Pliskov, Ukraine

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: 49.366667, 29.283333

Contents 1 Location 2 History 3 Memories of Old Pliskov 4 Destruction of Pliskov 5 Pliskov Today 6 Sources

Location

Pliskov, located approximately 185 kilometers (115 miles) southwest of Kiev, was a shtetel ^[1] which was settled on the banks of the river Rosen by Jews fleeing German persecution who were given permission by the Polish King to settle in the Polish Kingdom. The name “Pliskov” originates from the bird Pliska that lived in the woods around Pliskov. Following the Third Partition of Poland in 1795,^[2] Pliskov became part of the Russian Empire.^{[3] [4]}

In 1900, Pliskov was located in the Province of Kiev and the District of Lipovets:^[5]

Ukraine: Kiev Province

Kiev: Lipovets District

Lipovets: Town of Pliskov

History

Pliskov was first mentioned in Polish archive documents in 1552.^[6] Jews are first mentioned as living in Pliskov in the census carried out in 1765.^[7] According to the 1892 census, there were 220 houses in Pliskov in which lived 1,320 Jews. The houses varied: wealthy families lived in brick homes with tin roofs; poorer families lived in thatched roof houses. Pliskov was famous for its mineral spring "Brover". In the winter, the spring did not freeze, and in the summertime, even during the hottest days, the water was always cold.^[8] For the 1897 census, there were 1,828 Jews living in Pliskov, constituting 47 percent of the total population. Most of Pliskov's Jews were artisans or merchants.^[9]

Everything in Pliskov was built around the synagogue and a central square which was used as a marketplace for farmers.^[10]

Map of Pliskov (1900)[11]

In 1849, a bell tower was erected in the square.^[12]

For more than 300 years, the people of Pliskov lived ordinary lives: "out came the Prayerbooks, Tallit, Tefillin, their long frocked coats, peaked hats from under which, came out the long curled peyases. On Friday night Pliskov became quiet, its streets and alleys became deserted. In every home there was a meal cooked especially for Shabbat or a Yom Tov. Saturdays, after the synagogue, were spent at home, but after Shabbat people strolled down through the shopping center.^[13]

Pliskov. At the town pump in the marketsquare, three water-carriers waiting to fill their pails while the women draw water (1920's-30's).[14]

Memories of Old Pliskov

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Pliskover Free Loan Association, one of its more prominent members, Aaron Roth, provided some "Memories of Old Pliskov":

The majority of Pliskovs' inhabitants were poor, but they were honest and devoted to their common interests. They maintained Talmud-Torahs, and a Bickur-Cholem. They had a Schul, a Kloiz (Chapel), and a Beth-Hamedrash; and, in addition, there were many "individual institutions"; for example:

Motey and Gavriel, who always went through town with their red kerchief, collecting contributions for the poor and needy. Goosee, a poor widow, who went out every Friday morning, rain or shine, to gather Chale for Sabbath, and was so tactful in distributing them that no one knew, when she went into a house, whether she received or left behind the Chales she carried in her bag.

Dvossey, (Dvossey Chiamki's, she was called) a short, squat, wrinkled old lady who bustled about summer and winter in her shawl under which she invariably carried the home-made red-raspberry jam to gladden the heart of some poor invalid, or a little warm chicken broth for some newly confined mother.

Then there were the old men who went about the town on Saturday mornings to call everyone to the Thillim recitations: Shloyme der Shpitzinitzer Schneider, Paysunu der Sheester, and·Yossel der Stolyar.

Solomon had been taught in his youth to be a tailor, and he was called ever since then Shloyme the tailor. But at heart he was far from tailoring. The great craving of his soul was to study the Torah, and not only to study it for himself, but to impart it to others. He became a self-made preacher; but when he arose to speak in the beth-hamedrash, it was a matter of risking his life; well-rolled wet towels would begin flying at his head. But he took it all good-naturedly, saying, "they should have put a stone inside." As if to make up for all this, he used to have the streets all to himself on Saturday mornings when he· would trudge about at early dawn, in frost or blizzard, to rouse the townspeople for the Thillim recitations.

Paysunu, the shoemaker, was short in stature; with a gray beard and the gleaming eyes of a child. Indeed, he looked every bit like a young lad, only with a long beard on. He, too, poor fellow, wasn't to be blamed that they had made him a shoemaker. He preferred a chapter of psalms a great deal more to all the shoes and boots in his shop. The great pleasure of his life was to get up before daybreak on Saturdays and wake the pious to attend the Thillim prayers. But here he had a rival in the aforementioned Shloyme, the tailor.

Yossel stolyar (the joiner) was a great toiler and looked it. He had accummulated very little from his trade, apparently not even anything to live on. He was also the beadle·of the cemetery and the official grave-digger, and, like his two confreres, stirred the town when it was time for Slichoth or Thillim. But in the interests of truth, it should be added that for all his industry and dutifulness to the town, he suffered an evil repute. By a strange fatality, 'people cursed by his name: "Yossel, the carpenter, take you!"^[15]

Ten years later, Roth wrote again on the "Jewish Traditions in Old Pliskov":

Life in Pliskov revolved around the Sabbath. The concern of the whole week was the preparation for that sacred day. Poor families could not be allowed to go in want on Shabbos. The children studied all week in cheder to be subjected to an oral examination on Saturday. The bath-keeper worried all week for the wherewithal to heat the bath house on Friday. The women observed very strictly the mitzvah or precept of lighting the candles.

Before the wedding the bride was shown how to observe the ceremony. It was the custom for the women to cover :the eyes with their hands and after pronouncing the benediction over the kindled lights to pour out, in their prayer before them, all that weighed on their hearts. For it was their accepted belief that with the lighting of the candles the Holy Sabbath was ushered in to reign supreme. Even in Gehenna they ceased to burn and roast the poor sinners. They were just as certain that upon kindling the havdalah lights the roasting and burning started at once again in Gehenna. For this reason the most pious of the women-folk made haste to pronounce the blessing over the candles on Friday before sundown, but took their time to say "'God of Abraham" on Saturday night. During the winter, in the gathering dusk of Saturday afternoon, we youngsters were deeply moved by Mother's prayer: "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep Thy people Israel in Thy faith. The beloved holy Sabbath departed. May the new week bring us health, prosperity, and good tidings. Do Thou this for me, for my husband, and for my children, and for all our people. Amen. Amen.

""For the sake of Abraham let me live; for the sake of Isaac do Thou feed me; and for the sake of Jacob, do Thou show me the goodly way."

Jews observed the Sabbath- and the holiday-as one obeys a law of nature, inescapably and as a matter of course. Something untoward must have befallen one who did not show up for the services at the synagogue on Saturday or on a holiday.

The Pliskov fair occurred every other Monday. The townsfolk looked forward to it from one fortnight to the next, for out of the market day they drew their livelihood. But if a festival fell on a Monday there was no pulling of long faces. The Jews attended the synagogue and observed the holiday with never a thought on trade.

It happened once that on the Feast of Pentecost a poor neighbor of ours got a great bargain in buying a cow at half price because there were no Jewish customers around to patronize the peasants. The moment he entered the synagogue for prayer, they seized him, thrashed him soundly, and cast him out of the house of worship. The poor fellow, conscious of having violated God's holy day, accepted his punishment in utter silence.

Speaking of holidays, it is worthwhile recalling the profound impression preparing for the Passover made on us as they began baking matzos. What a furor of housecleaning there went on, and washing, and kashering (koshering utensils). They brought the stove to· a. glowing red heat.

Children waited from o.ne holiday till the next. They looked forward especially for the jolly _____ (Rejoicing of the Law), when old Sender used to trudge along the streets of the town casting about him sickle pears.

To return to the Saturdays of Pliskov. Before our eyes still floats the vision of the small huts with their tiny windows and doors. Doors? Through most of them a full grown person had to stoop forward to enter the house. And out of those tiny windows shone forth so cheerfully the Friday-night prayer candles.

And those beautiful happy tunes of zemiros that were sung at every Sabbath table and re-echoed through the stilled streets of Pliskov! On week-days there floated in the air the nostalgic chant of children and rebbi conning a lesson in cheder; and out of the craftsman's shops issued snatches, in high-powered voices, of chazonishe melodies and words from the sacred prayers.^[16]

Roth elaborated further on the poverty of the inhabitants of Pliskov:

There were no banks in that town. Indeed, it may be said with certainty that many of its inhabitants never saw a bank in their life. On the other hand, the term "bank money" was very popular. It meant, of course, nothing else than money! secured on loans.

In Pliskov there were one woman and one or two men who engaged in the business of lending money on interest. You borrowed nine rubles and owed ten. Every Friday you had to return one ruble plus ten kopeks; that is, the interest charge was one kopek per week on every ruble borrowed.

But it was no easy matter to se-cure the loan of nine rubles. Collateral was necessary-a pledge at no less value, say, than your Sabbath gabardine or the pewter candle-sticks.

The one charitable thing that may be said of these "bankers" is that, when you were in need of the gabardine or the candle-sticks for the Sabbath, they let you have them again on the promise that you would return the pledge immediately upon the stars coming out on Saturday night.

The poor of Pliskov had to borrow money for more than one purpose, but most frequently to patch up their straw thatch. Nevertheless for the youngsters it was a great treat to behold the water dripping through the ceiling when it rained outside, and for their elders it was a matter of grimmer jesting. "The Rainmaker is visiting us!" All week they sighed and groaned: it rains and rains so that you can't take a step out of the house or harness the old mare. But, come Friday, when you need "the bank money," it gets nice again.^[17]

Destruction of Pliskov

The Jewish population of Pliskov (and the surrounding sthetls) was often the victim of pogroms, assaults, persecutions and murders from its founding until its complete disappearance during the Second World War.^[18]

By 1909, there were only 241 inhabitants in Pliskov^[19]

The Jews of Pliskov suffered greatly during the Russian Revolution. In 1918-1919, there were pogroms in Pliskov during which local Jews were assaulted and their property either looted or severely damaged. Under Soviet occupation, many young Jews left Pliskov for larger towns and cities in search of educational and vocational opportunities. While some former merchants became integrated into the state or municipal service, others found employment at the local brick factory. In the 1920's, Pliskov became the center of a Jewish council. Pliskov also had a Yiddish school.^[20]

Pliskov Refugees at Ungheni, Rumania (1921)[21]

In 1939, Pliskov's 793 Jews comprised 24.4 percent of the town's total population. Jewish refugees came to Pliskov following the German invasion of Poland in 1939 as well as in June, 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.^[22]

In July, 1941, Pilskov was occupied by the German Army. As part of the treaty between Russia and Germany before the War, the newspapers and radio discontinued reports on how the fascists treated the Jews. Waiting to see how they would be treated, the Jews stayed in the town.^[23]

Shortly after the start of the occupation, the German authorities appointed a Jewish elder and imposed "taxes" on the Jewish poulation on various items, including cash and valuables. The Jews were also forced to wear Stars of David and to perform various kinds of work. ^[24]

After depriving the population of their rights and confiscating their personal property, German fascists and the Ukranian police force executed all of Pliskov's Jews (between 600 and 900 people) in October, 1941.^{[25] [26]}

Pliskov Today

The Jewish town of Pliskov no longer exists though there is a village named Pliskov (Ukranian: Plyskiv) in present day Ukraine.^[27] In the late 1950's, the population was around 200. By 2003, its population was 117.^[28]

Sources

1. ↑ Shtetel is the Yiddish term for small towns with large Jewish populations in Central and Eastern Europe before the Holocaust Wikipedia: Shtetl.
2. ↑ Wikipedia, Third Partition of Poland.
3. ↑ Wikipedia: Plyskiv.
4. ↑ History of Pliskov, by Yakov Dekhtyar, Baltimore, Maryland, February 25, 1998.
5. ↑ Museum of Jewish Heritage: JewishGen: Ukraine SIG: Pliskov.
6. ↑ See Wikipedia: Plyskiv
7. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
8. ↑ See Wikipedia: Plyskiv and History of Pliskov.
9. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
10. ↑ Map of Pliskov, by Boris Benderski, 1900.
11. ↑ Pliskover Association website.
12. ↑ The Village Pliskov.
13. ↑ History of Pliskov.
14. ↑ YIVO Digital Archive of Jewish Life in Poland.
15. ↑ The Thirtieth Anniversary Jubilee Book of the Pliskover Free Loan Association (1938), p. 67.
16. ↑ The Fortieth Anniversary Book of the Pliskov Free Loan Association (1948), p. 18
17. ↑ The Fortieth Anniversary Book of the Pliskov Free Loan Association (1948), p. 23
18. ↑ History of Pliskov.
19. ↑ The Village Pliskov.
20. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
21. ↑ The Thirtieth Anniversary Jubilee Book of the Pliskover Free Loan Association (1938), p. 15.
22. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
23. ↑ History of Pliskov.
24. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
25. ↑ History of Pliskov.
26. ↑ Yad Vashem: The Untold Stories.
27. ↑ Google Maps.
28. ↑ The Village Pliskov.