The first Jews appeared in Bychawa in 1578[1.1]. The earliest mention of local Jews in historical sources dates back to this period[1.2].

An independent kehilla was founded towards the end of the 16^th century[1.3]. Seventeen Jews lived in Bychawa in 1675[1.4]. Although the oldest records mentioning a synagogue date back to as late as 1717, a wooden temple is believed to have been erected here already in the 1580s or 1590s; it was supposedly located somewhere to the east of the market. It is also believed that a Jewish cemetery was established not far away from the synagogue, and an independent kehilla was set up in the closing years of the century[1.5].

The Jewish community of Bychawa was decimated in the attack of Khmelnytsky’s army in the years 1648–1649 and revived once again in the 18^th century. As early as the 1780s, Jewish people constituted over 30% of the entire town’s population and were becoming more and more important in the economic and social life of the town.

The number of Jews living in Bychawa started to grow in the second half of the 18^th century. In 1765, there were 116 Jews in the town, with the number increasing by a hundred in 1778. In 1787, the town had 193 Jewish inhabitants, constituting 32% of the town’s total population of 606 in 1787[1.6].

There were 14 Jewish and four Polish houses situated at Bychawa’s Market Square in 1779[1.7]. The Jewish community began to play an increasingly important role in the town. In 1785, two Jews sat on the five-member jury of the local court. The Jewish community in Bychawa owned a synagogue, a mikveh, and a cemetery[1.8].

In 1816, Jewish craftsmen were given the right to join artisan guilds[1.1.5]. In 1818, several Jewish tailors were working in the town, the most famous being Nuchim. In 1830, Bychawa had 747 inhabitants, including 437 Jews (58% of the total population)[1.9]. In 1860, Bychawa had a population of 986, 72% of whom were Jews (718 people). By the end of the 1870s, there were 2,212 people living in the town, including 1,579 Jews (74%).

In the 19^th century, Bychawa became an important Hasidic centre and boasted its own tzaddik with his court. The local dynasty was founded by Nechemya Yechiel Rabinowicz, son of Jacob Isaac ben Asher, known as the Holy Jew of Przysucha. It existed until the Holocaust[1.10].

In 1866, the Jewish community was granted several plots of land in the town and given permission to erect their houses. For instance, Szloma Szpira and Abram Sztejn received 14 rods of land[1.11]; Chaim Rubinowicz – 120 rods; Abram Ehrlich and Lejba Ehrlich – 18 rods; Szloma Klajman and Moszko Litman – 10 rods; Srul Ehrlich – 9 rods; Lejba Sztych and Agnesa Żminad – 15 rods; Henryk Ehrlich and Józef Klajman – 8 rods; Moszek Dajzer, Herszek Klajman, Wolf Ehrlich, Dawid Katz and Mendel Lebenbaum – 10 rods.

The synagogue supervision allotted 20 roubles a year to cover the salary of the rabbi in the years 1872–1888. In the subsequent years until the outbreak of World War II, the sum increased to 100 roubles per year. In the years 1890–1914 the community spent 114 roubles a year to maintain the school and the synagogue. In 1908, the community began to pay annual fire insurance premiums of 55 roubles. The expenses of the hospital amounted to 1,126 roubles in the years of 1896–1905, which resulted in continuous budget deficits.

The three-member Synagogue Supervision Committee was elected at the general meeting for a term of three years. In 1869–1871 the committee members were Kapel Rudeł, Szloma Szpira, Icek Mojzels; in 1872–1874: Lejba Sztejn, Abram Klajman, Szulim Sztejn; in 1875–1890: Abram Klajman, Szija Weltman, Szloma Bursztyn; in 1891–1893: Abram Chaskiel Klajman, Josek Szpira, Mendel Sztejnman; in 1897–1900: Abram Mendel Lewinbaum, Lejba Icek Klajman, Josek Fajerajzen; in 1912–1915: Mendel Rozenson, Dawid Rajs and Aron Chil Himelfard[1.12]. Two Jewish feldshers worked in Bychawa towards the end of the 19^th century: Herszek Zajfierajnier and Szloma Zajfen.

In 1900, Bychawa had 2,800 inhabitants, including 2,294 Jews (81%). The community was supported from member contributions. One roubel was paid by two of the three members of the Synagogue Supervision Committee. There were very few people who paid higher contributions. These included the Klajman family (8 roubles), who owned textile warehouses and a tannery, Abram Szterenfeld (10 roubles), Majer Szpira (8 roubles), Nusym Lewinstejn (7.5 roubles), Szloma Szpira (2 roubles)[1.1.12].

The first pharmacy in Bychawa was opened by Christian owners in 1906. The second one was established by Szloma Klajman from Bełżyce in 1914. In 1904, the first Zionist cell was formed in Bychawa[1.13].

In 1916, Bychawa had 2,681 inhabitants, including 1,921 Jews (71%). The town’s population was steadily growing in the interwar period. In 1921, it had 2,848 residents, including 1,879 Jews (65%)[1.14]. In 1922, the community had 2,400 inhabitants, 1,355 of whom had suffrage.

Jews lived in the northwestern part of Bychawa[1.15] and had their shops along the town’s main artery, Turobińska Street[1.16]. There were also numerous family-run artisan workshops[1.1.13]. Before World War II, the majority of Jewish houses was located near the Market Square, with 35 out of 36 houses belonging to Jews. All the houses at Końska Street also had Jewish owners. There were 26 houses at Kościelna Street, 24 of them owned by Jews. Similarly, only one out of the 12 houses at Stolarska Street had a non-Jewish owner. Moreover, 8 out of 10 houses at Bożnicza Street were owned by Jews. The remaining streets: Wołowa, Rudnik, Lubelska, and Stolarska were inhabited by both Jews and Christians[1.17].

The Jewish community in Bychawa experienced rapid development in the interwar period. Jewish cultural and social-political life flourished. In 1917, a branch of the Zionist Organisation was established here (reestablished in 1927), followed by the Agudath in 1919 (reconstituted in 1935). The left-wing Bund enjoyed a big following among the local population. In the autumn of 1925, a conflict broke out between Orthodox Jews and Zionists, with the latter eventually banned from entering the synagogue and the house of prayer.

Two youth organisations were established in Bychawa in 1932: the Josef Trumpeldor Association of Jewish Scouts and the Hehalutz–Pioneer. The town also boasted a number of Jewish institutions fostering economic development, such as the Petty Merchants’ Association founded in 1922. The 1920s and 1930s were also a vibrant time for cultural and educational organisations (including the I.L. Peretz Jewish Library Association and the Tarbut Jewish Cultural and Educational Association, established in 1921[1.1.13]) and Jewish education (among the newly founded facilities was a Beit Yaakov school for girls).

In the 1920s, Bychawa boasted two Jewish charitable organisations: Bikur Cholim and Linas Hatsedek. However, they were soon closed down due to inactivity. On the other hand, the Gemilut Chesed society founded in 1931, offering interest-free loans, was very active in the town. Jews actively participated in the political and social life of the town – in 1935, twelve out of 30 members of the Bychawa Council were Jewish.

In the second half of the 1930s, due to the worsening economic situation and intensifying anti-Semitic sentiments, the situation of Jews in Bychawa started to deteriorate, which in turn led to the increase in the rate of migration. On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, Jews made up only a half of the entire population of Bychawa. The community owned a brick synagogue, a house of prayer, a mikveh, a poultry slaughterhouse, a wooden poorhouse for the elderly and the disabled, as well as two cemeteries (one closed for burials). The local Jewish population was struggling due to a number of economic boycotts and – on the eve of the war – assaults and plunders[1.1.13].

In 1938, the number of community members rose to 2,459. The movable property of the kehilla had an estimated value of 5,017 zlotys, whereas its real estate was worth 23,150 zlotys. The community had a debt of 2,610 zlotys. It owned a brick synagogue, house of prayer, poorhouse, brick baths, house of the synagogue caretaker, cemetery, and square in front of the synagogue[1.18].

During World War II, Bychawa was seized by Germans. A ghetto was established in the town in December 1940[1.19]. In 1942, its population amounted to ca. 2,600 Jews and also comprised people from Kraków, who had been transported to Bychawa in March 1940 and February and March 1941. There was also a labour camp with 500 prisoners in the town. The highest number of Jews held in Bychawa throughout the war was 2,850[1.1.13].

The first chairman of the Judenrat was Mendel Rajs, succeeded by Boruch Herszman in March 1941[1.20] and then by Semen Słobodski from Łódź. The remaining members of the Judenrat were: Pinkwas Rajs (trader), Abram Zajdler (trader), Moszek Warcki, Berek Weltman, and Szmul Ejdelman[1.1.20]. When Semen Słobodski became the chairman, new members joined the Judenrat: Chaim Lewinbaum, Chil Garten, Zelig Flam, and Hersz Rutinkier – a German Jew from Koźmin. The Committee for the Aid to Displaced People and Local Poor was established by the Jewish Council in 1941[1.1.20]. On 11 October 1942, Jews from Bychawa were transported to the ghetto in Bełżyce and then to the concentration camp in Sobibór[1.21]. The labour camp was liquidated on 8 May 1942, with its prisoners sent to the labour camp in Budzyń and to the Majdanek concentration camp[1.1.13].

Apart from systematic mass extermination in Bełżec, the Nazis also carried out individual executions around Bychawa. The following people were amongst the many who were executed in 1941–1943: Lushnan Maior, Icek Szornesteij, D. Lejzor, Chaim Majsler, Hana Wagi, Abram Waga, Hana Geriecznik, Chaim Miller, Jutka Grabler, Hana Majzer, Abraham Djament, Chaim Hymnblum, Icek Goldstejn, Hana Djament, Abraham Szorstain, Taba Cukierman, Chaim Lejzor, Ryfka Zwigler, Rywka Rosensztok, Icek Hymblum[1.22].

Among the Survivors of the Holocaust were Elżbieta and Leon Sawicki – young physicians employed at the District Hospital in Bychawa. After the war, Sawicki became chairman of the Sanitary and Epidemic Department at the Ministry of Health[1.23].

Bibliography

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