History

The Jews settled in Zaklików, most likely in the second half of the 16th century. They were mentioned for the first time in 1578. More than 100 years later, in 1676, 19 Jews lived there. In 1748, 20 Jewish families lived in the town. In 1765, 480 Jews lived in the local kehilla encompassing Radomyśl nad Sanem and 21 nearby villages, including 203 in Zaklików alone. They had 34 houses in the town in which 51 families lived.

In 1789, 41 houses in Zaklików belonged to Jews, and 235 Jews lived there at the time, constituting 31.2% of all residents. A man called Israel was a rabbi then.

Hasidic influence was present in the town from the mid-18th century. A certain Elijahu from Zaklików, who is said to have been one of the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, stayed there. In the late 19th century, the Hasidic community was headed by Tzadik Jehud Lejb, a disciple of Elimelech of Leżajsk (Lizhensk) and the Seer of Lublin. However, he did not manage to attract a large group of Hasidim.

In the following periods, the Jewish population of Zaklików started to diminish for unknown reasons. In 1790, the kehilla numbered only 192 members, 130 in the town, i.e. 105 less than the previous year.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Zaklików frequently changed its state affiliation. In 1795, as a result of the Third Partition, it came under the rule of Austria. However, as early as 1809, it was incorporated into the Duchy of Warsaw, and from 1815, it became part of the Kingdom of Poland under Russian rule. In 1869, like many other Polish towns supporting the January Uprising of 1863, Zaklików lost its municipal charter.

After the occupation of Zaklików in the autumn of 1939, the Germans established a ghetto there, to which Jews from Modliborzyce, among others, were sent. In 1942, there were about 3,000 Jews there, including refugees from other towns. On 15 October 1942, some of the Jews were shot on the spot, but the majority were transported to the extermination camp in Bełżec.