KROSNO

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The History of Krosno

Krosno in southeastern Poland, east of Krakow, was founded in 1324 on lands belonging to the crown. The city's weaving industry played an important role in the development of Krosno and perhaps contributed to the name of the city, loom in Polish . The city was also an important trade center for Hungarian wines. In 1348 it was granted a municipal charter based on the Magdenburg laws. Somewhat later, Krosno was granted the right to hold an annual fair that became well known. This commercial boost and the protection of a city wall enabled it to flourish.

Known to the Jewish inhabitants as Kros, Krosno became an important industrial, trade and craft center in the 16th century and had about 250 artisans organized in 10 guilds; the total population exceeded 3000 people. The city attracted many artists and became known as " little Krakow". The various wars, invasions and partitions brought a halt to the growth of the city. It remained dormant until the second half of the19th century.

The first Jews to settle in Krosno were the brothers Nechemia and Lazar of Regensburg in Germany who received special permits from the Polish King, Wladyslaw Jagiello in the 15th century. But there was no continuity of Jewish life in the city. Here and there a Jew was permitted to reside within the city walls but no trace of organized Jewish community life. The city population vehemently opposed Jewish presence. The guild members led the fight to keep the Jews out of the city. Krosno finally received from the crown in 1569 the privilege " de non tolerandis Judaeis " barring Jews from residing and trading within the city walls. Jewish traders living in nearby townships of Korczyna, Rymanow or Dukla were frequently jailed and their wares confiscated for attempting to enter the city. Still, Jewish merchants from nearby towns maintained contact with the city and the property census of 1851 indicates that there were three Jewish families in Krosno: Loje Grusnspan, Mojzesz Grunspan and Schije Dym

The Austrian annexation of Galicia induced several major social changes that affected Jewish life in the area. The limitations on marriages were lifted, the limitations on the residence of poor Jews were eased, professions were opened to Jews, and land could be purchased by Jews. Finally, the new Constitution of 1867 granted all citizens equality before the law. All these changes encouraged and stimulated Jews to leave their villages and hamlets for the larger cities that offered larger opportunities. Krosno was no exception, fifty families settled in the city between 1859-1890 and other 32 families arrived in the next ten years. To these official statistics we must add the unrecorded arrival of single people who lodged with families and frequently used the family name as their own until things were settled and they obtained jobs or positions. This enabled them to bring their family or to start a family.

The table below shows population of Krosno at various times:

The above figures show the rapid growth of the Jewish population which outpaced the overall growth of the city as oil was discovered in the area and money flowed in to develop the industry. The railway, linking Krosno with Jaslo and Europe, followed in 1884. Industries began to develop, especially the weaving and glass making sectors. Krosno was in the midst of an economic boom. Jews kept streaming to the city and even beyond it to the distant lands of Germany and the USA.

On January 1st, 1900, the governor of Galicia granted the Jews of Krosno the right to organize their community or kehillah. The elected leaders then proceeded to organize the various local services including:

• welfare assistance to the needy
• assistance to orphans
• schooling
• religious needs of the Jewish community
• the creation of a burial society, and
• the building of a cemetery

List of Jewish merchants in the city of Krosno 1912-1915.

The list begins with groceries, animals for slaughter, wood, building materials, farm tools, furniture, utensils, fuel, ready to wear clothing, fruit and vegetables, agricultural products, skins and furs, draperies, hardware stores, variety stores, coal and coke, metal and metal workshops. The table below shows the List of Merchants (originally in Polish, then translated into English).

The growing Jewish population created the need to open special Jewish stores such as butcher shops, fish stores and bakeries. In 1906 there were already two established baking families in the city, Selig Findling, and Chaim Oling. Fulka Breitowitz, Moses Breitowicz, and Wolf Mahler owned three Jewish slaughterhouses. Sender Fessel, Jacob Grunspan, and Tobiah Nagiel, owned butcher shops. Dawid Mehl led the metal industry that included Chaim Korba, Jakub Pinkas and Jonasz Steifel.The spirit industry was led by Schije Dym and Isaac Hertzig. Tax collections were in the hands of Hersh Wasserstrum and the Dym family. Jewish tailors, barbers, glaziers, shoemakers opened stores or workshops. Ritual slaughters and Hebrew teachers found employment in the city. The Jews dominated and expanded the commercial base of the city. They also developed small industries. Jewish artisans and craftsmen opened and expanded workshops.

During the Austrian period, some Jews served in government offices. These officials were retired with Polish independence. There were only two Jews that worked for the civil service in Krosno namely Dr. Samet who gave Jewish religious instruction in the city school system and Spiegelman who worked in the post office. Jews were by and large absent from the ranks of the police forces, regular army, judicial branch or governmental civil service. They concentrated in the fields of commerce, commercial services, professions and small industry. Jews were not hired as industrial workers in the Krosno plants, especially the glass plant, the linen factory, the Tepege tool and dye plant and the "Wudeta" rubber plant that produced footwear and bicycle tires. Two Jews built the factory namely Wurzel and Daar from Tarnow. Some Jews worked in the offices of the plants but not on the production line.

During WWI, the Russian army occupied the city. The Russian soldiers looted and robbed Jewish stores and apartments. The Jewish population was instantly pauperized. Epidemics broke out and many families fled the city to return with the end of the war. The city economic life was in shambles. The American Joint Organization and the Krosner landsmanshaft in the USA {former Jews of Krosno} helped financially the revitalization of the Jewish community. Slowly the city resumed life and with it the Jewish residents. But the Polish residents of the city resented the Jewish economic presence in the city and organized boycotts aimed at Jewish stores and supported Polish co-operatives that barred Jewish commerce. The campaign intensified with time and reached a high level of confrontation. Only the winds of war ended the campaign of hatred.

Social life

Jews were by and large excluded from the social life of the city. They met the general population during the intercourse of the day for purposes of business or professional consultations. There was no socialization after work hours between the Jewish and the Christian population. The Jews organized their own societies to care for their needs. Krosno had a burial society or "Hevrah Kadisha" that tended to the needs of the deceased. Chaim Fruhman and Jacob Palant headed the society. The family usually paid the burial expenses unless they could not afford it, then the community assumed the financial burden. Krosno had a Bikur Cholim society that helped the sick. It also had a society that cared for the poor, "Tomchei Aniim" headed by Kalmen Bogen. He also headed the society for helping poor indigenous Jews that were not residents of the city. This hospice provided sleeping accommodation for one or two nights without charge and was located near Teitelbaum's inn. There were also several small Jewish banks and several mutual fund societies to help the distressed. The Jews usually kept to themselves.

Religion

The great preponderance of the Jewish population of Krosno was religious. The range extended from the Hassidic or very pious to the moderate religious Jews. Of course, there were some non-believers, agnostics and assimilated Jews, but they were a small minority. Jewish life revolved around the synagogue. The community built a beautiful synagogue that had three floors. The upper floor was the main synagogue of the community where Rabbi Fuhrer conducted services. The cantor of the main synagogue was Ruben Peretz Kaufman, a brother in law of the famous world-renowned cantor Yossele Rosenblat. The lower floor also served as a synagogue where the Hassidic Rabbi Arale (Aaron) Twerski, a scion of the well-known Hassidic Twerski family, conducted services. Rabbi Moshe Twerski was brought to Krosno by some well to do Hassidic Jews and established his residence in the city. His wife was the sister of the famous Rabbi of Radomsk who actually resided in Sosnowiec. When Rabbi Moshe Twerski died, his son Aaron Twerski inherited his seat in accordance with Hassidic tradition. The lower synagogue attracted the more religious and Hassidic elements in the city. The small yeshiva of Krosno also used this shul for its studies.

The second floor also had another synagogue namely the "Yad Harutzim" shul where merchants and artisans prayed. The third floor contained the "mikvehs"; there was a cold and a warm mikvah. The kehilla also provided a steam room. The sexton of the synagogue and his family also lived on this floor. Services were also held at the home of Rabbi Twerski that faced the main city square. The Rabbi shared the house with the Lang family. The city also had a few small "shtibelech" or one room service halls, notably the Gerer shtibel next to Wilner's residence where followers of the Rabbi of Gur prayed. The community also maintained a religious judge or "dayan" Akiva Hammerling who was in charge of the rabbinical court. There were also a few religious slaughterers who charged the customers for their services. The latter were subsidized for people who could not afford it. The community also baked matzot for Passover at the bakery of Krill and provided the needy with the staples for the holiday. The budget of the community was based on taxes raised by the kehilla of all Jewish residents in the city.

Political life

Some of the leaders of the Krosno Jewish community were: Bendet Axelrod, Mojszes Weisenfeld, Meshulem Weinberg, Wolf Hirshfeld, Samuel Stiefel, Leopold Dym and Ozjasz Heller. These people represented the various political parties in Krosno. Hirshprung and Fessel headed the Aguda or very religious party. Dr. Leopold Dym headed the Mizrahi or moderate Zionist religious party. Josef Horowitz, Samuel Rosshandler, Samuel Stiefel, and Aron Wallach led the General Zionist party. Hersh Altman and Itzik Salomon led the Revisionist or right wing party. Of course, there was also a Hitachdut group that represented several left wing groups that supported the working movement in Palestine. All these political parties had youth branches that were very active in Krosno, for the youth saw no outlet for their hopes since most avenues of general life were closed to them in Poland.

The Betar youth movement on the right was headed by Moshe Montag, the Noar Dati was the youth wing of the moderate religious party, Noar Iwri represented the center group. Gordonia and Shomer Hatzair represented the left groups. There was also the Hehalutz movement that organized and trained youngsters to settle in Palestine. As a matter of fact, most of the Zionist youth groups stressed the study of the Hebrew language and stressed the importance of Palestine as a home of the Jews. These youth societies had their own clubs that provided a social meeting ground for the Jewish youngsters.

Jews participated heavily in municipal elections and supported usually moderate city councilmen or they voted for Jewish lists that combined several political parties. There was always Jewish city councilmen in Krosno to defend the Jewish interests in the city. Some of these councilors were frequently re-elected, namely, Eber Englander, Leopold Dym and the Stiefel brothers. The mayor of the city was always Christian. The general elections were usually gerrymandered in such manner as to reduce to the minimum the number of Jewish seats in Parliament. There they were usually kept in isolation and out of reach of influence.

Education

Rabbi Twersky organized a small Yeshiva named "Keter Hatorah" for those students that wanted to continue to study in an organized framework. The head of the Yeshiva was Mr. Seligman. A school for girls was also established in Krosno under the leadership of Mr. Hirschfeld. A school where Hebrew was the official language of instruction was established in Krosno. The school was small but grew in numbers with the years; it was affiliated with the "Tarbut" movement or cultural movement that had a network of schools in Poland. Most Jewish children went to the Polish public elementary schools where their experiences were far from happy.

Very few students continued their studies, since secondary school was very expensive. Some Jewish students opted for trade or commercial classes, but the number of students was very limited due to the expense and the built in system of limitations for Jewish students. Very few students continued higher education that required extensive financial backing. Furthemore, Polish universities limited the number of Jewish students. Some of these went abroad to study. Still the number of Jewish professionals was impressive. Krosno boasted several Jewish medical doctors, lawyers and engineers.

Youth

Jewish refugees

World War II

All Jews were ordered to wear a white armband with a blue star. They were forbidden to enter parks or public institutions but they remained in their apartments and kept their business, those that were not looted in the first days of the occupation. Some of the wealthy Jews were forced to leave their apartments in order to make room for the new rulers. The Germans appointed Yehuda Engel head of the "Judenrat". He was a native of Krosno who lived many years in Germany and was kicked out by Hitler. His assistant was Moshe Kleinman. They then selected a council of several members that included Dr. Jakub Baumring, Mosze Weisenfeld, Samuel Rosshandler and Mendel Bialywlos. The council soon created a Jewish police and some special social departments to cope with the many problems, notably, the Jewish refugees that arrived penniless from Lodz and other areas. These people were practically dumped at the Krosno railway station. They were lodged and to a certain extend fed by the council. The council had created a J.S.S. (Jewish Self-Help) committee that was supported financially by the local Judenrat and the main office of the J.S.S. in Krakow. This committee established a free food kitchen for those that could not afford to pay for the food. The JSS also provided food allocations for the needy prior to holidays.

The Krosno "Judenrat" was totally controlled by the Gestapo and carried out all their demands to the letter. Yehuda Engel consulted to a certain extent his council but basically run the show himself. He tried to alleviate the situation where possible but had to provide labor forces for the various needs of the German occupiers. He was also ordered to establish a list of the Jewish population of Krosno in June of 1941. The list has 72 names. We don't know how accurate the registration was or whether everybody was registered. Some of the survivors indicate that the list is pretty accurate although they themselves are not listed. The pauperization of the Jewish community continued at a rapid paste, especially after Germany attacked Russia. Hunger, misery and fear were the daily lot of the Jew in Krosno. Then posters appeared on August 9th, 1942 ordering all Jews to appear the next day at 9 AM at the Targowica square (the old cattle market, next to the railway station). They were all limited to a 10-kilo suitcase. They assembled on August 10,1942. Here, the selection was held, the young and able bodied were spared, the old and sick were taken to the forest near Brzezow and shot. About a thousand people were pushed onto a train that will head in the direction of the death camp of Belzec where they will all perish. All day, the Germans searched the city for hidden Jews and shot them on the spot upon discovery. The same evening, a small ghetto that already existed for several weeks was sealed off from the rest of the city. The new ghetto contained about 300-600 Jews. They remained there until Friday, the week of Hannukah, December 4th, 1942, when they were all shipped to the ghetto of Rzeszow, or Reishe. Some Jews still remained in the area of Krosno where there were several labor camps but the city was clear of Jews, except for a few Jews that were hidden in Polish homes.

With the liberation of the city, Krosno became a center for assembling Jewish survivors who were then sent across the border to Czechoslovakia and then to ports on the Black or Mediterranean Seas. Here they awaited ships that would take them to Palestine. This semi-legal base in Krosno was headed by Shoshana (a code name), an agent of Palestinian Jewry. She organized, financed and shipped the Jewish survivors in groups across the border. The office existed for a period of time and then the border was closed. The governments in question established control over their areas. The Jewish officials left Krosno, the Jewish survivors of the city never returned. Thus, ended the Jewish presence in the city.

Bibliography:

1. Breitowicz, Yaacov, To Hell and Back. Survivor from Krosno, Galicia.
2. Berger, Ronald J., Constructing a collective memory of the Holocaust. University, Press of Colorado. 1995
3. Raczy, Elizabeta, Ludnosc Zydowska w Krosnie do 1919 roku. Biblioteka Krosnienska, 1995
4. Yad Vashem Archives
5. Holocaust Encyclopedia
6. Interviews with Krosno survivors who provided background information and helped with the spelling of Jewish names in Krosno.

William Leibner, Jerusalem, Israel, June 20th 2000; updated July 27th, 2004.

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NYC Krosno Landsmanshaften

The Krosno Landsmanshaft was mentioned in the article by Bill Leibner, above. So we know that at least one existed. At this time we do not believe that these societies are still in existence. We were unable to locate the NYC incorporation papers of the Krosnoer Landsmanshaften, but we will continue searching. In these papers the details of incorporation and the founding officers are usually listed. These societies were created for voluntary mutual benefit and aid ...voluntarily aiding the members and family financially in case of necessity or illness ...and assistance from time to time in case of need". Typically Landsmenshaften owned a common cemetery plot. The photograph above is of the Krosno Yedliczer Young Men's Benevolent Society. We found this one in Beth David Cemetery, just outside of New York City. If you have any information about the society or a cemetery plot, please contact Phyllis Kramer.

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The KROSNO Cemetery

The photographs of the KROSNO cemetery are recent, and were donated by Ruben Weiser of Buenos Aires . We are currently undertaking a project to decipher the tombstone inscriptions from the many photographs taken by Ruben. When this job is completed, we will post all the information from the tombstones on this web page.

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