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iegeleisen, henryk
BIEGELEISEN, HENRYK (1855–1934), Polish literary historian
and ethnographer. On his mother’s side a grandson of
Naḥman *Krochmal, Biegeleisen was assimilated and even
made his sons convert. He was for many years principal of a
girls’ school run by the Jewish community at Lvov. Biegeleisen
published a number of studies and monographs on Polish
romantic literature. These include Pan Tadeusz Mickiewicza
(“Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz,” 1884); Lirnik mazowiecki (“The
Bard of Mazovia,” 1913) on the poet Teofil Lenartowicz; and
Ilustrowane dzieje literatury polskiej (“An Illustrated History of
Polish Literature,” 5 vols., 1898–1901). He also edited the works
of Słowacki, *Mickiewicz, and Fredro, and a Polish translation
of Shakespeare. In the field of ethnography Biegeleisen wrote
a number of original studies, among them Matka i dziecko w
obrzédach, wierzeniach i zwyczajach ludu polskiego (“Mother
and Child in the Rites, Beliefs, and Customs of the Polish
Folk,” 1927); Wesele… (“Wedding…,” 1928); U Kolebki – przed
ołtarzem – nad mogilą (“At the Cradle – Before the Altar – By
the Tomb,” 1929); Lecznictwo ludu polskiego (“Popular Cures
of the Polish Folk,” 1930); and Śmierć w obrzędach, zwyczajach
i wierzeniach ludu polskiego (“Death in the Rites, Customs,
and Beliefs of the Polish Folk,” 1931). One of his sons,
BRONISLAW BIEGELEISEN-żELAZOWSKI (b. 1881), was professor
of psychology in various Polish universities, and published
works in his field.
Bibliography: Polski Słownik Biograficzny, 2 (1936), 30–32;
F. Pajączkowski, in: Pamiętnik Literacki, 31 (1934), 244–7 (bibl.);
Wielka Encyklopedia Powszeczna, 1 (1962), 779–80 (on Bronislaw;
incl. bibl.).
[Moshe Altbauer]
BIEL, township near Uncastillo, Aragon, Spain. The earliest
information on the community of Biel dates from 1294, when
a Christian girl disappeared; rumors were spread that the
Jews were responsible, and the Jews of Biel were arrested. It
was only after the intervention of James II that the charge was
withdrawn. In 1305, however, Açac de Çalema, the wealthiest
Jew of Biel, was accused of having derided the Christian religion.
He was arrested and brought to trial before the Dominicans,
and his property was confiscated. In 1294 and in 1305,
the Jews of Biel paid an annual sum of 250 solidi, amounting
to a quarter of the income derived by the king from the locality.
In 1361, the king requested Solomon de la *Cavallería to
annul an irregular Jewish marriage at Biel. A Jewish community
continued to exist until the expulsion of the Jews from
Spain in 1492.
Bibliography: Baer, Studien, 131; Baer, Urkunden, 2 (1936),
184f., 375, 917; Baer, Spain, 2 (1966), 7–8.
[Haim Beinart]
BIEL (Bienne), town in the Swiss canton of Berne. Citizenship
(Buergerrecht) was granted to several Jewish families in
1305, although Jews probably settled in Biel earlier. They were
allowed to trade freely and engage in moneylending, until
their expulsion from the city, the date of which is unknown.
Communal life revived after 1848, when several Jewish families
from *Alsace-Lorraine settled in Biel. A Moorish-style synagogue
was built in 1883. Between 1916 and 1945 the Orthodox
Chaim Lauer was its rabbi. For some years there was a separate
East European minyan. The number of members of the
Biel Jewish community dwindled from 1945. This problem was
met by a closer cooperation with the community of *Berne
and by state recognition for both communities in the 1990s
along with the right to levy taxes by the state.
Bibliography: A. Welder-Steinberg, Geschichte der Juden in
der Schweiz, 1 (1966), 68; Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund,
Festschrift 1904–1954 (1954), 313. Add. Bibliography: E.
Dreifuss, Juden in Bern. Ein Gang durch die Jahrhunderte (1983).
[Uri Kaufmann (2nd ed.)]
BIELEFELD, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Jews there were massacred during the *Black Death, 1348–49.
In 1370 a few Jews again settled in Bielefeld. The prohibition
of 1554 on Jewish residence in the duchy of *Juelich also applied
to Bielefeld, but Jews resettled there in 1586. Their main
occupations were commerce and moneylending. Jews from
Bielefeld attended the fairs at *Leipzig at the beginning of the
18th century. The cemetery continued in use from 1665, until a
new one was opened in 1891. In 1905 a synagogue to seat 800
was consecrated. The Jewish population numbered 65 in 1783
and 800 in 1933. On Nov. 10, 1938, the synagogue was burned
down. At least 500 members of the community perished during
the *Holocaust. Only 12 survivors returned to Bielefeld after
the war. A few Jews settled there from other places, and
there were 66 Jews living in Bielefeld in 1955. A new synagogue
was inaugurated in 1951. The Jewish community numbered 23
members in 1989 and 193 in 2003.
Bibliography: Germ Jud, 2 (1968), 82; MGDJ, 3 (1912), 14–21;
U. Niemann (ed.), Ueberblick ueber die Geschichte der juedischen Gemeinde
in Bielefeld (mimeo 1962); H.A. Maass, in: Historischer Verein
fuer die Grafschaft Ravensburg, 65 (1966–67), 79–94. Add. Bibliography:
J. Meynert, Die Juden in der Stadt Bielefeld waehrend
der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus (1983); G. Renda, Juedisches Leben
in Bielefeld (1997).
[Zvi Avneri]
BIELSKI, TUVIA (1906–1987), ASAEL (1908–1944), and
ZUS (1912–1995), Jewish partisans in World War II. The three
brothers grew up in the small village of Stankewicze in western
Belorussia. The Bielskis were a poor peasant family and the
only Jews in the community. David Bielski, the father, owned
a mill and the family farmed its land. They observed the Sabbath
and Jewish holidays, but were on good terms and mixed
freely with their gentile neighbors.
When the Germans invaded the area in 1941, the widespread
murder of its Jewish population began. The brothers’
first-hand knowledge of German brutality and intentions regarding
the Jews prompted them to take action. At first, they
hid separately in the countryside. When their parents, siblings,
and other relatives were killed in the Nowogrodek ghetto in
1942, the brothers escaped into the forest. With a few guns
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