Gorlice
(Gorlits, Gorlitse, Gorlitza)
~ In loving memory, Sylvia Ring Rosenfeld ~
b. 2 April 1902 - d. 8 May 1998
~ In loving memory, Sylvia Ring Rosenfeld ~
b. 2 April 1902 - d. 8 May 1998
Location
- Southern Poland, 178.5 miles south of Warsaw
- Map Coordinates: 49°40'/21°10'
Gorlice is located on local road #98 south of Krakow between
Jaslo and Nowy Sacz in what is now the Polish Province
of Malopolskie ("Little Poland"). It lies in the Ropa and
Sekowka River Valley, ringed by ridges of the Carpathian
mountains. The Gorlice of today is in a heavily populated
region 14.6 miles from Jaslo, 21.2 miles from Nowy Sacz, 25.5
miles from Tarnow, and 62.6 miles from Krakow. The
name "Gorlice" is pronounced as if its English spelling were
"Gor-leetz-eh," with the stress falling on the middle syllable.
Map of the Province of Malopolskie
Political History with Regard to Location
Prior
to
1772,
Gorlice
was
in
Poland.
Almost
no
Jewish
families
lived
in
Gorlice,
though
Jews were allowed to live in the nearby town of Nowy
Sacz. At the time of the first partition of Poland in
1772, the large mountainous area that includes the northern
slopes of the Carpathian Mountains and the valleys of the
upper Vistula, Dniester, Bug, and Seret rivers--and which also
includes Gorlice--came under Austrian domination as the
political entity of Galicia. Eventually, this area was
densely populated by Jews, with many of them settling in
Gorlice during the 19th century. Between World War I and World
War II, the area that had been Galicia belonged to
Poland. Today, although some of the territory that once
comprised Galicia is in Ukraine, Gorlice and its surrounds are
located in Poland.
Historical
Maps of Poland before and after Partition
Polish
Jewish
Genealogy Question and Answers, Part I
Polish
Jewish Genealogy Questions and Answers, Part II
This Web site provides a thumbnail sketch of Polish Jewish history in and around Gorlice. Those wishing an excellent in-depth view of Polish Jewish history, however, will find it by consulting the sites below:
Dr. Mike
Rosenzweig's Jewish-Polish Heritage
AICE
Jewish Virtual Library History Tour
Gorlice in the 19th Century
Even
before
the
end
of
the
19th
century,
Jews
in
Gorlice
comprised
50%
of
the
local population, which, by the end of the century, numbered
more than 6,000 souls. The non-Jewish population was
engaged primarily in farming; and there was also a lumber
trade, with lumber coming from the many forested hills of the
surrounding Carpathian mountain region. Gorlice's Jews
traded primarily in wine and corn. In the 2nd half of
the 19th century, oil was found in the area surrounding
Gorlice. In 1883 the Glinik machinery manufacturing
plant was built, and in 1885 the Glimar oil refinery was
established.
Life
in
19th-century
Gorlice
was
peaceful,
perhaps
almost
idyllic.
Jews
communicated
with
each
other
in
Yiddish, the universal language of European Jewry despite
local differences in pronunciation. Jewish mothers in
Gorlice in the 19th century and the first part of the 20th
might have sung for their children some of the same Yiddish
songs available at the following site:
On the Sabbath, children frolicked freely on strolls with their parents through the fields to the south of Gorlice. In summer, people went bathing in the river that flowed through the eastern part of the city. They sometimes called this the "River Nile." Because of its setting in the surrounding mountains, Gorlice's Jews compared their town to Jerusalem. The Jewish cemetery was located on the western slope of "Cemetery Mountain," just beyond and somewhat lower than Gorlice's Christian cemetery.
Gorlice's Jewish Cemetery (After clicking, scroll down to Gorlice.)
The
Jewish Cemetery, which dates back to the 19th century, has been
partially restored and is no longer without a gate or a
fence. To take a walk through this cemetery, just click on
the link below.
A Photo Tour of Gorlice's Jewish
Cemetery
Tomasz Wisniewski's
Pre-World War I Historic Postcards
Pre-World War I Gorlice
Area Jewish Businesses
Sadly, one of the biggest battles of World
War I took place on the outskirts of Gorlice on May 2,
1915. German and Austro-Hungarian forces attacked along a
28-mile Russian front, breaking through it and pushing Russian
forces back 300 miles further east. Gorlice
sustained tremendous damage. The Web site directly below
features photos of a conquered Russian position on the road to
Gorlice, a shelled house in Gorlice, the bombing of
Gorlice taken from a gas balloon, and an armored transport on a
winding road in Galicia. The gentlemen shown on the
medallion in the center are Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Franz
Joseph II.A Polish Web Site with Clickable Pictures of Gorlice and Environs after Battle (cathedral, German dugout, view of city, typical street, market day in ruins, German soldier's grave near Gorlice, and military lines near Gorlice)
Map Showing the Battle Lines
Relief Map
Article on Jewish War Cemeteries
Jewish Graves, Military Cemetery, Gorlice
Grave 1
Grave 2
The rebuilding of Gorlice began after the war but was halted by World War II. In between the two World Wars, though, life for Gorlice Jews continued in a normal way. Among activities were busy market days in a central square in Gorlice. A couple of photos from the Simon Weisenthal exhibit "And I Still See Their Faces" show what this was like:
The Market Square in GorliceBagnowka Tours Photos (Enter Gorlice for Town in the search window.)Had this warning been heeded, many lives could have been saved.
The "Search for Polish Society" Site's Pre-1945 Gorlice Photos
Photos of Gorlice on the Eve of the Holocaust (1939) (Type Gorlice in the search window and hit Enter.)
Yad Vashem's Online Photos (Enter Gorlice in the search window. Some of these photos are pre-Holocaust, some during the Holocaust, and some post-Holocaust.)
Before Germany invaded Poland and the Holocaust began, Ze'ev Jabotinsky issued the following warning:
It is already THREE years that I am calling upon you, Polish Jewry, who are the crown of World Jewry. I continue to warn you incessantly that a catastrophe is coming closer. I became grey and old in these years, my heart bleeds, that you, dear brother and sisters, do not see the volcano which will soon begin to spit its all-consuming lava. I see that you are not seeing this because you are immersed and sunk in your daily worries. Today, however, I demand from you trust. You were convinced already that my prognoses have already proven to be right. If you think differently, then drive me out of your midst! However, if you do believe me, then listen to me in this twelfth hour: In the name of G-d! Let anyone of you save himself, as long as there is still time, and time there is very little.
What else I would like to say to you on this day of Tisha B'Av is whoever of you will escape from the catastrophe, he or she will live to see the exalted moment of a great Jewish wedding - the rebirth and rise of a Jewish state. I don't know if I will be privileged to see it, but my son will! I believe in this, as I am sure that tomorrow morning the sun will rise.
Ze'ev Vladimir Jabotinsky
Tisha B'av 1938
Warsaw, Poland
Holocaust Period
By
the
outbreak
of
World
War
II,
almost
10,000
Jews
lived
in
Gorlice.
Some
of
them managed to get to Soviet territory before the German
invasion of Poland on September 6, 1939. Some few also
managed to hide or join partisan units.
Children
in the Gorlice Ghetto
At
first,
Jews
from
the
Gorlice
Ghetto
were
used
as
slave
laborers.
Below
is
the
story of one young Jew, Harry Balsam, who was sent to Plazow,
a labor camp outside Krakow.
Mass shootings of the
Jewish population began in 1942. On August 14, 1942, the Gorlice
Ghetto was established. Gorlice's remaining Jews were
crowded into it and were joined by Jews from some of the
surrounding areas. In Poland, there were organized efforts by the
non-Jewish population to resist the Nazi's plan to exterminate
Jews. There were also efforts by ordinary Poles to save their Jewish neighbors.
The Gorlice area was no exception.
Gorlice Area Righteous
Gentiles
Testimony of Father Jan
Patrzyk, One of the Righteous
Yad Vashem's Recognition of Father
Patrzyk and Barbara Patrzyk
The Story
of Righteous Gentile Maria Kotarba
In spite of such efforts, though, most of Gorlice's Jews perished--some along with their would-be rescuers, some turned in by informants seeking a reward, and some as a result of "aktions" or selections easy for the Germans to accomplish once the Jews had been sequestered in a ghetto and deprived of any means of defending themselves or escaping. In August of 1942, the Gorlice ghetto was established for Jews from Gorlice and Jews from some of the neighboring villages. Around the same time, about 1,000 Jews from Gorlice and the neighboring town of Bobowa (famous for the Bobover Rebe, Ben-Zion Halberstam) were transported by truck to Garbacz, just outside Gorlice. There they were shot. Samuel Oliner, now a professor at Humboldt College but then a boy of 12, escaped detection by hiding on a rooftop the day the Bobowa ghetto was liquidated and--with the help of a plan devised by a "righteous Gentile" Polish peasant woman--was able to suvive until the end of the war by masquerading as a Polish boy. To read some of Dr. Oliner's eye-witness account of the Nazi roundup of the Bobowa ghetto's Jews from his book Restless Memories, click on the link below. Warning: This material has been put on a separate, linked page because of its highly graphic and disturbing nature. It is not appropriate for children.
The Roundup in Bobowa
A Poem, "Epitaph"
It
can
be
presumed
that
the
scene
in
Gorlice
was
very
similar
to
what
Dr.
Oliner describes in Bobowa. Factory workers in
Gorlice were allowed to live somewhat longer than the rest of
the Jews there, since they were useful to the Nazis. But
ultimately all Jews who had not been deported for forced labor,
been killed, or managed to escape from the area were sent to
Belzec extermination camp. About 50 surviving Jews came
back to Gorlice after liberation of the area by the
Russians. Some of these Jews arranged for the erection of
a memorial in the Garbacz woods at the site of the mass grave
where the massacre of Jews from Gorlice and Bobowa had taken
place.
The Memorial at GarbaczThe Jewish population in Gorlice dwindled down to nothing following the erection of this memorial, since returning Jews encountered little welcome from the Polish population and soon left. Nonetheless, the memorial remains as a reminder of what happened at this site.
A
Translation of Selected Items from the Gorlice Yizkor Book
A Scanned Copy
of the Yizkor Book, with All Its Illustrations
Survivor Affairs Department, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Yad Vashem and Its Remembrance Projects Further
Information on How to Find Holocaust Survivors
Modern Gorlice
Today, Gorlice is a large, modern city with more than 30,000 inhabitants. It has three post offices, three railway stations, a regional museum, a cultural center, a public library with two branches, a music school, a technical school, various sports facilities, a hospital, and a large hotel as well as a motel and guest houses. Its numerous restaurants even include pizzerias! Gorlice is, however, devoid of Jews; and its former synagogue has been turned into a bakery.
A Photo of the Former Synagogue
The Former Synagogue by Night
(Bogusław Lewiński photo)
Despite sad sights like the former
synagogue, there is some measure of hope for the future
because of the number of young Poles who have found that they
have partially Jewish ancestry and are now eager to learn more
about their roots in this culture that was once so vibrant in
Poland.
Robert Huk's Fotogaleria Gorlice Pages (Click on "dalej" to go forward, "wstecz" to go back.)
A Web
Site All in Polish, but with Clickable Photos
Gorlice Municipal Web Site
(now entirely in Polish but with many interesting Gorlice
photos)
Map Showing Gorlice and Nearby Towns
A Map of Poland Showing Gorlice
A
Smaller Section from the Above Map
Although the official word is that no 19th-century records of
Jewish births, marriages, and deaths in Gorlice have survived,
some vital records pertaining to people from Gorlice have been
located in various archives by the Jewish Records Indexing
Project of JewishGen (http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/).
These
appear
to
be
records
of
events
that
involved
Gorlice
citizens
but
took
place
in
other locales. Other types of records for Gorlice Jews,
such as passport records, are also available at JRI
Poland. To search the database:
Search Page
at Routes to Roots Foundation
Logan Kleinwak's
Search Engine for Online Historical Directories
The museum
in Gorlice has limited information on prominent Jewish people
who had significant commercial interests in the area.
Inquiries may be addressed to: Regional Museum PTTK,
str.Waska 7, Gorlice, POLAND (phone: 352-26-15).
You can also search for Gorlice records identified by the
Mormons at the following site:
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/fhlc/
The
book
Żydzi gorliccy, by
Władysław Boczoń, published by W. Boczoń in Gorlice in 1998,
although written in Polish, has maps, photos, and charts that
should be of interest to Gorlice researchers. This book is
available through Inter-Library Loan from Florida Atlantic
University Library, Harvard University Widener Library,
the Library of Congress, Ohio State University Library, Stanford
University Library, the University of Florida Library, and the
University of Toronto John P. Robarts Library. It can also
be perused at the non-lending libraries of the Hoover Institute
on War, Revolution & Peace and the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
To search the JewishGen Family Finder for other people researching Gorlice, click on the button below.
To search for people from Gorlice in the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry
Books and Archival Documents on Gorlice at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (Click on "Search the Collections," and enter "Gorlice" into subsequent search windows. You may need to click on the name of a collection to get a search window.)
Advice for Travelers going to Poland and Gorlice
A Special Interest Group for People with Roots in Galicia
The Best Site for Jewish Genealogical Research
The IAJGS International Jewish Cemetery Project
A Bibliography for Polish Genealogical Research
To Find Information on Other Shtetls
The author of these pages would like to thank Alexander Sharon, Dr. Samuel P. Oliner, Mike Kazakevitch (who helped with scanning), and Leonard Markowitz for their kind assistance. By contributing all of the text on the "Roundup in Bobowa" page and the photos and text for the "Memorial at Garbacz" page, Dr. Oliner enabled the construction of a significant section on the Holocaust. The information on what life was like for Jews in Gorlice in the 19th century comes from Mr. Markowitz's interesting account of a trip to Poland, which can be viewed in its entirety at: http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/pl-trav.txt
An excellent Polish Web site MINIX, suggested by Mr. Sharon, was the source of much other data. Unfortunately, the English pages, with beautiful photos and much information, are no longer at the site.
Thanks also to Eric dosSantos, who allowed the author to crop and use his extraordinary photos of fiery sunsets on the pages describing the roundup in Bobowa. These sunset photos and others by Eric can be seen at: http://www.adventureliving.com/home/journeys/costa/sunsets/index.html
Thanks
are certainly due Kazimierz Migacz and his brother, Andrzej
Migacz, who was instrumental in getting Kazimierz's photos
of Gorlice's former synagogue and Jewish cemetery for this
ShtetLinks site. Kazimierz, a resident of Czchów,
Poland, has been writing a book about Gorlice but allowed
the use here of his valuable photos prior to book
publication--an act of unusual kindness. The author is
additionally grateful to Andrzej Migacz for sending Bogusław Lewiński's
large photos of the Gorlice Jewish Cemetery and the night-time
view of the former synagogue and to Bogusław Lewiński for his
permission to publish these photos at the Gorlice ShtetLinks
site.
The four historic postcards were contributed by Allen Bergman. The author is additionally grateful to Allen Bergman for making her aware of Władysław Boczoń's book Żydzi gorliccy (The Jews of Gorlice). In this connection, special thanks are due Maria Boczoń, widow of the author of Żydzi gorliccy. The hand-drawn map showing Gorlice features during World War II was a personal gift from Maria, and Maria also gave the author of this Web site generous permission to republish any material from Żydzi gorliccy, written by her deceased husband, a member of the Council for Aid to Jews (code name: Zegota). Maria--who in a single day in 1943 lost two brothers, shot by the Nazis as hostages, and her father, Jan Benisz, shot for his participation in Zegota--is a fund of information on the Holocaust in Gorlice, a local treasure who generously shared five hours of her time as well as much material during the author's trip to Poland in August of 2004.
Special thanks must go also to Shlomo Balsam for putting the author in touch with Colin Balsam and to Colin for donating the amazing account of his father Harry Balsam's survival in Plaszow Camp and on a subsequent death march. And thanks are due J. Victor Stern, whose "Return to Gorlice" appears at this site and who discovered the valuable fact that the museum in Gorlice has photos of Gorlice Ghetto residents. Last,
but certainly not least, the author wishes to thank her Polish
friend Robert Huk, who donated all of the colored photos that
appear on this page. Robert is a Gorlice resident whose
work has been exhibited at galleries throughout
Poland. Currently, his fine exhibit of crosses and churches,
well worth looking at, can be seen online at:
http://www.opoka.org.pl/biblioteka/B/BG/huk/sztuka_sakralna/sztuka_sakralna1.html.
Additionally, Robert has a site of his own: http://www.fotogaleria.art.pl/.
Click
under
the
large
image
to
get
to
a
page
with
various
clickable
categories
of
photos. The pages with photos of Gorlice start at http://www.fotogaleria.art.pl/Gorlice/gorlice1.htm.
(Click
on
"dalej"
to
go
forward,
"wstecz"
to
go
back.)
In
addition
to
Robert's
Gorlice
pages and other beautiful photos, you can view, under Pejzaze
Beskidow, 12 pages of excellent photos of the
countryside in the Beskid Niski region, of which Gorlice is a
part.
To all of the above-named persons, without whom this site would not have been possible, the author is most grateful.
References
(In addition to sites to which links have been provided
above,
following are some, but not necessarily all, of the other
sources consulted.
Information was also derived from personal interviews and
correspondence.)
Books and Articles
Boczoń, Władysław. Żydzi gorliccy (The Jews of Gorlice),
Gorlice, 1998.
Bergman, Paulina. And Not as a Broken Shard (Velo
Kaheres
Hanishbar). Private edition printed in Israel, 1990.
Bartoszewski, Władysław and Lewin, Zofia, editors. Righteous among Nations: How
Poles Helped the Jews, 1939-1945. Earlscourt
Publications Ltd., London, 1969.
Gilbert, Martin. The
Boys: The Untold Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp
Survivors. Henry Holt and Company, New
York, NY, 1997.
Markowitz, Leonard. Unpublished manuscript on Galicia and general area of Gorlice sent to Marjorie Rosenfeld. Includes material from translation by Pawel Kursz, Mr. Markowitz's Polish guide, with editing by Mr. Markowitz, of an article from the Geographic Dictionary of Poland and other Slovanic Nations (1884), from the Gorlice Memorial Book, by M.Y. Bar-on, ed., and from Oliner, Dr. Samuel P., Restless Memories.
Markowitz, Leonard. "Tracing Your Roots in Poland," 1995. JewishGen InfoFile Travelogue.
Oliner, Samuel P. Restless Memories: Recollections of the Holocaust Years, 2nd rev. Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA, 1986.
Taylor, A.J.P. The First World War: An
Illustrated History. Capricorn Books, New
York, NY, 1972.
Web Sites
AICE American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise Jewish Virtual
Library: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html)
Dwor Karwacjanow (Karwacjans Court): http://www.gorlice.art.pl/
Euro-Fresh: http://www.eurofresh.se/
(http://www.eurofresh.se/poland-map/index.htm)
(http://www.eurofresh.se/poland-map/polska7.htm)
Federation of East European Family History Societies: http://www.feefhs.org/
FEEFH Map Library: http://www.feefhs.org/maplibrary.html
(http://www.feefhs.org/maps/ah/ah-galic.html)
Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland
(POLIN): http://www.polin.org.pl
(http://www.polin.org.pl/cities/361/galeria/16818/)
Ghetto Fighters' House: http://english.gfh.org.il/
(http://partisans.org.il/Site/site.advsearch.en.aspx)
(http://iis.infocenters.co.il/gfh/search.asp?lang=ENG)
Glinik: http://www.glinik.pl/
Gorlice Municipal Web Site: http://www.gorlice.pl/
Holocaust History Project: http://www.holocaust-history.org/
(http://www.holocaust-history.org/short-essays/finding-people.shtml)
Holocaust Memorial Center: http://www.holocaustcenter.org/
(http://www.holocaustcenter.org/Holocaust/holocaustbadges.shtml)
Humboldt State University: http://www.humboldt.edu/
(http://www.humboldt.edu/~rescuers/index.html)
The Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute: http://www.humboldt.edu/~altruism/
Info-Poland: http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/
(http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/maps/task.2.html)
INFO Ukes: http://infoukes.com/
Jewish Cemeteries in Poland: http://www.kirkuty.xip.pl/
(http://www.kirkuty.xip.pl/gorlice_eng.htm)
Israeli Center for Holocaust Survivors and the Second
Generation: http://www.amcha.org/
Miroslaw Lopata's Gorlice Cemetery Web Site: http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/
(http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/Gorlice/Gorlice.htm)
(http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/swieykowski/swiey1.htm)
(http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/b_gor_szkic_sytuacji_na_froncie.gif)
(http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/gor.relief.JPG)
Photos of Jewish Military Graves:
http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/Gorlice/zdjecia/gorlice_90a.JPG
http://www.cmentarze.gorlice.net.pl/Gorlice/zdjecia/gorlice_90b.JPG
Non-Jewish Holocaust Victims Site: http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/index.htm
Polish Jews: http://polishjews.org/
Routes to Roots Foundation: http://www.rtrfoundation.org/
(http://www.rtrfoundation.org/archdta.shtml)
Search for Polish Society: http://www.szukamypolski.com/
(http://www.szukamypolski.com/gap/galery_1b.php?cat_id=354&l=english)
"And I Still See Their Faces": Images of Polish Jews: http://motlc.wiesenthal.org/exhibits/faces/
(http://motlc.wiesenthal.org/exhibits/faces/061.html)
(http://motlc.wiesenthal.org/exhibits/faces/062.html)
(http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/gallery/pg19/pg3/pg19369.html)
SuperTravelNet.com: http://www.supertravelnet.com/
(http://www.supertravelnet.com/maps/index.php?country=237_5117_7)
Tarnow Museum: http://www.muzeum.tarnow.pl/
(http://www.muzeum.tarnow.pl/artykul.php?id=37&typ=5)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/
(http://www.ushmm.org/research/collections/)
(http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/survivoraffairs/)
Wysowa Center (formerly Glimar Hotel): http://www.izc.pl/wysowa/osrodek.html
Yad Vashem: http://www.yadvashem.org/
(http://www.yadvashem.org/wps/portal/IY_HON_Welcome)
(http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/photos.html)
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research: http://www.yivoinstitute.org/aboutyivo/about_fr.htm
(http://yivo1000towns.cjh.org/)
Zemerl Yiddish Music: http://www.zemerl.com
(http://www.zemerl.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?query=all)
Other Resources That May be of Value to People Doing Research on Polish Jewry
Bartel, Israel and Polonsky, Anthony, eds. Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry, Volume 12 (Focusing on Galicia: Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians, 1772-1918). Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. For more information, see: http://www.littman.co.uk/cat/polin-12.html
Land-Weber, Ellen. To Save a Life: Stories of
Holocaust Rescue, University of Illinois Press,
Champaign-Urbana, IL, 2000. For more information,
see: http://www.humboldt.edu/~rescuers/index.html
Please
send
comments, corrections, and suggestions for additions to
Marjorie
Stamm Rosenfeld
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Copyright © 1999 M S Rosenfeld
(Last updated on 3/17/2013)
