Kałuszyn


Kałuszyn is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland.

History

From the early 17th century, Kaluszyn was predominantly Jewish. The community numbered 1,455 in 1827; 6,419 in 1897; 5,033 in 1921; 7,256 in 1931; and approximately 6,500 on the eve of the Holocaust. Economic branches included the manufacture of pottery, flour mills, prayer shawl weaving and the fur trade.
After the Germans arrived in 1939, Jews were terrorized, robbed, and often kidnapped for forced labor. In 1940, a ghetto was established in Kaluszyn, and Jewish property was confiscated. Hundreds of Jews from surrounding communities were brought to the Kaluszyn ghetto, most with no possessions, money, or employment. Dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of Jews died in the ghetto of starvation and disease. In late summer 1942, many young Jews fled to the forests after hearing of the murders of the Jews of Warsaw and Minsk. In September, 1942, assisted by the Polish police, and possibly other auxiliaries, the Germans assembled the Jews at the market square. One Polish manager, Sheradzinsky, managed to free 30 of his employees from the assembly. Hundreds were murdered there and at the Jewish cemetery. The remaining Jews were taken by train to Treblinka where they were immediately murdered. A few managed to escape from the train.