First Jewish families probably settled in Kałuszyn in the 17th century. In the second half of the subsequent century, there was already an independent Jewish community in the town, boasting over 500 members. The first synagogue in Kałuszyn was built in 1768, but it was lost to a fire after a dozen or so years; a new one was erected near the Old Market Square (1787).

In 1827, nearly 1,500 Jews lived in the town (ca. 80% of all inhabitants). Their share in the population continued to increase over the following decades, reaching 87% in 1864 (4,800 people). The first mentions of Jewish economic activity in Kałuszyn date back to the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. At that time, the erstwhile owners of the estate (the Różniecki family) drew significant profits from propination (alcohol production and sale) and market duties. Both were leased by local Jews dealing with running inns and mills. Nonetheless, the most popular occupations among the Jewish community were traditional crafts: weaving, furriery, tanning, and tailoring. The tallitot produced in the town gained great popularity among the Jewish clientele. At the end of the 19th century, ca. 400 people were employed in their manufacture. There was even a separate house of prayer for the craftsmen producing tallitot. At the beginning of the 20th century, local Jewish entrepreneurs ran factories producing stearic candles, knives, vinegar, as well as oil mills, tanneries, sparkling water factories, and two steam mills.

In the 19th century, the development of Kałuszyn’s commerce was boosted by the construction of the Brest Trade Route. In the 1840s, the town became the largest centre of cereal trade in eastern Masovia. The local markets attracted throngs of foreign merchants, mainly Jews. They traded in grains and cereal preserves, cattle, horses, and foodstuffs. Over a hundred stalls, inns, bakeries, and slaughterhouses operated in the town.

The Hasidic movement had been gaining more and more supporters in Kałuszyn since the early 19th century. The town boasted groups of followers of tzaddikim from Warka (Vurka), Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Kozienice (Kozhnitz), Kock (Kotzk), and Stryków (Strikov). The old wooden synagogue in Kałuszyn was destroyed in the great fire of 1902. It was soon replaced with a brick building. Jewish political life started to flourish in the early 20th century with the foundation of a local cell of the leftist Bund. Its members closely cooperated with the Polish Socialist Party (Polish: Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS). During the 1905 Revolution, the Bund issued several calls to arms against the Tsarist regime. In March 1905, a policeman was assassinated in the town. A group of socialists, mainly of Jewish origin, was arrested in connection with the case after they had been discovered to hold illegal anti-government publications.

The first Jewish school was established in Kałuszyn before 1820, followed by a rabbinical school opened in 1835. In the interwar period, some of the Jewish children from the town attended the People's School, situated in the synagogue yard. The facility was subsidised by Zionist organisations active in the Jewish community board.

In 1921, shortly after Poland regained independence, Kałuszyn had 5,000 Jewish residents (82% of the total population), and on the eve of the outbreak of World War II – over 7,000. Apart from the synagogue, there were five houses of prayer in the town. Although the local Jews were culturally different from the Christian population, they were actively involved in the social life of the town, and often constituted the majority in the Municipal Council. They would also join many Polish organisations active in Kałuszyn in the interwar period, including the Volunteer Fire Brigade. The local Jews worked almost exclusively in trade and crafts.

The largest group within the interwar Jewish community of Kałuszyn were the Hasidim, followed by the supporters of the Orthodox Agudath and Zionists. There was also an active group of communists, recruiting new followers from among the numerous impoverished Jews. In the early 1930s, Kałuszyn boasted the Jewish Education Club (Polish: Klub Oświaty Żydowskiej) and the Morgenstern sports club. The Bund ran the Skif youth organisation which enjoyed great popularity among young people.

In September 1939, Kałuszyn became a transit point for many refugees fleeing from Warsaw. The occupation of the town by the German army was preceded by heavy air raids. A ghetto was established in Kałuszyn in September 1941, covering the area of the following streets: Browarna, Stasiak, Piwna, Gęsia, and Stary Rynek (Old Market Square). Before the war, it had been a district inhabited by the largest number of Jewish families. The ghetto area was surrounded with a barbed wire fence. Ca. 6,000 people were confined in the district and sent to perform backbreaking work in the nearby forced labour camps.

The ghetto in Kałuszyn was liquidated in two stages. The first mass deportation was carried out in November 1942, when most of the prisoners (ca. 5,000 people) were transported to the death camp in Treblinka. The so-called residual ghetto continued to operate in Kałuszyn for a few weeks afterwards. It was liquidated in December 1942, with ca. 2,000 people transported to Treblinka. A total of ca. 1,000 Jews were shot by the Germans in the local Jewish cemetery during the two liquidation actions.

The old Jewish cemetery in Kałuszyn, founded in the 19th century, was located in Pocztowa Street. It was completely devastated by the Germans during World War II. At that point, the cemetery had already been out of use (since the early 20th century). It was formally closed by the decision of the local administration in 1964. After the war, the municipal authorities allotted the plot of the necropolis for the development of a public road and other buildings. The Town Hall is currently located on the former cemetery grounds.

The Description

The new Jewish cemetery was established in the early 1920s. It was founded on a plot of land in the eastern part of the town, in today’s Martyrologii Street, in the vicinity of a Catholic graveyard. During World War II, the Jewish necropolis was completely devastated and used by the Germans as a site of mass executions. The last burial in the cemetery was held in 1943. It was formally closed 21 years later. No tombstones have been preserved on the area of the necropolis, covering over three hectares. One of the few surviving matzevot is embedded in the wall of the local Catholic church, and several others are exhibited in the open-air museum located by the primary school in Groszki Nowe. In 2017, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage erected a monument at the cemetery. It was funded by the community of former Jewish residents of Kałuszyn.

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.