130th Anniversary of Jewish Participation in Polish Insurrection Celebrated

Special services in memory of the Jewish volunteer soldiers who fell in the Polish Insurrection of 1794 under Kosciusko, fighting against the Russian armies of Suvarov, was held on Saturday, November 1st, in the Great Synagogue here.

A Jewish volunateer regiment was raised to defend Warsaw against the Russians and perished to the last man in the attempt to keep Suvarov out of the city. Suvarov’s regiments, when they entered the Warsaw suburb of Praga, carried out a massacre, a large part of the Jewish and non-Jewish population falling to the swords of his soldiers. It was only by the heroic intervention of a Jew, Shmuel Zbitkower, that many Jews and Poles were saved from massacre.

The synagogue was crowded. Those present included the members of the Rabbinate, the Board of the Jewish community, the Committee of the Great Synagogue, the Jewish Deputies, Senators and City Councillors, and a grandson of Shmuel Zbitkower.

Rabbi Prof. Moses Schor, who delivered the memorial address, said that during the siege of Warsaw by Suvarov’s army, the Jews had stood side by side with their Polish brothers, although it was only two decades since the Jews had again been allowed to dwell in Warsaw. The Jewish hero, Berek Josselewicz, formed a Jewish Legion whose deeds were immortalized in Polish history. A whole Jewish regiment perished in the defence of Praga. The name of the Jewish hero, Shmuel Zbitwker, had engraved itself into Polish history and is still legendary for the Polish people, both Jews and non-Jews. It was he who by his heroism had saved the lives of countless persons.

A memorial service was held on Sunday, November 2nd, in the Great Synagogue of Praga. After the service, the congregation proceeded to the grave of Shmuel Zbitkower in the Praga Jewish Cemetery. They also visited the graves of the other Jews who fell in battle or in the massacre of November 4th, 1794.