First Jews appeared in Sokółka in the second half of the 17^th century. In 1698 in Grodno, King Sigismund II Augustus confirmed all previous privileges of Jews permanently settled in Sokółka. They had the right to engage in trade, produce liquor and beer, buy a plot of land for the construction of a school, keeping and erecting stalls in the market square, establish a cemetery and a ritual bathhouse for women, and take fuelwood from the Sokólska Forest. The local community was subordinate to the district kehilla in Grodno.

The Jewish population in the town and its surroundings continued to grow. In 1765, there were 552 Jews living in Sokółka, and in 1897 – 2,824. Most Jewish houses and squares were located at the Market Square and along the main streets: Białostocka and Grodzieńska. The Jewish quarter was situated in the south-western part of the town. The district housed the Main Synagogue (erected ca. 1900), the old and new house of prayer, and the rabbi’s house. Not far away there were a ritual bathhouse and Tarbut and Talmud-Torah religious schools. The local Hasidim attended the Chasodim Shtibl of the Karlin-Stolin dynasty. A total of five synagogues operated in Sokółka.

The local Jews were engaged in trade and crafts, but there was also a Jewish agricultural farm located near the town, operating under the name of Isaac’s Colony. The tanning industry soon started to develop, providing employment for 700 people on the eve of World War I.

Out of all 175 shops operating in Sokółka in 1938, 162 were owned by Jews and only 13 by Christians. The Jewish community also owned 191 out of the 287 artisan workshops registered in the town in 1936.

In 1921, Sokółka had 2,821 Jewish citizens. A printing house owned by Kacenelbogen and Szpitalski operated in the town in the 1920s. The establishment printed the Gazeta Sokólska newspaper and the Biuletyn Starostwa Powietowego. There were two Jewish libraries in Sokółka. In the years 1924–1926, the Union of Jewish Craftsmen and Merchants was founded. Several Jewish associations were active: Tarbut, Freiheit, the Maccabi sports club, the Union of Jewish Schools, and two religious schools. There were also various financial institutions, such as the Jewish Folk Bank or the Jewish Interest-Free Credit Union, which played an important role in the local crafts and trade. The largest commercial enterprise in the town was the Jewish-owned AGEF (Ajzik – Grossberg – Epstein – Friedberg) wholesaler of building materials with a yearly turnover of ca. 1 million zloty.

After Poland regained independence in 1918, the political life of Sokółka Jews started to thrive, with a number of branches of important political parties founded in the town. Among these the most significant was Poale Zion. The community also boasted several youth organisations, including the Hashomer Hatzair. Local Jewish politicians submitted three list to the 1919 election to the Legislative Sejm (Parliament) – the Jewish Union, the Mizrachi Central Election Committee, and the Białystok United Election Committee – Zionists. Jews gained 1,776 votes (a total of 2,800 people was eligible to vote). In the 1927 election to the Municipal Board, Jewish candidates received 14 out of 24 seats; one of them also became the vice-mayor.

The local Zionist circles were very active and started to organise migration to Palestine in the 1930s.

In 1939, the town was seized by the Red Army. The occupier converted the Main Synagogue into a grain warehouse. In June 1941, German troops entered the town. The Nazis established a labour camp and a ghetto for the Jewish population. The district housed ca. 8,000 Jews from Sokółka, Janów, Krynki, and Czyżew. They were forced to work at the construction of a water reservoir. The ghetto existed until 24 January 1943. Most of the Jewish inhabitants of Sokółka died in the Nazi death camp in Treblinka[1.1].