Koluszki


Koluszki is a town, and a major railway junction, in Central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź with a population of 13,246. The junction in Koluszki serves trains that go from Warsaw to Łódź, Wrocław, Częstochowa and Katowice. It is also connected to Radom and Lublin by an eastbound line.

History

The town was first mentioned in 1399. During the 14th and 15th century, it prospered along the trade route between Danzig and Russia. By 1790, there was a grist mill, sawmill, brewery, and inn. Under the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the settlement was annexed by Prussia. It returned to Congress Poland following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On September 2, 1846, the town was first connected to the emerging Polish railways as part of the mainline between Warsaw and Kraków. Following the development of Łódź as an industrial center, Koluszki served as the junction for its rail. By 1900, about half of the town worked for the railway in some capacity and the town developed around the railway and bus stations. The town suffered during both world wars.
Under the Nazi occupation during the Second World War, Koluszki was annexed to Germany and was the site of a Jewish ghetto established in April 1941. Hundreds of Jews from around the area were sent to the Koluszki ghetto so that the pre-war Jewish population of about 500 swelled to over 3000. Living conditions were horrific with up to ten people living in each room and others living in the streets or in attics. Hunger and typhus epidemics killed many. In October 1942, the Gestapo and German and Polish police rounded up the ghetto population. A few dozen escaped, as many as 500 were murdered in Koluszki, and the rest were loaded on a train for Treblinka. There they were immediately gassed. There were a few survivors of unknown numbers among Koluszki's Jewish population. Several Christian Poles helped a few Jews hide, and three, the Krzyzanowski family, were recognized after the war as Righteous Among the Nations for hiding six Jews.
The town was restored to Poland by the Red Army on January 18, 1945. Its town charter was established in 1949.

Post

– the postal service of Poland maintains its Department of Undelivered Mail in the Koluszki post office.