Translated by Judie Ostroff Goldstein and Dr. Sonia Kovitz The
population of Mazsheyk numbers around 10,000, among them around
700-800 Jews. Before the war [WW I] there was a large Jewish
population with a lot of large businesses and warehouses. There
were food and leather businesses, tile and sulphur factories.
Shopkeepers would travel from the entire area to buy merchandise
in Mazsheyk, even from Telz, Kretinga, etc. There was a large
shovel factory that would export manufactured goods to foreign
countries. A dozen Jewish brokers made a living from this. They
would travel to the villages to sell goods. We called them
medina kromen [country shops]. They were Jews who made their
living by traveling to the villages and selling them goods.
After the war this means of earning a living died. There were a
lot of rich Jews in Mazsheyk and it was known as one of the
richest towns in the area. Because of the war almost the entire
town burnt down. After the war the Jews who had been forced to
leave returned home from