Ancestral Towns in the Old Country

The Birth Towns

The children of Abram Hersch and Dine Busch were born in the town of Kórnik, province of Poznan, and government of Prussia. Kórnik is now part of Poland. Before World War I when it was part of Germany, it was spelled Kurnik and was located in the province of Posen. Kórnik is located 12 miles SSE of the city of Poznan.

The oldest daughter, Yette "Taubechen" Busch married Wolf Hyman, who was born in the nearby town of Schwersenz, province of Poznan, Prussia. Schwersenz is located 5 miles east of the city of Poznan and is now called Swarzedz.

One of the twin daughters, Rahel "Rosalie" Busch, married Meyer Rubinstein, who was born about 140 miles NNW of Kórnik in the town of Koerlin (also Kórlin), Pomerania, Germany. Koerlin is now known as Karlino, Poland.

[Note: placenames are reported by me as they were reported in old family records.]

Map Showing Towns

1947 Map of a portion of Germany just after the end of the German occupation of Poland, which occurred in 1945.

Although the history of Jews in Poland will be summarized in the next blog, a brief history of ancestral towns is given here.

The Town of Kórnik

Kórnik was founded in the Middle Ages and now includes the former neighboring town of Bnin. The earliest mention of Jews in Kórnik is found in a study entitled "The Oldest Record of Jewish Settlements in Poland," which indicates that Jews of Kórnik paid coronation taxes in 1507. Sixteen Jews lived there in 1674 engaged in trade and crafts, especially tailoring. The Jewish population increased substantially in the first half of the 19th century. In 1837, there were 1,158 Jewish residents; 1,170 in 1840; 399 in 1871; and 92 in 1910. Many emigrated to Germany and America.

A wooden synagogue built in Kórnik in 1767 was considered one of the most unusual in Poland. The lower part of the synagogue was built for men with an upper gallery for women. It was completely torn down by the Nazis in 1940. All that remains is the narrow passage and gate leading to the former synagogue. The gate has a Hebrew inscription of "Uchem Igielnym," which means, "This is the gate to the eternal; just enter here." The passage was renovated by locals in 1979. At the front door there are two plaques indicating the synagogue and the passage. Each year on Catholic holy days, the doors to the gate are opened and candles are lit to honor the memory of former Jewish neighbors.

Former synagogue in Kornik.

Gate which led to the former Jewish synagogue in Kornik.

Current town hall in Kornik.

The Jewish cemetery in Kórnik was destroyed by the Nazis. The marble headstones were used to shore up the sides of drainage ditches and for walking pavements. Later, the Soviets established an arboretum on 99 acres surrounding Kórnik Castle that included the former Jewish cemetery. It has 3,300 types of trees and shrubs.

Kornik Castle, originally built in 15th century and renovated in the 19th century.

The Town of Schwersenz

Schwersenz's Jewish origins began in the nearby city of Poznan, one of four Polish towns that had over 1,000 Jewish residents in 1550. The number of houses in Poznan allocated to Jews was 49 in 1552, 83 in 1558, 115 in 1590, and 138 houses in 1620. In 1558, the entire population of Poznan was 20,000 and 1,500 of them were Jews living in 83 houses.

In 1521, Poznan burghers petitioned the king to limit immigration of competing German Jewish merchants and artisans. Christian craftsmen complained that Jews ran after carriages of visiting noblemen, asking what they wished to buy, taking business away from local merchants. They particularly complained about Jewish furriers, tailors, and petlicarzy or scarf makers.

The Jewish quarter had densely-packed wooden buildings that made it vulnerable to fires that spread to other parts of Poznan. Fires occurred in the Jewish quarter in 1536, 1590 and 1613. In 1621, when Jews numbered 3,130, Poznan city elders resolved to do something about the problem of fires and the overcrowded Jewish ghetto by moving Jewish families to the nearby town of Schwersenz. In exchange, forty houses and a synagogue were allowed to be built.

The new residents were also granted a right to choose some land for a Jewish cemetery they would own. The cemetery chosen comprised five acres on a hillside on the road to Poznan. Its first wall was wooden, then later the cemetery was surrounded by an openwork brick wall. A long wooden bridge led to the iron gate entrance where a marble plaque paid tribute to the founding family of Solomon Herzog. The oldest section of the cemetery buried women, men and children in separate sections.

When the Nazis destroyed the cemetery, they used the gravestones to construct roads and set a second railway line to Poznan. After WWII, a children's childcare center for working mothers was established on the site. Today there is a residence on the property and part of the land is now part of an urban park with a plaque commemorating WWII victims.

Old postcard from 1899 of the Schwersez Jewish cemetery.

The nursery built on the old cemetery site in Schwersenz.

The synagogue in Schwersenz was built in the 17th century near the cemetery.

The population of Schwersenz was 2,767 in 1704 when 1,501 were Jews; 1,665 Jews lived there in 1834 out of 2,829 total residents. The Jewish population in 1921 was 61. There are no Jews living there today.

Pomerania

No historical information could be found on the town of Koerlin, which was located in Pomerania at the time of the Prussian occupation.

The earliest historical reference to Jewish settlement in Pomerania occurred in 1261 when the Duke of Pomerania decreed that the German Magdeburg Law applied to the Jews of Pomerania, who were then given autonomy and the right of self-government. They had a favorable living situation until the Black Death persecutions in 1350.

Jews of Pomerania made their livings first as traders and later also as moneylenders. In 1481, 22 Jewish families were granted residence in Pomerania, but then in 1492 the Duke of Pomerania expelled them.

In 1670, the Duke of Prussia invited Jewish merchants who had been expelled from Vienna to settle in his lands of Brandenburg-Prussia. By 1682, at least four Jewish families were living in Pomerania. However, numerous complaints about Jewish business practices caused him to threaten Jewish expulsion in 1687-88. By then, 15 families had been licensed to reside in Pomerania, and in 1706 there were 46 licensed families. In 1728, all laws of Prussia applied to the Jews of Pomerania, who totaled 325 persons. During this period, Jews were mainly engaged in the wool, wheat, and amber trades and in peddling.

Pomeranian communities grew after 1812, when there were 1,700 Jews. By 1880, the number jumped to 13,886 Jews. Many Jews emigrated from the area so that by 1932 there were 7,760 in 50 communities.

References:

Excerpts from: Salo Wittmayer Baron, "A Social and Religious History of the Jews," v. 16, Poland-Lithuania 1500-1650, pub. 1976 by Columbia University, posted at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/POSEN/2000-06/0960358599.

International Jewish Cemetery Project, Kornik,  http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/poland/kornik.html.

International Jewish Cemetery Project, Schwersenz, http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/poland/swarzedz.html.

The Jewish Cemetery in Swarzedz, http://www.kirkuty.xip.pl/swarzedz.htm.

Pomerania, Jewish Virtual Library, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15955.html.

Poznan, The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Poznan.