History

The history of the Jewish community in Wierzbica is poorly known; the village is not even mentioned in passing in The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust. Inferring from the date of establishing the cemetery (1831), provided by Adam Penkala, it can be assumed that the community formed in the 19th century and was of a trade and craft character, serving the agricultural area. Previously, Jewish settlement may not have been possible at all due to the long-standing affiliation of the town to the Church (the Cistercian monastery of Wąchock). Although, Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich states that in 1893 there were 371 Jews in the Wierzbica municipality with 1,869 of all residents.

The town lost its significance with the development of nearby Radom. In 1870, following the fall of the January Uprising in 1864, it lost its municipal rights, which it never regained. In 1873 and 1904, it was destroyed by fires.

The Yad Vashem database includes dozens of records of Jewish residents of Wierzbica who were murdered by the Germans during the Holocaust. The most popular surnames include Akerman, Birenbaum, Finkelsztajn, Goldwaser, Hakman, Hochman, Jeleń, Katz, Najman, Pelc, Rozenberg, Rozencwajg, Szmukler, Sztajnberg, Tenenbaum, Winter and Żytnik. Many of these people have some connection with Radom; probably because of the local ghetto, the Jews from Wierzbica shared the fate of other Holocaust victims.