Great Maggid – Dov Ber of Mezherich. to pray, since prayer, by its very nature, Aaron Perlow set up a centre of Hasi- requires the one who prays to aban- dism in Karlin, giving rise to a move- don himself or herself entirely. Rabbi ment that was later named Karlin-Stolin Shlomo was shot by a Russian soldier Hasidism. It is due to his influence that when he was praying in the synagogue the mitnagdim, the opponents of the on July 10, 1792; he was buried at the Hasidim – and later the Russian tsarist Jewish cemetery, where Gagarin Park is authorities – referred to the rapidly now located. Exploratory work revealed spreading Hasidic movement as the Kar- the foundation of the ohel at the site liner Jews. Shlomo Karliner was Aaron of his burial, and in 1999, the ohel was Perlow’s best student and led the move- rebuilt. ¶ The Hasidic dynasty of Ludmir ment after Perlow’s death. He enjoyed in Volodymyr-Volynskyi was continued immense authority; his influence by Moshe Gottlieb (d.