HISTORY

Dąbrowa near Grodno/ Dąbrowa Grodzieńska/ Dąbrowa Białostocka 

Year in which first Jews settled in Dąbrowa Białostocka. 

Jews in Dąbrowa Białostocka were first mentioned in XVII century.

The beginning of the Jewish community. 

In year 1713 King of Poland, Augustus II, issued a privilege to Dąbrowa allowing the town to organise markets and fairs. The document mentions that Dąbrowa already had a synagogue, Jewish school, mikva and a cemetery.  Hence it can be assumed that Jews lived in Dąbrowa since second half of the XVII century.

Where were the Jewish quarters in Dąbrowa? 

Jewish inhabitants lived around the market square. Majority of the houses, shops, bakeries and small workshops here belonged to Jews. Nearby were main synagogue and a mikva.

4 Rabbis: 

Yechiel Michael Ołan Oljan around 1870.

Menachem Mendel founder of the synagogue around 1874.

Benjamin Pomeranz end of XIX beginning of XX century.

Moshe Gershon Movsovich (1854-1932); rabbi of Dąbrowa between 1910-1932.

Chaim David Katz (son-in-law of M.G.Movsovich), the last rabbi of the Jewish community in Dąbrowa who perished in Treblinka in 1942.

The size of the Jewish population until 1939- percentage of  the overall population. 

1799 Jewish population: 283

1804 Jewish population: 481

1847 Dąbrowa Synagogue Community consists of 966 Jews.

1897 Jews (1499) make up 75 % of the total population of the town.

1904 78,2 % of the population is Jewish.

1921 Dąbrowa has 3014 inhabitants of which 1218 are Jewish (40,41 %).

1939 In Dąbrowa there are 2350 Jewish inhabitants (there is no data about the total population of the town) 

Holocaust

Germans invaded Dąbrowa in September 1939 but after two weeks withdrew (according to Ribbentrop-Molotov pact) and Soviets took over the control of the city. In 1941 Germans initiated the “Barbarossa” operation and invaded the Soviet Union as a result Dąbrowa was taken over by the Germans for the second time at the end of June 1941. During first days of the German occupation couple of young Jews and Poles were accused of killing a German officer. In revenge Germans burnt down the town. Ghetto was set up most probably in September 1941 (it was situated in the cinema building). In May 1942 part of the Jewish population of Dąbrowa was sent to ghetto in Suchowola.  On the 2nd of November 1942 the ghetto in Dąbrowa was liquidated. Jews from Dąbrowa were sent to the transition camp in Kiełbasino near Grodno. Later on in December 1943 Jews from Dąbrowa were sent to the death camp in Treblinka where they perished. Tłumaczyła:Elżbieta Smoleńska