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Industry
Jews played an important role in the
development of Polish industry during the nineteenth
century, both as
businessmen, as well as in trade. Often, they were involved
in several
different kinds of activities, such as banking and
production.
In the Kingdom of Poland, they helped establish the
textile, sugar,
and tobacco industries. In the sugar industry, the Epstein
family was
especially important (the "Hermanow", "Lyszkowice" and
"Konstancja"
sugar refineries), as was L. Kronenberg ("Tomczyn" and
"Ostrowiec" sugar
refineries). The following industrialists were active in
Lodz: I.
Poznanski (1833-1900), M. Silberstein, A. Gerszon, A.
Likiernik, M.
Elbinger, M. Zand, H. Konsztat, M. Szlosberg, A. Stiller, H.
Wolfson, S.
Barczynski, O. Kon, B. and N. Ejtingon (Eitingon).
These were pioneers of the textile industry that had
been developing
in Poland since the mid-nineteenth century, whose main
markets were
Russia and the Far East. The textile industry also
established itself in
the Bialystok district, where there were many small-scale
Jewish and
German manufacturers, as well as a few larger enterprises.
After the
First World War, the J. A. Grosslajt joint stock company not
only ran
its own production, but also provided financial support to
the textile
industry as it was rebuilding.
In Warsaw, a company founded by J. Orzech was producing
finely woven
textiles, such as muslin and cambric. In Tomaszow, near
Lodz, the
Landsberg family had one of the largest interwar Polish
factories
producing synthetic silk; the Bornseins were engaged in the
manufacture
of broadcloth, and Szeps produced carpets, runners, and
transmission
belts. The clothes industry developed mostly in the area of
small goods
manufacturing (crafts).
It was only in the 1920's and 1930's that large-scale
companies were
founded. Factories producing ready-made women's and men's
clothing were
located in Tarnow (the "Wurzl i Daar" company and "B-cia
Braun" ("Braun
Brothers") and in Bielsk (Langfeder factories). The firm
"Opus" (Lewin
and Rappaport), located in Warsaw, was the largest men's
underwear
company in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe. In shoe
manufacturing, during the interwar period, crafts production
was
gradually replaced by machinery. Jewish firms were also
involved in this
process, including J. Brochis and J. Himelfarb.
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The proportion of Jews employed in the textile
and clothing industries was very high. This tendency
persisted during
the first years of independence; thus, after the crash in
the textile
and clothing sector in 1932, the pauperization of the Jewish
population
deepened.
The Jewish contribution to the development of other
sectors of the
economy was also significant. The oil industry had been
developing in
Galicia since the mid-nineteenth century in Boryslaw,
Drohobycz and
Kolomyja. It was primarily Jews who were engaged both in its
business
aspects as well as in production; these included the
Schreir,
Lauterbach, Goldhammer, Lieberman and Friedman families. The
rising cost
of drilling meant the Jewish companies' position weakened.
When Poland
regained its independence, most of the oil fields were taken
over by
companies and large foreign investors.
The tobacco industry was another branch that Jewish
businessmen
built from the ground up. Many famous tobacco-processing
plants ceased
to exist when the independent Polish state introduced the
State Tobacco
Monopoly. These included the Fabryka Papierosow (Cigarette
Factory) in
Warsaw, the "Progres" ("Progress") cigar factory (the
largest in the
Russian Empire), and the Szereszowski factories in Grodno.
The lumber industry was a traditionally Jewish
domain-from the
Zaklady przemyslowe ("Industrial Plants") founded by J. G.
Bloch, trade
and shipping enterprises, to small companies specializing in
windows and
furniture, such as the Krygier, Schalit, Z. Heller and H.
Leszczynski
companies. The largest factories, producing plywood, were
founded by N.
Heller in Miklaszewicze. Bronislaw and Boleslaw Ejger played
a large
role in the cement, lime, and brick-making industries. They
owned the
cement factories "Wolyn", "Wysoka" and "Ros", and were also
active in
politics and the community. The following enterprises were
also
significant: "Checiny" (J. and K. Hemple), "Janina" (C.
Ingber),
"Kadzielnica" (S. and S. Erlich), "Saturn" (J. Dawidowicz)
and
"Wierzbnia" (S. Zagajewski).
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In the Kingdom of Poland, A. Oppenheim, S.
Halber and H. Doktorowicz were involved in brick
manufacturing. In
Cz�stochowa, the following businessmen were active: S.
Helman
("Michalina" ceramics factory), T. Hafftka ("Sw. Barbara",
engineering
works), and S. Kornberg ("Liska" brick factory). Leading
glass
manufacturers included Towarzystwo Akcyjne Fabryki Szkla
("Glass Factory
Joint Stock Society") in Zawiercie, "Feniks" in Piotrkow and
"Geha"
Joint Stock Company in Lodz. In the metallurgy industry, the
three-generation Wolanowski family played an important role
(Warszawskie
Fabryki Srub i Drutow, "Warsaw Screw and Wire Factories"),
M. Hochberg
("S�owianin" factory in Konskie) and L. Starke (factory
manufacturing
ironware in Kielce and Suchedniow). In the field of
galvanization, S.
F�rstenberg led the way, which meant Poland was no longer
forced to
depend on expensive imports during the interwar period. J.
Birbaum,
founder of the "Strem" Chemical Factory in Strzemieszyce,
was a
prominent figure in the chemical industry. W. Sachs, A.
Wolberg and H.
and J. Markusfeld were active in Czestochowa. In 1923, S.
Halperin
founded a small plant for the manufacture of galoshes, which
in 1927
became a joint stock company called Polski Przemysl Gumowy
"Polish
Rubber Industry" (hence the Polish nickname for tennis
shoes-pepegi).
The first gramophone record factory in Polish lands,
"Towarzystwo
Syrena-Rekord" ("Syrena-Record Society"), was founded in
1904 by J.
Feigenbaum. It was the leading manufacturer on the Polish
market. A.
Feigenbaum founded factories producing gramophone
mechanisms, which
almost completely shut out Swiss imports. The Jewish role in
the soap
manufacturing industry was of fundamental importance, from
the Natanson
and Epstein families to the small factories in almost every
small town
of central and eastern Poland, which produced for the local
market. In
the paper industry, the Szwarcsztein family had the largest
mills: they
owned the Kluczew Paper Mill, still in existence today. The
following
paper mills were also Jewish-owned: Albertynska Fabryka
Tektury
("Albertine Cardboard Factory", owned by the Zaron
brothers),
Czestochowska Fabryka Papieru ("Czestochowa Paper Mill")
(Kon and
Markusfeld families), Mirkowska Fabryka Papieru ("Mirkow
Paper
Factory"), Nowowerkowska Fabryka Papieru ("Nowowerkow Paper
Mill")
(Olejnik and Szbad families), among others.
Hundreds of other small factories also existed, often as
cottage
industry, producing packaging and paper consumer goods. In
the food
manufacturing branch, Jews specialized in the production of
spirits,
yeast, oil (such as the "Potokol" factory, which specialized
in kosher
margarine), beer (such as the Lwowskie Towarzystwo Browarow
["Lwow
Association of Breweries"] and the Rebhana brewery in
Przemysl). The
most famous candy factories were the "Plutos" chocolate
factory and the
"Suchard" factory in Krakow founded by the Luks family.
(G.Z./CM)
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