Possibly the most well-known part of Polish Jewry is the shtetl. The shtetl is almost mythic in its charming mystique it presents to the modern observer. We present as a model shtetl the village of Oswiecim, or Aushwitz. Although it may sound strange, there was once a vibrant Jewish life in Aushwitz.
    There were two separate nations living in the shtetlach (villages) all over Poland. The Jews lived a completely different existence -away from the Poles, coming together only for practicalities. The city of Aushwitz was about 16,000 strong, divided approximatey fifty-fifty between Jew and gentile. Of the 8,000 Jews, about 500 or so weren't religious. Some had been secularized for quite some time, but did still go to synagogue on the High Holidays. No one was unpleasant or rejoycing in rebellion.
    The Jews in Aushwitz were mainly tradesman like tailors, blacksmiths, baker, butcher, wagonmakers, and shopkeepers. Jews made the majority of their income selling to Poles twice a week on Marktug, or market day. On Market day the Jews would set up their booths and the gentiles would bring their farm goods from the fields, like produce, chicken and eggs. The market place was in the center of town because everyone needed something on Market day. Neither Poles nor Jews could subsist without each other, but Poles and Jews never knew each other through frank exchanges or other intimate talk. They were proximate and familiar and that's as close as it got. Generally, as in most small towns, relations were in fact pretty docile, although anti-Jewish flareups happened infrequently when heavy drinking occurred. Soldiers weren't a problem at all, though; they would just ride through town sometimes.

    There were stores immediately surrounding the market square. The main residential area was almost entirely Jewish, as most gentiles lived in the countryside surrounding the town. Many gentiles, seeing the Jewish dress and other things, thought the Jews were better off than they themselves were. They forgot about the many poor Jews unable to even get meals, an unknown for gentile farmers. A residential building had two or three stores at street level, and an alleyway went from the street to an inner courtyard, where the apartments were accessible from. Many of these were multi-family houses, and sometimes the alleyways cut from the street to the one on the other side, forming a large courtyard where 10-20 families might be located.
    Basically, Aushwitz was a poor town; there were many needy people. There were a few wealthy Jews and they took care of the less fortunate, especially making sure that they had nice meals for the festivals. But many times kids wouldn't even be able to eat breakfast before school started. A modest but comfortable Oswiecim apartment would be a kitchen and one bedroom. There were usually two toilets on each floor for five families (there were always more than one family in each building). The kitchen was essentially a large room with a stove, usually made out of bricks or tile and looking like a large box, a table, chairs, and a bed. There was also, usually, a cellar to store all sorts of goods, like food, preserves, even coal. Coal got more expensive in the winter and there was no coal delivery, so many people stocked up. People didn't steal things that weren't there's, though. They just didn't wish to behave like that.