l 1 .I THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER Vol. 9, No. 2 Tammuz 5758; July 1998 ZAREBY KOSCIELNIE IN 1938 T71is anicle, dated February 1, 1938 was adapted from the files of the Zaromher Israel Aid Society, Records 1926-1965 held by the l1VO Institute, l1VO File #(RG965). Zareby Kosciebiie 's Jewish population was dose knit and a great many were members of various branches of the Ser-Charlap family. After the death of the Polish leader Joseph Pilsudski, the situation of the Jewish population of Poland deteriorated rapidly. The most visible form of anti-Semitism was an economic boycott applied by large sections of the public against Jewish enterprise. This boycott had been approved by the courts, dignitaries of the Catholic Church, and the government. The head of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Hlond, declared in 1936, "One does well to prefer his own kind in commercial dealings and to avoid Jewish stores and Jewish stalls in the market." The government expressed the purposes of the boycott as not only to assist "real" Poles to compete in petty commerce, but to force Polish Jews to emigrate. By 1937, the Polish Union of Physicians adopted an "Aryan" resolution reducing the number of Jews in their profession with the aim of excluding them entirely. A conglomerate of Polish professional unions stated, "A Pole supports a Pole. Depriving the Jews of earning money means they will be forced to leave Poland. This is the only radical solution of the Jewish question. With the utmost forcefulness and with the deepest conviction of the necessity of self-defense, we urge all Christians not to sell to Jews any land or houses, nor to buy from Jewish stores, nor to employ Jewish lawyers, physicians, engineers, architects, artists, or any other professional men." The universities were centers of anti-Semitism and limited the dwindling number of Jewish students to so-called "ghetto benches" (standing room at the rear of lecture halls). By 1938, the government was seizing Jewish businesses. Among the important enterprises that were nationalized was the Shereshevsky Tobacco Works in Grodno, a major employer of Jewish workers and owned by members of the Charlap family. [Excerpt adapted from the reference files] The town ofz.areby Koscielnie has 250Jewishfamilies. The nearest railway station is b_ut 3 km away but z.areby (Z.aromb) has no good roads which would connect it with the surrounding towns. z.aromb was therefore always in a precarious economic position. The markets in the town are not Ve!)' important to the regional economy; still they form the chief base of livelihood for the local Jewish population. That population is a target for the NARA (National Radical Party) which considers it to be made up of "hostile non-Poles. "NARA has attained great influence in the Bialystok District (including z.aromb) and they have been waging an uninterrupted terror campaign against the Jews since the Spring of 1937. Their gangs are composed of the local criminals and young disenchanted peasants. They have attacked our merchants stalls in the market and owing to this terror, Jewish stall owners do not show up on market days any more. Whereas several months ago, the market was almost completely Jewish with hardly a Christian stall, today the situation is reversed. T7ze terror is not only in z.areby Koscielnie but throughout the region. In surrounding towns as well, scores ofJewish peddlers, tradesmen, and artisans have lost their livelihood. For the time being, it seems that the terror has abated in other parts of the Bialystok District, but around z.aromb it continues with strengthened fa!)'. This unsafe situation has affected even those businesses which do not depend on market trade. For example, there are 15-20 farriers ir/ the town. Last year, they received on credit the pelts they needed. Now, however, the credit has dried up because there is (continued next page) 2 ZAR01\1B (cont. from p.1) FAMILY COAT OF ARMS too much danger. The four local windmills have lost much of their earnings; the farmers are not bringing in much There have been persistent rumors that the grain. And the mills have repeatedly been raided by Charlap family had an ancient coat of arms that had been Naramen. Jewish businessmen are desperately in need of handed down through the centuries. Memoirs of various credit to reestablish themselves, especially the .furriers and ancestors recorded, more than once, that letters had been the small hosiery manufacturers. stamped with a seal bearing the family crest. We have 'What can we do to improve the economic received communication from several family members situation? There exist in 7.aromb two hosiery workshops indicating that, in their youth, they remembered hearing of which were established in 1924 and 1927. Until recently, a family coat of arms. But no one has been able to describe these workshops had, for some reason, been able to avoid a physical representation of that coat of arms, except that the worst effects of the boycott. They even sold to non- at the top was a crowned Tablets of the Law. J ewish merchants. During peak season they employ six We have confirmed that such a coat of arms did workers each. If they could get more credit, a greater exist and was used extensively by our ancestors during number of workers would be employed. 17zefarriers are their centuries in Spain and Portugal. A scholarly essay another story. They simply cannot get capital and are being published by the Theological Institute of Israel (Yeshiva forced into menial farm labor just to survive. Jews own Rosh Pinah), dated 1944, deals with the early history of some land which is suitable for a brick factory. At present the Ibn Yahya family in Iberia. The Ibo Yahyas, of course, bricks are brought in from Malkinia. It is believed that were the immediate antecedents of the Charlaps and Don locally produced bricks would have a ready market. There Yahya families. Many in the family still bear these is also a completely fitted cotton and wool factory. Once it honored names. The author of this piece, A. C. De Barros operated by using recirculated materials but it closed down Basto (Ben-Rosh) describes the shield: as this process proved unprofitable.But raw cotton may be ... This old Hebrew family used a coat ofarms divided by available if credit can be obtained and the factory might a shovel on the right of which is a lion with a palm leaf in start producing again. There are also Jewish oil mills in one paw. On the left of the shield is a lion with claws open 7.aromb. 17ze principal business was pressing oil from the and legs spread wide. Between the legs the eagle's tail seeds that local farmers would bring in. Now, the Poles shows, also spread wide like a fan or flower. established a non-Jewish mill and the farmers have ceased The symbols on our coat of arms indicate various bringing any seeds to the Jews. The Jewish mills could still aspects our family's history and destiny. The eagle is a be busy if they were able to buy seeds. 17ze pressed oil symbol of strength; the lion also indicates strength but is could then be marketed on their own account. But all this the symbol of the tribe of Judah; the palm leaf represents business activity depends on outside help. There is little the agriculture and beauty of Eretz Yisrael; the shovel is a hope of getting credit in the current atmosphere. Hence we symbol that we are to be part of the rebuilding of our must appeal to the Joint Distribution Committee. homeland of Eretz Yisrael; the Tablets of the Law For many years the Joint Distribution Committee, represent the Ten Commandments and our family's supported largely with funds from America, had sent large adherence to our traditions and religion; the crown atop the sums to Poland for the aid of Polish Jewry. The relief thus Tablets indicates the supremacy of G-d's Law and also our extended mitigated Jewish suffering and provoked Polish descent from King David. nationalists to demand that it be repressed as it would It is our aim to restore this beautifully described strengthen Jewish influence. This struggle gave way to coat of arms so that every family member will have it in greater tragedy one year later with the Nazi invasion. their position as a reminder of our glorious past and our ************************************************* reponsibilities for the future. THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER is ************************************************* published quarterly. We encourage submittal of news OF RIGHTEOUS ANCESTORS items, essays, poems, and historical articles. Judaism insists that man has an inborn impulse to virtue Correspondence should be directed to: which can overcome all temptation to sin; an impulse Arthur F. Menton, Editor immeasurably strengthened through the merit of the fathers P.O. Box 108 (Zechuth Aboth) which is accounted unto their children as Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. 11724 righteousness. That man is best able to advance on the Tel. and Fax.: (516)754-1742 road to moral perfection who starts with the accumulated e-mail: [email protected] spiritual heritage of righteous ancestors. (Note new e-mail address) - S. Levy, 1905 Copyright © 1998 3 THE ALTERNATIVE by Yedidya Atlas Yedidya Atlas is a Senior Corresp01ulentfor Arutz-7 aiul comments 011 geopolitical aiul geostrategic affairs in the Middle East. 171is article was originally broadcast on Arutz-7 Israel National R<ulio on 29 Sivan 5758/June 23, 1998. It is reprinted with permission. Among the services of Arutz-7, a project of Bet-El Yeshiva Center, Israel, is Arutz-7 Educational Radio aiul Arutz-7 News Service.