Betty Fagenson Lewis: My Autobiography, 1903 -- 1998

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About Wysokie
The shtetl where I was born was Wisoko-Litovsk, (sometimes spelled Visoke-Litovske, depending upon what map or what atlas you consult) a village on the outskirts of Bialystok.

Wisoko-Litovsk was an agricultural village rather than an industrial one although there was a sawmill, and, I think, a leather industry. It was not an altogether poor setting. There were some who had money. We, however, were very poor, and my mother had to provide some income. I don't think that my father earned a living, certainly not enough to sustain a family with four children. But at least we had a house, the very same house my mother and my maternal grandmother had been born in. Half of the house belonged to us and the other half to my mother's aunt - my grandmother's sister. So the two families lived in this house.

Notes: Dr. Berens: Wysokie Litovsk is approximately 40 m (25 miles) south of Bialystok. However, the fact that my mother indicates an incorrect proximity suggests that people in Wisoko-Litovsk thought of Bialystok as the closest large city, rather than Brest-Litovsk, which was much closer than Bialystok. Webmaster: this is an unusual observation. In my experience, most people oriented to Brest as the nearest city. Perhaps this reflects memories from before WWI, when Wysokie was under Russian rule and administered from Bialystok.

Page Last Updated: 19-Feb-2013