Michaliszki — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Jews probably started to settle in Michaliszki (Rus. Mikhailishky) in the 17^th century, during a period of the village's development under the rule of the Brzostowski family. A Jewish cemetery was established there in the first decades of the 18^th century or earlier – the oldest headstone dates back to 1738. In 1765, there were 396 tax-paying Jews in Michaliszki. The owner of the settlement, Ksawery Kotwicz, believed that the presence of Jews would prove beneficial to its development, so he allowed the local Jews to buy small plots of lands and carry out farming activities. Most of the incomers purchased land and used it to grow fruit, potatoes and other vegetables. Some also bred cows, goats or horses. Others traded in timber and linen or became craftsmen. In the 1880s, Jews constituted the majority of the town's population. In 1877, a synagogue was opened in the town, which also had a big beit midrash and several Jewish schools operating there. The first rabbi of the local community was Jehuda Lejb Karelitz. He served as a rabbi for about 60 years until his death in 1880. He was succeeded by Jehuda Lejb Gordon, and then by Szabtaj Mordechaj Feinberg (died in 1909). In 1897, 951 out of 1224 inhabitants of Michaliszki were Jews.

During WWI, Michaliszki was bombed and numerous houses were destroyed. Most Jews ran away from the village but returned soon after. Germans occupied Michaliszki for 3 years, they confiscated horses and cattle, and forced local people to provide them with produce from their farms. Most inhabitants of the village experienced poverty.

When the war ended, the inhabitants of Michaliszki started to rebuild their village. The local Jews received some help from abroad. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee opened a local kitchen for orphans and the poor, while in 1919, YEKOPO [acronym of Jewriejskij komitet pomoszczy żertwam wojny – The Jewish Committee for the Relief of War Victims; an Russian organisation aiming to provide help for the Jews who suffered during the war – ed.] constructed three houses for homeless families, along with a new bath house.

In 1922, Michaliszki returned to Poland. The local life started to get back to normal; shops, workshops and market stalls were opened, although the economy of the town never fully recovered and did not manage to get back to its prewar glory. Small Jewish traders from Michaliszki had to compete with a Polish cooperative which received financial support from the government. Polish farmers started to resign from the brokerage of Jewish traders and sold their goods by themselves. Moreover, a group of shoemakers from Vilnus settled in Michaliszki and started competing with the local Jewish traders by selling cheap clothing and shoes. Only Jewish bakers did not experience major difficulties. Theoretically, their professional license could only be renewed if their bakeries had undergone complete renovation, but in practice, it was enough to renovate only a small part of the building.

After the war, many local Jews were actively involved in politics. One after another, branches of numerous parties and various youth organisations started to appear: He-Chalutz, He-Chalutz ha-Tzair, Ha-Shomer Ha-Tzair, and, at the end of 1920 – Betar (the Trumpeldor Association of Jewish Youth). The General Jewish Labour Bund also had some supporters in the town.

Michaliszki also thrived with cultural and educational activities. At the beginning of 1920, two new Jewish schools were opened. One of them gave lessons in Yiddish, the other one – operating under the patronage of the Jewish Cultural and Educational Association Tarbut – in Hebrew. Adults could participate in evening courses on Jewish culture, literature and history. There was also a local Jewish library, which housed a theatre club. In the 1920s, the local Jewish community founded a nursing home in Michaliszki.

In 1925, there were 620 Jews living in Michaliszki. At that time, the local rabbi was Zvi Entin, who in 1929 also became the President of the Gemilut Chesed Charity.

The anti-Semitic attitudes gaining ground in the 1930s also affected the population of Michaliszki. There were calls to boycott Jewish shops and acts of vandalism – Jewish property was destroyed, market stalls smashed, tables tipped over.

On 17 September 1939, the Red Army entered Michaliszki and the period of Soviet occupation started; private companies were either closed or nationalised, a workers' cooperative was created and many people were hired there. The Tarbut school was closed, while other schools had to follow the Soviet curriculum. As recalled by Esther Katz Livingston: “The Russians wanted to convert us all into proud citizens of the USSR, so they banned education in Polish or Hebrew at our schools. We, the children, were supposed to join the ranks of Pioneer – a Russian youth organisation. As I saw it back then, not all the changes were actually bad. The education got better. Many young people got jobs in the area. So did my father. […] In the short period of the Russian occupation, the Jewish community in our town did not experience anti-Semitism. One of the reasons for that was that even the local anti-Semites were afraid of Russians.

In June 1941, the German Army entered Michaliszki. “Everyone came to the market square to see the new occupant. Berl Matz, an old man who spoke German and remembered how well behaved German soldiers had been during WWI, approached a German officer to talk to him and the officer hit him in the face without any reason. That was our first meeting with the Germans.” The presence of Germans gave way to the activity of local anti-Semites: “Even before the Germans had taken the town, anti-Semitism resurfaced. The Poles from Michaliszki burnt down our synagogue, others broke into our houses and plundered them. [...] When Germans arrived, many Poles offered their help with identifying Jews. Most nice Jewish houses were taken by the Germans, others by Poles. Germans set up their bakery in the local beit midrash, using the scrolls of Torah as burning fuel. All Jews were ordered to wear a yellow patch on their clothes; they were forbidden from gathering in the market square and contacting other inhabitants in any way. Plundering of Jewish property was commonplace.

In October 1941, the Nazis created a ghetto; it housed 1,500 Jews who were in Michaliszki at that moment. At first, it was supposed to include 50 houses, but eventually, Germans decided to cut the number by half. The area of the ghetto was surrounded by barbed wire and fully closed off; Jews were not allowed to go out. The local Judenrat was created, with Icchak Sebirski as its head and Z. Levin as his deputy. Hunger, congestion and bad sanitary conditions led to an outbreak of typhus.

Jews were also used by the Nazis as a source of free labour. A group of young men was sent to the local sawmill, and another big group was hired by the Todt Organisation – they worked at the construction of a railroad from Wilejka to Mołodeczno and were temporarily housed in a labour camp in Kuny near Ostrowiec. After 3 months, they were all exterminated and the Organisation came back to the ghetto for the next batch of men.

The German commandant of the town was notorious for his cruelty. One of the stories concerning the man was described by E. K. Livingston: “The other day, a man called Hirszl [...] was caught smuggling a chicken to the ghetto. Gisi took him to the stable in the back of the German headquarters and beat him the entire night. Then he brought him into the yard and shot him dead. He gave the chicken to my father, who worked at the stables, and told him to take it to Hirszl's wife". In the winter of 1942, it was ordered for the 50km-wide strip at the border between Lithuania and Belarus to be “free of Jews”. Within the area, four ghettos were established: in Oszmiany, Święciany, Soły, and Michaliszki. In March 1943, Jews from nearby towns were relocated to the ghetto in Michaliszki; from there, they were taken to Kaunas and Vilnius, and later to Ponary, where they were killed. In 1944, on the eve of the town's liberation, Germans shot 158 Jewish people near Michaliszki.

After the war, Michaliszki became a part of the USSR. Jewish survivors started to come back to the town. According to E. K. Livingston, 82 Jews from Michaliszki survived the war: 22 had gone into hiding or fled to Russia and 60 survived various concentration camps. Still, they were not safe even back in their hometown. Icchak Kac, Dwora Klor and Szlojmke Kaplanowicz, who survived the war in a dug-out, died on the day of their return to Michaliszki. Lejbel Gabiser was killed by a peasant who did not want to give him back his personal property left behind during the war. Chaim Sternblitz, aged 20, died on his way to work.

From: Sztetl