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Łuków

Yiddish: ליקעווע, לוקאב/ Likeve, Lukov; Russian: Lukov

A city and the capital of Łuków County in the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland.

21^ST CENTURY

One former prayer house on Browarna Street, was reconstructed after World War II (1939-1945) and served as a municipal office; during the 21^st century, however, it remained unoccupied, until it was ultimately torn down in 2016. Another former prayer house, located on Zdanowskiego Street, which also served as a beit midrash (house of study), served as the headquarters of the Judenrat during the war. After the war it was renovated, and has housed various government offices.

The new Jewish cemetery, which dates to the 19^th century, has a pyramid-shaped lapidary with a commemorative plaque. The old Jewish cemetery was destroyed during World War II.

 

HISTORY
Łuków was home to a substantial Jewish community by the 15^th century. The major halakhist Rabbi Joel Sirkes (known as the Bach, ב"ח) served as the community’s rabbi for a period at the end of the 16^th century through the beginning of the 17^th century. However, during the Chmielnicki Massacres of 1648-1649 the community suffered heavy losses and the synagogue was burned down.

Things improved for Łuków’s Jewish community shortly thereafter. In 1659 they were granted a royal privilege, which reconfirmed their previous rights to live in the town, to purchase land and houses, and to work in commerce and as craftsmen. Additionally, they were also granted permission to build a synagogue and consecrate a cemetery.

The Jewish population grew substantially during the second half of the 18^th century and through the 19^th century, a result of the area’s economic advancement. According to the 1765 census the Jewish population was 543 (137 families). In 1827 the Jewish population was 2,023 (approximately 60% of the total population); by 1857 that number had grown to 2,114 (approximately 68% of the total population). In 1897 the Jewish population of Łuków was 4,799 (approximately 55% of the total population). By 1921 the Jewish population had increased to 6,145 (49% of the total population).

Many of Łuków’s Jews affiliated with the Chasidic movement, particularly the sects from Kotsk, Aleksandrow, Radzyn, and Gur. A number of Chasidic rabbis made their homes in the city for a period of time, including Hershele Morgensztern, who lived in Łuków between 1906 and 1920.

The Jews of Łuków were active economically and politically, particularly during the interwar period. 85% of the 530 active local businesses were owned by Jews, and Łuków’s Jews also established a number of mercantile and craft associations, as well as guilds for craftsmen. Ten Jews served on the 24-member community council; half of the Jewish delegates were members of the Bund, testifying to the movement’s growing importance and influence within the Jewish community (until 1931 the most influential political organization in Łuków was the Agudas Yisroel). A weekly Yiddish newspaper, Dos Łukower Vort, began to be published in 1927, and the magazine Łukower Nayes was published in 1931.

Education options during the interwar period included 4 cheders, 2 Talmud Torahs, and an elementary school that was run by the Mizrachi Zionists. Additionally, Jewish students made up approximately 50% of the local elementary school. An elementary school affiliated with the Central Yiddish School Organization (TSIShO) functioned in Łuków between 1928 and the mid-1930s.  

However, in spite of the major advances and level of activity by Łuków’s Jews, the interwar period saw a steep rise in both national and local antisemitism. A pogrom broke out in Łuków in 1920, and a number of economic boycotts were waged against the Jewish community.


THE HOLOCAUST
About 6,000 Jews lived in Łuków at the outbreak of World War. In May 1942 they were joined by over 2,000 Jews from Slovakia who were deported to Łuków. The first major deportation occurred in October 1942 when the Slovakian Jews were sent with 2,000 Jews from Łuków to the Treblinka death camp, where they were killed on arrival.

A closed ghetto was established in Łuków for the remaining Jews at the beginning of December 1942. It was liquidated on May 2, 1943.

 

POSTWAR

Approximately 150 Jews from Łuków survived the war. Łuków’s Jewish community was not reestablished.