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KROSNO

The History of Krosno

by William Leibner, Israel, June 2000; updated July 2004 & January 2009

Krosno in southeastern Poland, east of Krakow, was founded in 1324 on lands belonging to the crown. The postcard on the left (donated by Deb Raff) shows the midieval fortified town of Crosno. The city's weaving industry played an important role in the development of Krosno and perhaps contributed to the name of the city, loom in Polish . The city was also an important trade center for Hungarian wines. In 1348 it was granted a municipal charter based on the Magdenburg laws. Somewhat later, Krosno was granted the right to hold an annual fair that became well known. This commercial boost and the protection of a city wall enabled it to flourish.

Known to the Jewish inhabitants as Kros, Krosno became an important industrial, trade and craft center in the 16th century and had about 250 artisans organized in 10 guilds; the total population exceeded 3000 people. The city attracted many artists and became known as " little Krakow". The various wars, invasions and partitions brought a halt to the growth of the city. It remained dormant until the second half of the19th century.

The first Jews to settle in Krosno were the brothers Nechemia and Lazar of Regensburg in Germany who received special permits from the Polish King, Wladyslaw Jagiello in the 15th century. But there was no continuity of Jewish life in the city. Here and there a Jew was permitted to reside within the city walls but no trace of organized Jewish community life. The city population vehemently opposed Jewish presence. The guild members led the fight to keep the Jews out of the city. Krosno finally received from the crown in 1569 the privilege " de non tolerandis Judaeis " barring Jews from residing and trading within the city walls. Jewish traders living in nearby townships of Korczyna, Rymanow or Dukla were frequently jailed and their wares confiscated for attempting to enter the city. Still, Jewish merchants from nearby towns maintained contact with the city and the property census of 1851 indicates that there were three Jewish families in Krosno: Loje Grusnspan, Mojzesz Grunspan and Schije Dym

The Austrian annexation of Galicia induced several major social changes that affected Jewish life in the area. The limitations on marriages were lifted, the limitations on the residence of poor Jews were eased, professions were opened to Jews, and land could be purchased by Jews. Finally, the new Constitution of 1867 granted all citizens equality before the law. All these changes encouraged and stimulated Jews to leave their villages and hamlets for the larger cities that offered larger opportunities. Krosno was no exception, fifty families settled in the city between 1859-1890 and other 32 families arrived in the next ten years. To these official statistics we must add the unrecorded arrival of single people who lodged with families and frequently used the family name as their own until things were settled and they obtained jobs or positions. This enabled them to bring their family or to start a family.

The table below shows population of Krosno at various times:

 

Year Population Catholic Jew Orth. Catholic
1870 2132 2100 26 620
1880 2461 2318 113 30
1890 2839 2454 327 58
1900 3276 2664 567 45
1910 4353 3329 961 63
1914 5521 3893 1558 70
1921 6287 4490 1725 72

The above figures show the rapid growth of the Jewish population which outpaced the overall growth of the city as oil was discovered in the area and money flowed in to develop the industry. The railway, linking Krosno with Jaslo and Europe, followed in 1884. Industries began to develop, especially the weaving and glass making sectors. Krosno was in the midst of an economic boom. Jews kept streaming to the city and even beyond it to the distant lands of Germany and the USA.

On January 1st, 1900, the governor of Galicia granted the Jews of Krosno the right to organize their community or kehillah. The elected leaders then proceeded to organize the various local services including:

Krosno did not have a burial ground and the deceased had to be transported to the city of Rymanow. In 1904, the Kehillah selected the first and only rabbi of Krosno, Rabbi Shmuel Fuhrer. He was also the head of the Jewish judicial council, a title that made him the final arbitrator of Jewish Halachic questions in Krosno as well as the Jewish religious representative of the community of Krosno. Rabbi Shmuel Fuhrer was previously rabbi in Milowka and Krakow. Rabbi Fuhrer also consecrated the Jewish cemetery of Krosno. The Germans killed him in one of their actions to round up Jews during WW II in Krosno.
The photograph of Rabbi Fuhrer to the right is from Alexander White.

List of Jewish merchants in the city of Krosno 1912-1915.

The list begins with groceries, animals for slaughter, wood, building materials, farm tools, furniture, utensils, fuel, ready to wear clothing, fruit and vegetables, agricultural products, skins and furs, draperies, hardware stores, variety stores, coal and coke, metal and metal workshops. The table below shows the List of Merchants (originally in Polish, then translated into English).

The growing Jewish population created the need to open special Jewish stores such as butcher shops, fish stores and bakeries. In 1906 there were already two established baking families in the city, Selig Findling, and Chaim Oling. Fulka Breitowitz, Moses Breitowicz, and Wolf Mahler owned three Jewish slaughterhouses. Sender Fessel, Jacob Grunspan, and Tobiah Nagiel, owned butcher shops. Dawid Mehl led the metal industry that included Chaim Korba, Jakub Pinkas and Jonasz Steifel.The spirit industry was led by Schije Dym and Isaac Hertzig. Tax collections were in the hands of Hersh Wasserstrum and the Dym family. Jewish tailors, barbers, glaziers, shoemakers opened stores or workshops. Ritual slaughters and Hebrew teachers found employment in the city. The Jews dominated and expanded the commercial base of the city. They also developed small industries. Jewish artisans and craftsmen opened and expanded workshops.

 

Surname, first Trade (in English) Trade (In Polish)
April, sara Fabrics Towary blawatne
Beer, hersz Ready to wear Odziez gotowa
Biednar, adolf Clothing accessories Towary galanteryjne
Blaser, eliasz Leather & furs Skory i futra
Bodnar, menasze Fruits and vegetables Owoce i warzywa
Dunkel, majer Kitchen items Naczynia
Eisenberg, chaim Fabrics Towary blawatne
Eisenberg, izaak Fruits and vegetables Owoce i warzywa
Eisenberg, simche Construction items Materialy budowlane
Ellowicz, majer Kitchen items Naczynia
Feitelbaum, chaim Leather & furs Skory i futra
Fischbein, regina Furniture Meble
Gartner, chane Various goods Towary mieszane
Gerlich, ozjas Various goods Towary mieszane
Gleicher, abraham Clothing accessories Towary galanteryjne
Grunspan, jozef Fabrics Towary blawatne
Hares, izzak chaim Leather & furs Skory i futra
Heferling, israel Leather & furs Skory i futra
Heferling, israel Various goods Towary mieszane
Heller, hersz Fruits and vegetables Owoce i warzywa
Herbstman, leja Various goods Towary mieszane
Hirschfeld, mojzesz Furniture Meble
Horowitz, eliasz Grocery items Artykuly spozywcze
Horowitz, jozef Clothing accessories Towary galanteryjne
Imie i Nzwisko kupca Trade Przedmiot handlu
Just, hersch Oil Nafta
Just, naftali Oil Nafta
Kinderman, hersz Metal & metal items Zelazo i wyroby zelazne
Kinderman, izaak Metal & metal items Zelazo i wyroby zelazne
Klein, samuel Clothing accessories Towary galanteryjne
Kleiner, jakob majer Agricultural items Plody roine
Leiznar, rozner Agricultural items Plody roine
Lang, chaim Ready to wear Odziez gotowa
Margules, jacob Construction items Materialy budowlane
Margules, mehel Metal & metal items Zelazo i wyroby zelazne
Margules, naftali Various goods Towary mieszane
Matzner, eliasz Heating wood Drzewo opalowe
Meilech, abraham Fabrics Towary blawatne
Meilech, denn Coal Wegiel i koks
Muller, chaim Fabrics Towary blawatne
Orgler, chaim Various goods Towary mieszane
Pasternak, dawid ozjas Kitchen items Naczynia
Pasternak, mojzesz Various goods Towary mieszane
Pastor,szymon Grocery items Artykuly spozywcze
Pel, abracham Construction items Materialy budowlane
Platner, chaim Coal Wegiel i koks
Platner, chaim Heating wood Drzewo opalowe
Roth, berisz Agricultural items Plody roine
Roth, hersz Grocery items Artykuly spozywcze
Safran, samule Various goods Towary mieszane
Schneider, regina Fabrics Towary blawatne
Schonberg, jakob Heating wood Drzewo opalowe
Seld, szamroth Farm machines Maszyny roinicze
Stiefel, jonasz Metal & metal items Zelazo i wyroby zelazne
Storch, salomon Cattle Bydio rzezne
Stroh, mendel Various goods Towary mieszane
Trenczer, dawid Construction items Materialy budowlane
Trenczer, samuel Cattle Bydio rzezne
Trunczer, rachela Clothing accessories Towary galanteryjne
Vogel, edi Various goods Towary mieszane
Vogel, samuel Metal & metal items Zelazo i wyroby zelazne
Wasserstrum, herz Ready to wear Odziez gotowa
Weinberger, saul Leather & furs Skory i futra
Weinstein,ozjas Grocery items Artykuly spozywcze
Winter, israel Construction items Materialy budowlane
Wolf, feldes Heating wood Drzewo opalowe
Zeller, eliasz Leather & furs Skory i futra
Zwiebel, chaim Ready to wear Odziez gotowa

During the Austrian period, some Jews served in government offices. These officials were retired with Polish independence. There were only two Jews that worked for the civil service in Krosno namely Dr. Samet who gave Jewish religious instruction in the city school system and Spiegelman who worked in the post office. Jews were by and large absent from the ranks of the police forces, regular army, judicial branch or governmental civil service. They concentrated in the fields of commerce, commercial services, professions and small industry. Jews were not hired as industrial workers in the Krosno plants, especially the glass plant, the linen factory, the Tepege tool and dye plant and the "Wudeta" rubber plant that produced footwear and bicycle tires. Two Jews built the factory namely Wurzel and Daar from Tarnow. Some Jews worked in the offices of the plants but not on the production line.

During WWI, the Russian army occupied the city. The Russian soldiers looted and robbed Jewish stores and apartments. The Jewish population was instantly pauperized. Epidemics broke out and many families fled the city to return with the end of the war. The city economic life was in shambles. The American Joint Organization and the Krosner landsmanshaft in the USA {former Jews of Krosno} helped financially the revitalization of the Jewish community. Slowly the city resumed life and with it the Jewish residents. But the Polish residents of the city resented the Jewish economic presence in the city and organized boycotts aimed at Jewish stores and supported Polish co-operatives that barred Jewish commerce. The campaign intensified with time and reached a high level of confrontation. Only the winds of war ended the campaign of hatred.

Social life

Jews were by and large excluded from the social life of the city. They met the general population during the intercourse of the day for purposes of business or professional consultations. There was no socialization after work hours between the Jewish and the Christian population. The Jews organized their own societies to care for their needs. Krosno had a burial society or "Hevrah Kadisha" that tended to the needs of the deceased. Chaim Fruhman and Jacob Palant headed the society. The family usually paid the burial expenses unless they could not afford it, then the community assumed the financial burden. Krosno had a Bikur Cholim society that helped the sick. It also had a society that cared for the poor, "Tomchei Aniim" headed by Kalmen Bogen. He also headed the society for helping poor indigenous Jews that were not residents of the city. This hospice provided sleeping accommodation for one or two nights without charge and was located near Teitelbaum's inn. There were also several small Jewish banks and several mutual fund societies to help the distressed. The Jews usually kept to themselves.

Religion

The great preponderance of the Jewish population of Krosno was religious. The religious range extended from the Hassidic or very pious to the moderate or traditional religious Jews. Of course, there were some non-believers, agnostics and assimilated Jews, but they were a small minority. Jewish life revolved around the synagogue. The community built a beautiful synagogue that had three floors. The upper floor was the main synagogue of the community where Rabbi Fuhrer conducted services. The cantor of the main synagogue was Ruben Peretz Kaufman, a brother in law of the famous world-renowned cantor Yossele Rosenblat. The lower floor also served as a synagogue where the Hassidic Rabbi Arale (Aaron) Twerski, a scion of the well-known Hassidic Twerski family, conducted services. Rabbi Moshe Twerski was brought to Krosno by some well to do Hassidic Jews and established his residence in the city. His wife was the sister of the famous Rabbi of Radomsk who actually resided in Sosnowiec. When Rabbi Moshe Twerski died, his son Aaron Twerski inherited his seat in accordance with Hassidic tradition. The lower synagogue attracted the more religious and Hassidic elements in the city. The small yeshiva of Krosno also used this shul for studies.

The Synagogue

The second floor also had another synagogue namely the "Yad Harutzim" shul where merchants and artisans prayed. The third floor contained the krosno
        synagogue "mikvehs"; there was a cold and a warm mikvah. The kehilla also provided a steam room. The sexton of the synagogue and his family also lived on this floor. Services were also held at the home of Rabbi Twerski that faced the main city square. The Rabbi shared the house with the Lang family. The city also had a few small "shtibelech" or one room service halls, notably the Gerer shtibel next to Wilner's residence where followers of the Rabbi of Gur prayed. The community also maintained a religious judge or "dayan" Akiva Hammerling who was in charge of the rabbinical court. There were also a few religious slaughterers who charged the customers for their services. The latter were subsidized for people who could not afford it. The community also baked matzot for Passover at the bakery of Krill and provided the needy with the staples for the holiday. The budget of the community was based on taxes raised by the kehilla of all Jewish residents in the city.

Political life

The major Polish political parties excluded Jews from their ranks. Few Jews held important political or administrative positions in Poland.

Jewish political life revolved around the community. Who will control the community? Factions and sub factions based on personalities, wealth, political views, religious feelings and social issues fought for control of the community or kehilla. The elections were proportional and very democratic. The elected candidates selected the officers of the community. Usually the officers represented coalition forces within the community.

Some of the leaders of the Krosno Jewish community were: Bendet Axelrod, Mojszes Weisenfeld, Meshulem Weinberg, Wolf Hirshfeld, Samuel Stiefel, Leopold Dym and Ozjasz Heller. Bendet Axelrod was born in Korczyna to the well known towel industrialist Meshulam Axelrod. Father and son were distinguished community leaders in their respective cities. Bendet Axelrod (or Akselrad) pictured at left was born on April 14th 1886 and killed on July 15th 1943 at the Szebnie concentration camp in Poland. He was the head of the Jewish community in Krosno for many years and was also active on behalf of Jewish interests during the existence of the ghetto in Krosno. These people represented the various political parties in Krosno. Hirshprung and Fessel headed the Aguda or very religious party. Dr. Leopold Dym headed the Mizrahi or moderate Zionist religious party. Josef Horowitz, Samuel Rosshandler, Samuel Stiefel, and Aron Wallach led the General Zionist party. Hersh Altman and Itzik Salomon led the Revisionist or right wing party. Of course, there was also a Hitachdut group that represented several left wing groups that supported the working movement in Palestine. All these political parties had youth branches that were very active in Krosno, for the youth saw no outlet for their hopes since most avenues of general life were closed to them in Poland.

The Betar youth movement on the right was headed by Moshe Montag, the Noar Dati was the youth wing of the moderate religious party, Noar Iwri represented the center group. Gordonia and Shomer Hatzair represented the left groups. There was also the Hehalutz movement that organized and trained youngsters to settle in Palestine. As a matter of fact, most of the Zionist youth groups stressed the study of the Hebrew language and stressed the importance of Palestine as a home of the Jews. These youth societies had their own clubs that provided a social meeting ground for the Jewish youngsters.

Jews participated heavily in municipal elections and supported usually moderate city councilmen or they voted for Jewish lists that combined several political parties. There was always Jewish city councilmen in Krosno to defend the Jewish interests in the city. Some of these councilors were frequently re-elected, namely, Eber Englander, Leopold Dym and the Stiefel brothers. The mayor of the city was always Christian. The general elections were usually gerrymandered in such manner as to reduce to the minimum the number of Jewish seats in Parliament. There they were usually kept in isolation and out of reach of influence.

Education

Most Jewish children, especially boys, started "cheder" or school at the age of three. The cheder usually consisted of one room with 10-15 students. The parents selected the cheder and paid the teacher. The community also provided some help with tuition for orphans. Krosno had several cheders, notably the one of Moshe Feivel by the river, Chaim Just, Chaim Lam and Kuflick. Students studied for some years with the teacher where they learned how to read the prayers and the weekly portions of the bible. Most of them then went on to a higher cheder where the religious instruction was more intensive. Here they studied various commentaries on the bible and started to study the Talmud or religious judicial law. Some students continued their studies with private tutors but this was expensive.

Rabbi Twersky organized a small Yeshiva named "Keter Hatorah" for those students that wanted to continue to study in an organized framework. The head of the Yeshiva was Mr. Seligman. A school for girls was also established in Krosno under the leadership of Mr. Hirschfeld. A school where Hebrew was the official language of instruction was established in Krosno. The school was small but grew in numbers with the years; it was affiliated with the "Tarbut" movement or cultural movement that had a network of schools in Poland. Most Jewish children went to the Polish public elementary schools where their experiences were far from happy.

Very few students continued their studies, since secondary school was very expensive. Some Jewish students opted for trade or commercial classes, but the number of students was very limited due to the expense and the built in system of limitations for Jewish students. Very few students continued higher education that required extensive financial backing. Furthemore, Polish universities limited the number of Jewish students. Some of these went abroad to study. Still the number of Jewish professionals was impressive. Krosno boasted several Jewish medical doctors, lawyers and engineers.

Youth

Most Jewish youngsters finished their education with the elementary school. They than assisted their fathers in the business or the mothers at home. The very religious youngsters continued to study the religious texts. Most of the youth, however, saw few opportunities. The civil service, the government industries, the municipal services were closed to them. They could only hope to work in Jewish places and these were few in numbers. Thus, the attraction to the Zionist movements in Poland, especially in smaller cities likes Krosno. These movements offered hope and provided an outlet of activities, intellectual as well as physical. They also provided the great support for the two sport clubs in Krosno, namely the Gideon club with goalkeeper Gobel and the Maccabi club headed by Mendel Fish. The more prominent players of Maccabi were Jossel and Mendel Friss. Soccer was the most popular game amongst the spectators. Some Jewish youth also supported the "Bund" or Jewish socialist group, the Polish socialist movement and even the Polish communist party.

Jewish refugees

The Jews of Krosno as well as those of Poland were accustomed to seeing Jews leave Poland. This trend continued for many years until the USA established a quota system that in effect barred Polish Jews from entering the USA. Then came the great depression and Jewish emigration was stopped. This was followed by the rise of Hitler to power in Germany. The Jewish residents were soon forcibly returned to their native lands. The Jews of Krosno were alarmed by the arrival of Jews from Germany. These Jews were residents or natives of Krosno that had left the city for Germany where they found employment. With Hitler's rise to power, they were persecuted and finally chased out of Germany under one or another pretext. Close to 200 Jews from Germany arrived in Krosno, most of them penniless. One exception was the Leiner family that brought a mechanical ice-cream machine and began to sell the product.. Up to this time, ice cream was made by hand and rather expensive. The community launched an appeal to help these refugees. The refugees told terrible stories about Germany that depressed everybody. These reports confirmed the ravings of the German propaganda machine against the Jews. But there was nothing to do, the gates of most countries were closed to Jews. The latter continued to hope for better days.

World War II

Poland was attacked on September 1, 1939. Krosno was bombed the first day of the war for it had a small military airport, a railway station and industries. The Germans entered the city on September 9,1939. A proclamation was immediately issued ordering all Jews to leave the city of Krosno. Many Jews hid in the city or in the countryside, others crossed the river San into an area that the German Army left free. Slowly, the Jews reappeared in the city, even some of those that crossed the river, to the so-called Russian section, returned to Krosno. Soon the Gestapo arrived and took control of the city. The mayor of Krosno, Mr. Bergman, his brother, and other influential political and intellectual non-Jewish leaders were arrested and disappeared without leaving a trace. The chief of the Gestapo in Krosno was Oscar Schmatzler and he did as he pleased in the city (He was tried and executed after the war). Von Davier, Stengler and Backer assisted him. The over all Gestapo chief of the area was Von Ruschwitz whose office was in Jaslo.

All Jews were ordered to wear a white armband with a blue star. They were forbidden to enter parks or public institutions but they remained in their apartments and kept their business, those that were not looted in the first days of the occupation. Some of the wealthy Jews were forced to leave their apartments in order to make room for the new rulers. The Germans appointed Yehuda Engel head of the "Judenrat". He was a native of Krosno who lived many years in Germany and was kicked out by Hitler. His assistant was Moshe Kleinman. They then selected a council of several members that included Dr. Jakub Baumring, Mosze Weisenfeld, Samuel Rosshandler and Mendel Bialywlos. The council soon created a Jewish police and some special social departments to cope with the many problems, notably, the Jewish refugees that arrived penniless from Lodz and other areas. These people were practically dumped at the Krosno railway station. They were lodged and to a certain extend fed by the council. The council had created a J.S.S. (Jewish Self-Help) committee that was supported financially by the local Judenrat and the main office of the J.S.S. in Krakow. This committee established a free food kitchen for those that could not afford to pay for the food. The JSS also provided food allocations for the needy prior to holidays.

The Krosno "Judenrat" was totally controlled by the Gestapo and carried out all their demands to the letter. Yehuda Engel consulted to a certain extent his council but basically run the show himself. He tried to alleviate the situation where possible but had to provide labor forces for the various needs of the German occupiers. He was also ordered to establish a list of the Jewish population of Krosno in June of 1941. The list has 72 names. We don't know how accurate the registration was or whether everybody was registered. Some of the survivors indicate that the list is pretty accurate although they themselves are not listed. The pauperization of the Jewish community continued at a rapid paste, especially after Germany attacked Russia. Hunger, misery and fear were the daily lot of the Jew in Krosno. Then posters appeared on August 9th, 1942 ordering all Jews to appear the next day at 9 AM at the Targowica square (the old cattle market, next to the railway station). They were all limited to a 10-kilo suitcase. They assembled on August 10,1942. Here, the selection was held, the young and able bodied were spared, the old and sick were taken to the forest near Brzezow and shot. About a thousand people were pushed onto a train that will head in the direction of the death camp of Belzec where they will all perish. All day, the Germans searched the city for hidden Jews and shot them on the spot upon discovery. The same evening, a small ghetto that already existed for several weeks was sealed off from the rest of the city. The new ghetto contained about 300-600 Jews. They remained there until Friday, the week of Hannukah, December 4th, 1942, when they were all shipped to the ghetto of Rzeszow, or Reishe. Some Jews still remained in the area of Krosno where there were several labor camps namely at the Krosno military airport. There a large number of Krosno Jews were employed including Yaakov Breitowicz and Alexander Bialywlos; but the city was essentially clear of Jews. Some Jews were hidden namely Stefan Stiefel and a few Jewish children including Batia Axelrod, the daughter of Bendet Axelrod, and a member of the Nussbaum family

With the liberation of the city of Krosno, some Jewish survivors began to appear amongst them Vitka Kempner. She was a resident of Kalisz in the area of Poznan that reached Wilno during the German occupation of Poland. She joined Abba Kovner’s partisans and fought the Germans until they were defeated by the Russians. Following the war, Kovner directed her to assume the “Bricha” or escape route office in Krosno. The “Bricha” organization was a secret organization dedicated to send all Jews of Eastern Europe to Palestine. The members of the organization were ex-partisans, soldiers of the Jewish brigade and camp survivors. The city of Krosno was located near the Polish-Czechoslovakian (presently Slovakian) border. Surviving Jews reached the city as individuals or groups and were organized into transports. Vitka then took them across the Polish border into Slovakia where they continued their journey to the Rumanian ports on the Black Sea; there ships would take them to the shores of Palestine. Vitka Kempner managed this office for almost one year, from about the middle of 1945 to the middle of 1946. This youngster with some assistants managed to run the office quite successfully during this chaotic period in Poland, where Jews were killed sporadically across the country. As the Polish government improved her control of the country, her borders were closed. The Bricha office in Krosno was closed. Vitka and her assistants disappeared only to reappear later in Palestine. The few surviving Jews of Krosno left the city, and thus ended Jewish history in Krosno.

Bibliography:

  1. Breitowicz, Yaacov, To Hell and Back. Survivor from Krosno, Galicia.
  2. Berger, Ronald J., Constructing a collective memory of the Holocaust. University, Press of Colorado. 1995
  3. Raczy, Elizabeta, Ludnosc Zydowska w Krosnie do 1919 roku. Biblioteka Krosnienska, 1995
  4. Cohen, Richard, The Avengers, A.Knopf publishing co. 2000 Holocaust Encyclopedia
  5. Yad Vashem Archives
  6. Holocaust Encyclopedia
  7. Interviews with Krosno survivors who provided background information and helped with the spelling of Jewish names in Krosno.

William Leibner, Jerusalem, Israel, June 20th 2000; updated July 27th, 2004, updated January 2009.

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NYC Krosno Landsmanshaften

The Krosno Landsmanshaft was mentioned in the article by Bill Leibner, above. So we know that at least one existed, the Krosno Yedliczer Youn Men's Benevolent Society. At this time we believe that this society is no longer in existence. We were unable to locate the NYC incorporation papers of the Krosnoer Landsmanshaften, but we will continue searching. In these papers the details of incorporation and the founding officers are usually listed. These societies were created for voluntary mutual benefit and aid ...voluntarily aiding the members and family financially in case of necessity or illness ...and assistance from time to time in case of need.

Typically the Landsmenshaften owned a common cemetery plot. The photograph on the left is of the Krosno Yedliczer Young Men's Benevolent Society. We found this one in Beth David Cemetery, just outside of New York City. The graves are all registerred in our JewishGen burial database at https://www.JewishGen.org/databases/cemetery/. If you have any information about the society or a cemetery plot, please contact Jeff Alexander.

In October of 2012 I received the photograph of the Krosno Yedliczer Landsmenshaften gate on the right from Elissa Sampson. The date of the gate is May 30, 1928 and the names of the officers from this landsmanshaften were:

Elissa told the story as she remembered it: "Grandpa's landsleit society was named "First Krosno Yedliczer". Isidor Moskowitz, grandma Sylvia's uncle was the president. I have photos of Izzy and family (he had 4 daughters who married in New York); he and his wife Yetta ran a bar and then a speakeasy on the Lower East Side. All I remember was asking my grandfather (who was from Dobromil) how he got to be head of this Krosno landsmanshaft, and he said Uncle Izzy gave him the records and that was it. He also said he didn't mind, since the people were more "literary" ("intelligentsia"). I've thought about the possibility that Izzy had another relative in the landsmanshaft or that Yetta came from there; I really don't know why and how he got involved originally." Click here to contact Elissa Sampson.

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The KROSNO Cemetery

Korczyna
        cemet

The photographs of the KROSNO cemetery were donated by Ruben Weiser of Buenos Aires . We have tried to initiate a project to decipher the tombstone inscriptions from the many photographs taken by Ruben. If we get this job completed, we will post all the information from the tombstones on this web page.

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Korczyna cemet Korczyna cemet
And then in 2009, we received these wonderful photos of tombstones in the cemetery...can anyone translate them??






And then in 2017, we received these wonderful photos of the cemetery from David Cohen






Thank you David!!

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Up until 2019, Phyllis Kramer (OBM) developed and maintained this KahilaLink. Phyllis did a wonderful job documenting and sharing information about this shtetl. Starting in July 2021 Jeff Alexander is trying to fill Phyllis’ shoes. Please contact Jeff Alexander for anything related to this shtetl

Copyright © (2022) Jeffrey Alexander. All rights reserved.

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