KARTUZ BEREZA YZKOR BOOK 1993

BEREZA, KARTUZ BEREZA, BEREZA KARTUZKA AND BERIOZA

Also known by the name of Kartuzkaya Bereza, and in Polish as Bereza Kartuzka, Bereza is a small town that developed on both sides of the Warsaw-Moscow road in Grodno Gubernia. On the south, the Yasolda River pours its waters to the Fige River by the road between Brest (Brisk Litovsk) and Bobroisk, at the axis of the Brisk-Minsk Railroad. Until 1785 Kartuz Bereza was part of Poland, and later it passed into Russian hands. Between the two World Wars, it became part of Poland again.

The name Kartuz comes from the Kartuzian monks of Saint Richard. The priests lived in the monastery and settled there by Prince Zaphiea’s decree at the end of XVII century (the monastery was destroyed in the time of Karl XII). The name Bereza comes from the large birch trees in the town and its surroundings.

The Moscow-Warsaw Road was the main street of the town. On both sides houses were built. On the eastside the gentiles lived, and on the western side, especially in the square of the market and their surroundings, the Jews lived.

According to "Jewish Encyclopedia" (Ed, Keter, Jerusalem, 1971), in 1629 Jews were granted permission to build a synagogue in Kartuz Bereza. This fact is highlighted by the Jewish Encyclopedia published in Berlin in 1929. Also, the "Register of Communities" ("Pinkas"), Poland, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, indicates that the first information on the Jewish establishment organized in Bereza Kartuska was in 1662.

There is mentioned the following: "in the tax lists of the communities of the surroundings belonging to the mother community of Brest, designated by the Advice Commission of the country (Lithuania) is named K. K. Berezi" [translators note: K. K . means Holy Community]. Therefore according to all the sources of information, the establishment of Jews in Kartuz Bereza was not later than the XVII century.

The table below reflects the general population in Kartuz Bereza for the years indicated:

Year	Non Jews	Jews	Total
1766	----	242	----
1847	----	515
1878	1394	1113	2507
1890	1775	850	2625
1897	3603	2623	6226
1921	1363	2163	3526

Outstanding rabbis led the community of Kartuz Bereza and among them were ITZCHOK ELCHANAN SPECTOR (between 1839 and 1846) and Rav ELIHAU KLOTZKIN (1881-1894). AHARON OGUZ (1865) was born in Kartuz Bereza. In the 20 years he published in the US, he produced a great quantity of stories in Yiddish, and also translated "Duties of Soul" by Rev BECHAI IBN PEKUDA. "Arotshik"(Who is he) was the representative for Kartuz Bereza in the first Zionist congress in Basel in 1897, and later he was active in the advice to the town council under the leadership of Rev SHLOIME GERSHGORN. All Zionist youth movements had branches in Kartuz Bereza, from "Bet Ar" (translate) through "Hashomer Hatzair" (Young Guardians). At the beginning of XX century, there also began to be active among youths of the town the communist revolutionary groups under the leadership of Dr. SHWARTZ, gynecologist and obstetrician, and his wife.

During World War I, the Germans conquered Kartuz Bereza. In 1915 they arrived to the Yasolda River and from there, they invaded the houses of the city and then conquered the town. During the German invasion many houses of the town were set on fire. The Germans designated two Jews as Mayor and Vice Mayor of the town. Then, when the town was passed to Poland, NAFTALY LEVINSON was named as Mayor and also a Jew as Vice Mayor.

From the German conquest on, the timber industry developed and many Jews found employment in the industry of the forest and its by-products. The great steam flour mill was owned by a Jew, and Jews were also in other industries such as construction contracting.

In the Community’s Register is mentioned details of the budget of the community of Kartuz Bereza. The following charts list the main revenues and expenses of the community of Kartuz Bereza in 1939:

Revenue	Zlotys
Taxes	8985	Gold
Animal slaughtering	7880	Gold
Burials	2000	Gold
Birth certificates	800	Gold
Library	400	Gold
Various income	110	Gold
Accounts collectable	2050	Gold
Total	22225	Gold

Expenses	Zlotys
Debts payment	2646	Gold
Rabbi's salary	3000	Gold
Slaughter salary	6315	Gold
Management expenses	3385	Gold
Cemetery maintenance	880	Gold
Library	500	Gold
Social aid	2100	Gold
Social security	720	Gold
Popular bath	600	Gold
Institutions budget	1095	Gold
Maintenance	300	Gold
Funds	90	Gold
Total	22225	Gold

According to the sources mentioned, the budget dedicated for the schools of the community went to the Talmud Torah, Y.L. Peretz Yiddish School from the "Tzisho" (translate) net, the Hebrew school Yanveh, and the Tarbut.

In Kartuz Bereza theater groups, choirs, and an orchestra of mandolins and wind instruments performed. Gentiles also participated in the orchestra, but most of the members were Jews. In theater groups and choirs only Jews participated. All were amateurs and the revenues came mostly from the sale of tickets to see the shows.

Due to the Molotov-Ribentrop agreement for the division of Poland on the eve of WWII, Kartuz Bereza moved into the domain of the Soviet Union. The Red Army entered the town and all Zionist activities were interrupted indefinitely.

The state nationalization of business and the heavy load of taxes, harmed many Jewish businesses but, in spite of everything, they made huge efforts and they gathered in cooperatives to resist being absorbed into state service.

During the delivery of ID (identity documents) in 1940, they tried to expel many Jews with the pretext that they were bourgeois, but Jewish communists gave testimony that these Jews had lost all their goods, and the decree was annulled.

On June 22, 1941 the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and the following day they conquered Kartuz Bereza. Many Jews of the town were physically hurt and their money and all things of value were confiscated. Some days after the conquest, on June 26 1941, the Kadisha synagogue was set on fire, and the devastating fire razed many houses in the surrounding area. The characteristic of Jewish life in those days was hunger, illnesses, kidnappings, and forced labor. On May 25, 1942 the Germans brought to Kartuz Bereza Jews of Selcz, and some from Malcz. In July 1942, Germans setup ghettos for the Jews: Ghetto A for productive Jews, and Ghetto B for the rest.

On July 15, 1942 the Germans seized Ghetto B telling the people that they would be transferred to Bialistok, but they took them to the train station of Bluden and from there to the forest of Brona Gura where all were shot and murdered, and buried in wells dug previously. Only two Jews were able to escape and they returned to Ghetto A. They told what had happened. Many of the residents of the Ghetto A escaped to the forests and to the town of Pruzhany, and many of them were murdered by peasants and local residents.

On October 15, 1942 the Germans seized Ghetto A. They informed Jews that they would be sent to work in Russia, but this time the Jews didn't believe them. They set on fire their merchandise and the things of value that they still had. The fire extended to all the houses of the Ghetto. The members of the Judenrat organized a meeting and when it concluded, they committed suicide. Many Jews were murdered inside the town and others, almost 1800, were transferred outside of town; there the Germans shot and murdered them.

REFERENCES

Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, US, 1902 (English) page 65

Jewish Encyclopedia, St. Petersburg, (Russian?), Book 4, p. 216

Jewish Encyclopedia, Berlin, Germany, 1929, (German)

Jewish Encyclopedia, Edit " Keter ", Jerusalem, 1979, English, page 666

Register of Communities of Poland, Volume 5, Edit Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, 5750 (1989)

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