Dawidgrodek

The first mention of Jewish settlement in Dawidgródek dates to the mid-17th century. In 1897 the Jewish population of the town was 3,087 or about 40 percent of the total population. In 1905 a branch of the Bund began activity there and, in the same year, a self-defense unit was organized. During the interwar period the town was part of Poland. It's 3,000 Jews comprised about 30 percent of the total population. A number of Jews were merchants or artisans, flour mill and tannery owners, processors and suppliers of wood products, leaseholders of lakes and estates, or exporters of agricultural produce. Dawidgródek had a Hebrew language kindergarten and school and, for a short period, a Yavne religious school, a Jewish library, a drama group, a Zionist library, and sports associations. Zionist parties and youth movements, the Bund, and a religious party were active in the town. In 1921 several Jews in Dawidgródek were murdered by soldiers of the Bulak Balakhovich forces, that were collaborating with the Polish army. After the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939 and the Soviet occupation on September 19, 1939, many Jewish refugees from central and western Poland fled to Dawidgródek although most of them left later on. Under Soviet rule, in February 1940 thirteen prominent wealthy Jews were exiled to northern Russia. The Hebrew-language school was transformed into a Yiddish-language Soviet institution. The Soviets retreated from Dawidgródek on July 5, 1941 and German troops occupied the town sometime after July 8. The Germans imposed Star of David armbands and other sanctions on the town's Jewish population. According to several testimonies, local non-Jewish residents reported to the Germans that the Jews of the town were in touch with some partisans. After this report SS Cavalry Brigade No.1 was sent to Dawidgródek to carry out the a murder operation, which targeted Jewish men. This first operation took place either in July, or, according to other sources, on August 10, 1941. The same day all the Jewish women and children were ordered to leave the town. Some of the men dressed in women's clothing in an attempt to hide among the women and flee from the town, but they were discovered and apparently shot on the spot. Hundreds of those women and children reached Lachwa, Stolin, Wysock and Sarny, but most could not find refuge and had to return to Dawidgródek. A ghetto in the town was established in early 1942. Most of its inmates were women and children: on September 9, 1942, of the 1,263 ghetto inmates only 30 were men. The mortality rate in the ghetto was high. The ghetto and its inmates were liquidated on September 10, 1942. Dawidgródek was liberated by the Red Army on July 9, 1944.