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This site is dedicated to the memory of the lost Jewish community of Działoszyn. It is a glimpse at what was a vibrant  shtetl, with an ancient and important Jewish history, in an area on the western fringes of Poland. During its heyday, the town was a centre of Jewish administration for the whole region and throughout its history it had all of the elements of a fully functioning and caring Kehilla within a medium sized rural Polish town.

1931 Jewish Voters Census

The last known official record of the Jewish community of Działoszyn is the 1931 Jewish Voters Census. This record has been collated and translated by Alex Korn. Alex advises that: The list of 465 people is preceded by an introduction which is translated from the Polish; "Voters to choose the boards for the Jewish religious community of Dzialoszyn in the district (powiat) of Wielun." At the end of the list is a statement that is signed by seven people. The statement says: "I hereby certify that this list was displayed for the eight-day period, that is from March 25 to April 6, 1931[sic], and that the members of the community were informed of the display in order to enable them to raise objections through appropriate announcements, and that no objection was raised." The following names have lines drawn through them: Chwat Josek, Fuks Mendel and Widawski Szlama-Wolf. I do not know the significance of the crossing out of these names. The sorting of the list is as follows: First, I sorted alphabetically on the surname. Next, for the same surname, I sorted on age in decreasing order. Hence, if two people with the same surname, the same profession and address, but are more than, say 25 years apart in age, they are probably father and son in the same business. Further, if two people with the same surname, the same profession and address, but are close in age, they are probably brothers who are partners in the business. You will find several instances of such possible partnerships. Typographical Errors: Trivial and obvious errors in typing were corrected. However, several, which were ambiguous, remained uncorrected. Hence, I did  not correct "Apelsztaj Tobjasz" to "Apelsztajn Tobiasz". Also, "Bornsztaj" was not corrected to "Bornsztajn". The given name, "Szmama-Ezra" is probably "Szlama-Ezra", but remains unchanged. "Herszli" was not corrected to "Herszlik". There were some unusual names, such as "Chamama" and "Bacaure". Professions: The profession, "rzeznik" is translated as "butcher". The profession, "rzezak", has a dictionary meaning of "mohel". However, there cannot have been several mohalim in the town. That duty probably fell on one of the rabbis, anyway. I translated "rzezak" with its secondary meaning, "slaughterer". They are probably shochatim. This issue needs further investigation, I admit. I could not find a translation for the profession of "pukacz". Place names: Rynek is the Market Square and is translated thus. Nowadays, the Rynek is called "Plac Wolnosci", or "Freedom Square". Most street names are still in use and can be found on current maps of the town. However, I could not find a street called "Dzialoszyn". In the Pinkas HaKehilot entry for Dzialoszyn, it says that the last rabbi of the town was Y.M. Bumatz. From this list, however, we learn that the rabbi in 1931 was Boruch Fajwel Kantor, and the two assistant rabbis - who were older than the principal rabbi - were Anszel Krymalowski and Icek Majer Bomac. Alex Korn   Contact and Further Information If you have any questions about the census or have more information about either the former Jewish community of Działoszyn or the surrounding villages and hamlets, listed below, please send them to martindavis@hotmail.com. Bobrowniki, Bugaj, Draby, Grady-Lazy, Kapitula, Kiedosy, Lisowice, Lisowice-Kolonia, Mlynki, Nizankowice, Patoki Male, Posmykowizna, Raciszyn, Sadowiec, Sadowiec-Niwa, Sadowiec-Pienki, Sadowiec-Wrzosy, Sesów, Szczepany, Szczyty, Szczyty-Blaszkowizna, Szczyty-Las, Tasarze, Trebaczew, Weze, Wójtostwo, Zalesiaki and Zalesiaki-Pienki.

Compiled by Martin Davis © 2010 - 17