From: Survey of Historic Jewish Monuments in Poland, by Samuel Gruber & Phyllis Myers (Jewish Heritage Council, World Monuments Fund) and Eleonora Bergman & Jan Jagielski (Research Directors & Survey Coordinators, Poland), 1995. Near the center of the small Polish town of Dzialoszyce, about halfway between Krakow and Kielce, one finds a magnificent ruin - all that remains of a large neo-classical synagogue that was the pride of the town's 7,000 Jews (70% of the population in 1939). The synagogue, designed by Felicjan Frankowski to replace an earlier wooden synagogue, was built in 1852 for a town that was the center of the leather and fur trade, and where brickworks and the clothing industry flourished. Prosperity ended when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. First the town population swelled, as Jews from other towns were forcibly relocated there. Then, on September 2, 1942, all Jews were rounded up for deportation. Some fought back, and over 2,000 were quickly slaughtered and thrown into mass graves near the Jewish cemetery. Some 8,000 people were taken to the death camp at Belzec. An elderly villager worked for the rabbi when she was a girl. She recounted that "I will never forget what he told me. He said that when the birds go away from here, the Jews will go away, too. One year there was a hard winter; there were no birds. And after that the Jews were taken away." The synagogue interior was gutted during this period. After the war, the site was abandoned, except for a time when it served as a warehouse. The roof, however, remained intact until 1984 when it finally collapsed due to years of neglect. Today, despite claims from local conservators that they would like to restore the building, it continues to deteriorate. The only new construction is a monument dedicated in 1990 at the cemetery site by one of the town's few Jewish survivors. The story of this synagogue, and its town, is common throughout Poland. The physical heritage of Polish Jewish culture is scattered and broken. A photo of the Dzialoszyce synagogue today can be seen on Mike Rosenzweig's website. More information about Jewish history in Poland is available on the Jewish-Polish Heritage website, also maintained by Mike Rosenzweig. The Jewish Community of Poland currently maintains a website with information on Jewish life in Poland today. The town of Dzialoszyce has an official website. |
A street scene in Dzialoszyce, date unknown, from a postcard. |
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Dzialoszyce, Poland formerly a Jewish shtetl in Kielce guberniya, now a town in the county of Pinczow, province of Swietokrzyskie |
From: Survey of Historic Jewish Monuments in Poland, by Samuel Gruber & Phyllis Myers (Jewish Heritage Council, World Monuments Fund) and Eleonora Bergman & Jan Jagielski (Research Directors & Survey Coordinators, Poland), 1995. Near the center of the small Polish town of Dzialoszyce, about halfway between Krakow and Kielce, one finds a magnificent ruin - all that remains of a large neo-classical synagogue that was the pride of the town's 7,000 Jews (70% of the population in 1939). The synagogue, designed by Felicjan Frankowski to replace an earlier wooden synagogue, was built in 1852 for a town that was the center of the leather and fur trade, and where brickworks and the clothing industry flourished. Prosperity ended when the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. First the town population swelled, as Jews from other towns were forcibly relocated there. Then, on September 2, 1942, all Jews were rounded up for deportation. Some fought back, and over 2,000 were quickly slaughtered and thrown into mass graves near the Jewish cemetery. Some 8,000 people were taken to the death camp at Belzec. An elderly villager worked for the rabbi when she was a girl. She recounted that "I will never forget what he told me. He said that when the birds go away from here, the Jews will go away, too. One year there was a hard winter; there were no birds. And after that the Jews were taken away." The synagogue interior was gutted during this period. After the war, the site was abandoned, except for a time when it served as a warehouse. The roof, however, remained intact until 1984 when it finally collapsed due to years of neglect. Today, despite claims from local conservators that they would like to restore the building, it continues to deteriorate. The only new construction is a monument dedicated in 1990 at the cemetery site by one of the town's few Jewish survivors. The story of this synagogue, and its town, is common throughout Poland. The physical heritage of Polish Jewish culture is scattered and broken. A photo of the Dzialoszyce synagogue today can be seen on Mike Rosenzweig's website. More information about Jewish history in Poland is available on the Jewish-Polish Heritage website, also maintained by Mike Rosenzweig. The Jewish Community of Poland currently maintains a website with information on Jewish life in Poland today. The town of Dzialoszyce has an official website. |
Copyright Susan Javinsky, 2001 |
