History

Jews began to settle in Łask in the 16th century. A significant influx was observed in the 17th century, when the town belonged to Stanisław Wierzbowski. He granted some privileges to Jewish people such as freedom regarding religious practices, trade, and craft. The only limit concerned a ban on settlement in the area of the market square and of the collegiate church. In that period, the Jewish district was formed in the western area of Łask along Żeromskiego and Kilińskiego Streets. A synagogue was built in Żeromskiego Street, and a cemetery was located nearby. A Jewish inn was opened on the outskirts of Łask. The Jewish kehilla of Łask, along with the Christian community, suffered from numerous disasters in the 17th century including two fires in 1624 and 1688 and a plague that killed 25% of the town’s population.

In the 18th century, Łask became property of the Załuski family. They regulated the Jewish legislature and gave Jews the right to join unions, and as a result many Jews immigrated to Łask. The community at that time also included the neighboring towns of Burzenin, Pabianice, Zelów, Widawa, Szadek, and Zduńska Wola. In 1747 the synagogue burned down in yet another fire. It was rebuilt in 1752. In 1764, 890 Jewish people lived in Łask. In that period, the city was home to several famous rabbis: Izrael Ithamar, Meir Eliakim Goetz, Pinkas Zelig and Mosze Leib Zilberberg. In 1793 the Jewish population of Łask stood at 1,327 people, 77% of the total number of citizens. In the late 18th century, Beniamin Hilel built a new synagogue in the town.

In the 19th century, during the period of early industrialization, most workshops belonged to Jews. The branches of economy that developed the fastest were the tannery, textile, and food industries. Many people worked in the nearby summer resorts. At that time, the Jewish community was mostly Chasidic, and they had their own house of prayer near the synagogue. The town’s population grew considerably. in 1827, it amounted to 1,984 people, 1,270 of whom were of Jewish origin. In 1897 the number of inhabitants was 4,210 people, with 2,862 Jews (68%). 204 out of 363 building plots were owned by Jews. The rabbis of Łask were Dawid Meisel (died in 1876) and later Cwi Juda.

In 1921 the population of Łask numbered 4,890 people, including 2,116 Jews. Jewish schools were located in the Chasidic house of prayer, a tenement house no. 34 by the market square, and on the corner of Strażacka Street. The largest Jewish school was located at 13 Warszawska Street. In the nearby town of Kolumna (at present a district of Łask) was a summer resort for wealthier citizens of Łódź and the neighboring area, another house of prayer, and a wooden house for the rabbi. The Jewish population actively participated in the political and social life of the town. In 1919, 6 out of 10 town councilors were Jewish. Moreover, some Jewish parties operated in Łask representing socialist and Zionist views.

During the interwar period, Jews monopolized local industry. For instance, they owned all tanneries in the town, including the tannery of L. Bornsztajn at 9 Tylna Street. An oil mill located at 4 Żeromskiego Street belonged to D. Birencwajg, and a motor mill in Narutowicza Street (former Górczyńska Street) was owned by the company “I. Kantorowicz, Mordka Działowski, Józef Traube, and Izrael Toporek.”

On the eve of the war, Łask was inhabited by nearly 3,500 Jews who were about half of the population of the town. Jews mainly lived along Widawska, Żeromska and Kilińska Street. The last rabbi was Leibel Ajzenberg, who was murdered by the Germans in the extermination camp in Chełmno on the Ner river.

After the outbreak of World War II, the Germans entered the town on 7 February 1939. Shop robberies and bullying, especially of Hasidic Jews who had their beards cut off in public by Germans, began at this time. One of the first casualties of the Nazi attacks was the son of a synagogue caretaker, murdered on 18 September. In October, the Germans gave the order to prepare a list of the wealthiest Jews and Christians in the town, who were forced to pay a special war tribute. A rabbi, in an attempt to save the precious items from the synagogue, decided to hide them. The Germans, in an attempt to force him to mention the hiding place, hung him upside down and cut his beard with a sheet metal. The rabbi’s wife, worried about his life, showed them the hiding place.

According to data from 1940, Łask was inhabited by 3,366 Jews. The same year, the Germans established a Judenrat, or Jewish Council, which was headed by Zelman Kochman. On 18 November 1940 a ghetto was created in the town that covered the area of current Żeromska, Zielona, and Kilińska Streets. Jewish people were forbidden to go outside the ghetto between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Initially, the ghetto was not tightly controlled. Poles could easily contact the inhabitants of the ghetto. They often smuggled in food. It was not until 1941 that Jews faced capital punishment for leaving the ghetto.

Thanks to the efforts of the Judenrat, a canteen, a shop, a court, and a hospital were established in the ghetto. A job agency for 360 people operated in the district throughout its existence.

In 1942, deportations of Łask’s Jews began. 200 were taken to Nakło, 70 towards Poznań, and 80 to the Reich. On 27 March 1942, 120 people were transported, likely to one of the concentration camps. They were replaced with people transported from Sieradz, Kalisz, and Widawa.

The liquidation of the ghetto began on 23 August 1942. The action was led by Hans Biebow, and it followed a well-known plan. The people living in the ghetto district were evicted from their houses. The ill and those who resisted were immediately killed. Some people were murdered near the shoemaker’s workshop in Tylna Street. All the patients in the hospital were killed. The total death toll probably amounted to 70 people. About 4,000 Jews were locked into the post-collegial church. After three days, about 900 of them were taken to the ghetto in Łódź, and those who remained were executed at the Chełmno extermination camp. After the genocide, the Germans began to demolish the deserted buildings.

After the war, four Jews lived in Łask: Chaja Singer, Idel Singer, Braun Zainwel, and Tobiasz Abram. At present, no Jewish community exists in the town.