Lida was an industrial city with various sizes of factories and enterprises. The big rubber factory “Erdl” [Ardal] was famous in all of Poland. It was established in 1928 thanks to the initiative of the KUSHELEWITZ brothers, chemical engineers. Partners were first the KUSHELEWITZ family, the owners of the ironworks ”Benland” (Brothers STEINBERG and WILENTCHIK) and the owners of “Drutindustry” (CHERTAK and SAVITSKY). After putting in a lot of money, the Polish financier MELUP entered the business. A couple of years later the business expanded so much that before the outbreak of WWII around a thousand people were employed working three shifts. The head engineer FORMAN, a son-in-law of MORDECAI WILENTCHIK, owner of a tobacco factory, was also a partner in the “Erdl” rubber factory. The engineers GURWITZ and KUSHELEWITZ were also employed. Later the engineer KUSHELEWITZ left the “Erdl” factory and started a small rubber factory of technical rubber products under the name of “Unigum”. The factory succeeded with time and employed ten or so people.
There was also in Lida a chemical factory, “Corona”, which made various inks, paints and dyes. The owners were S. KOTAK and PUPKO, a son of the shipping agent, PUPKO. SIMCHA KOTAK, a Socialist and Zionist worker, leader of the Judenrat, came to a tragic end because of the Nazi murderers.
A nail factory “Drutindustry” (owners Brothers CHERTAK and SAVITSKY, (today in Israel) also employed about ten workers.
Two ironworks, one owned by the brothers SHAPIRO, and the second under the firm “Benland” made various agricultural machines.
There were also two oil factories, one for olive oil, and the other poppy seed oil. During the season when the raw material was available, there were two shifts of workers. The partners were the brothers POLIATCHEK, the owners of the automatic mill under the firm name “Automat”.
There were two beer breweries that were famous in all Poland.
One was owned by ELIMELECH PUPKO, and the second was owned by PAPIERMEISTER.
They transported beer in kegs and in bottles throughout Poland. There
was also a division of the Vilna beer brewery “Shafen” under the management
of TAUB. There was also a division of a Warsaw beer brewery
“Haverbush and Shileh”, under the management of WALLMAN and ROSENSTEIN.
Five sawmills made various wood products for carpenters.
The proprietors were GOROWITZ, KRANIK, POLIATCHEK, RAFAELOWITZ, PAPIERMEISTER
and MELNICK. Each sawmill employed in season twenty to twenty-five
workers. Most of the workers were Christians, and there were a number
of Jews.
Five mills ground flour and various grains. The proprietors were the brothers POLIATCHEK and TROTSKY, WILENSKY, MELNICK, PUPKO and SIDOROWITZ. There were two windmills behind the city.
Two printing houses carried out various activities and published
a weekly newspaper. The owners were ZELDOWITZ and KAPLANSKY.
The head workers were MARGOLIS and A. DEMSHEK. Both printing houses
had enough business from the county and city administrations, the movie
house, and private undertakings. For some years there was a weekly
newspaper called “Lida Life” under the editorship of JOSEPH ALBERT,
who also wrote several books: “Proletariat Bandages”, “Toilers”, etc.
Helping to distribute the books was the enterprise “Literary Pages” in
Warsaw.
The owners of the wool products and woolens factory were LEVIN
and CHICHEMSKY.
There were also home enterprises such as G. FEINSTEIN and ISSER LEIB LEVIN, and various workshops.
In the area of restaurants and coffeehouses, Lida was also not lacking. “Bristol”, and “Americanka”, where the main patrons were the officers of the 77th Footsoldiers, and the 5th Fliers, were owned by SAVITSKY and RODENITSKY. There were confectionaries and other smaller sweet shops and restaurants, as well as delicatessens and wine businesses of the brothers WINOGRADOV, LEVINSON, etc. There were big businesses of home materials, like those of SHIMSHON PUPKO and PINCHAS RABINOWITZ, etc.
Hotels: “Grand Hotel”, owner BENJAMIN LANDAU, “Europesky”, owner GLAUBERMAN, where all the Zionist leaders stayed: Jabotinsky, Berl Locker, Boruch Zuckerman, Maier Yerry, etc. Other hotels were “Dagmara”, “Italia”, “Paris”, etc.
Four movie houses: “Nirvana”, “Edison”, “Malenke” and “Agniska” (the first three in Jewish hands).
Three apothecaries: “Stara Pharmacy”, owner BERGMAN – Burgomeister of the city, later the pharmacy bought out LEVINSON and ZELIKOWITZ (a brother of Aloof Abner, died in Israel), the brothers ZUCKERMAN and “Simikova Pharmacy (not Jewish).
Several pharmaceutical warehouses: Owners SIDOROWITZ, NACHUMOVSKY, SHIFF, and BARAN.
Several gold businesses, watchmakers, jewelers. There were also big manufacturing businesses, shoe businesses: big wholesale warehouses for spices, fancy goods, writing materials, like BERL DWORETSKY, SLUTSKY and others. Big ironworks, like G. CHERTAK, STEINBERG, etc.
In Lida, the city combined with all the small shtetls around it,
in the last years before the war, to form a bus route. The first
line was Stutchin – Lida. Later Belitsa – Lida; Lida – Novogroduk;
Grodno – Skidel – Lida; Baranowitz – Novogroduk – Lida; Lida – Vilna; Radun
- Eisheshuk – Lida; Ivye – Lipnishuk – Lida; Vasilishuk – Lida.
Lida almost became combined with all the nearby cities and shtetls.
At the beginning there were losses, but later all the bus lines united
in one cooperative, which soon succeeded, and they bought new big busses.
CAPTION OF PICTURE ON PAGE 84
Jewish soldiers in the Russian Army during WWI. Among them the
Lida residents: among those standing from the left side, SHMUEL RUTSKY.
Among those sitting, second from the left BORUCH SLONIMSKY