Szmuel, Aszer, and Eljakim Helicz

Brothers Szmuel, Aszer, and Eljakim Helicz were the first printers of Hebrew and Yiddish books in Poland. In the first years of their press, established in Kraków in 1534, they published a Hebrew-Yiddish dictionary of biblical words; a legal guide to the laws of kashrut; a Yiddish legal handbook for women; and Yiddish ethical texts. In 1537, they converted to Catholicism in exchange for cancellation of debts and took new names: Paul, Andrzej, and Johannes. They were granted a royal monopoly on the printing and sale of Hebrew books in Poland, and when the Jewish community refused to purchase books from them, another royal decree forced the community to purchase their remaining stock of Hebrew books. Johannes and Paul printed books for Christians, though Andrzej left the printing business.