Remember Jewish Biskupice

Pronounciation: Bisk-coop-itz-uh

HISTORY OF JEWISH BISKUPICE

The first Jews most likely appeared in Biskupice after 1634. In 1685, there were 18 Christian and five Jewish houses in Biskupice. In 1787, there were 459 people living in Biskupice, out of which 173 were Jewish (37% of the whole population). In 1827, there were 520 people living in Biskupice, including 139 Jews (26%). By 1860, 812 people lived in the town, including 262 Jews (32%). The Jews int own were involved in tailoring as well as trading poultry, salt and cattle. In 1897, there were 543 Jews living in the town out of a total population of 1,476 (36.8%).

In the mid-1700s, a cemetery was established near Mila Street, about 300 meters from the market square. At one time, there was a road with a gate that led up to the cemetery, but it and the cemetery itself was destroyed in the Holocaust. The oldest preserved tombstone dates back to 1792. The matzevot are made of sandstone and have Hebrew inscriptions.

Near the old cemetery is the New Cemetery at 20 Miła Street. The path leading to the cemetery is between №18 and №20 on Miła Street. After the war, remaining matzevot were gradually robbed by the local population. Nowadays, the area of the cemetery is used as a grazing land for animals. There is no fencing. A memorial was set up recently by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative.

Since the 1930s, both cemeteries shared a fence and were treated as one cemetery with the old and new parts. The old Jewish cemetery is situated on a hill (the hill is not natural — it was built for the needs of the cemetery) and is covered with tall grass. The new cemetery is situated on a flat area adjacent to the old cemetery and is covered with tall grass and young trees. There are 3 gravestones in the new cemetery and 17 in the old cemetery.

It is unknown when the first synagogue in Biskupice was built, but it is mentioned in 1860. The synagogue was wooden and it was situated near the marketplace. It burnt down in 1921. In 1926, it was replaced with a new brick synagogue. The Jews of Biskupice also had their own prayer house, mikvah, ritual slaughterhouse, community (kehilla) building and cemetery. The mikveh made of stone, brick, or concrete existed in Biskupice at 13 Podwal Street. It measured 60 square meters.

In 1930, the employees of the Jewish community in Biskupice included: Hersz Friedling, Rabbi; Jankiel Dawid Laks (residing in Puhaczew), Assistant Rabbi; Froim Hercug, Ritual Slaughterer; Josef Brikman, Assistant Ritual Slaughterer and Cantor; Szlama Feferkorn (residing in Puhaczew), Assistant Ritual Slaughterer; and Judesa Friedling, Secretary. In 1921, there were 885 people living in Biskupice, including 129 Jews (14% of the population).

The Jewish population before the Holocaust was between 250 and 600 residents. The community was extremely rural.

BISKUPICE DURING THE HOLOCAUST

The ghetto in Biskupice operated between January of 1940 and March of 1942. In 1940, a Judenrat was established in Biskupice and carried out the demands of the Nazi murderers. The ghetto population began with around 500 Jews. Later on, a transport of around 200 Jewish individuals from Kraków was brought to the ghetto. In 1941, the ghetto had a total of around 650 Jews. Due to hunger and atrocious living conditions, around 200 people had perished before 1942.

Throughout the period of 1940 to 1942, Jews from Biskupice were sent to Majdanek, although it is not clear on exactly what dates. In February of 1942, a group of 600 Jews from the Biskupice ghetto was sent to the Bełżec extermination camp. This was the last remaining Jews in the ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated in March of 1942, with no Jewish survivors from the community.

The known S.S. operatives and collaborators in Biskupice included Stefan Bec, Karl Ebeling (born 11.29.1905 in Renda), Jozef Franczak, Aleksander Kolodziejczyk, Wladyslaw Krysa, Ernst Kresse, Jozef Krol, Stanislaw Rzechot (Rzechota), Karl Streibel, and Leon Szulc. Ebeling was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Streibel (1903-1986) was also the last commander of the nearby Trawniki concentration camp. Streibel, as well as others, remained unpunished.

WHAT REMAINS

The Nazis destroyed the synagogue and residential buildings owned by Jews. Matzevot collected from vandalized cemeteries were used to pave roads in the town. The Jewish community of Biskupice was not revived after the war.

CONTACTS

U.S.: LublinJewish@gmail.com