Amusements and Diversions  

An extract from the book Amol in Rassein (Once Upon a Time in Rassein)

(C) 1976 - George M. D. Wolfe. Reproduced here with permission

"Lacking rail service, telephones, a newspaper, good roads, Rassein was relatively isolated from other towns and cities of Lithuania, let alone other sections of Czarist Russia and the world beyond. There were commercial contacts with such cities as Warsaw, where my father traveled from time to time on buying trips for our store and as the Germans felt more and more secure in their occupation they permitted travel to Koenigsberg and even Berlin to a few seeking medical help, such as my father.

There was regular correspondence with America, except during the war years, where so many of Rassein's young men had settled, chiefly to avoid the dreaded draft into the armies of the Czar.

Perhaps as a result of this isolation the Rassein Jewish community developed a very lively cultural life in which young men and women, in their late 'teens and twenties took a leading part. Out of school and only marginally involved in their families' businesses these semi-educated but well-read sons and daughters of the thin layer of middle class "cultured" families obviously had talent and a great deal of time on their hands. Musicals at which gifted performers such as Grisha Mankovsky, the town's outstanding violinist, participated were frequently held in private homes. A number of young men, including my brother, organized a balalaika orchestra. There were outings in the summer in the country and to the nearby river Dubissa, where the Russian army made a vain attempt to halt the German advance. These were organized excursions with hampers of food, games and group singing.

There was no public library but one of our relatives, the somewhat eccentric Ailyeh Berman, organized a small lending library in his apartment. During most of the year the Sod which was probably privately owned, was the center of many public activities. Prior to the German occupation the band attached to the Russian army detachment stationed near the town performed regularly. From time to time a group of traveling circus performers, specializing as I recall it, in stunt bicycle riding, entertained visitors to the Sod. Whenever there was a performance in the Orchard there was a small general admission charge, but there were many ways of crashing the gate which I and my friends resorted to by climbing the fence which surrounded the area. Several times a year the Sod was the scene of a well organized fair for the benefit of the many charitable and political organizations in the town. Apart from enjoying whatever performances there might be, it was fun to stroll through the many alleys and paths in the Sod in search of friends and girls who were engaged in the same pursuit.

Another almost daily pleasure was to stop at a shop which produced soda water and order a glass or soda with some exotic syrup.

Most of these activities and events excluded children, or at best tolerated them, but determined youngsters were able to gain admission. Since my two sisters and older brother were active participants in some of the programs, I was able to attend most of them. This was particularly true of the performances put on by the amateur theatrical group, “The Rassein Lovers of Dramatic Art". Plays were performed several times a year and were anticipated by me as I heard my older sister Feigel, who played in most of them, discuss them at home. I cannot recall the themes or content of these plays, but they seemed to deal with family problems. In one of them there was much merriment when one of the characters, an habitual pill taker, kept asking, "Where are my pillulen?” On at least one occasion I acted in a one act play with a children's cast. After many rehearsals the play was scheduled to be performed in the Klub as part of a cultural evening. I became ill a few days before the opening, but insisted on going on and persuaded my parents to let me go, on condition that I be allowed to powder my face heavily so as to disguise my reddened face as a result of my illness.

Following the German occupation most of the town's recreational and cultural activities came to a halt, but that was only temporary. The Germans, once firmly in control, did not interfere with the normal life of the Jewish community.

As far as I and my friends were concerned the greatest contribution by the Germans to the recreational resources of the town was the introduction of Movies! I presume that at first this was inaugurated for the benefit of the military, but as the number of occupying troops dwindled, movie showings were opened to the general public for a small fee. For me the motion picture was as novel as it was exciting. So far as I can recall none of the silent motion pictures shown dealt in any way with the war or occupation. They seemed to deal with bizarre themes and some of them were not unlike "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," or so it seemed to me. Being introduced for the first time to kino-moving pictures, I was enchanted by this marvel and was told by a German soldier that a toy moving picture projector and film was available in German toy shops. When my sister Frieda returned from Germany where she accompanied my father for medical treatment, she brought me this toy and an impressive stamp album. These were probably the first and only toys I ever received as presents.

Film showings were scheduled for late afternoon and evening and I tried to see all of the programs, which were changed weekly or more often. I did not have a regular allowance, but was given small change for helping in the store and occasionally won small amounts in card games, but young people were constantly short of funds. To save on the price of admission to the Kino, my friends and I developed a simple device which called for the purchase of tickets by two of us who then collected stubs from patrons already admitted which we took out to our waiting confederates on the pretense of going to the outhouse. The film programs continued as long as the occupation lasted. On evacuating the town the Germans took all of their equipment, depriving us of one of their most popular contributions to the recreational life of Rassein". 

......

"Apart from the introduction of motion pictures, occasional vaudeville type acts for the entertainment of the military, concerts and musicales, and virtuoso performances by individual soldiers, there was constant movement throughout the occupation period. Marching and singing soldiers were everywhere in evidence. The Kaiser's and Austrian Emperor's birthdays were observed ceremoniously. As the occupation wore on, the Christian community resumed the practice of holding religious processions. Market days were held once more and since attendance in school was becoming lax, I was able to visit the market frequently and to observe whatever else was going on in the town on those days.

There were no organized sports and meager play equipment, but this did not preclude a very active outdoor play life throughout the year. Games and play activities which I enjoyed most were desultory forms of ball playing using small rubber balls, hide and go seek, hoop rolling, a form of bocci employing a small metal ball to knock out walnuts placed in a long row some distance from the players (this was a gambling game for small change common during the Passover period when walnuts seemed to be available), tree climbing, boating, card playing, wooden sword and gun play during the occupation , using a slingshot, various forms of leap frogging, jousting piggy back fashion, balancing long poles on one's finger and nose, swinging in the parks, foot races, a form of tiddly winks using small animal bones for equipment, and a good many games improvised on the spur of the moment, some of them suggested by the more or less organized games of the Germans". 

Navigation between the chapters:-  Use the side bar, or the links below

Cover     :     Early Memories of Rassein     :     Jewish Rassein      

Schooling    :    Making Matzoh    :   Whats in a name        

Household Chores    :    The Sabbath, Holidays and Holy Days  

Amusemenyt and Diversions   :   Trade and Commerce   :     Clothing