Translation by Daphna Brafman Coordinated by Tilford Bartman
Like other places the theater era began in Zabludow with the appearances of the Purim players. People used to disguise and go from house to house and cheer the people who were gathered for the Purim feast and perform " Purim plays" for them. They brought joy to the homes of our elders. They were the pioneers of the Jewish Theater that was established at a later time.
In Zabludow- one of the oldest communities- Purim plays had existed for many generations. My late father told me that the Podlick family was the last of an actors dynasty. They had permanent team that passed its talents to its offspring from one generation to the next. They used to go from house to house on Purim, headed by a drummer. They used to perform plays like the "Akhshverosh* play" and " selling of Joseph". They used to begin with a prologue; I still remember its first lines my father taught me. The music was original and heartwarming, and it should be remembered.
Good day, Jews-this is a greeting- here we are And as always- respect us. Yam, pam and tchiribam pam, tchiri pam Tchiribim, pam, pam and so on I remember that during my childhood there weren't Purim shows. Single actors performed, or groups of actors in short programs. The first theater shows took place in Zabludow in the "storage place" of Meir Ladikas, and there they prepared a theater hall where plays were shown: "Shulamit" "Bar Kokhva" and others. My late father told me that the group consisted of the Tsipkus family and others. They resided at Yonah's wine house.
My father was young at that time, and he felt great attraction to theater and art. He did not leave the group for a single moment. He was interested in rehearsals and in the actors' lifestyle. He also helped them in preparing plays. In his opinion, when considering the primitive conditions under which this wandering theater operated, the level of the shows was pretty high. The audience liked them. All wanted the theater, big and small. The group performed in Zabludow three months and my father, inspired by it, decided to form an amateur theater, and he tells about it in his memories.
Zabludow did not have music bands or Klezmers. They used to bring in klezmer from Bialystock whenever there was a wedding. The ceremony of escorting the bride and groom to the hupah (canopy) was magnificant. Klezmer marched at the front and played the wedding march. Nearly all residents of the town came. The ceremony took place in the old synagogue in candle and torch light. Many Christians gathered in the yard, curious to see "the Jewish wedding". Weddings usually took place on Friday before noon. At the end of the Sabbath the had the "sheva brakhot" (seven blessings). After that they danced all night. Jokers were invited to entertain the guests. They were brought from Bialystock with the klezmer. There were some jokers, well known, that knew how to create a cheerful atmosphere. The most important were Shmuel alter and Alter Shteinberg of blessed memory (who was killed on a tragic Friday when the Nazis burnt the synagogue), and Sunia, who usually came to weddings of important people. He usually appeared in theatrical programs. In his suitcase there were various requisites- costumes and make-up. His shows brought much pleasure to the audience. Zabludow also had a joker, Galde Laste; he wasn't considered highly professional, but he did have talent for singing and improvising songs and rhymes.
The young educated generation wished to spend time in a cultural environment and initiated many activities for the creation of conditions for social and cultural meetings.
Before the First World War a library was established. At the beginning it was at the home of Moshe Chaim Gellershtein, and later moved to our home. In the big balcony of the second floor a club was organized where they exchanged books, read newspaper, played chess and dominoes. Friends used to meet there and also literature parties were held there.
I remember that a big event was there when Mendel Beiliss was acquitted. We sang and danced because the enemies of Israel were defeated. Michael Lifshitz, the humorist who had published a few joke books, gave the new laboratories a title "Shmaukova" (the name of the prosecutor in Beiliss' trial) and that's how we immortalized the biggest anti-Semite in the trial of Beiliss.
A group of young people who took care of the library organized a theatrical company under the direction of my father. They performed in various shows like Reizen's "The Four Good Brothers". They also initiated Chekhov's "The Bear" with outside actors who were highly qualified. They brought a make up artist from Bialystock, and he brought costumes with him. I was five years old then. It was the first time for me to see on stage such a magnificent show and such natural characters.
In those days a traveling circus came and built its tent in our town. I remember the carousel. It was joyful in town for several weeks. Jews and Christians ran to the circus and marveled at the sight of the acts of the monkeys and the bears, and admired the acts of the acrobats.
We were also able to see cinema for the first time, shown in the big home of Channa Meshka. The movies were "Solomon's Trial" and other short comedies. The crowd ran to see the strange wonders and the people who walk on the white screen.
The German occupation regime in the days of First World War did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Jewish community so it was possible to maintain cultural events freely. At first, as the Germans were approaching the town, most of the town's residents escaped to Bialystok for fear of the fighting. Later they returned and tried to get used to the occupation, to food rationing and to forced labor. Since the Germans did interfere with cultural activities it was possible to develop them. A club was established and the young people met there after a hard day of work, reading papers,
Spending time chatting, playing chess and domino, organizing drama activity etc. There was also a performance hall, equipped with a fancy stage and beautiful curtain. On it were played plays of Shalom Aleichem- "Mazal Tov"; "The Doctor"; "The People" of Shalom Ash and more.
Representatives of the German government: the Mayor, the Commissioner and the policemen, who weren't mass murderers and sadists at that time as they are today, were invited to "art events". They laughed aloud, cheered and enjoyed "the Jewish shows"… they used to visit behind the stage, thank the actors and treat them with chocolate. Profits were dedicated to the establishment of a Jewish Hebrew school for the poor children, under the direction of Yerukham Bacharach, peace be on his soul. The blooming of the theatrical art and culture continued for sometime under the Polish control too.
At the beginning of the 1920's the excellent violinist Shmuel Leib Chessler, son of the famous healer Aharon Hirsch, came to Zabludow. He arrived from Berlin where he was a solo violinist in the Royal Theater, and now he was appointed a music professor at the Shoffi school of music. Shmuel Leib appeared in violin concerts in Bialystock and other big cities in Poland. A few educated men in Zabludow had organized two concerts with Shmuel Leib Chessler and the excellent pianist Clara fetelin and a folk and classical singer Bertha Rittenberg (now in Canada) who sang in Italian, Yiddish and Polish. The piano was borrowed from the local church. There were two concerts; on Saturday night for the Jews, and the second on Sunday for the Christians. Zabludow had the opportunity to have a spiritual pleasure from a good classical music.
The richest theatrical activity began when the well-known actor and director R. Solkess from Bialystok came to town. He established a drama studio where he gathered the most talented youngsters of the town. The shows were usually sponsored by various economical companies who covered the expenses, and they were at the theater hall of the fire fighters that had 300 seats, a big stage and curtain. The acting was excellent. The repertoire included plays by Peretz Hirschbein, Goldfaden, Y. Kabrin, and American Plays.
I'd like to emphasize two performances that had won moral and material achievements as one. These are "The Country Boy" by Kabrin, and "The Dibbuk" by Ansky. The first was shown four times and the second twice. It was a very impressive achievement when considering the low number of residents. People came twice to see the shows. Groups of people also came from towns near Zabludow.
The drama groups operated for sometime with the participation and under the direction of the writer of these lines. Some of the shows were "The Win" by Shalom Aleichem, shown twice under the sponsorship of the local women's organization. A great contributor to the development of social activity in town was S. Chessler, who organized small art events. These included reading of the satires he wrote on actual themes and songs that the young of Zabludow liked. These songs are sung to this day by the survivors of the town. On Saturday nights there were social meetings in which verbal newspapers were presented and discussions on social problems or public courts on literary themes. One worth mentioning public court dealt with the "Jewish woman of our time". It was conducted as a real trial with prosecutor and defender and with judges and witnesses. The subject made many waves and echoed among all the town's residents.
At the beginning of the 1930's we were visited by the Shevtchenko Ukrainian Theater Company. They performed at the Fire Fighters Theater. There were 40 participants in this group, and included musicians and a choir. They brought many requisites, costumes and rich decorations. In addition to the Russian repertoire the presented " God of Revenge" by Shalom Ash and "The Apostate". A big crowd poured in to see their impressive performance. Their visit gave a strong push to increase the theatrical activity.
The most active force in this field was Shmuel Chessler. The Takhkemoni School produced Goldfaden's "Shulamit" under his direction. The show was very successful. The talented Zabludow daughter Alteh Rubbins peace be on her soul played the role of shulamit. Fate was cruel to her.
The Nazis killed her husband in front of her eyes. During the days of the "acktions" (massacres and deportations of Jews) she wandered in the forests, in cold and in snow, with her baby girl in her arms. She "played" Shulamit in her tragic life until the peasants extradited her to the hands of the Nazi Hangmen.
The Jewish society in town became an important culture consumer. It attracts the attention of lecturers and artists. The best musicians and actors appear here, among them the well-known folk singer Yoseleh Kolodni, the well-known orator Zrubavel, and the author Z. Segalovitch, Rachel Fineberg and more. Many tourists are interested in the old synagogue that existed many centuries. Nothing is left of it now. The Nazi Germans destroyed it by fire.
When a permanent theater was established in Bialystok in the middle of the thirties it used to host the best Jewish actors of Poland and Zabludow also enjoyed excellent shows. Bialystock actors were invited to perform in the towns. The omnibuses enabled a permanent connection between the two places. Electricity was built in the hall, and it created convenient conditions for performing. The guests and actors knew that unserious performance could not be accepted. The public demanded high level of art.
The last phase in the cultural activity began in 1939 as the entire area was passed to the hands of the Soviets. A new and modern cultural hall was built in town, and it included a fancy theater, a library and two drama groups: Jewish and Belorussian. Sometimes it was visited by outside performances of concerts and dances.
This continued until the war broke between Russia and Germany in 1941. Zabludow was transferred from one hand to another. Strong fighting Took place between the Red Army and the Nazi Forces. Most of the town is demolished. Many Jews are killed by bombardment, the others are locked in the ghetto at the leather factories area.
This is how the last page in the life of our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters ends, and the last page in the history of our unforgotten town of Zabludow. This is how they lived, this is how they laughed and were excited in shows and cultural events before being deported into the crematoriums of Treblinka.
Back to table of Contents Web: 2003 Tilford Bartman
