SHTETL LIFE PRIOR TO THE HOLOCAUST, CONGREGATION OHEL ABRAHAM HEBREW SCHOOL

The word shtetl is a Yiddish word. Shtetl means, "little town." Shtetls were small little towns in Eastern Europe. Russia and Poland had shtetls for hundreds of years. Most Jewish people lived in these little towns that had unpaved roads and small homes made of wood. The homes were actually small little shacks. Life was hard, people worked long hours, the weather would often get very cold in the winter and food was scarce. Even though life in a shtetl was very difficult, the faith of the Jewish people that lived there kept their spirits strong.

The larger size shtetls usually had a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery, bathhouses and a marketplace.

Thousands of shtetls existed in Eastern Europe before the holocaust. Each shtetl had its own history, traditions and styles.

There were many times prior to the holocaust when non-Jews would come into to shtetls to cause problems. Anti-Jewish riots, called Pogroms, would cause violence and destroy parts of the shtetl.

The holocaust ended shtetl life. Many Jews that survived the holocaust didn't want or were unable to go back to their home communities. Many of those shtetls were no longer there after the holocaust. Many Jewish holocaust survivors went to North America or Israel. The centuries-old way of life for Jews living in shtetls ended when the holocaust began.

Today, we can remember shtetl life. We can see it, taste it and hear it by watching movies such as "Fiddler on The Roof," eating traditional Jewish foods and hearing Klezmer music. We thank our ancestors that lived life in the shtetls because their sacrifices and deep faith have helped keep our religion alive today.