Katowice, Poland

Katowice (Kattowitz) Silesia district, Poland. Jews are first mentioned in the city's future suburb of Bogoczyce in 1733 and in Katowice itself in 1825. The community became independent in 1866, building its first synagogue in 1862 and inaugurating the Jewish cemetery in 1868. A new synagogue with 1,000 seats was dedicated in 1900, when the Jewish population stood at 2,264 (total 31,738). While the Prussian-ruled city was known for its steel and coal industries, most Jews were tradesmen living in straitened economic circumstances. Nonetheless, in addition to caring for its own, the community extended assistance to Jewish refugees from the Russian pogroms of 1881-82 passing through Katowice on their way to the west. The first signs of modern political and cultural activity were seen in 1880 with the founding of a B'nai B'rith chapter with Zionist connections. In September 1884 the international conference of Hovevei Zion was organized in Katowice. With the institution of Polish rule in 1922, the city underwent considerable demographic change owing to the influx of Poles. By 1931, both the general and Jewish population had doubled, the former to 126,158 and the latter to 5,716, with 60% of the Jews were new residents from Congress Poland, Galicia, and the city of Cieszyn. Despite cultural differences, great efforts were made to unite the newcomers with the original German-Jewish population. In the following decade (until 1938), the Jewish population rose to 8,587 as the Jews continued to arrive in the area hoping to find work. Despite depressed economic conditions affecting the steel and coal industries and leading to widespread unemployment, the Jews were able to maintain a measure of economic stability. With the effects of antisemitic agitation increasingly being felt economically through the 1930s, the need for ramified welfare services grew. An employment agency was opened in 1936 and the community operated a soup kitchen, clinic, and summer camps for needy children. Throughout the period, Zionist activity was extensive, particularly among the youth. The local Nazi organization was already persecuting Jews in 1933 and in 1936 ritual kosher slaughter was banned in the city while anti-Jewish agitation intensified in the municipal council and local press. The Germans captured the city on 3 September 1939, when the Jewish population had been swelled by refugees to 11,000-12,000. Within days, Jewish homes and stores were pillaged, Jews were beaten, and the synagogue was set on fire (the undamaged part being converted into Gestapo headquarters). With large numbers escaping to Soviet-held territory and neighboring villages, 3,500 Jews remained in Katowice at the end of October. Men aged 18-50 (around 800 to 1,100) were expelled across the Soviet border via Nisko; other families were able to emigrate to the west, leaving 900 In, in the city at the end of 1939. In May-June 1940, 600 were expelled to Chrzanow, 150 to Szczakowa, and the rest to Sosnowiec and Bendzin, sharing the fate of the local Jews. After the war, a regional Jewish committee operated in the city with extensive services for the thousands of Jewish refugees gathering in the area or passing through on the way to the west. By 1969, only a few Jewish families remained.