Motal'
Encyclopedia
Motal is a township in Ivanava Raion
of Brest Voblast
located about 20 miles west of Pinsk
on the Yaselda River in Belarus
.
Uezd of Grodno Governorate
until the collapse of the Russian empire
in 1917. Between World War I
and World War II
it was in the Drahichyn county of the Polish Polesie Voivodeship
. It is near the center of Polish Polesia which constituted an irregular rectangle of roughly 110 miles from east to west and 50 miles from north to south.
Motal was a Shtetl
. In 1937, Motal had 4,297 inhabitants, of whom 1,354 were Jews. (Reinharz, 1985).
The Destruction of Motele (Hurban Motele) was published in Hebrew by the Council of Motele Immigrants in Jerusalem in 1956. It was edited by A.L. Poliak, Ed. Dr. Dov Yarden. The book has 87 pages and contains memoirs and events leading up to the destruction of the Jews of Motele in 1942. An English translation is available on the website of the JewishGen
project.http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/motol/motol.html
Ivanava Raion
Ivanava Raion is an administrative subdivision, a raion of Brest Voblast, in Belarus....
of Brest Voblast
Brest Voblast
Brest Voblast or Brest Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Brest.Important cities within the voblast' include: Baranovichi, Brest, and Pinsk.-Geography:...
located about 20 miles west of Pinsk
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...
on the Yaselda River in 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 ,...
.
History
Motal was in the KobrynKobryn
Kobryn or Kobrin is a city in the Brest voblast of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn Raion. The city is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus where the Mukhavets River and Dnepr-Bug Canal meet. The city lies about 52 km east of the city of Brest. Kobryn is located at Latitude...
Uezd of Grodno Governorate
Grodno Governorate
The Grodno Governorate, was a governorate of the Russian Empire.-Overview:Grodno: a western province or government of Europe lying between 52 and 54 N lat 23 and E long and bounded N by Vilna E by Minsk S Volhynia and W by the former kingdom of Poland The country was a wide plain in parts very...
until the collapse of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1917. Between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was in the Drahichyn county of the Polish Polesie Voivodeship
Polesie Voivodeship
Polesie Voivodeship was an administrative unit of interwar Poland . It ceased to exist in September 1939, following German and Soviet aggression on Poland .-Population:...
. It is near the center of Polish Polesia which constituted an irregular rectangle of roughly 110 miles from east to west and 50 miles from north to south.
Motal was a Shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
. In 1937, Motal had 4,297 inhabitants, of whom 1,354 were Jews. (Reinharz, 1985).
The Destruction of Motele (Hurban Motele) was published in Hebrew by the Council of Motele Immigrants in Jerusalem in 1956. It was edited by A.L. Poliak, Ed. Dr. Dov Yarden. The book has 87 pages and contains memoirs and events leading up to the destruction of the Jews of Motele in 1942. An English translation is available on the website of the JewishGen
JewishGen
JewishGen is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 as a resource for Jewish genealogy. In 2003, JewishGen became an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York.It provides amateur and professional genealogists with the tools to research their...
project.http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/motol/motol.html
People
- Chaim WeizmannChaim WeizmannChaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
, Israel's first President, was born here - David Bloch - Blumenfeld , mayor of Tel Aviv
- Saul LiebermanSaul LiebermanSaul Lieberman , also known as Rabbi Shaul Lieberman or The Gra"sh , was a rabbi and a scholar of Talmud...
, rabbi and a scholar of Talmud - Leonard ChessLeonard ChessLeonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
(Lejzor Czyz) and Phil ChessPhil ChessPhilip Chess is an American record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records.He was born Fiszel Czyż in a Jewish community in Częstochowa, Poland. He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago in 1928...
(Fiszel Czyz), founders of Chess RecordsChess RecordsChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases.... - Haim Israeli, Israeli defence executive
- Azriel Shohat, Israeli historian
- Michael Tzvi Halevi Tennenbaum , theologist , rabbi of Lomza
- Dov Yarden, Israeli historian of middle age
Sources
- Jehuda ReinharzJehuda ReinharzJehuda Reinharz is the former President of Brandeis University, where he is Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History and Director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry. On September 25, 2009 he announced his resignation as president; at the request of trustees he stayed...
, Chaim Weizmann: The Making of a Zionist Leader (1985). - Itzhak Epstein, Jewish Motol: Genealogical and Family History Bibliography pdf