Selected text
We moved from Lwow to the Galician town of Boryslaw, with a newly opened Tarbut school, when I was around two. We lived at Panska Street. Boryslaw was situated in the midst of an oil-field region. It was a pioneer town. Poor housing was built without any architectural plan next to tycoon residences; mines were part of the landscape. Beyond the town there were mountains. A cobblestone street ran down the middle. Boryslaw stretched to no end on an area which was apparently comparable to that of Warsaw.
It was a very busy town. People came from everywhere looking for employment in the mines. The proletariat was really enormous. Boryslaw’s community was made up of Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians. Each of those groups constituted about a third of the population. The town grew together with the oil industry. Even water tasted of oil. Local mineral water was nicknamed oily. Apparently it had medicinal qualities, but I think it was foul.
It was a very busy town. People came from everywhere looking for employment in the mines. The proletariat was really enormous. Boryslaw’s community was made up of Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians. Each of those groups constituted about a third of the population. The town grew together with the oil industry. Even water tasted of oil. Local mineral water was nicknamed oily. Apparently it had medicinal qualities, but I think it was foul.
Period
Location
Boryslaw
Poland
Interview
Noemi Korsan-Ekert