According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Jewish settlers appeared in Malecz already at the end of the 16th century. It can be assumed that a significant development of the Jewish community took place in the 19th century. In 1897 there were 1,201 believers of Judaism in Malecz, who constituted 55.60% of the town's total population.

At the beginning of World War I, some houses belonging to Jews were destroyed. Typhus and smallpox epidemics claimed many victims. All this contributed to a drastic decrease in the number of inhabitants. According the census of 1921, only 893 inhabitants were registered in Malecz, 479 of whom declared their Jewish origin.

The German army seized Malecz on 23 June 1941. The Jews were repressed and forced to wear yellow patches on their chests and backs. On 2 November 1941, the Germans deported all the Jews of Malecz to Bereza Kartuska. Only a few survived the Holocaust.

Bibliography

• S. Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, New York 2001, vol. II, p. 788.