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Yad Vashem The Story of the Jewish Community in Mir

The History of the Mir Community Before the Holocaust

The Interwar Period

  • Grandma Shoshana (Shosha di americaner) Yaakovson with her three grandchildren, Moshe (right), Zelda (center) and Masha (left) Gerber, Baranowicze, c. 1933
  • The Reznik family on a visit to the cemetery next to the grave of their mother Malka Reznik before the two sisters emigrated to Eretz Israel, Mir, 1924. Left to right: Henya, Avraham, Moshe, Sara. Avraham Reznik died in the Shoah. Moshe, a partisan, lost his family, survived and emigrated to Israel
  • Friends on a hike, Mir, summer 1939. Left to right: Rachel Kaplan, Yisrael Reznik, unidentified, unidentified, Rachel (née Reznik) and Gershon Eskolsky
  • Melech Reznik on his bicycle, Mir. Melech, the son of Avraham and Chasya Reznik, was murdered during the aktion of 9 November 1941 in Mir
  • The Jurszan family, Mir, c. 1925 – the father Feivel, his wife Batya (née Schuster) and their eight children. Sitting, left to right: Moshe (b. 1918), their youngest child Yitzhak (who fell as a partisan), Reisel (b. 1916))
  • Directorate of the US Aid Committee for the Jews of Mir
  • Z. L. Hoffman, a philanthropist born in Mir (sitting third from left) who came on a visit from the US with Jewish representatives, in the courtyard of the town council, Mir, 1926. Among those sitting: Shaul Roskowski (right), Binyamin Goldin (third from left)
  • The Mir bus, c. 1938. Both buses that passed through Mir were owned by the Kravitz brothers from Nieswiez. Right: Chaim Gelber, sign painter, paints a sign on the bus
  • A group of Mir residents on a hike in the Jablonowieca Forest, Mir
  • Malka Koch and her son Erel (Aharon), Mir, 1926. A greeting card sent for the New Year to family overseas
  • Malka Koch and her children, Mir, c. 1935. Standing: Erel (right), Isser (left). Sitting: Chana (right), Leibel (left)
  • Youth by the Mir fortress, winter 1936
  • Group of youth, Mir, 1936. Farewell photo for Reuven Jeremicki (second row, right) before his emigration to Eretz Israel
  • Dov (Berezke) Reznik (left) and friends, Mir
  • Fire Brigade and the Orchestra during the visit of Z. L. Hoffman, a philanthropist born in Mir who came on a visit from the US, Mir, 1926. The drummer, first row, right – is Azriel Kaplan
  • Leibel (Aryeh) Levin in the Polish army, c. 1936

With the establishment of independent Poland, Mir became a Polish town in the Nowogródek District. Jews returned and reestablished businesses that had been damaged by the war, but their economic situation remained dire. The largest traders had all but disappeared, and most of the Jews – shopkeepers , peddlers and smalltime merchants – found it difficult to eke out a living.

Nevertheless, the Mir Yeshiva that had left during the war returned to the town, and Jews went back to earning money from renting out rooms to and providing services for yeshiva students. Most of the families also had children overseas, some of whom supported their relatives in Mir. Communal Jewish institutions in the US also aided Mir's Jewish community in its restoration efforts. Veteran charity organizations such as "Linat Tzedek", "Bikur Cholim," "Hachnasat Orchim and "Lechem Aniyim" renewed operations, as well as two aid funds that provided loans to shopkeepers and factory owners, and helped needy yeshiva students with small loans against collateral.

Political activity also reawakened and became vibrant once more. One after the other, parties and movements from across the political spectrum began to establish themselves in Mir, including youth movements and the "Youth Circle for Independent Education" (Jugendkreis).

This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of:

Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany works to secure compensation and restitution for survivors of the Holocaust.

Since 1951, the Claims Conference - working in partnership with the State of Israel - has negotiated for and distributed payments from Germany, Austria, other governments, and certain industry; recovered unclaimed German Jewish property; and funded programs to assist the neediest Jewish victims of Nazism.

To learn more about the Claims Conference, click here.

Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany

The Foundation in Memory of Mir Jewry in Belarus