Historical Context
Oleszyce (האלשיץ/Halshitz in Yiddish, Олешичі/Oleshychi in Ukrainian) is a small town in southeast Poland, in the former region of Eastern Galicia. The town has a long Jewish history dating back to the 16th century.
Oleszyce existed as early as 1431 and became a private fortress town when it was purchased in 1576 by the Polish nobleman Hieronim Sieniawski. Recognizing Jews as potential economic assets, Sieniawski immediately welcomed Jewish settlement and afforded his Jewish residents rights equal to those of Poles. As a result, Jews quickly established a community in Oleszyce and built a synagogue in 1576. By 1643, the Jewish community had also established a cemetery, a beit midrash, and a cheder.
Jewish Population and Occupations
The Jewish population of Oleszyce steadily increased over the centuries. By 1630, there were 30 Jewish families living in Oleszyce, and the Jewish population reached 548 by 1799. At the beginning of the 20th century, Oleszyce was home to 1,600 Jews, comprising half of the town's population.
Until the end of the 18th century, many of Oleszyce's Jews worked as innkeepers and traders in spices and wines. By the late 19th century, the town's beer brewery, flour mill, and sawmill employed or were owned by Jewish residents. Most Jews, however, engaged in petty trading, peddling, and artisanship during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Religious and Community Life
Most of the Jews of Oleszyce belonged to the Belz Hasidic sect, and for a short period after World War I (1914-1918), the third Belzer Rebbe, Yissachar Dov Rokeach, resided in the town. The last rabbis to serve the community included Naftali Tzvi Silberstein (Rabbi Mordechai's son) and his son Avraham Yaakov Silberstein.
The Holocaust and Aftermath
The Jewish community of Oleszyce was destroyed during the Holocaust. After the Nazi occupation in 1941, the Jews of Oleszyce faced increasing persecution. In late 1942, they were forced to relocate to the Lubaczów Ghetto, which was liquidated in January 1943. Most Jews from Oleszyce were either killed in mass executions or sent to the Sobibór and Bełżec death camps.
Fewer than 50 Jews from Oleszyce survived the war. The Jewish community was not renewed after the war. Today, the Jewish cemetery is the only Jewish site remaining in Oleszyce. Though it is overgrown and abandoned, at least 500 gravestones have remained standing, the oldest of which dates back to 1764.
