Rzeszow is a town in southeastern Poland. The Jewish community dates back to the 15th century. The Jewish population numbered 1,202 in 1765, and by 1931, it had grown to 11,228. At the outbreak of the war, there were about 14,000 Jews in Rzeszow. The Germans established a closed ghetto in December 1941. The concentration of Jews from surrounding areas into the ghetto increased the Jewish population to about 25,000. Liquidation of the ghetto commenced in July 1942, and by the end of the month, over 20,000 persons had been sent to the Belzec death camp. As of November 1942, about 3,000 Jews remained and the ghetto was transformed into a forced labor camp. This camp was liquidated in 1944, and any inmate not shot was sent to the camp at Plaszow. The community was not reestablished after the war.
The postcard below depicts the Nowomiejska Synagogue in Rzeszow.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Mogilanski, The Ghetto Anthology, P. 250-51
Copyright © 1998-99 Edward Victor