Chodecz Shtetl

Memorial stone at the Chodecz Jewish cemetery. Photo credit: Marysia Galbraith

Overview

History of Chodecz’s Jewish Community

Sources: Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Chodecz and Virtual Shtetl (Polin Museum)

The earliest records on Jewish settlement in Chodecz date back to the years 1569-78.
Following the wars of the mid-17th century, Jewish settlement revived circa 1674. The growth of Jewish community began again in the mid-19th century, when the Jewish Religious Council Board was established in Chodecz. In the 20th century there were various Jewish organizations in town, such as Gemilat Chesed, which was founded in 1928 and totaled 35 members. The majority of the Jewish tax payers earned their living in trade. The rest engaged in various other professions: shoemakers, tailors, butchers, glaziers, entrepreneurs, landowners etc. Between 1921 and 1939, the number of Jewish community members oscillated between 470 and 402 out of a total population of 1900. The German army occupied Chodecz in early September 1939. As in other towns, the Germans press-ganged the Jews for forced labor, plundered their property and set the synagogue on fire. In 1940, 440 Jews resided in the town who were sent to either labor camps near Poznan, the Lodz Ghetto or Chelmno. In 1946, there were 7 Jews in Chodecz. READ MORE Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Chodecz, and READ MORE Virtual Shtetl.

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