Jewish Families from Yablonov, Ukraine

This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Yablonov, Ukraine, also known as Jabłonów, Yablonuv, Jabluniv.

Gesher Galicia - Yablonov

Jewish Galicia

Jablonow - Transcript of Chapter two

Name of the town

- English: Yablonov
- Ukrainian: Yabluniv [%D0%AF%D0%B1%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%BD%D1%96%D0%B2] - Polish: Jabłonów - German: Jablonow - Russian: Yablonov [%D0%AF%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2] - Hebrew: יבלונוב

Background

Yablonov (Yabluniv, Jabłonów) is a little town on Luchka river (a tributary of the Prut), 15 km from Kolomea. The Jewish cemetery in Yablonov is one the most interesting cemeteries in the region. The tombstones of the 18th century in the Baroque style are amazing examples of the local Jewish folk art. Although the style changed in the 19th and 20th centuries, the images made by the local Jewish artists remained to be very expressive.

During the 19th Century the Jewish community of Jablonow grew, and it reached its highest number during the 1890's. From that point it started to dwindle as a result of migration to the larger cities and to overseas countries. This process intensified during WWI because of injuries inflicted on the Jews during the Russian conquest. In 1927 a fire left twelve Jewish families homeless. The first Jewish settlers of Jablonow made a living from tenancy, liquor, small trade and crafts. Until WWI the Jews owned about a dozen taverns in the area. After the war only two were left.

In the 19th and early 20th Centuries the Jewish trade flourished; however, in the inter-war period there was a constant decrease both because of the general impoverishment of the population and because the Jewish merchants and peddlers could not compete with the Ukrainian cooperatives. In 1936 there were 70 shops in the town, 68 in the hands of Jews; the rest – 2 Ukrainian cooperatives – deprived the Jewish businesses. The monthly income of the Jewish merchants was then 50-100 zloty – not enough to sustain a family. Therefore, some of them engaged in handcrafts, mainly in the manufacture of rugs. Only Jews dealt in countryside peddling, especially in the purchase of milk and eggs, which yielded a daily income of 2-3 zloty.

All tailors were Jewish, also during the inter-war period, but their living was meager; the price of a tailored suit was 10-12 zloty. Shoemakers – 12 in total – were mostly patchmakers and were considered the poorest; only one shoemaker had a sewing machine. Up until the slaughter edict of 1937, there were 4-5 Jewish butchers who sold kosher meat to Jews and innards to gentiles. After the edict, the authorities allowed only 2 Jewish butcher shops.

Most Jewish craftsmen, a total of 60, dealt during the inter-war period in the home manufacture of rugs following a mountaineers' popular pattern. The tradesmen supplied the materials and also marketed the finished product. The Jewish craftsman, in fact the Jewish laborer, received one zloty per workday that stretched out from sunrise to sunset.

Professionals in Jablonow during the inter-war period were 4 lawyers, one physician, one dentist, one judge, one paralegal clerk (the latter two, apparently reminders of the Austrian era), and a schoolteacher (seemingly a teacher of Mosaic religion to Jewish children who attended public school).
In an attempt to relieve the hardship of the Jews of Jablonow and to provide sustenance to single women, the Viennese Hilfsverein and the Baron de Hirsch Foundation came to Jablonow in 1902 to organize a school and workshop for the manufacture of hair nets and wigs. The extent of this enterprise and its lifespan are unknown.

Rabbis of the Gelernter family officiated in Jablonow for most of the 19th Century. The first was Rabbi Abraham-Yossef son of Zvi-Hirsch, previously the rabbi of Staryy Sambor, who died in Jablonow in 1840. His son, Rabbi Israel-Dov, succeeded him and later moved to officiate in Yashainitsa, where he died in 1867. Rabbi Yossef-Shmuel Gelernter, who wrote “Harei Bashamaim” and “Rosh Bashamaim”, followed him; he left to officiate in Kuty where he died in 1893. His son, Rabbi Chaim Gelernter, who succeeded him in Kuty, inherited his seat after his death. Rabbi Chaim wrote “Pri Etz Hachaim” (Part I was published), “Simchat Hachag” and “Oneg Chaim Le-Shabbath”. On Rabbi Chaim's departure from Jablonow, Rabbi Azriel Halevi Landau was elected. He had previously officiated as rabbi of Dalatin and emigrated to Eretz Israel in 1901. Rabbi Klonimus Kalman Zuckerman, who wrote “Minchat Hakometz”, the last of the rabbis of Jablonow, succeeded him; he was killed in the Holocaust. Side by side with the rabbis, the community of Jablonow employed teachers to its end.

A traditional leadership headed the Community's Committee during its entire existence. At the end of the 19th Century, laic representatives joined the committee. One of them, apparently a lawyer or a physician named Dr. Shitnitzky, converted afterwards. During the inter-war period the community expanded the cemetery by a half-hectare.

Zionist organizations were established in Jablonow at the end of WWI. Although the existence of a complementary Hebrew school was reported before the war, we have no information about its size and lifespan. In 1922 there was an attempt to renew its activities, apparently without success due to financial difficulties. The most active Zionist organization among the various which rose and fell, was “Hanoar Hatzioni”; it continued its activities through the 1930's and up till WWII. The Techiyah Federation centered the cultural activities. It owned a hall, a library and sometimes held a drama circle. We have only fragmented information as to the fate of the Jews of Jablonow during WWII. In the spring of 1942, the number of Jews grew to about 1,700. This increase resulted from either the influx of refugees from Western Poland during the Soviet rule or from the concentration of Jews from surrounding villages during the Nazi occupation. During the first day of Pessach 5702 (April 8, 1942), the Gestapo together with the Ukranian police slaughtered the Jews of Jablonow. Some of the Jews, who foresaw the action, hid and survived. During the same month, a number of the remaining Jews were transported to the Ghetto of Kolomyya. The final destruction of the Jewish community took place on September 8, 1942, when the last Jews were evicted to Kolomyya.

The Administrative History:

• Till 1772 - Polish-Lithuanian, Commonwealth: Kingdom of Poland, Rus Voivodship (Województwo ruskie) Stanislaw Starastwo, Kolomyia
• 1772-1918 - "Hapsburg Empire"
• since 1804 - Austrian Empire
• since 1867 - Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (Königreich Galizien und Lodomerien), Kołomyia powiat
• 1914-1915 - Under Russian occupation, General-Government Galitsiia
• 1915-1918 - Austro-Hungarian Monarcy, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (Königreich Galizien und Lodomerien)
• 1918- May 1919 - West-Ukrainian People's Republic
• May 1919 - Sept 1939 - Republic of Poland,Stanislawów wojewódstwo, Kołomyia powiat
• Sept 1939 - June 1941 - USSR: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Stanislav oblast'
• June 1941 - July 1944 - Under German occupation: General Government, Distrikt Galizien Stanislau Kreishaupt-mannschaft
• 1944 - 1991 - USSR, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,Stanislavov oblast'; 1962 renamed Ivano-Frankovsk (Ivano-Frankivs'k) oblast
• Since 1991 - Republic of Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivs'k oblast' Kosiv raion

Population Data:

Year Total Jews Percentage of Jews
1880 1,629 924 56.72% 1900 1,861 1,105 59.37% 1921 1,789 834 46.61% 2005 1,787

Source

Pinkas Hakehillot Poland
Translated from Jablonov Chapter, Published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.