Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Slupca

"Slupca" - Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities in Poland, Volume I
(Poland)
52°17' / 17°53'

Translation of the "Slupca" chapter from
Pinkas Hakehillot Polin

Published in Jerusalem

Acknowledgments
Project Coordinator
Morris Wirth

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This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland,
Volume I, page 165, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem

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(page 165)

Slupca
District of Konin

Translated by Madeleine Okladek

**Population Statistics**
Year	Total Population	Jewish Population
1808	1,327	12
1827	1,768	16
1857	1,746	0
1897	3,805	751
1921	5,534	1,426

Slupca received city status in 1290. The city was destroyed in the 14^th century by Teutonic Knights and again in the middle of the 17^th century during the Swedish invasion.

The first Jews arrived in Slupca at the beginning of the 19^th century. In 1822, a harsh decree was issued by the Russian authorities on Jewish settlers that prohibited them from living in Slupca, because of the closeness to the borders. On the heels of this decree, they evacuated those same few Jews that were there before this decree.

The Jewish settlement was renewed in Slupca in 1862 after the revocation of all the prohibitions of the Polish kingdom. Towards the end of the 19^th century the Jewish community grew very quickly. The main occupations of the Jews were crafts and trade.

The Jewish community was founded and the synagogue was built at the beginning of the 1870's. Rabbi Boruch Boruszak was appointed as rabbi in 1869. In 1875, Rabbi Abraham Appel filled the position. Rabbi Boruch Katz sat at that chair in 1885. Then, in the beginning of the 20^th century, Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Herbsztein held the position. Rabbi Abraham Josef Lewi was appointed in the 1920s.

Organized Zionist groups already existed in Slupca at the beginning of the 20^th century. Many branches were organized by 1918. Between the two World Wars the following Zionist parties were very active: General Zionists (Al HaMishmar), Mizrachi, Poalei Zion and the Revisionists. The following voted for the Zionist Congress: 126 in 1933, 110 in 1937 and 145 in 1939.

In the years between the two world wars, Jewish merchants suffered from Polish anti-Semitic incidents. At an emergency conference in Kalisz in 1936, the representative of the Slupca community pointed out the growing economic impoverishment of the Jews of Slupca. Because of their worsening situation, most of the Jews left their homes in Slupca to live in the centers of larger cities.

With the capture of the town by the Germans in September 1939, Jews were forced to provide people for forced labor and to pay a contribution. Also, the freedom of movement to go outside the town was limited.

By Februay, 1940, several hundred of the Jews of Slupca concentrated in Slupca were exiled to Tarnow and Bochnia, that was in the General Government.

The synagogue was set on fire and the books of the Torah were burned in the beginning of July 1940. From July 17-18, 1941, all the Jews were expelled to nearby Rzgow. This was a rural ghetto with Jews from the District of Konin.

In October 1941, all the Jews in Rzgow, among them the remaining Jewish community of Slupca, were transported to the forest of Kazimierz Biskupi and murdered.

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