





Video Tour ~ Jewish
Cemetery of Nowy
Sącz!
Description: On September 12, 2005, Mr.
Bernard Schwerd together with his son,Yecheal (Neil) Schwerd and nephew,
Moshe(Michael)Schwerd visited the Jewish cemetery in Sanz,(Nowy Sanz)Poland,
resting place of the holy Divrei Chaim (R'Chaim Halberstam and his family). The
trip was part of a tour through various towns in Galicia Poland. At the
cemetery gate we were greeted by Mr. Yaakov Miller, a Holocaust survivor
presently residing in Sweden. He comes to Tsanz each summer to look after the
cemetery. He gave us a guided tour of the cemetery. 20 min 1 sec (This film
Courtesty of Neil Schwerd)
Markus (Mordechai)
Lustig (Kanengisser)
“A Sanzer’s Life Story” (in
his own words)


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Join our
“Nowy Sącz Group” at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sacz
Source: http://www.lemko.org/lih/travel/beskid.html
A city in the province of Cracow, S. Poland. Jewish settlement is mentioned in a document of 1469. The Great Synagogue, renowned for its beautiful frescos, was completed in 1746. In 1765 there were 609 Jews (154 families) in Nowy Sacz . At the beginning of the 19th century Austrian authorities compelled the Jews to live in a special quarter. During the first half of the 19th century the hasidic dynasty of the Zanzer Hasidim was established. In 1880 there were 5,163 Jews (46% of the total population) living in the town. By 1890 the number of Jews had decreased to 4,120 (32%); to rise again to 7,990 (32%) in 1910.
Between 1900 and 1914 a Jewish school was established, which in 1907 was
attended by 204 pupils. In 1921 the Jewish community numbered 9,009 (34%).
Tarbut and Beth Jacob schools, a yeshivah, and sport clubs were supported by
the community. Over 10,000 Jews lived in Nowy Sacz before the outbreak of World
War II, with another 5,000 living in smaller towns of the county.
Source: Encyclopedia Judaica 1972, Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd Jerusalem, Israel
The first accounts of Jewish settlement in Nowy Sacz come from 1469,
when the name of a certain Abraham from Sacz appears in the town's documents.
Until the middle of the 17th
century the city council blocked the influx of Jews and allowed only for the
settlement of well-qualified specialists. This situation
changed completely in 1673, when
in the face of a growing economic crisis King Michael Korybut Wisniowiecki
lifted all existing restrictions. The local Jewish
community was mostly involved in
the honey, wine, fur, leather and tobacco trades. An ell, the local standard
for measuring length, was placed next to the
synagogue. The 19th century
brought with it the phenomenon of Chasidism. It exploded with great force in
Nowy Sacz and made the town one of the main
centres of this religious
movement. It was due in large part to the charisma of the local tzaddik Chaim
Halberstam and his yeshivah.
Jews constituted approximately 30% of
the local population. They lived mostly in the town centre and in Pieklo, a
part of the Zakamienica district. A large,
empty square on the corner of
ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego and ul. Boznicza
is now the only reminder of the Nowy Sacz Jewish quarter.
The Nazi occupation of Nowy Sacz began
in September 1939. Jews were forced into slave labour, toiling in quarries or
unloading trains. Already poor, they
were impoverished still further
by the unwarranted contributions which they were required to make. In June 1941
the Nazis marked out the Jewish Housing
District, a walled quadrangle
situated between the castle and the Market Square. The doors of the houses were
bricked up and curtains were to be drawn all
the time. The extermination here
started at the beginning of 1942. Its main arena was in the Jewish cemetery in
ul. Rybacka, where mass murder and executions
by shooting were a regular occurrence. A day which is
indelibly marked in the memory is 29 April 1942, when several hundred people
were killed in the space
of one day. In honour of the
victims a memorial was erected at the cemetery. Poles repeatedly tried to help
their Jewish neighbours. Despite this, ninety per cent
of Nowy Sacz Jews lost their
lives. After the Second World War until 1968 a Congregation of the Jewish Faith
operated here. The only private Chasidic house
of prayer in Poland still
functions here today.
Source: originally published in the guide Where the Tailor Was a Poet..., by Adam Dylewski / http://www.diapozytyw.pl/en/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz
Nowy Soncz (Yiddish – Zanz) Cracow District, Poland
Jews are recorded from the end of the 15th century, living there in small numbers under various residence and trade restrictions until the second half of the 17th century. Jews were then welcomed in the effort to rebuild the city after the mid-century invasions and epidemics destroyed its economy. Under a privilege granted in 1673, they laid the basis of an organized community. Jews dealt mainly in trade (honey, wine, copper, textiles, furs, and tobacco). They were also active as millers and distillers, craftsmen and moneylenders, the last particularly to the local nobility. A fire in 1769 allegedly spreading from the Jewish quarter and destroying the Franciscan church provoked anti-Jewish agitation cut short only by the Austrian annexation of 1772. Under Austrian rule, Jewish trade expanded into the empire but heavy taxation and numerous restrictions affected the Jewish economy adversely. The Jewish grain trade was cut back and Jews were not allowed to purchase houses from Christians or employ Christian servants. The liberalization ushered in by the 1848 revolutions eliminated most Jewish disabilities and paved the way for increasing Jewish prominence in the city’s economy. Almost all its merchants were Jews as well as most distillers and innkeepers as the Jewish population grew to nearly half the total in 1880 (5,163 out of 11, 185). To continue reading this summary, which is really quite fascinating, go to…. http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Nowy_Sacz/history.htm
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· November 1292 - King Waclaw II (Wencelaus II) granted Nowy Sacz a foundation charter "Nova Civitas Sandecz". The document was very favorable to the settlers invited by it. It allowed them to build many public edifices, including two public baths, cloth halls, butcher stalls and mills. The city was given the right to take 5/6 of the profits coming from the cloth halls, wine storehouses, assay offices and craftsmen's stalls.
· In 1918 Poland gained independence. During the Second Republic (Inter-war period) Nowy Sacz became the capital of the county. The railway factory was enlarged and many new factories and workshops opened.
· In 1992 Nowy Sacz celebrated its 700th anniversary. During this year there were many important and interesting cultural events. Nowy Sacz was honored by the presence of the President of the Polish Republic, Lech Walesa, at the main celebration on October 4th.
Source: http://www.ux.his.no/~romek/nowysacz/nsstory.htm - a website by Romuald K. Bernacki
*********
(nô´v
sôNch´) (KEY) ,
Ger. Neu-Sandez, city (1993 est. pop. 79,700), SE Poland, on the
Dunajec. It is a railway junction and an administrative and economic center.
There are deposits of lignite and petroleum in the vicinity. Chartered in
1298(?), it passed to Austria in 1772 and was included in Poland in 1919. The
city has several old churches; its 14th-century palace was destroyed in World
War II.
Faces & Places of Nowy Sącz ~ (some photos)
Portraits of Unknown Nowy Sacz Citizens – Help Us Identify These
People!
~ Click on photos to see enlarged versions ~
Courtesy of Joel
Levinson - LevinsonJl@aol.com
Rytro, 1936
(written on back of original)
Today, Nowy Sącz is a sister city to 10 separate towns, including Netanya, Israel - Stara Lubovna, Slovakia -Schwerte, Germany - Columbia County, Georgia (USA); Kiskunhalas, Hungary - Presov, Slovakia - Stryj, Ukraine - Trokai, Lithuania - Tarnow, Poland.- Elbląg, Poland
· Columbia County Chamber of Commerce – “Our Sister City”
· County Welcomes its Polish “Siblings”~ Augusta Chronicle June 28, 2002
*****
The town is starting refurbishing its roads
*****
The authorities of the town demand electronic implants for all
dogs within the boundaries of Nowy Sacz
*****
The award of “Transparent Poland” goes to…Nowy Sacz! The award is
meant to promote corruption-free administration for the citizens living in
Poland
*****
Source: http://www.romanmajcher.eu/nowysacz_en.htm- a website by Roman Majcher
In the southern town of Nowy Sacz, where some of the country's poorest Roma (Gypsies) reside, the local government launched a new initiative to improve the lives of the city's Roma. The initiative calls for hiring a special liaison to the Romani community, improving housing and access to utilities (sewers and running water), and expanding educational opportunities for Roma. Source: http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Government/US/StateDepartment/DemocracyHumanRights/2000/Europe/Poland.html
For
more information on the “Roma” in Poland today, go to: http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=1286

The Great Synagogue - 1746 Today
Source: For more synagogue information view the photos, diagrams, etc. at:
http://www.ux.his.no/~romek/nowysacz/nssynago.htm (This site is in Polish)
The Grodzka
Synagogue
This pretty synagogue, once known as Grodzka, was erected in 1780 on the site
of the former wooden one. The elaborate Baroque decor was destroyed by fire in
1894, and afterwards the facade was remodeled. The Nazis turned the synagogue
into a storehouse. After the war it was returned to the Cracow Jewish
community, which donated it to the city in 1974.
The columns of the
bimah have remained but there is no recess for the aron ha-kodesh. The ceiling
is new. The interior is filled with the works of local painters.
Only the vestibule
contains a modest display of Judaica, entitled "They used to be among
us". A plaque commemorating the 25,000 Jewish inhabitants of the city and
funded by the Nowy Sacz Landsmanshaft can be seen on the wall of the building.
(ed. -see a photo of this plaque and translation of Polish inscription below)
The Dawna Synagoga Art Gallery; the building is marked ul. Berka Joselewicza
12. It is situated on the corner of ul. Berka Joselewicza and ul. Boznicza.
Open: Wed and Thu
10am-2.30pm, Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat and Sun 9am-2.30 p.m.
Source: originally published in the guide Where the Tailor Was a Poet..., by Adam Dylewski / http://www.diapozytyw.pl/en/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz
"Remember the
community of Sanz"
(from Polish inscription)
This is to
commemorate the 25,000 Jews - men, women and
children from Nowy Sacz and surroundings, who were burnt in the
crematories of the concentration camps and murdered at
other sites
of massive extermination by the Nazis between 1939 -
1945. May
the memory of the sufferers be blessed.
Nowy Sacz
Group (Citizens)
in Israel. July
24.07.1994
(from Hebrew
inscription)
25,000
Jews of Sanz and the vicinity men, women and children who
were murdered, slaughtered and burned in the
flaming ovens of the
crematorium in the camps of destruction, and
in other places by the
German Hitlerists in the years 1939-1945
[Hebrew years]. May their
memory be blessed. The organization of
[people] from New Sanz and
vicinity in Israel [Hebrew date]
[Location: at synagogue entrance - written in Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish]
(Photo credit: Roman Majcher, February, 2003)

The display above is located in the synagogue, which is now a museum.
(Photo credit: Roman Majcher, February, 2003)
Beys Nusn (Natan's House of Prayer)
The only functioning Chasidic synagogue in Poland today, as well as the only
private one, was built at the turn of the 20th century by Natan Kriszer, a
member of
the Sendzer Chasidim. During the Second World War it was turned into a
storehouse and the wall paintings were destroyed. From 1945 to 1968 it
functioned
again as a synagogue. It managed
to survive until the fall of Communism as it was used once more as a warehouse.
In 1992 the synagogue underwent an overhaul.
Sabbath services take place on occasion, particularly when groups come
to visit. These may include Chasids from Satmar (now the Romanian town of Satu
Mare),
who have recently joined the group from Bobowa. The matter of the
synagogues affiliation is as yet unsettled. At present it is a private place of
worship, but the
warden is making efforts to join with the Cracow Jewish community to
ensure the prayer hall's continued existence. Ul. Jagiellonska 12 (in the
courtyard).
The keys to the synagogue may be obtained from Ms Barbara Makuch, ul.
Rybacka 3/2 (opposite the cemetery)
Source: originally published in the guide Where the
Tailor Was a Poet..., by Adam Dylewski / http://www.diapozytyw.pl/en/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz

Nowy Sącz Jewish Cemetery - ul. Rybacka 12 Holocaust Memorial commemorates the site
(Photo credit: Miriam Weiner, 1993) of mass executions of 25,000 Jews.
“From 25,000 burials, about 200 tombstones remain.”
(Photo credit: Miriam Weiner, 1993)
Source for above photos/information: Jewish Roots in Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories
by Miriam Weiner, Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc. & YIVO, 1997.
*****
.
Nowy Sącz is located in Nowy Sącz region at 20ş42 49ş37, 55km from Tarnow and 104km from Krakow. The cemetery is
located
on Rybacka Street. The town population is 25,000-100,000 with fewer than 10
Jews.
Source: US Commission No. POCE000075 or 751
The Nowy Sacz Jewish cemetery is very close to the Grodzka synagogue and
practically on the bank of the River Kamienica. It was laid out at the end of
the
19th century and extended in 1926. It is now surrounded by a solid wall
and as the grass is cut regularly, one gets an impression that the cemetery is
well
mantained. Some distance away and surrounded by about 200 matzevot (many
of them recovered after being used by the Germans as paving stones) you can see
the ohel of Chaim Halberstam.
During the Second World War the cemetery was the site of the gallows and it was
here that Jews and Poles (including those who
harboured Jews) were hanged. It is commemorated by a memorial, but the
inscription: "To the victims of Nazi barbarity and the heroes in the
struggle for the
freedom of the Polish nation", seems somewhat incomplete and should
be modified. Alongside, there is another monument which commemorates the
massacre of
29 April 1942.
Source: originally published in the guide Where the
Tailor Was a Poet..., by Adam Dylewski / http://www.diapozytyw.pl/en/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz
*****
The earliest known Jewish community was about 1690. 1921 Jewish pop. was 9009. Tzadik Chaim ben Leib, (1793-1876)
settled there in 1830. He (1876) and Aron ben of Chaim (1906) are buried there. The landmark cemetery was established
during the second half of the 19th century with last known Orthodox Jewish burials in 1968 and 1969. The isolated urban flat
land has a sign or marker in Polish and Hebrew mentioning Jews and the Holocaust. Reached by turning directly off a public
road, access is open to all. A masonry wall and locking gate surrounds. The approximate size of before WWII and now is
3.19 ha. 100 and 500 gravestones, all in original positions with 50-75% toppled or broken, date from the 19th-20th centuries.
The cemetery is not divided into sections. The marble, granite, sandstone and concrete finely smoothed and inscribed stones or
flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew and Polish inscriptions. The cemetery contains monuments to Holocaust
victims, marked and unmarked mass graves, and an ohel. The cemetery used as a Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent
are commercial or industrial, agricultural and residential. Occasionally, organized Jewish groups and private visitors stop.
The cemetery was vandalized but not in the last ten years. Jewish individuals and groups from abroad re-erected stones,
Cleared vegetation, fixed wall and gate 1989 through 1991. Contributions from visitors and Leo Getterer Foundation pay
regular caretaker. (see above address). Weather erosion and vegetation are moderate threats. Vegetation is a seasonal
problem preventing access. Pollution is a slight threat.
Piotr Antoniak ul. Dobra 5m 36, 05-800
Praszkow (see Bobowa) completed survey on 9/4/1992 after a visit on 8/28/1992.
Andrzej Swierczek (see above) was interviewed.
The cemetery appeared to be in remarkably good condition. Mostly all of the
tombstones were upright. Monuments to the
Holocaust and ohels were in also in good condition. Grass and ground vegetation was generally under control. There was no
graffiti on the cemetery walls or on the tombstones.
Source:
Gruber, Ruth E. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.1992.
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Jewish soccer team, Nowy Soncz, Poland (1927)
Do your recognize anyone? If so, let me know!

Bikkur Holim and Jewish School, Nowy Soncz, Poland (date unknown)
In the 1840’s, Rabbi Hayyim ben Leibush Halberstam established his court there, making the community one
of Galicia’s more important Hasidic centers. The dominance of the Hasidim also retarded the advent of
Zionism until the beginning of the 20th century.
*****
In the early nineteenth century, the Zanzer (from Zanz, the Jewish name of the town) Hasidic dynasty was founded
in Nowy Sacz by Rebbe Chaim Ben Arieh Lieb Halberstam.
*****
In accordance with the teachings of their master, Chaim Halberstam, the
Chasidim of Nowy Sacz represented an ultra-Orthodox approach which even managed
to shock other Chasidic groups, who regarded them as reactionary. Apart from
raising asceticism to a point where it became a fundamental principle, they
resisted all forms of innovation, including assimilation. Boys were not allowed
to attend secular schools; the teaching of Polish language was forbidden; they
even condemned the activities of the Agudat Isroel party, which, ideologically
speaking, was not that dissimilar in that it forbade
participation in politics. The first of many tzaddikim was the master,
Chaim Halberstam (1793-1876). His successors were as follows: his son Aron
(1826-1903), Moshe (d. 1918), Izaak Tobiasz from Glogow Malopolski (d. 1927)
and Jozef Menachem (d. 1935). The dynasty ended with Mordechai Zeew Halberstam
from Grybow (d. 1942), who was murdered by the Nazis in the Tarnow Ghetto. The
Nowy Sacz dynasty gave birth to many offshoots and, apart from the most famous
of all in Bobowa, there were also dynasties in Cieszanow, Gorlice and Sienawa
near Lezajsk.
Chaim Halberstam (1793-1876), founder of a dynasty and referred to as
the Sendzer rebe (the Teacher from Nowy Sacz) was one of the most distinguished
of all tzaddikim. He was the representative of an ultra-Orthodox tendency
recognising asceticism as the basis for leading a true life. His teachings are
contained in the three-part work entitled Divrei Chaim, which may be translated
in two ways: 'the Words of Chaim' or 'Stories of Life'. The best known fact
about the life and teachings of Halberstam is his lengthy dispute with another
great tzaddik, Izrael Friedmann from Sadogora near Czerniowce (Chernovitz).
Friedmann lived in unusual splendour in a palace, which greatly irritated the
leader from Nowy Sacz, who accused him of extravagance and ignorance. In reply
to these accusations one of Friedmann's sons, the tzaddik Dov Ber from Leow
(Moldova), true to the Haskalah, stated that the Chasidic belief in the
supernatural power of the tzaddik was fraudulent. The centre in Sadogora itself
intervened, admitting that Dov Ber was insane. This incident, however, so
incensed Halberstam that he put a cherem (curse) on the dynasty from Sadogora,
which before long replied in kind. It was the most serious conflict within
Judaism at that time.
Source: originally published in the guide Where the
Tailor Was a Poet..., by Adam Dylewski
http://www.diapozytyw.pl/en/site/slady_i_judaica/nowy_sacz
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“1891 Galician Business Directory”
201 names/occupations of Nowy Sącz residents!!
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“1929 Polish Business Directory”
Ksiega Adresowa Polski (Wraz
z w.m. Gdanskiem dla Handlu, Przemyslu
Rzemiosl I Rolnictwa) –(written in Polish/French)
__________________
Termination of Polish Citizenship
The names below were obtained from a list of almost 1,500 names of Jews who - in order to emigrate - had to
renounce their Polish nationality. This took place prior to the year 1939. The original documents contain destination,
occupation, comments, and photographs. Those wishing to obtain copies of the original document - and hence ALL
of the information - should E-mail the Krakow Archives at: proarchivo@poczta.fm
Surname Name Date/Place of Birth Family Members
BERGMAN Leopold 08.12.1914 Nowy Sącz Oscher Stief false Bergman i Sara Fradel Gehler
DORENTER
Szyja
24.02.1913
Nowy Sącz
Perec i Chana Luks false Gaertner
DORENTER Szyja
Herschel
24.02.1913 Nowy
Sącz Peretz i
Chana Luks
INFELD
Herman
08.06.1899 Nowy Sącz
Abraham i Minka Wolf
KLIPPER
Scheindla
21.04.1891 Nowy Sącz
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LUSTIG
Józef
03.02.1908 Stary Sącz
Abraham vel Adolf i Ewa Mendler
REIFEN
Beila
02.02.1902 Nowy Sącz
Cypora Bodner i Roan Reifer
SCHMEIDLER
Chaim
15.01.1886 Nowy
Sącz Jóżef
Ascher i Sprinza Kornfeld
SCHREIBER
Abraham
15.07.1906
Nowy Sącz
Chaja Schreiber
Surnames include: Aberman, Amster, Berger, Bergmann, Berkinfelt, , Birkenfeld, Binder, Borgenicht, Brdner, Clanales,
Denkelbaum, Dentelbaum, Fechter Feibisowicz, Feuercisen, Flam, Frauwirt, Gabel, Geller, Gershel, Glasner, Goldberger,
Goldfingier, Gottesmann, Gross, Grun, Haberman, Hilowicz, Hochhauser, Horowitz, Jazmir, Kleinberger, Klotzen,
Klotzer r. Storch, Kornfeld, Lehrman, Kramer, Kwicinski , Leichter, Lewin, Low, Maibruck, Markus, Martz, Mater,
Meletz, Morgenbesser, Offner, Ostez, Reibeisen , Reigelhaupt, Rosenstock, Rozenzain, Ruben, Schachter, Schaffer,
Simanowicz fals Hochhauser, Storch, Usiskin, Volkman, Zins