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Jewish Baranowicze in the Holocaust
The history of the Jewish community of
Baranowicze is unusual in a number of ways. The town was large –
almost a city – with a Jewish population of 12,000 in 1941 (ca. 40%
of the population). It was a young community, founded only in the
late nineteenth century, and Jews lived there from the very
beginning. The town was well known in the Torah world largely
because Rav Elhanan Wasserman, who headed an important yeshiva
there. As in other Jewish communities, most of the men worked in
trades or as merchants. The town also had a variety of communal
institutions both traditional and modern, as well as Jewish
political parties and their respective youth movements.
The Soviet
occupation (1939-41) seriously hampered communal life, and just as
the community was grappling with the new challenges posed by the
Soviets, the German occupation swept through the town, leaving
massive persecution and murder. The town also became a refugee
center. The singularity of Baranowicze during the Holocaust is
reflected in the persons of the three successive Judenrat heads, all
of whom were viewed positively by the community and seen as people
who did their best for the community. The Jewish police was also
viewed positively. The Jewish underground in the ghetto succeeded in
acquiring arms; the underground fled to the forests and did not
engage in a ghetto uprising. Despite the bitter fate that awaited
the Jews of Baranowicze, the community maintained its vitality until
the end. |
