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There was a Jewish cemetery in Zelechow: a big cemetery, where they only buried people of Jewish faith. And it was already out of town. You had to walk about two kilometers. I went there once, I think. There were a lot of those 'mecayves' [mazevot]. Lots and lots. Old and new. After the war, when I went to Zelechow, I went to the cemetery, and there were almost no mazevot any more. I heard people just used them for something. [During WWII Jewish cemeteries were often destroyed, by taking tombstones and using them to build roads or for other purposes]. That's the way it looked like.
There were baths in the town. When they built the prayer house, they also built the baths. It was made of brick, and even had white tile all around. There was hot and cold water. People used it, usually at the end of a week, on Fridays. I think it was free. And there was a man there: near the baths, he had his own place there. People would come with a hen or a rooster, and that man, how do you call it... shochet, would kill that hen. And only he did that. If somebody did it differently [killed the hen by himself], it wasn't 'kusher' [kosher]. But if he did that, it meant it was 'kusher.' And there was a rabbi, and he had his students, and he also had his place, and there was a big garden next to it, and benches in the garden. Inside there was a Talmud school. Or so I assume. I didn't use to go there, but young people with skullcaps and payes used to go there. Everything was located at more or less the same spot: shul, bes medresh, baths and shochet. All that was in the market area. Aside from the rebbe there was also a 'ruv' [rabbi]. That's a different position. There was a ruv and a rebbe. That ruv lived on the other side of the street [Pilsudskiego Street], near our house. He took care of marriages, births, deaths; he was responsible for those matters.
That was all downtown, and streets further away from the center weren't as elegant. Plain pavement. No sidewalks. And not far away, just when you turned left from Pilsudskiego Street, there was a church. A very pretty church, a beautiful church. And near the church it was also nice. A lot of trees, lawns. And further away from the town, it was less neat, less organized, poorer. That means that a cluster of richer people was in the center. Because they had their stores, of various professions, there was a market there every week. There was a special large square, farmers from the surrounding villages used to come and sell their goods. What? Milk, eggs, chickens, everything. We used to buy there, because it was cheaper. And fresh. The town was full of life on those days. Big business. That's what it looked like out in this rural area. Other stores in Zelechow mainly dealt in clothes, fabrics, farming and home equipment. The biggest profits were usually on the market day, on Tuesdays. When people came [from villages], they sold their things, and bought: flour, salt, sugar... Then people were happy on that day. It meant the trade was good. A farmer used to come in a horse carriage; if he didn't own one, he would borrow one from his neighbor. They used to come in twos, in threes, entire families, and spend all day in Zelechow. During summer they would sit at the market and eat. They would come in the morning, stay till the evening. They brought their own bread. I saw that: their bread and other things to eat, so that they would spend the least amount of money. Those villages were poor. Whoever made a good profit, sold a cow or a horse, in order to seal the sale they would go to a restaurant, have dinner, of course with vodka. And the police had something to do then. Because they would get drunk quickly. And then they would fight and they had to be taken to the police station.
There were baths in the town. When they built the prayer house, they also built the baths. It was made of brick, and even had white tile all around. There was hot and cold water. People used it, usually at the end of a week, on Fridays. I think it was free. And there was a man there: near the baths, he had his own place there. People would come with a hen or a rooster, and that man, how do you call it... shochet, would kill that hen. And only he did that. If somebody did it differently [killed the hen by himself], it wasn't 'kusher' [kosher]. But if he did that, it meant it was 'kusher.' And there was a rabbi, and he had his students, and he also had his place, and there was a big garden next to it, and benches in the garden. Inside there was a Talmud school. Or so I assume. I didn't use to go there, but young people with skullcaps and payes used to go there. Everything was located at more or less the same spot: shul, bes medresh, baths and shochet. All that was in the market area. Aside from the rebbe there was also a 'ruv' [rabbi]. That's a different position. There was a ruv and a rebbe. That ruv lived on the other side of the street [Pilsudskiego Street], near our house. He took care of marriages, births, deaths; he was responsible for those matters.
That was all downtown, and streets further away from the center weren't as elegant. Plain pavement. No sidewalks. And not far away, just when you turned left from Pilsudskiego Street, there was a church. A very pretty church, a beautiful church. And near the church it was also nice. A lot of trees, lawns. And further away from the town, it was less neat, less organized, poorer. That means that a cluster of richer people was in the center. Because they had their stores, of various professions, there was a market there every week. There was a special large square, farmers from the surrounding villages used to come and sell their goods. What? Milk, eggs, chickens, everything. We used to buy there, because it was cheaper. And fresh. The town was full of life on those days. Big business. That's what it looked like out in this rural area. Other stores in Zelechow mainly dealt in clothes, fabrics, farming and home equipment. The biggest profits were usually on the market day, on Tuesdays. When people came [from villages], they sold their things, and bought: flour, salt, sugar... Then people were happy on that day. It meant the trade was good. A farmer used to come in a horse carriage; if he didn't own one, he would borrow one from his neighbor. They used to come in twos, in threes, entire families, and spend all day in Zelechow. During summer they would sit at the market and eat. They would come in the morning, stay till the evening. They brought their own bread. I saw that: their bread and other things to eat, so that they would spend the least amount of money. Those villages were poor. Whoever made a good profit, sold a cow or a horse, in order to seal the sale they would go to a restaurant, have dinner, of course with vodka. And the police had something to do then. Because they would get drunk quickly. And then they would fight and they had to be taken to the police station.
Period
Location
Zelechow
Poland
Interview
Waclaw Iglicki