Information on the Jewish community in Smorgonie (Bel. Smarhon’) as an independent tax entity is contained in the Pinkas (chronicle) of the Lithuanian Va’ad for the year 1628[1.1]. Three years later, under the decree of the Va’ad, neighbouring Jewish communities were placed under the jurisdiction of Smorgonie, and thus the Smorgonie District was created. In 1765, the town was inhabited by 649 Jews paying the poll tax[1.2].

According to the town inventory of 1788, there were 95 Christian and 118 Jewish houses (about 55%) in Smorgonie (excluding the suburb of Przewóz). Jewish houses paid 300 zlotys per year in chimney tax and 200 zlotych for the use of state-owned forests. In the market square, there were 30 Jewish stalls (including three selling cloths) and 22 granaries. Jews paid the fee of 133 zlotys and 25 grosze for their stalls and granaries. The 1788 inventory lists Dr Zusman Abramowicz and two goldsmiths: Israel Wolfowicz and Zelman Mowszowicz, among the Jewish population of the town[1.3].

In the 19th century, the Jewish population in Smorgonie grew rapidly. According to the 1835 census, there were 127 Christian and 198 Jewish (about 60%) households in the town[1.4]. The inventory of 1847 showed that the Jewish community had 1,612 members[1.5].

Statistics from the late 1860s show that 1,458 (73.1%) of 1,992 inhabitants of Smorgonie were Jews[1.6].

In 1880, the town had 5,288 inhabitants, including 5,035 Jews (95.2%)[1.7].

According to the 1897 census, Smorgonie had 8,908 residents, including 6,743 Jews (75.7% of the entire population) [1.1.5].

Some data on the religious structure of the Smorgonie population in 1866 and 1903 have been preserved. In 1866, the town had 2,091 inhabitants, including 369 Orthodox Christians, 515 Catholics, 78 Evangelicals and 1,229 Jews (58.8%)%)[1.8]. In 1903, the town had a population of 13,131, including 1,965 Orthodox Christians, 2,291 Catholics, 6 Muslims and 8,869 Jews (67.5%)[1.9].

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were two synagogues and 16 prayer houses in the town, as well as three Talmud-Torah schools, a Jewish primary school and a hospital belonging to the Jewish community[1.10]. In 1846, after a thorough search of the Jewish school in Smorgonie, 26 old Jewish books banned by the censorship were found[1.11].

From time to time, conflicts erupted in the Jewish community. This is evidenced by an anonymous tip-off to the office of the Vilna Governor-General in 1863. The persons who wrote it complained about two members of the community council, Juda Brudny and Icek Byczek, who had held power for 13 years and persecuted the local Jewish population. They were accused of illegally increasing the community tax (from 500 to 5,000 roubles) to gain personal benefits for themselves and their relatives. In addition, they were alleged to hinder access to Russian language education and send Russian-speaking members of the community to the army. The tip also had political importance. Its author claimed that some of the money collected through the community tax was handed over to the Poles, and the Polish landowners would take advice from Juda Brudny “on the rebels whom he knew very well”[1.12]. The credibility of the allegations was questioned in the report of the county police inspector. The authorities of the Vilna Governorate eventually decided not to intervene[1.1.12].

In 1867, the local authorities tried to regulate the issue of Jewish burial societies by limiting their budget. There was a proposal to divide the existing cemetery into three burial classes with fixed rates. The burial fee was set at 10 roubles for a funeral for the 1st class, 5 roubles – for the 2nd class, and 3 roubles – for the 3rd class. According to the census conducted in Smorgonie at the time, there was a stone synagogue and four wooden schools in the town[1.13].

In 1875, the Ministry of Internal Affairs received a request addressed to the tsar, signed by five councillors of the Jewish community in Smorgonie, including Wiszniewski and Rabinowicz. They asked to set up a co-educational school for Jewish children in which they would be taught reading, writing and crafts. Its opening would commemorate “the 20th anniversary of the successful reign of His Imperial Majesty, falling on 19 February 1875.” The project would be financed from the funds of the kehilla derived from the tax on Shabbat candles (part of the community tax). However, the Vilna Governor considered it a “premature and unnecessary” initiative. He argued that Jews could send their children to the local common and parish schools while the more affluent people – to neighbouring county and state Jewish schools. Moreover, “vocational education provided exclusively to Jews could have a negative impact on the situation of local Christian craftsmen”[1.14].

The process of collecting the community (kehilla) tax and its purpose is described in the document entitled On the Establishment of Community Tax Rate and the Utilization of the Funds Obtained through Its Application in Jewish Communities of the Vilna Governorate in the years 1877–1881[1.15].

The main source of income of the community was ritual slaughter; the budget also included income from the lease of community tax. The kehilla spent the collected funds on the settlement of tax arrears, maintenance of the rabbinical commission at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, providing remuneration for Jewish learned advisers at the governor-general’s office, keeping records of births, marriages and funerals, the purchase of a prayer book from Rabbi Gurwicz, maintenance of the synagogue and outfitting the mikveh.

On 22 March 1894, the Smorgonie community submitted an official application to the governorate authorities, asking for permission to settle the debt of 93 roubles and 75 kopecks with the funds collected through the community tax. The debt was incurred by the kehilla through the lease of a room with five beds from Chaim Łaskow. It was used as a hospice for cholera patients. Since all other tax liabilities towards the Russian state had been regulated and the community still had the amount of 301 roubles and 39 kopecks from the community tax, the authorities complied with this request[1.16].

The community also applied for permission to set up a charitable association for poor Jews in Smorgonie. The petitioners were members of a similar association, but the one they planned to establish with the permission of the authorities was to consist “exclusively of women willing to help pregnant women in labour”. The applicants emphasized that “the hopeless predicament of many poor Jews in the town, where no assistance has been provided to those experiencing poverty and illness, calls forth the necessity of offering at least as much support as the wealthier part of the Jewish community used to offer the poor as far as they could”[1.17].

The Smorgonie Jews were involved in commercial and industrial activities just like Jewish people from all other parts of the Russian Empire. Many Jews were merchants, dealers, carpenters and bakers producing delicious bagels, popular all over Russia. In 1845, the authorities proposed to divide the Jewish population into ‘useful’ and ‘useless’ Jews. Only those Jews who had a permanent domicile and were appropriately affluent were considered ‘useful’. The ‘useless’ ones were to face additional restrictions (including increased conscription to the army). The Jews were to be divided into five categories: merchants, farmers, sedentary and migratory burghers, and craftsmen. Only guild members were eligible for the last category (guild masters were exempt from military service). This is why Jewish artisans of Smorgonie attempted to establish their own guild in 1852. The authorities did not concede to their application, explaining: “Although there is a large number of Jewish craftsmen in Smorgonie, the authorities of Oszmiana cannot accept the request because it is against the law to create guilds in small towns”[1.18]. However, it was decided to create an artisan board in the town. Barkowski, a burgher from Vilnius, was elected its president. His deputies were Chaim Gurwicz and Kapłan Krejnies (all three were tanners)[1.19] The newly formed institution associated 15 tailors, eight tanners, three blacksmiths, three shoemakers, three barbers, a glazier, a watchmaker and a bookbinder. Another 14 Jews of Smorgonie formed the so-called non-artisan guild. Its members were eight wagoners, four woodworkers, three stonemasons and a digger[1.20].

At the end of the 19th century, many Smorgonie Jews worked in the leather industry, which had been developing since the 1860s and soon became the staple of the town’s economy. Another occupation typical for the Jewish population was lease-taking. For example, the post office in Smorgonie was leased to the merchant of the second guild, Dawid Brudny, for many years (1854-1869)[1.21].

Money was not always legally earned. In 1864, the gubernatorial administration investigated the case of a fire which consumed six fur stores belonging to the trader Jappa, who had insured them for 12,000 roubles. The case files indicated that in August 1864, Jew Michel Druzskin, the agent of merchant Josel Jappa, had sent 35 poods (1 pood = 36.11 pounds) and 29 pounds of fur from Poltava to Vilnius (to Jappa), having insured them at the trading office of the Nadzieja company for the sum of 11,914 roubles. The goods were entrusted to the wagoner Goldberg and Druzskin’s employee Lejzer Zass, who delivered the cargo to Smorgonie and placed it in the inn run by Jew Berensztejn, leased by Jew Brojda. It was later reported that a fire had broken out around midnight, allegedly damaging some of the furs. However, the investigation proved that there had been no fire. “Jews Druzskin, Zass and Goldberg, who transported the goods, the innkeeper Brojda, company agents Rejnherc and Walk, and the merchant Jappa are suspected of collusion aimed at receiving undue money from the insurance company for the allegedly burnt goods. There are, however, no legal grounds for prosecution”[1.22].

It is also possible that there were Jews in Smorgonie who falsified money. In 1865, a member of the military police corps, Major Szpejer, sent a telegraph to Saint Petersburg, informing his superiors that a Jew by the name of Rudnik had come to him and presented him counterfeit money in the amount of 200 roubles. He claimed to have bought them from Smorgonie Jews: Mowsza Lejzery and his brother Aaron. According to Rudnik’s information, counterfeit banknotes were produced in Smorgonie[1.23].

From the 1830s to World War I, a Jewish farming settlement with 30 homesteads was located near Smorgonie. Its interesting description by Władysław Syrokomla (Ludwik Kondratowicz) survives: “The huts are very solid, placed in a row, like an army. Next to them, barns are placed one after another, just as neatly [...] Here we have a colony of Jewish farmers – 25 families settled here by the authorities. It seems that the colonists find it enjoyable to work the land. In the streets, you will not see any dirt, no noise or hustle, as in most Jewish towns. The people bustle about with wooden ploughs and harrows outside the village [...]”[1.24].

An archival document dating back to 1853 mentions complaints of the inhabitants of the settlement concerning the scarcity of land and its poor quality: “23 Jewish families settled in the Smorgonie estate, each with five to nine male members. Each family received a plot of 11.5 dessiatins [...]. These plots are insufficient for large families, and they are poor in terms of soil quality. On 11 May 1853, the families applied for nine plots in the neighbouring village of Klidzinięta, intended for Jewish settlement”[1.25].

On 23 October 1866, delegates from the Jewish community in Smorgonie: Wiśniewski, Aron Brudny, Icka Magid, Sender Goldberg and others sent a petition to the Minister of Internal Affairs. They informed him that the local authorities had changed the status of the locality from a small town to a village. They asked him to reject this decision, arguing that over 4,000 people lived in Smorgonie, which boasted no less than 500 houses, stalls, inns, eateries and trading outlets. They also mentioned a large number of tanning mills and industrial plants, pointing out that the town had two market days a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, and held several fairs each year. They emphasized that Smorgonie had held the status of a small town for a long time.

They wrote the following about the Jewish community: “The town, which is the most populous not only in the Vilna Governorate but also in the neighbouring governorates, has a Jewish community, the oldest synagogue in this tax district, many prayer houses [...]. Like our ancestors before us, we enjoy all the rights pertaining to the inhabitants of a small town. While the laws of yore forbade Jews from settling in villages and hamlets, we lived peaceful lives in Smorgonie and lawfully occupied ourselves with commerce, trade and industrial activities.” It eventually turned out that the governorate authorities had not taken any steps to change the status of Smorgonie to a village. Poles bearing the inscription ‘village’ had been set up on the initiative of State Commissioner Korolkov, who was later requested to provide an explanation[1.26].

In 1872, Jewish burghers and local peasants made a petition to grant Smorgonie the status of a county town. The document bears the signatures of the Jews of Smorgonie: Abram Brudny, Ewzar Kac, Icka Meer Kac, Abram Sonkin, Icka Gurewicz, Jankiel Boruchwicz, Icka Szymołowicz Magid, Icek Ancylowicz, Abram Daniszewski, and others[1.27].

Every now and then, conflicts broke out between the Jewish and Christian populations. One of these took place between Smorgonie peasants and a merchant of the second guild, widow Rajna Brudnowa. The conflict was examined by the governor-general’s office in 1867. It concerned the use of a state-owned plot in the town. In her petition, Brudnowa pointed out that she had been using the plot for 25 years and had never been overdue with any fees. She also argued that the house located on the plot was a source of considerable revenue as it was used to accommodate army personnel. Still, the village board meeting (by virtue of the resolution of 16 October 1865) decided to lease the plot out to a soldier by the name of Fosence. It was claimed that Brudnowa did not pay all the fees related to the lease. The implementation of the decision of the municipal council was suspended “until the determination of the exact number and size of all plots in the town by means of new measurements, as the current list does not correspond to facts” because “the town plots have been fragmented and are rented by Jews to other Jews who by these means avoid the payments in kind which are also imposed on peasants. This is particularly true of wealthy Jews, such as Brudnowa.” The last body which examined this case was the Ministry of State Property. Brudnowa’s petition to continue the lease of the plot was ultimately rejected[1.28].

On 30 September 1882, the Vilnia Governor ordered the governors-general of Vilna, Kaunas and Grodno to strengthen their local police units with 15 Cossacks from the Don Cossack Regiment stationed in Vilnius “in order to prevent possible conflicts between the Christian and Jewish population in Smorgonie”[1.29].

No records pointing to any ethnic or religious disputes in Smorgonie have been preserved. Quite the contrary – there are reports of friendly relations between Jews and Belarusians. In 1911, the Belarusian weekly Nasha Niva[1.30] published the following report from Smorgonie: “Two Belarusian theatrical performances were staged here. The actors were quite capable [...]. All the performances were mostly attended by Jews. They were the ones who welcomed the Belarusian theatre most heartily. As we can see, the Jewish inhabitants of our small town, with whom the Belarusians have always lived in good relations, began to understand their love for our native culture. It is easy to see that it will not be easy for all those ‘true men’ to sow hatred towards Jews among Belarusians”[1.31]

At the turn of the 20th century, many Jews of Smorgonie were active members of the workers’ movement. On 24 October 1900, the Vilna Governor informed the governors-general of Vilna, Kaunas and Grodno of a workers’ strike in Smorgonie since June. The participants of the strike were the employees of shoemaking factories, demanding raises and shorter working hours. There were mentions of violence used against the factory owners and employees arriving from other localities. The strike participants forced seven workers from Warsaw and Berdyczów (Ukr. Berdychiv) to leave Smorgonie – they even bought them one-way tickets. According to the testimonies given by 16 witnesses, some of the workers “persecuting the owners and employees with threats and violence” were: Srol Mercel, brothers Mowsza and Bendet Bodanies, Szmujło Sidrycki, Ruwin Frejdes, Lejba Lewin, Samuel Sołoducha, Chaim Icka Gurwicz, Jankiel Kucewicki, Wulf Nachaszkec, Jankiel Magid, Gerszon Galperowicz, Icka (called Żochcze), Lejzer (called Wajser) and a certain Chaim Dawid (surname unknown). Lawsuits were filed against all the aforementioned workers. They managed to hide before the police lieutenant arrived. Arrest warrants were issued against them. The only person who was eventually apprehended and transported to the Vilnius prison was Jankiel Kucewicki[1.32].

On 1 October 1903, a “Jewish criminal organization of a political character” was uncovered in Smorgonie in the building of a nascent leather factory owned by the heirs of Lejba Madeks. During the meeting of the organization, 121 of its members were detained. All were young Jews, employees of various local enterprises. Fourteen were arrested. “Subversive poems” were found on one of the detainees, Judel Kiwowicz[1.33].

A part of the Jewish population of the town belonged to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. In 1899, a Zionist group started its operations in Smorgonie. A branch of Poale Zion was opened in the town in 1905. The Bund also enjoyed significant popularity[1.34].

In 1915, many of the Smorgonie Jews were evacuated deeper into the Empire as the town was located near the front line. The resettled craftsmen laid the foundations for the leather industry in Rostov-on-Don, Kharkiv and some other towns.

Many Jews returned to Smorgonie after the town was incorporated into the Second Polish Republic. In 1931, it had ca. 4,000 Jewish inhabitants. In the interwar period, Poale Zion and the Bund had their branches in Smorgonie. Several youth organizations were active in the town, such as HeHalutz and the Trumpeldor Jewish Scouting Association. There was also a school of the Tarbut Jewish Educational and Cultural Association, as well as a drama club and several Jewish sports organizations. In September 1939, after the town was seized by the Red Army, Jewish organizations and companies started to be dissolved.

In June 1941, the German army entered Smorgonie. One of the most tragic aspects of the occupation of the town was the fate which befell the inhabitants of the ghetto. Before the outbreak of war, 5,138 people lived in the town, including 2,017 Jews. In August or October 1941, two ghettos were established by Germans[1.35]. The first one was located in the centre, near the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery, while the second one – at the end of Wileńska Street, at the site of Karka, the pre-war Jewish farming settlement. In December 1941, according to the data collected by the occupation authorities, 1,680 Jews lived in Smorgonie, including 619 children under 16. Soon, Jews from the surrounding villages started to be transported to Smorgonie ghettos. According to the findings of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Atrocities of the German Fascist Invaders and Their Accomplices and the Damage They Caused to Citizens, Collective Farms, Public Organizations, State Enterprises and Institutions of the USSR (ChGK), the number of Jews living in Smorgonie rose to 3,280[1.36].

On 22 October 1941, 500 Jews from Smorgonie were shot in the village of Zielonka, Ashmyany Region[1.37].

Some of those who survived the imprisonment in the ghetto shared their memories of the occupation. Among those who recorded their accounts of the ghetto were Dwora Grejsman[1.38].

After the war, the Jewish community in Smorgonie was not revived. In 1959, there were 64 Jews living in the town, and in 1989 – 29[1.39]. There is an association of Smorgonie refugees In Israel. Thanks to their efforts, a memorial book of the town of Smorgonie was published in Israel in 1965[1.40].

Recent censuses carried out in Belarus show that the number of Jewish inhabitants of Smorgonie is steadily declining: in 1999, there were 14 Jews in the town[1.41], and in 2009 – only six[1.42].

Bibliography

• C. Rozenblum, I. E. Elenska, Smorgon, in: I. A. Altman (ed.), Holokost na teritorii SSSR, Moskwa 2009
• Smorgon’ [Сморгонь], in: Kratkaja jewriejskaja encykłopedija, vol. 8, https://eleven.co.il/?mode=article&id=13865&query=%D1%CC%CE%D0%C3%CE%CD%DC [Accessed 28 March 2023]