Luniniec
Encyclopedia
Luninets is a town and administrative centre for the Luninets district in Brest Province, Belarus
, before which it was in Poland
(1540–1793, 1920–1939) and Russia
and the Soviet Union
(1793–1920, 1939–1941, 1944–1991). It has a population of some 24,000, and is immediately east of the Pinsk district
within Brest. It was home to Luninets air base
during the Cold War
.
region which was under Polish rule between the 16th and 18th centuries but fell to Russia
in 1793 in the Second Partition of Poland
. In 1888, while under Russian sovereignty, a railway junction was built in Luninets, linking it by rail to Warsaw
, Rivne
, Vilna and Homel, and a proper railroad station was added in 1905.
Luninets became part of Poland
in 1920 following the Polish-Soviet War
, but nineteen years later was incorporated back into the Soviet Union
in 1939, and—with the exception of occupation by Nazi Germany
from 1941 to 1944—remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991, at which time sovereignty ceded to the Republic of Belarus
.
February 3, 2011 created a new fan page on Facebook.
, Stolin, Horodok, and Brenza. Religious life was centred around four synagogues, which also functioned as social gathering places for young adults. In 1910 a mikveh (ritual bath) was added, along with a cemetery.
Education was dispensed through a Talmud Torah
, which included a well-liked educator known as Rabbi Perez; a mixed experimental Klass school founded in 1906 by a teacher named Kaplansky; a Hebrew Tarbut
school; and a yeshiva
, Beth Israel. The yeshiva was headed by Rabbi Elazar Shach
, who would go on to become one of Israel
's most eminent Haredi rabbis and Talmudic scholars, dean of the prestigious Ponevezh yeshiva
in Bnei Brak, and founder of the Degel HaTorah
Israeli
political party.
Like many European shtetls, Luninets's Jewish community included both religious and secular Jews, and both Bundist and Zionist movements. The shtetl's cultural life included a Habima drama circle and a secular library, named for Yosef Haim Brenner
. Many of the town's Jews were active in trade unions and the workmen's circle as Bund members.
The local Zionist movement, led by teachers at the Tarbut schools included Zerah Bakleczuk, Ben Yishai, and Haim Gloiberson ben Maimam, extended to branches of the Keren Kayemet, Keren Hayessod, and Keren Ha-avoda. Local branches for the Hehalutz movement (1922) Poale Zion
(1926), Hashomer Hatzair (1926), and the Revisionist Party (1929) followed. A local kibbutz was even set up, known as Kibbutz Shaharia, although it was dissolved when most of its members emigrated to Israel.
Luniniec's only Jewish survivors are those who left before the war's outbreak, or the handful that managed to sneak into the Soviet Union during the war.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, before which it was in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(1540–1793, 1920–1939) and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(1793–1920, 1939–1941, 1944–1991). It has a population of some 24,000, and is immediately east of the Pinsk district
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
within Brest. It was home to Luninets air base
Luninets (air base)
Luninets is an air base in Belarus, located 4 km northwest of Luninets. It was a fighter-bomber training airfield during the Cold War. It was home to 1169 BRAT flying Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters....
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
History
Luninets is said to be mentioned in print sources dating to 1540. It was part of the PinskPinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
region which was under Polish rule between the 16th and 18th centuries but fell to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1793 in the Second Partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
. In 1888, while under Russian sovereignty, a railway junction was built in Luninets, linking it by rail to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
, Vilna and Homel, and a proper railroad station was added in 1905.
Luninets became part of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1920 following the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, but nineteen years later was incorporated back into the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1939, and—with the exception of occupation by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from 1941 to 1944—remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991, at which time sovereignty ceded to the Republic of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
.
February 3, 2011 created a new fan page on Facebook.
Jewish Community (Shtetl)
Many Jews moved into Luninets, particularly from nearby Kozhanhorodosk, following the town's linkage by railroad which established it as an important regional centre. Most of them settled in its Zamed quarter and market area. At the community's height the Jewish population numbered roughly 3,000; a third of the town's population.Religious and Cultural Life
Four Hasidic groups were represented among Luninets's Jewish population: KarlinKarlin (Hasidic Dynasty)
Karlin-Stolin is a Hasidic dynasty originating with Rebbe Aaron the Great of Karlin in present-day Belarus. Karlin was one of the first centres of Hasidim to be set up in Lithuania....
, Stolin, Horodok, and Brenza. Religious life was centred around four synagogues, which also functioned as social gathering places for young adults. In 1910 a mikveh (ritual bath) was added, along with a cemetery.
Education was dispensed through a Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of public primary school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew, the Scriptures , and the Talmud...
, which included a well-liked educator known as Rabbi Perez; a mixed experimental Klass school founded in 1906 by a teacher named Kaplansky; a Hebrew Tarbut
Tarbut
The Tarbut movement was a network of secular, Hebrew-language schools in parts of the former Jewish Pale of Settlement, specifically in Poland, Romania and Lithuania...
school; and a yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, Beth Israel. The yeshiva was headed by Rabbi Elazar Shach
Elazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...
, who would go on to become one of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's most eminent Haredi rabbis and Talmudic scholars, dean of the prestigious Ponevezh yeshiva
Ponevezh yeshiva
Ponevezh Yeshiva, often pronounced Ponevitch Yeshiva, is a world renowned yeshiva located in Bnei Brak, Israel. Donated by Henry Krausher, it was originally established in the town of Panevėžys, Lithuania...
in Bnei Brak, and founder of the Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
political party.
Like many European shtetls, Luninets's Jewish community included both religious and secular Jews, and both Bundist and Zionist movements. The shtetl's cultural life included a Habima drama circle and a secular library, named for Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner was a Russian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature.-Biography:Brenner was born to a poor Jewish family in Novi Mlini, Russian Empire...
. Many of the town's Jews were active in trade unions and the workmen's circle as Bund members.
The local Zionist movement, led by teachers at the Tarbut schools included Zerah Bakleczuk, Ben Yishai, and Haim Gloiberson ben Maimam, extended to branches of the Keren Kayemet, Keren Hayessod, and Keren Ha-avoda. Local branches for the Hehalutz movement (1922) Poale Zion
Poale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
(1926), Hashomer Hatzair (1926), and the Revisionist Party (1929) followed. A local kibbutz was even set up, known as Kibbutz Shaharia, although it was dissolved when most of its members emigrated to Israel.
Holocaust
In 1939, the Soviet Union occupied the shtetl. Jewish schools were shut down, and stores and bank accounts were plundered. In June 1941, the Germans took control of Luninets, and although many residents attempted to flee into the Soviet Union, the majority were unsuccessful and were turned over to the Nazis. In August 1941 almost all of the men were shot and killed, and the women and children were moved into a ghetto. Latter that month, the Nazis shot and killed all the ghetto's remaining residents, burying them in a common grave.Luniniec's only Jewish survivors are those who left before the war's outbreak, or the handful that managed to sneak into the Soviet Union during the war.