The established commune then included the surrounding villages, with a wooden synagogue and cemetery already existing in the town. According to the 1756 census, 1,228 Jews lived in the Jewish community and had a mikvah, a hospital, their own slaughterhouse and a beth midrash.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became an important center of Hasidism, the place of activity of the tzadiks Yehoshua Heshel and Yaakov Tzvi Yalish. In the first half of the 19th century, tzadik Tzvi Elimelech Shapiro, the founder of the dynasty of tzadiks from Dynów, had his court here.

In the second half of the 19th century, small industrial plants appeared in the town, such as a brewery, an oil refinery and a stearin and candle factory. In 1900, the number of the Jewish community increased to 2,066 people, with 1,409 Jews living in Dynów itself. The kahal managed two synagogues, a home for the terminally ill, and two cemeteries. Since 1895, a Credit Society was also located there.

The outbreak of World War I and economic emigration to America caused a significant decrease in the Jewish population. Moreover, in 1919 Dynów lost its city rights (it regained them only in 1946). In 1921, the kahal, which also included 18 surrounding villages, numbered 1,273 Jews. In the interwar period, there were three synagogues in the town, including one brick one. There was a People's Bank belonging to the Union of Jewish Cooperative Societies, the Guild of United Jewish Craftsmen, the 'Jad Charuzim' Association of Jewish Handicraftsmen, and the Makabi sports club. There was a Talmud-Torah school for boys and Bet Yaakov school for girls. Among the political parties, the orthodox Aguda had the most influence.

After the outbreak of World War II, on the second day of the New Year holiday (Rosh Hashanah), Dynów was occupied by the Germans. The soldiers then burned some Jews in one of the synagogues and murdered others, among others, at Podgaj street, in the Żurawiec forest, and at the local cemetery. Among the victims were refugees from Krosno, Jasło, Gorlice, and Nowy Sącz. In 1940, the Germans demolished the brick synagogue and used resulting rubble, as well as the gravestones from the cemeteries to pave the roads.

In 1940, the Germans rounded up approx. 1,500 Jews, mainly women, elderly people, and children, who were then forced to get to the other side of the San, to the Soviet occupation zone. Many people drowned during the crossing. Only two Jewish families remained in the city and they fell victim to the Holocaust, as did the Jews who managed to hide in nearby villages. The German occupation was probably survived by approx. 200-250 people from Dynów who remained in the area occupied by the USSR.

The Description

The new Jewish cemetery in Dynów was established around 1850, at what is now Karolówka street, on plot no. 5949. During World War II, mass executions were conducted in the necropolis. The victims of the Holocaust are commemorated with a monument erected on the mass grave. In 1961, the cemetery was closed, and in 2017, thanks to the efforts of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the fence was repaired and a commemorative plaque was founded. Nowadays, in the forested area of the new cemetery, there are only a few tombstones, including the tombstone of Józef, the son of Tzvi Elimelech, who died in 1932.

Author of the note: Magda Lucima

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