The city of Kobrin, .on the river Muchavets,(
52 km from Brest) is known since 1287 as a part of Vladzimir-Volynsk Duchy.
Since the first half of 14th century Kobrin was in the squad of the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania, in 1404 -1519 - the center of Kobrin Duchy. From 1549
till 1556 Kobrin was a posession of Polish king and Lithuanian
duke Sigizmund II August mother - queen Bona Sforza. In 16th-18th Kobrin
was a center of ekanomija (King`s possession) in Brest voevodstvo.
According to the inscription on the Kobrin jewish cemetery jews lived
in Kobrin in 15th century. In 1514 Polish king and Lithuanian duke Sigizmund I
confirmed Kobrin jews, as other jewish community, a credential for jews of king Alexander.
The results of the 1563 Kobrin ekonomija
revision were: 22 (25 or 27) jews- house-holders - 12% of all
holders. The majority of Kobrin jewry lived in Pinskaya street. Here
was a synagogue. In the end of Pinskaya street till Balotskaya akruga placed
about 20 jewish fruit gardens. This time, the main occupations of
Kobrin jewry were trade, beer-production and lease of customs. In 1589
Kobrin jews were leveled in trade rights with chrisitian population.
In 1623 the first session of Lithuanian
Vaad (council of Lithuanians rabbies and community leaders) decided that
Kobrin kagal (community) would be under Brest kagal rule. During
the war between Rech Pospolitaya (a union between Polish kingdom and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, formed in 1569) and Sweden Kobrin and its jewry
suffered great.
In the begining of 18th century the
situation of kagal wasn`t so good. In 1705 Kobrin kafal paid a tax of 315
(300) zloty (polish money). In
1714 kagal and Kobrin jew Michel Itskavich signed a deal. According
to it Itskovich gave to kagal 8.000 polish zloty for 8 years. Kagal
realised him and his posterity from the payment of state and communal taxes.
Itskovich also recieved a right to live in any place of Kobrin, including
Rynachnaya (Market) square and for free trade and wine industry.
More than 924 jews lived in Kobrin and in neighbourhood in
1766.
18th century was a period of economic
decline of Kobrin and Rech Pospolitaya. Jewish community had a lot of debts,
espescially to Pinsk female monastery. This time, main jewish occupations
were small trade and handicraft. Prosperous members of the community did
a business in salt, wooden and grain trade.
The first known Kobrin rabbi was Betsalel
ben Solomon Darshan (d. 1678), the author of "Amudeha Schibah" and other
works. On of the most famous lithuanian rabbies was Yakov ben
David Shapiro (Spiro) (d. 1718), author of "Ohel Jacob". He founded
in Kobrin Yeshiva. During his work as a rosh-Yeshiva more then 400 young
jews studied in Kobrin.
In 1795 Russian Army occupied Kobrin.
It became a small city (Belarussian - miastechka, Yiddish - shtetl)
of Slonim uezd of Lithuanian gubernia. Kobrin kluch was a possession
of famous russian feldmarshall A.V. Suvorov. Suvorov lived in Kobrin in
1797-1800. Since 1801 Kobrin was in Grodno gubernia. During the war between
France and Russia (1812) on the 15th of July, 1812, Russian troops defeated
in Kobrin french detachment of general Klengel (4.000 people).
Here the results of the 1847 revision for Kobrin region:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the middle of 19th century famous
russian traveler P.M. Shpilevski made his travel to Belarus. In his work
"Puteshestvie po Poless`u i Belorusskomu kraju" ("The travel to Poless`e
and Belarussian region" (published in magazin "Sovremennik" in Sant-Petersburg
in 1853-55) he wrote about Kobrin: " It is considered, that today in Kobrin
7.000 inhabitants. The majority of them are jews...".
A great damage to the jewish economy
of Kobrin Russian adminstration caused by the prohibition of
jewish lease (1882) and an introduction of vodka monopoly (1897).
After this, jewish emigtation (espescially
of handicrafts) from Kobrin began to grow. Jews went to the US, Palestine
and other places.
In 1897 Russian authorities organized
a census. The results of this census for Kobrin region were:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In 1897 Kobrin uezd had 145.000 inhabitants
(25.349 of them - jews).
In 1910 Kobrin had a private male jewish
school.
In 19th century as Kobrin rabbies were
known: Meir Ma'rim Shafit (d. 1873), author of "Nir al Jeruschalmi", rabbi
Iliya, known as rabbi Elinke Lider. In 1892-97 famous Chaim
Berlin was a chief Kobrin rabbi. Since the beginnig of 19th Chasidim
movement became popular in Kobrin. The representators of Kobrin tsadikim
dinasty were: r. Moshe ben Isroel (d. 1858), r. Noach Naftali (d.1889),
r. David Shlomo (d. 1918), r. Moshe Acharon (d. 1942), r. Baruch Joseph
Zak (d. 1949).
Kobrin orthodox jews were strongly
against the Zionism movement. After the Russian revolution of 1905 in
Kobrin was found
a local organization of the Union of jewish workers in Lithuania, Russia
and Poland ("Bund"), later - of Poalei Zion ("The workers of Zion").
After World War I and Bolshevik revolution
Kobrin was occupied in 1919 by Polish troops. According to the Riga treaty
of 1921 Kobrin became a part of Polish independence state. In the beginning
of 1920-th Kobrin had 5.431 inhabitants (66% of them -jews). Kobrin jewish
community had a sveral reformed heders, Talmud-Torah, Tarbut school (in
Hebrew), Yeshiva, school (in Yiddish). Under the polish rule main jewish
occupations were: construction, trade and fabric industry.
On the 17th of September, 1939, Red
Army invaded Poland. They were in Kobrin on the 20th of Semptember.
Zionist Youth decided to leave Kobrin.They went to the Lithuania (to Vilna
- Vilnus). Their aim was to get in Erets-Israel.
Under the Soviet rule Kobrin was in
Brest region of the Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Since the 15th
of January, 1941, Kobrin was known as a center of the region.
On the 22nd of June, 1941, Nazi Germany
invaded USSR. Two days after the beginning of the war they occupied
Kobrin. On the 24th of June the germans killed about 170 prominent
Kobrin jews. Osher Moiseevich Zisman from Brest remembers: "The germans
burnt a jewish hospital and the house of rabbi. They commanded local fire-brigade
no to put out a fire. The fire embraced all Kobrin. The germans threw
jews in fire alive". In Autumn, 1941 the fascists organized a ghetto. 8.000
Kobrin jews (including the refugees from occupied Poland) and the jews
from neighbouring shtetles were placed in ghetto. In the beginning
of July, 1942, half of ghetto prisoners were wiped out, the second part
- on the 14th of October, 1942. In the register of military actions
of 332 police detachment about the mass-destrcution of jews in Kobrin
and Pinsk region (31th of October - 1st of November, 1942): "... Company
N9 forwarded from Samara (24 km east from Makrany) for destruction
of jews in this place. In Bloty-Vel`kiya and Tsakalnichi (11 km south-east
of Kobrin) were arrested and killed 3 jews. In Bloty-Vel`kiya, Darapeevichi
(14 km north of Makarany), Paulapol, Ora, Zamordin and Kletishcha punitive
commands worked unsuccesfully. On the road Khabavichi - Kobrin two jews
were siezed and transfered to Kobrin SD. Company N10 continue to
wipe out jews in Pinsk. The guard in Michalina seizured and shooted
jewish woman". . Only a group of jewish craftsmen lived in
ghetto till the Summer, 1943. The fascists shooted them on the yard of
Kobrin prison.
About 100 Kobrin jews fleed from ghetto
to partizan atachments (imeni A. Suvorova and imeni K. Voroshilova). Red
Army liberated Kobrin on the 20th of July, 1944.
Al Kobrin jews, survived Holocaust,
left former shtetl through Poland to Israel and other countries. Jewish
history of Kobrin ended.
to
Index...