The first source information on Jews in Grabów dates back to 1764. There were eight Jewish payers of the head tax living in the town at the time. At the time, the Grabów community belonged to the religious community in Łęczyca.
Over the next few decades there was a significant increase in the number of Jews in Grabów. By 1800, they already made up 45.6% of the total population (146 people). This trend continued into the 19th century, so that in 1861 Jews already made up 58.2% of the Grabów population (496 people), and in 1897 this number rose to 60.7% (640 Jews). In the following years, the number of Jewish inhabitants increased further, which, however, did not cause a corresponding increase in their percentage.
The main sources of income for Grabów Jews were crafts and trade. Craftsmen sold their products at local and neighbouring markets and fairs. Shortly after Poland regained independence, the Professional Association of Jewish Craftsmen in Grabów was established. In 1936, its president was Shlomo Wyszegrodzki. In addition, there was also a 'Gemilus Chesed' Charity Association in the settlement, the mission of which was to provide interest-free loans to affiliated Jewish entrepreneurs. Local Jews have also created a Youth Acting Club, an Izaak Leib Peretz Jewish Library (1928) and the 'Linas Hatzedek' (Fair Night Rest) Philanthropic Association.
In 1921 there Jewish community in Grabów amounted to 915 people, what was almost half of the city's total population. In the 1930s, there was a boycott of Jewish merchants. Many small traders found themselves on the brink of permanent poverty. In addition, there were anti-Jewish incidents in Grabów in 1938. The riot was triggered by the wounding of a Pole by one of the Jews. In the late afternoon, a group of Polish people, applying the principle of collective responsibility, began breaking windows of houses belonging to local Jews and attacking the latter.
In the interwar period, the following Jewish political parties were active in Grabów: Zionist Organisation in Poland (moderate right-wing party), Revisionist Zionists (right-wing with a more radical profile), Poale Zion (Workers of Zion, moderate left-wing party) and Bund (socialist), and presumably also Agudah (Union of Israel, conservative religious right).
For the Jews in Grabów, the German occupation meant a period of humiliation lasting less than three years, ending with almost complete destruction of the community. Jews were forbidden to leave the settlement, were marked with yellow Stars of David, and had their property confiscated. The cemetery has been desecrated, with matzevas being used for pavements. The day was filled with daily assemblies - morning and evening - and hard forced labour in local workshops.
On 1 January 1940, there were 967 Jews living in Grabów (including 142 refugees from other villages). In the first quarter of 1941, around 400 Jews from Łęczyca were resettled into the settlement. In early 1942, on the other hand, Jews taken to a labour camp near Chełmno nad Nerem (ger. Kulmhof) sent information about the extermination being carried out by the Germans in the death camp that existed there. A letter was received by Rabbi Yaakov Silman, who spread the word among local Jews. Upon hearing of their imminent death at the hands of the Germans, a group of wealthy Grabów Jews fled to the General Government. Many of them died along the way. Among those who remained, supplies of petrol were hidden to commit group suicide. However, this plan was not implemented.
In April 1942, all the Jews (approximately 1240 people) were gathered in the local church, from where they were taken by lorries to the extermination camp near Kulmhof. Before the final deportation, the Germans ordered the Jews to pay the outstanding tax. The fulfilment of the German order, however, did not save the Grabów Jews from the Holocaust.
Bibliography
- Grabow, [in:] The Encyclopedia of Jewish life before and during the Holocaust, edited by S. Spector, G. Wigoder, vol. I, New York 2001, p. 449.
- Grabów, [in:] The Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos during the Holocaust, edited by G. Miron, Sh. Shulani, vol. I, Jerusalem 2009, pp. 216-217.
