The Jews of Częstochowa: The Life and Death of a Community, a Concise History

Częstochowa was the home of the eighth largest Jewish community in Poland. After 1765, when there were 75 Jews in Czestochowa, the community grew steadily. With emancipation in 1862, many Jews migrated to Czestochowa and contributed to its industrial and commercial growth. In 1935, there were 27,162 Jews out of a total population of 127,504. When the Nazis deported Jews to Częstochowa to work in its munition factories, the Jewish population exceeded 50,000. Almost all perished in Treblinka.
Anti-Jewish feeling was spurred on by the Church and Fascist groups that organized boycotts of Jewish stores and incited pogroms intended to drive the Jews out of the city.
The Jewish labor movement fought unemployment and poor working conditions. Impoverished families were aided by community charitable funds. Jewish philanthropists established the non-sectarian “Jewish Hospital,” progressive schools, two gymnasia and the “New Synagogue.”
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