Kock (Yid: Kotzk) is a town situated in the eastern region of the modern-day boundaries of Poland, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Lublin, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Brest, Belarus, and about 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of Warsaw. The town is situated a few kilometers north-northeast of the confluence of the Tyśmienica with the Wieprz River. The town is presently located in the northwest portion of the Lublin Voivodeship, in its own administrative district (Gmina Kock) within the Lubartów Powiat.

Jews began to settle in Kock around the late 17^th century, and the town became a hot bed of Hasidism in the early 1800’s. Followers of Kotzk hasidism spread their teachings to other shtetls, and had great influence on many communities within the Pale, as often noted in the Yizkor Books for these shtetls. Additional information can be found under the Jewish Community section of this site.

While it was likely a similar case in many other communities, the Jews of Kock in particular are noted in Polish historical sources for expressing a sense of patriotism to their hometown and the Polish nation, at a time when many thought that Jews would only be loyal to their community and the land of Israel. Jews and Christians in Kock generally had a good relationship extending beyond the barriers and differences of their religions, though there were probably some isolated incidents of disputes caused by these differences. Up until the beginnings of the rise of Nazi Germany to power, Jews and Christians in Kock lived as neighbors, traded with and performed services for each other, attended each others' ceremonies (such as weddings, funerals, and holidays), and were jointly involved in community governance. This relationship became strained with the outbreak of World War II, though several of the town's Christian residents came to the aid of their Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust, even losing their own lives in the process.

The Jewish community of Kock was destroyed by the Nazis in the Holocaust; the last Rabbi of Kock, Abram Josef Morgensztern, was killed with his family in an air raid on September 9, 1939. The final battle of the September Campaign occurred in Kock, ending on October 6, 1939 with the surrender of General Franciszek Kleeberg to Nazi forces in the market square. The Nazis subsequently occupied the town and began efforts to destroy the Jewish community. A closed ghetto was established in Kock in 1941, and surrounding Jewish communities from Lubartów, Radzyń Podlaski, and other nearby towns were forcibly relocated to the Kock ghetto. In October 1942, most of the ghetto inhabitants were deported to the Treblinka Extermination Camp. A select few were moved to the ghetto established in Parczew. Those who were redirected to Parczew were executed along with remaining Jews in Parczew later that month, at which time, Parczew was declared Judenfrei (free of Jews). These events and additional resources are discussed on the Holocaust section of this site.

If you would like to share additional information on the community and/or information about your family, please feel free to contact me at arianne.barton@gmail.com. This website will be updated with new and more in-depth information as it becomes available!

Helpful Resources from JewishGen

Find others who are looking for family from Kock with the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF)

Search for records mentioning the Town of Kock in the JewishGen All Poland Database.