The first Jews probably settled in Przedbórz at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. A privilege of King Władysław IV of 1634 mentions that there was already a synagogue and a cemetery in the town. In 1745 Jews obtained further privileges from King August III, and in November 1765 these privileges were confirmed by the King Stanisław August Poniatowski. In December 1765, the King gave the Jews of Przedbórz a six-month moratorium on paying debts.[1.1]

In 1780 Stanisław August Poniatowski sent a committee to Przedbórz at the request of local Jews and Poles. As a result of a fire, "They cannot pay off incurred debts," he stated.[1.2]. The committee was to reconcile the creditors and the debtors.

In 1827 Przedbórz was inhabited by 2,170 people and in 1863 by 4,738. There were 292 houses and 15 people per house on average.[1.3]. They were mainly one-storied buildings, so the houses must have been very congested. Brick and stone architecture were predominant. A fire in 1834 that destroyed the majority of wooden buildings had put an end to the construction of wooden buildings in the town.

In the late 18th century, Leib Halpern was the rabbi of Przedbórz. After several years, he went to Opatów and then to Sochaczew where he also performed the position of rabbi. Among his students were Jaakow Icchak ben Aszer, known as the Holy Jew from Przysucha, as well as Izajasz of Przedbórz known as Weltfreid ("The world' s happiness"), a disciple of Widzący of Lublin.[1.4] In the 1840s, Emanuel Welfried became rabbi. After his death in 1865, Abram Moshe Welfried was appointed rabbi, a disciple of rabbi Szai Mendeshon in Wieniawa and Radom.[1.5]

There were 8,043 inhabitants in Przedbórz in 1910, 5,885 in 1921, and 6,787 in 1931.[1.6] The census of 1921 indicates that at the time of its compiling there were 2,128 Poles and 3,749 Jews (63.7 % of the total population).[1.7] At the turn of 1937-1938, 7,000 people lived in Przedbórz, out of which 4,500 were Jews. They mainly resided in an area of the old town—the market square and some adjoining streets.[refr:|Przedbórz, in: The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos during the Holocaust, 2, (2009), 616.]]

At the beginning of the Second Polish Republic, the municipality of Przedbórz was relatively large and populous. The municipal authorities numbered 12 people. In the first half of the 1920s, it was administered by Zygmunt Tyberg, Szaja Grynblat, Aron Cukier, Zalcman Szpiro, Szmul Dawid Gotesman, Szyja Niepamiętny, Szlama Rubin, Abram Hersz Landau, Aron Kupferminc, Emanuel Woliński, Jankiel Mały, and Jakub Szlama. All of them expressed freedom from party adherence.[1.8]

A budget of the Jewish community from 1927 shows that it was expected to gather an amount of 34,541 zlotys from its inhabitants. Arrears of the municipality from previous years came up to 18,225 zlotys, that is half of the budget. [1.9]

Nusyn Dawid Grynbaum, an Orthodox Jew, performed the function of rabbi with Moszek Halper as cantor. N. D. Grynbaum was chosen for the position of rabbi before World War I but was officially approved in 1931.[1.10]

At the turn of 1920–1930, the municipality owned two synagogues a total value of 150,000 zlotys, two schools 50,000 zlotys, and two steam baths and a cemetery 4 morgens.[1.11] An inspector wrote, "The synagogue is a historical monument and is in good condition…The school of prayer is in good condition. It only needs to have its interior refreshed and its hallway covered with concrete. There are two baths, one in Przedbórz and the second in Widoma. The first one is in poor condition and requires major renovation."[1.12]

At the beginning of World War II, in September 1939, a battle between the Polish and German troops was fought near Przedbórz. The town was largely destroyed, especially the downtown, which was primarily inhabited by the town’s Jewish population. The center was reduced to rubble. The synagogue and the house of the rabbi burned down in the fighting.

The persecution of Jews began soon after entering Przedbórz. On many occassions, German soldiers shot innocent Jewish people. During several round-ups, some representatives of the Jewish community were arrested and sent to the labor camp in Częstochowa. In Przedbórz, Jews were force to work. For example, they participated in repair work on bridges. Some Jews were shot for smuggling food (for example, Kleinman, Marmelstein from Czermno, and Weitzenblit).[1.1.4] The chairman of the Judenrat was Awigdor Tannenbaum, a timber trader and the owner of a restaurant before the war, as well as the leader of the Zionists-Revisionists from Przedbórz.

In January 1940, the Germans established a ghetto where they gathered 4,600 people. Initially, it was not a closed ghetto, and it was not cordoned off from the rest of the town until the end of 1941 or the beginning of 1942. The ghetto was located in the Widawa district that, like the downtown, was largely settled by Jews.[1.13]

On 9 October 1942, the Germans liquidated the ghetto and all Jews were forced to go on foot to the ghetto in Radmosko (32 km). During the march, some of the Jews tried to escape to Granica.  The remainder reached the ghetto in Radomsko and were later taken along with the inhabitants of  the Radomsko ghetto to the extermination camp in Treblinka.[1.14]

After the war, in 1945, 9 Jews returned to Przedbórz and settled down in the building of a former restaurant owned by Wyszyński. At the turn of 1945 and 1946, they were attacked by underground members. The Jews were tied and taken away in a lorry to a forest in Radoszyce, where they were shot. The leader of the criminals was a man named Dowski. The victims were Leizer Lizband or Liwerant, Lejbel Schwartz and his wife, Bezalel Wyszyński, Chaim Aleksandrowicz, and Lipmanowicz.[1.1.4]

Bibliography

• Przedbórz, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Poland, Volume I (Poland). Pinkas Hakehillot Polin, (1976), 206–208.
• Przedbórz, in: S. Spector, G. Wigoder (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Jewish life before and during the Holocaust, 2, (2001), 1032.
• Przedbórz, in: The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos during the Holocaust, 2, (2009), 616.