October 15: Lublin’s Dark History

At least two thousand Jews of Lublin were massacred on this date in 1655 when the city was captured by Cossacks and their Russian allies as part of the decade-long Ukrainian uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (see the Jewdayo for July 1). Lublin had already banned Jews from living within the city walls, resulting in the growth of a separate Jewish colony, Podzamcze, which was burned down by the invaders. Lublin served as “headquarters” of the Jewish Council of the Four Lands, an autonomous Jewish governing council that was founded in 1580 and endured until 1764. The city was also the leading center of hasidism by the end of the 18th century. By the outbreak of World War II, more than a third of Lublin’s 100,000 inhabitants were Jews — the vast majority of whom were killed by the Nazis at the Belzec and Madjanek concentration camps.

“Today, there are only 20 individuals associated with the Jewish community of Lublin and all of them over the age of 55.”
—Rebecca Weiner