Jonathan Wind

Kalish Memorial Book Jonathan Wind

Kalish was the first city in Poland to have an established Jewish community and its roots run deep. The Jews were inhabitants of that city as early as 1139 and the first synagogue was permitted by King Casimir III in 1358. Over the centuries life was very turbulent. There were fires, epidemics, wars and invasions but until the Second World War the community always managed to rebound.

In the early days the Jews worked in the crafts and became tailors and butchers and when the Church forbade its members to loan money for interest the Jews became bankers and creditors. Between 1655 and 1660 the Swedes invaded Poland and in 1706 the Swedes captured Kalish burning a large portion of the city.

Between 1793 and 1806 Kalish was under the rule of Prussia. The Jewish population numbered about 2100 and by 1857 the number grew to 4,300. Kalish became known for its textile and lace industries and in 1908 thirty-two factories were owned by Jews. Kalish had a very active rabbinical life and the Hasidim of Gur and Kotsk established themselves there.

In 1939 the Judenrat (Jewish council) conducted a census and there were about 18,000 Jews in Kalish. The Jews were moved to a Ghetto and by the end of the year only 600 remained alive there. After the Second World War the few survivors who returned were harassed and murdered by the Poles and gradually all the Jews left mainly for Israel and the United States.