The Pearl of Hassidic Architecture
| Jewish Community |
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June 5, 2012 is the scheduled dedication ceremony for the newly renovated Dabrowa Synagogue. It will now be known as the Centre for Meeting of Cultures (Osrodka Spotkania Kultur). Steve Perlman hopes to attend and speak at the event on behalf of the Jewish Community of Dabrowa Tarnowska. We hope to also conduct a prayer service. Would you like to attend? Contact us for details. |
Brief History |
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Dombrowa was established in the 17th century, with a first wooden synagogue in 1697. This important Hassidic community was led by the Hassidic Rabbis of the Unger family. The largest synagogue in Malopolska was built here in 1865 (pictured above in an early postcard), the Pearl of Hassidic Archtecture. |
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Life in Galicia under Austrian rule was difficult for Jews. Many emigrated to the US starting in the 1870s, forming the Bnai Rappaport Anshei Dombrowa synagogue. Rappaport was a Rabinical family in Dombrowa during the late 1800s. The Anshei Dombrowa Jewish Community in NYC sent financial assistance to Jews in Dombrowa. According to a WWII survivor, Harold Brand, the Anshei Dombrowa Jewish Community built and shipped the Bima for the Dombrowa Synagogue. |
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By 1900, Dombrowa had a Jewish population of 2,418 (80% of total), a Baron Hirsch school (150 students) and a Yeshiva (60 students). It was also a center for the Zionist movement. When Western Galicia was assimilated into Southeast Poland in 1917, following the end of WWI, the town was renamed Dabrowa Tarnowska. |
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During WWI, a Jewish soldier saved the life of a Polish officer who later became the Polish President. Between the wars, there were good relations between Polish people and Polish Jews in Dabrowa. The fields produced grain and there was good trade. The Synagogue, damaged in WWI, was given a new roof and a new front with two towers was built. |
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All was lost with Nazi occupation in 1938. A ghetto was formed with a Judenrat (Jewish Council). Many were murdered in a mass execution at the cemetery. The Jewish population was deported and destroyed by the Nazis in 1942. Many Polish lives were lost during WWII as well, but not before the Nazi officer in charge ("the terror of Powisle Dabrowa") was killed by a resistance fighter during a raid at a farm outside the town, in a manner designed to appear like Nazi soldier error. |
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Following WWII, Poland was under Communist rule. One survivor, Samuel Roth, returned to Dabrowa, reclaiming the family home on ulica Daszynskiego. The Roth family maintained a Shtibl (Jewish prayer and reading room) in their home. This is the last Shtibl in Western Galicia and houses an important collection of religious books and artifacts dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Samuel Roth is gone, but the Shtibl remains, now a museum. |
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An attempt at renovation of the magnificent Dabrowa Boznica Synagoga was started in the 1970s, but was blocked by the Communists. Long abandoned and deteriorating, the Synagogue is now under renovation with EU funding. Designed with beautiful Italian-painted frescos (panoramie) that have survived since 1865, it will become a new museum in 2012. |
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Dabrowa Tarnowska is approximately 10 miles north of Tarnow, Poland (not to be confused with other towns named Dabrowa!) |
Other Names
Population
| Year | Total | Jews |
| 1830 | 4060 | 978 |
| 1845 | 5348 | 993 |
| 1880 | 3219 | 1882 |
| 1900 | 3000 | 2418 |
| 1910 | 3028 | 2403 |
| 1921 | 2660 | 2099 |
| 1939 | 6117 | 2400 |
Population (after the Holocaust): 4520
General Information
History of the Jewish Community of Dabrowa
The Roth Family Shtibl History and Museum
The Roth Family Shtibl is located at ul. Daszynskiego 8
The Dombrowa Boznica Synagogue and Restoration Project
The Synagogue is located at ul. Berka Joselewicza 4
The Jewish Cemetery of Dabrowa Tarnowska
Maps
Pictures and Descendant Visits
Other Dabrowa Tarnowska Links
Searchable Databases
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Updated May 2012 Copyright © 2009-12 Steven D Perlman |
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