Jews probably started to settle down in Dubiecko at the end of 16^th century, although their presence had already been recorded in official documents dating back to 1622. In the mid-18^th century, local Jews were already organised in a kehilla, which owned a synagogue and a cemetery. In 1765, 116 Jews lived in Dubiecko and the Jewish community comprised 136 Jews. Twenty years later, there were already 225 Jews in the town. In 1774, two Jewish butchers named Lejba were registered in Dubiecko. In 1799, the bishop of Przemyśl, Jan Bokuma, ordered for the synagogue to be pulled down because the required permission for its erection had not been obtained[1.1].

At the beginning of the 18^th century, Jews worked in a number of professions. Two local tailors rented houses and rooms from townsmen. Herszko – a Jewish tailor – rented a flat from a townsman named Boryczka while Jew Liber lived at Gąska’s place. Nosym, a tailor, owned a house which located at the street behind the embankment of the town. In the second half of the 17^th century, Jew Naftal was a barber surgeon in Dubiecko. He rented a flat in the town and employed a journeyman. In the second half of the 17^th century and in the 18^th century, among the Jews of Dubiecko there was one butcher, on tailor, one furrier, and one barber surgeon.

In the 18^th  and 19^th  centuries, the town was famous for its fairs. The Jewish population was steadily growing. In 1799, their community consisted of 227 people, in 1808 – 279, in 1824 – 376 people and in 1880 – 666. In the 19^th century, the Jews from Dubiecko dominated local trade and crafts. They ran two taverns and five taprooms in the market square alone. In 1895, the Credit Society was opened in the town; it was managed by Pinkas Kanner. In the 1830s, Zvi Elimelech Szapiro, who later became the tzaddik of Dynowo, was the local rabbi in Dubiecko.

In 1900, 976 Jewish people lived in Dubiecko, while the entire Jewish community comprised 1,351 members. At the time, trade was still largely dominated by Jews.

The town was severely damaged during WWI. Even more destruction was caused by the Russian army, which plundered the town, including the Jewish property. Many Jewish soldiers did not return from the war; they stayed in Austria and Germany or migrated to America. In November 1918, the local peasants plundered shops owned by Jews.

In 1921, there were 1,793 people living in Dubiecko, including 977 people of Jewish descent. There was no separate Jewish district in the town. Dubiecko’s population was gradually increasing, mainly because of the growth of the Jewish community. The ethnic composition of the population was mirrored by the composition of the City Council (18 out of 24 councillors were Jewish; later, in 1927, the Council had 12 Jewish and 12 Polish members).

Among the Jews of Dubiecko, there were numerous craftsmen: carpenters, glaziers and whitesmiths. They were organised in guilds. Children started to attend Polish public schools at the age of 7. Some old houses in Dubiecko still have hatches on their roofs – they were opened during the holiday of Sukkot in order to form sukkah, which traditionally were devoid of roofing.

During national holidays, the kehillah invited a delegation of townsmen to the service held in the synagogue. Delegates listened to the rabbi's prayers and to chants of a cantor invited specially for the occasion. Following the announcement of the visit of the bishop of Przemyśl, who was to inspect a Latin Parish,  it was planned for a Jewish delegation, headed by the rabbi, to welcome him, since it was a matter of honour for Jews to be the first to meet the bishop upon his arrival. The bishop visited Dubiecko every few years. Jewish crowd would welcome him outside the town and lead him to the synagogue. After religious services, a reception was held by the director of the Jewish Fund.

The Jewish community, composed mostly of Hasidic Jews, was divided into the followers of various tzadikim. For some time, the function of the local rabbi was performed by Zvi Elimelech Szapiro (1758-1841), disciple of Menachem Mendel of Rymanów, founder of the famous tzaddik dynasty from Dynów and author of Bnei Yissachar (Hebrew for “Sons of Issachar”).

Later on, most Hasidic Jews from Dubiecko supported Zvi Elimelech Szapiro from  Błażowa (1841-1924), who was a grandson of Cwi Elimelech from Dynów. Later on, the supporters of his son, Jozue of Rybotycze, predominated over the followers of Shalom Rokeach, a tzaddik from Bełz. Due to the dominance of Hasidism in the town, the Haskalah and various currents of Zionism did not have much influence in the town. Many parents did not send their children to public schools, which at the time was obligatory.

Mendel Moriles was the local rabbi in the years 1892–1920. He was married to the granddaughter of tzaddik Elimelech from Dynów. Several political parties were active in Dubiecko, among them the Mizrachi and Agudas Israel. Young people could join HeHalutz. Another organisation operating in the town was the Farm Club of the Jewish Agricultural Association (Kółko Gospodarskie Żydowskiego Towarzystwa Rolniczego). Samuel Aron Flam was the last rabbi of Dubiecko.

In 1927, the development of the town was hampered by a fire.

With the outbreak of World War II, a tragic fate befell the Jews from Dubiecko. On 15 October 1939, occupational authorities ordered for the synagogue to be pulled down. In the autumn of the same year, local Jews were forced to cross the San and relocate to the Soviet occupational zone. Most of them followed the orders. To intimidate those who were reluctant, Germans executed 12 Jews from Dubiecko in the cemetery in Nienadowa. Another 19 Jews were shot in the same locality in 1942.

After the attack on the Soviet Union and the liquidation of the border on the San River, over 100 Jews from Dubiecko returned to their houses. During the war, the military police and the Gestapo stationed in the town. The operation leading to mass execution of Jews was called "Juedische Aussiedlung" (Ger. “Jewish displacement”). It was carried out between June and August 1942.

It proceeded as follows:

• 17.061942  – the Gestapo shot two Jews near their homes,
• 19.05.1942 – four Jews were shot on the Jewish cemetery,
• 24.06.1942  – 80 Jews were shot on the cemetery,
• 06.07.1942 – two Jews were shot,
• 08.08.1942 – 12 Jews from Przemyśl were shot on the Jewish cemetery,
• 26.08.1942 – 15 Jews were shot.

Moreover, 61 more Jews were killed in the nearby localities of Słonna, Kosztowa, Podbukowina, and Przedmieście Dubieckie.

Bibliography

• Brzęk-Piszczowa R., Błażowa niegdyś i dziś, Rzeszów 1978. 
• Chłapowski K., Dzieje Dubiecka, Rzeszów 1983, p. 60.
• Dubiecko, [in:] The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life before and during the Holocaust, t. 1, ed. Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder, New York 2001, p. 335.
• Motylewicz J., Żydzi w miastach ziemi przemyskiej i sanockiej w drugiej połowie XVII i w XVIII wieku, Przemyśl 1991,np.122