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The Jewish Community in Old Jaslo

-- a booklet from 1992, translated by Monika Hendry

Monika Hendry is a wonderful source for our genealogical quests, as she can speak Polish, and is researching her own ancestry. Although not Jewish, Monika is interested in the historical impact that Jews left in Poland. She feels Poland's Jewish heritage should be preserved for the benefit of Jewish communities and future generations of Poles, to help them shed prejudice and broaden their horizons.

The first thing that Monika found was a 32-page booklet titled "The Jewish Community in Old Jaslo" by Wladyslaw Mendys, published in 1992 by The Socio-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland. The book is based on the author's manuscript which was published in 1988 in Jaslo.

Monika writes: "I have translated the booklet and got permission from Mr. Mendys' relatives to publish it for non-commercial purposes. map of Jaslo

The photographs are from Monika, taken on her last trip to Jaslo, in July 2002. The map was also submitted by Monika.

The Jewish Community in Old Jaslo

By Wladyslaw Mendys (translated from Polish by Monika Hendry). The booklet describes Jewish businesses, the language, customs, and lifestyle of the Jewish community.

A few words about the old Jaslo.

Jaslo, which received its town charter in 1365, is situated at a junction of three rivers: Jasiolka, Wisloka and Ropa, which mark its natural borders. Jasiolka encircles the town from the north and its last section, before it joins Wisloka, runs through a densely built urban area. Wisloka, together with Ropa, which joins it within the town borders, mark the western edge of Jaslo. Vast open areas on Wisloka form excellent sport and leisure grounds, beaches and swimming areas. In the east, the town is surrounded by the Jaslo-Rzeszow railway and in the south by the Stroze-Zagorz line. These natural borders are responsible for the town's regular layout. It has a rectangular square in the middle. The main highway from Tarnow to Nowy Sacz cuts through the town centre from north to south. A road from Sanok in the east joins in to become one of Jaslo's main streets called Kazimierza Wielkiego Street, which goes across the main square and continues as a main thoroughfare. Its further sections are called Kosciuszki Street and 3 Maja Street. The 3 Maja Street leads west towards Gorlice and Nowy Sacz and splits into a road that leads south to Slovakia via Zmigrod and Dukla.

Jaslo was the seat of the county government, district coal mining office and district court, with jurisdiction over the counties of Gorlice, Strzyzow, Krosno and Sanok. The town boasted one of the oldest high schools in the region - King Stanislaw Leszczynski's High School for Boys, and a few other schools. It also had the district post office, a tax office, a branch of the Bank of Poland, the State Oil Institute "Polomin", hospital and a railway hub. It also had two cinemas and two performance halls. As such, Jaslo was a significant political, economic and cultural centre.

The buildings


Jaslo house Most buildings in Jaslo were single or double story houses with gardens. Three story houses lined only the main streets and could be counted on the fingers of one hand. There was only one four story building in the whole town. The nicest place was the park, situated in the town's centre. Streets and houses were very neat and charming, making Jaslo one of the prettiest little towns in the area.

Jaslo was not big. In the 1930s it covered an area of 6 square kilometres and had 57 streets, excluding the suburbs and small lanes. It had 1,090 houses, including 209 Jewish-owned which represented roughly 19% of the total. Jewish houses were not evenly distributed. There were streets without even one of them, such as Na Blonie, Cmentarna, Golebia, Grunwaldzka, Kraszewskiego, Klasztorna, W. Pola, Rejtana, Zielona. [The photograph on the right shows a Jewish-owned house on Kazimierza Wielkiego Street-Monika]. On some streets, such as Igielna, Krotka, Nowa, Targowica and Widok, Jewish houses represented the majority. The highest concentration of them was along Jaslo's main thoroughfare Kazimierza Wielkiego. From the bridge on Jasiolka to the main square (a distance of about 500m - Monika) there were 12 houses, including 10 Jewish-owned. The owners were: Markus Anisfeld, Benjamin Kramer, Dawid Elias, Maurycy Karpf, Pinkas Lehr, Osias Brenner, Jakub Susskind, Salomea Kornfeld, Dawid Goldstein and Izrael Plockier. jewish owned house-name unknown on Wzury? SquareOther predominantly Jewish streets were: Nowa, Stroma, Szajnochy, Widok and Wysoka. These streets marked the section of the town with the synagogue, cheder, prayer house, ritual bath and rabbi's house. Other streets with Jewish residents such as Florianska, Igielna, Wladyslawa Jagielly (part), Kazimierza Wielkiego, Kosicuszki, Rynek and Targowica, were located in the centre at important trading and economic points. This leads us to the conclusion that Jaslo's Jewish residents chose their dwellings based not only on religious and ethnic considerations but also on economic conditions.

The proportion of Jewish inhabitants

The proportion of Jewish houses to the total does not reflect the actual number of Jewish residents in relation to the total population because Jewish families were usually very large and some lived in flats in Polish-owned houses. In those days, Jewish residents represented 25% of Jaslo's total population. According to the statistics from 1939, Jaslo had 12,000 residents in the 1930-1939 period, including 3,000 Jews. Because of their sheer number they significantly influenced Jaslo's life and development. [The photograph on the left shows part of the old Jewish quarter] Jaslo

Trade

Almost all trade was concentrated in Jewish hands. Jaslo had 197 shops, including 148 or 76% Jewish-owned. They were concentrated in the commercial and communication centres of the town. Jaslo's main trading centre was the main square. Every Friday the town held fairs attended by hundreds of residents from over 100 villages and settlements belonging to the Jaslo district as well as other neighbouring areas. Farmers brought wagons full of produce. The city council erected rows of wooden stalls for the traders who would group in different areas according their wares. Jews stood out thanks to their long, black chalats (coats) and the speed at which they mingled and did business. The fair used to spill onto neighbouring streets as well. They were the most attractive areas for Jewish merchants to set up shops. Jaslo's main square was surrounded by 28 houses, including nine owned by Jews. Out of 41 shops in these houses, 28 were Jewish-owned. They were run by: Adolf Margulies, David Seinwel, Gitla Fenichel and sister, Jozef Menasse and Wistreich, Maks Koegel, S. Kleinmann, Leja Margulies, Gita Apfel, Herman Schindel, Pinkas Rosner, Freund, Hagel, Samuel Spirer, Kiling, Bruck, Springerowa, S. Bruck, Adler, Muller, Ganger, Pinkas Rosner, Zimet, Spirer, Zimet, Berner, Leja Zimet, Krischner and Edmun Dab.

The trade in cattle and other animals took place on a big square called "Targowica". The buildings around it housed seven shops including five owned by Jews. In the streets leading to the main square Jewish shops dominated. On Szajnochy street, where the prayer house stood, there were nine shops, all Jewish-owned. On Kosciuszki, the main thoroughfare, there were 31 shops, 21 of them Jewish-owned. On Kazimierza Wielkiego there were 22 shops, including 19 Jewish-owned, on Igielna all six shops belonged to Jews. Jews also dominated in terms of the variety of goods. The most common were mix-goods shops, which sold almost everything, including food, and industrial products. These shops targeted farmers and stocked all the necessities: flour, sugar, sweets, fabrics, leather products, chemicals and even tools.

The photo at the right is of the Rynek or main square; if you look closely you will see the Zimet store on the right! Jaslo

Restaurants and other services

Jaslo's Jewish restaurants and taverns, 19 in all, were well-known among the locals and catered mainly to peasants. A farmer would bring his produce to town and after successful deals would drop in for the proverbial "one" ("to have one" in Polish means to have a glass of alcohol). In the tavern, he would meet with his neighbours and business partners and would be obliged to drink a "litkup" with them and chat about business and family. No wonder these establishments were very popular and business was brisk. The menu was somewhat limited and apart from vodka and beer, which were always in abundance, snacks such as herrings, cheeses and pretzels were served.

Jewish restaurants could be found on all main roads leading to the town. They were like customs posts collecting "toll" from everyone who passed by. Many Jewish shops sold assorted goods, fabrics, clothes, shoes, iron products, paper and toys. Shops with "Meat Products" made up another category. Some sectors of retail were completely dominated by Jews. These include furniture, leather and clothes. Some Jewish restaurants played a significant role in the social life in Jaslo. For example, adjacent to a spice shop situated in the main square and owned by Max Koegel, was a very smart breakfast room, frequented only by sophisticated customers. It served gourmet snacks and expensive liquors. Similar, but slightly different in character was the restaurant "U Lajci" also in the square. It was run by Laja (Leah) Margulies. It became customary for local officials and VIPs to turn up there for their Sabbath delicacies - fish Jewish style, Jewish caviar and chala, sprinkled with a few glasses of Sabbath vodka.

Another type of restaurant, on the town's outskirts, was run by Rosa Spett. This place was very popular with court secretaries, although the menu was limited mainly to herring.

A typical tavern, about 2 kilometres from Jaslo's centre, was run by Chaim Fallek. It was next to a big garden full of tables and benches and it was the usual destination of families taking their Sunday strolls in the summer. An ordinary "watering hole" on Kazimierza Wielkiego street was run by Schwimmer. For a long time a retired official called J. St run his legal consultancy business out of it. At any time of the day, he could be seen sitting at the table, his head in his hands, and pondering a case just submitted by a humble peasant, seated on a chair next to him. If his silence lasted for too long, the impatient customer would shyly suggest "your lordship, how about a small beer?" Hearing that, J. St. would leap to his feet and, his face twisted with indignation, shout "you oaf! I had a great idea and you interrupted me with a small beer! Order a big beer then!"

Jewish shops varied in terms of location and facilities. Many were located in small, dark, stuffy rooms and were not very clean. However, there were also high-class shops including that of Adolf Margulies (iron and technical products in the square), Edmund Dab (iron products and tools), J. Menasse and Wistreich (textiles and fabrics), Benjamin Kramer (flour products on Kazimierz Wielki Street), Goldner (accessories on Kosciuszki street), N. Kunstler and Summer (grains), Finkla Bodne (foodstuffs on Kosciuszki street), Anna Blaser (leather products on Kosciuszki), David Wildforth (spices and colonial goods on Kosciuszki),Anna Dranger (women's accessories) , Meilech Krischer (shoes and accessories on the corner of Kosciuszki and May 3 streets), Amalia Kalb (textiles on May 3 street), Mendel Meller (leather on May 3 street), B. Just (jewllery and watches on Kosciuszki street), Esther Blum (ladies' fashion on Kosciuszki street) and L. Baumring (spices on Kosciuszki street).

Industry and crafts

Industry in Jaslo was also to a large degree in Jewish hands. The Jaslo district, predominantly agricultural, had a few flour mills. The town itself had four, including two Jewish-owned. One large steam flourmill and a timber mill belonged to Michal Glodfluss and Jacob Wistreich, the second, smaller one, to Baumring and Rotter.

Out of Jaslo's three brick factories, two were Jewish-owned. One belonged to industrialist Boguslaw Steinhaus, the other to Bruno Schmindling. Forscher owned a shoe polish factory "Luna", Geminder a broom and brush factory and Grunspann a tannery. Next to the train station, there was a large mining equipment storage and workshop, which belonged to Ringler. Jewish craftsmen were in minority but their workshops were very sophisticated and specialised. Shoemaker Moses Jaslo house Schips was excellent at cutting uppers. Tinsmith Bruder made roofs but also could make and repair any tin container. In addition to ordinary hats, hatter Pinkas Leer made elegant student caps. There were three freight companies run by Feinchel, Finder and Kriger . Some crafts did not seem attractive to Jews - there were no Jewish smiths, bricklayers, stonecutters and carpenters. Nor there were any Jewish railwaymen. It is difficult to establish why, perhaps Jews considered working in these professions as too hard or entailing some health risks or dangers.

Jaslo had six barber shops, including four Jewish-owned. On market days, farmers, their main customers, arrived en masse in town and the shops were busy finding ways to lure them in. Apparently, one Jewish barber developed a trick that prevented anybody who entered his shop from leaving without a shave. He'd soap all the waiting customers and shave off a small patch on their faces. Only then would he proceed to give each of them a full shave. This way he ensured that customers waited patiently for their turn. Jaslo also had two photo shops. One was called Flora, the other was owned by Fenichel sisters.

Free professions and the intelligentsia

Free professions were very popular among Jews. Once Jewish families became affluent they strove to advance socially and aspired for at least one family member to gain tertiary education. The most revered professions were that of a doctor and lawyer. Jaslo had 12 doctors including five Jewish ones . It should be noted that all Jewish doctors were highly qualified and with the highest ethical standards. Only in the area of genetics some of them were too liberal which might have had an adverse effect on young people. Etched in Jaslo's collective memory are doctors Lanes, Ezriel Kornmehl, Emanuel Zucker, Maria Menasse Zuckerowa and S. Berger. The town had five dentists including three Jewish ones: Leon Baumring, Grabschrift and Schneider.

Jaslo, as the seat of the district court with jurisdiction over the counties of Jaslo, Krosno, Gorlice, Sanok and Strzyzow, had more than 30 lawyer offices, including 19 Jewish-owned. Competition was intense and the ethical and professional standards varied. Some were very serious with good reputations. Some eked an existence out of inciting feuds among farmers who were always eager to sue over even an inch of land. The most reputable legal practices, especially those serving the oil industry, were very profitable, which was well reflected in the lifestyles of their lawyers. They also played a significant role in the development of Jaslo's Jewish intelligentsia. The elite of Jewish lawyers included Bernard Appel, Stanislaw Gottlieb, Jakub Herzig, Adolf Kaczkowski, Maurycy Karpf, Abraham Kornhauzer, Abraham Menasse, Naftali Menasse, Ludwig Oberlander, Izrael Plockier, Leon Reichman, Henryk Rosenbuch, Ignacy Rosenfeld, Alfred Rosner, Herman Stein and Fichel Welfeld.

The only surveyor in Jaslo was an engineer of Jewish origins, Bertold Oczeret. The only bank and foreign exchange counter was run by Bernard Kornfeld. Many Jews residents unofficially worked as middlemen. Independently of their roles in Jaslo's economic life, many Jews held posts related to their religion and its rites. At the top of the religious hierarchy were rabbis. In Jaslo this position was held by (rabbis) Mozes Rubin, Zuckermann and Halberstamm. No less important were religious teachers, represented by Akiwa Hoffman and Abraham Diller, both highly educated and very cultured. Then followed those in charge of the synagogue, ritual slaughter of cows and chicken, and the Hebrew teacher, called melamed.

Jewish People

Jews were a separate group in Jaslo. They were distinguishable by their Semitic physical features. Almost without exception they had black hair, long faces with pale skin and abundant facial hair, with prominent, frequently bent, noses and black intense eyes. There were also some redheads. They didn't shave, as their religion dictated. They cultivated their peyos, long and spiralling down their faces from their temples. Men, in terms of their posture and physical features, were not very attractive. Jewish women, also mainly brunettes, were frequently of fascinating beauty, with well-proportioned, shapely figures. When blondes, though rarely, they were real stunners.

Jewish men stood out from the locals because of the way they dressed. The most common outfit for men was a black, long, buttoned up to the neck coat. They wore black velvet or velour hats and under them, in line with Talmudic rules, black skullcaps, called jarmulka or birytka, which they never took off, indoors or outdoors. Jewish women dressed the same way as local women. Their characteristic feature was, in line with Talmudic rules, a shaven head. Nearly all married women wore wigs, often adorned with precious pearls. Jewish upper classes, such as intelligentsia and financiers, dressed very elegantly and followed European fashion. They treated Jewish masses with slight disdain.

However in matters concerning interests of the whole community, Jews were always very united. They adhered to the rule of not involving goyim in their affairs. The only discords, which sometimes became quite serious between the orthodox and the progressive, were limited to religious issues. These, however, always came second to the matters of importance for the whole community. Here is an example to illustrate the level of disagreement among the orthodox and progressive Jews:

Mr.Ch.D, an orthodox whose son was educated by a rabbi, and Mr. M.E, a progressive Jew, jointly owned a single story house on Jaslo's main street. They had equal shares but the wall that divided the ground floor in half, on the second floor run a few inches askew so the parts were not equal. This gave rise to a dispute. All attempts to reconcile them failed because of Mr. Ch's animosity towards the progressive Mr. E. The case was put to the court and after a few appeals ended up in the Supreme Court in Warsaw. Mr. Ch. employed a Polish lawyer from Jaslo and sent him to Warsaw saying the he feared that Mr.E "this Ganef, this apikoyres", cunning as a snake, might bribe a Warsaw lawyer or devise some other trick.
In this case, religious fanaticism took precedence over ethnic loyalty.

The Language

The language was very important in maintaining Jewish identity and uniqueness. It was a German-based vernacular called Yiddish, which acted as an effective barrier between the Jewish community and the locals. It was Jews' means of secret communication in their business dealings with the locals, handy when it came to keeping important details of the deal under negotiation to themselves. Combined with the constant drive to maintain ethnic identity, Yiddish had a profound impact on Jewish mentality, way of thinking as well as moral and social values. It defined a certain lifestyle, "Yiddish style". Its spirit contained elements of Jewish wisdom, resourcefulness and shrewdness as well as the feeling of superiority over the gentiles. This, however, led to limitations on the number of concepts and words, hampering the development of Jewish thought. It seemed to divide the world into Jews and the rest. This and the nearly obsessive reluctance to step out of the sphere of concepts and images of the Jewish world, prompted the development of a separate areas of Polish literature, which was devoted to Jewish jokes.

Here's an example: Two Jewish partners run a prosperous business together and make a small fortune. They divide the money and each goes his own way. Itzhak bought a factory and Moritz a country estate. After a while, Itzhak started worrying that Moritz made a better move. His wife, Sarah, suggested that the best way to find out would be to visit Moritz and ask him. Itzhak followed her advice. He reached a magnificent mansion with a servant in a livery. Itzhak asked for Moritz and was told that the master of the house is now called Maurycy (Maurice). The old friends greeted each other cheerfully and Itzhak asked Moritz how he was doing. Moritz replied that now his life was a bed of roses. "I do nothing, others work for me. After I get up in the morning, I lay on the veranda for a while. After breakfast, I do more of the same. Then I check what my people are doing and rest on the veranda again. Then, there's lunch and after that I again rest on the veranda until the evening. It is a beautiful life. How about you?" Itzhak told Moritz about himself and left. At home his wife is very curious - "so how is Moritz doing?" "Well, he is now called Maurycy". "OK. And how is Rifka?" "She is now called Veranda".

German speakers could easily understand Yiddish. In fact, almost every Jew could speak German. Many Poles could speak fluent Yiddish as well as many Jews could speak Polish, although many had problems with pronunciation. Jewish intellectuals frequently spoke very good Polish.

Customs

Not only the attire did mark out Jews from the locals. Their customs and religious rituals influenced the appearance and the rythm of life in the town. This was noticeable especially on the Sabbath and Jewish holy days. Every Friday, Jaslo's market day, the town livened up. The Sabbath started on Friday evening until Saturday evening, and this was strictly observed. Jews were forbidden from engaging in any kind of work, business or even holding money on the Sabbath. The day was devoted to prayer and family life. Even the poorest Jewish households celebrated Friday dinner, with the whole family sitting together at a table decorated with a seven-arm menorah. Fish and chicken were compulsory dishes. The father would sing "majufes".

When the Sabbath hour was approaching, Jews would close their shops and workshops and hurry home. Streets emptied and traffic slowed down. Jewish districts looked deserted. Later in the evening, groups of Jewish men, wearing their best clothes, emerged rushing to the synagogue. Their clothes differed from the ordinary day attire. They wore long, black and shiny coats, long, white socks and black shoes. Their black hats were adorned with red fur, usually fox tails, giving rise to the name "fox hats". An empty street with a lone group of figures in their best clothes, with faces covered with black and red beards looked exotic indeed. They carried their black velvet bags with prayer accessories to the synagogue. They included: "talis" - a wide black and white striped shawl with long tassels and tefilim - a small leather box containing a bit of Torah. When praying, they tied their tefilim to their foreheads, covered their shoulders with the "talis" and tied the leather straps around their forearms. They moved their bodies as if in some sort of religious trance. With so many people, the synagogue was filled with loud wails and noise. This created a typical sound background for the whole district. After the prayers, everybody returned home to have dinner.

Apart from the weekly Sabbath, Jews also celebrated several annual holidays. The most important and pompous was Yom Kippur. The day was a strict fast. One of the customs was to go to a river to shake out crumbs and dirt out of one's pockets, which symbolised shedding of the sins. On the day, all Jewish residents would gather in the synagogue with their wives and children and spend long hours singing. A famous cantor was employed for the occasion and his singing would deeply move the audience. Poles were frequently welcomed to take part in these celebrations and were eager to jump on the chance to listen to the cantor's beautiful singing.

No less important was Pesach, commemorating the liberation from Egypt. During this holiday Jews ate "maca"- thin crisp bread made of wheat flour without any yeast or salt. They shared their maca with friends and relatives. In the autumn, Jews celebrated "kuczki"- Holiday of Tents, to commemorate their journey in the desert. Customs related to this holiday also used to leave a deep mark on Jaslo's life and appearance. Talmudic rules forbade Jews leaving their dwellings during the holiday. To show that rule, they would mark the border of their properties with a wire on pickets. In order to keep this Talmudic rule and at the same time maintain some degree of free movement, they would put the pickets as far as possible, frequently fencing off whole sections of the street. The celebrations lasted for a few days keeping whole districts behind the wire. During this time Jews also set up tents and sheds ("kuczki") in their yards. This made the Jewish district look like a big camp. Important among private and social occasions were weddings with their climax of shattering a glass and shouting "mazel-tov".

Synagogue of Jaslo1.

The Synagogue

Synagogue of Jaslo2 The synagogue was the Jewish social and religious centre.
In Jaslo, it was a huge, very opulent building on a hill, visible from a distance. It had a huge gallery for women. Men sat in the main hall downstairs, around an ornate altar and a chest containing the sacred Torah. It was a very revered place.

Monika Hendry located this photograph on the left of the interior of the old synagogue......isn't it marvelous!!

And then the 1916 postcard of the view toward the synagogue! Synagogue of Jaslo3


Then in 2019 Synagogue of Jaslo4 Monika wrote: "Came across this photo on a Jaslo page on FB - have not seen many pictures of synagogue during the war. This must have been take right after it was set on fire and the roof burnt down in 1939." The synagogue is the building to the right. As always, thankyou Monika!!

. . . .

Jaslo also had an old synagogue, which served as a daily prayer place, housed a cheder and the rabbi's office. Right next to it was a ritual bath. Jaslo's Jewish community had its own cemetery called "kirkut" on the town's outskirts.. Funerals were held in the evenings, and the procession would move very swiftly, as if in a hurry. Funerals were led by a rabbi and cantor. Wealthy families sometimes invited a famous cantor who would sing a very moving mourning song "Kl Mole", a masterpiece of music and poetry. Jews have a very well-developed cult of the dead. Each grave had a stone, matzeva, with carved symbols or the star of David and Hebrew writing. The stone was put at the feet not the head of the deceased.

Jaslo's Jewish community had very high and strictly adhered to moral standards. There were no drunks, troublemakers or thieves. Beggars or wanderers were a rarity. Family ties were very strong. The old were respected and had high authority. No discords ever filtered outside. It was unthinkable that a man would abuse his wife or children. On the doorframe at the entrance of a Jewish house they attached a small box "mezuza" containing a piece of paper God's commandments. Every Jew passing through the door would touch it and kiss his fingers, to show his reverence to the Torah.

In their daily life, Jews distinguished themselves as very hardworking, frugal and content-with-little people. A Jew would sit in his shop or a workshop from dawn to dusk. Even after his business hours he would never send a customer away empty handed. He'd never miss a chance to make a little money. Thanks to this attitude many Jews became quite wealthy and managed to transform themselves from looked-down-upon traders to respected members of the society. A daughter's dowry or son's education was behind their drive to amass wealth. This drive combined with their high intelligence frequently produced stunning results. One of the greatest examples is Hugo Steinhaus, a world famous mathematician, born and educated in Jaslo. Another two students of Jaslo's college - Zygmunt Goldschlag (son of the director of the refinery) and Wladyslaw Steinhaus (son of an industrialist) were members of Pilsudski's legions.

Beginnings of anti-semitism

Just before the WWII, a strong progressive movement emerged among the Jewish community of Jaslo, mainly among the youth. A cultural and educational association, "Jeshurun", was formed and set up its own office and meeting hall. There was a sports club called Makkabi, whose football section was competing with the local football club "Czarni". The Jewish community was developing very fast but at the same time was very closed and did not allow any external local influence. This gradually isolated it from the locals who viewed them as a separate and alien group. There were no mixed marriages. Documents record only one case where a Jewish boy fell in love with a Polish girl and wanted to marry her. However, unable to break the racial and social barriers, he committed suicide. This state of affairs became a source of antagonisms between the Jews and Poles. Then it turned into pure antisemitism.
The slogan "Don't buy from Jews" could be heard more and more often.

The destruction

On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland and Jaslo was taken in the early days of the occupation. Hitler's criminal plan envisioned total annihilation of Jews. In Jaslo, they were ordered to wear a blue star of Zion. Then they were locked in the ghetto from where they were led to the cemetery and murdered. This was the end. Now only monuments and memory of the Jews remain but even they are quickly disappearing as the old generation dwindles.

The List of Names

Monika said: "The list of names follows - many surnames are identical to those in Krosno, in some cases even first names, which suggests that these people may have lived in Krosno and maintained businesses in Jaslo. I believe it covers the time between the wars but the booklet does not give any dates."

In January of 2006, Monika added: these two pictures of Jaslo Jews were printed in Mr. Mendys' booklet (the one I translated). Since I have permission to reproduce the booklet, i reproduced the photographs in it."

Editor's note: I have removed the list of surnames from the book and added them to the Jaslo table below.