Częstochowa Jews - a Biographical Dictionary
- edited by Dr. Juliusz Sętkowski
This book contains almost 600 biographies of Jews, who were associated with Częstochowa in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries. It includes those who were born and lived permanently in Częstochowa, as well as those who were associated with the city for a short period or even for several years.
What determined their inclusion in the publication was their professional and creative activity or social service within the community. Some of the distinguished individuals in this dictionary were born in Częstochowa, but left at a young age and their contributions became well-known elsewhere – in Israel and abroad.
Included are profiles of Jews who were significant in the history of the city and the state. They include the names of Jews active in the economic, political, local, social, religious and scientific fields, as well as in education, health, law, sports, culture and art.
This book is the result of research by many people over many years – in archives, published bibliographies and press reports – as well as efforts to obtain information directly from families. The work makes extensive use of necrology, documenting information about deceased people, as well as broader memories describing the activities of a given person. Much information was taken from inscriptions engraved on the cemetery tombstones. The book makes use of the extensive material contained in the first volume of the cemetery book by Wiesław Paszkowski, “The Jewish Cemetery in Częstochowa”, which was published in Częstochowa in 2012.
About the Editor, Dr Juliusz Sętowski: Born in Częstochowa in 1959, Dr Sętowski heads the Częstochowa Museum’s Centre for Documentation of the History of Częstochowa (ODDC). He specialises in the history of Częstochowa and the surrounding region. He is the author, co-author and editor of numerous studies on the history of the city, including monographs of schools, four biographical guides to Częstochowa cemeteries and he also guides historical tours around Częstochowa. In 2007, he was awarded to Karol Mirka Prize.
This book is the winner of the inaugural and 2020 Wolf & Dora Rajcher Memorial Prize
for the best, new, original research into the Jewish history of Częstochowa and the surrounding region.
All English-translated texts are listed below in the order in which they appear in the book.
Please note: There is no “Q”, “V” or “X” in the Polish alphabet. (Any names containing these letters have been misspelled or have been changed post-war.)
Click on any “BIOGRAPHIES…” header below to reveal individual biographies.
(There are no surnames beginning with “Y”.)
(The numbers in brackets, after each article, correspond to the appropriate page numbers in the book.)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Andrew Rajcher
IMPORTANT NOTICE
While this English translation is available for download, it may not, either in part or as a whole, be distributed or published without the prior written permission of Muzeum Częstochowskie and Andrew Rajcher, this English-language version copyright-holders.