The history of Pułtusk Jews and the Jewish borough in Pułtusk
The first mention of Jews living in Pułtusk, probably exiles from Warsaw, dates back to 1483. In times of the Golden Age of Freedom, Pułtusk as the seat of a bishop was covered by the de non tolerandis Judaeis privilege, meaning that the Jews were not allowed to live permanently in the city. This privilege was abolished in 1802. As a result, 56 Jews from local villages soon settled there, and the city had 118 inhabitants of this nationality by 1810. A few years later, when the Jews were a relatively large group consisting of 96 families, they took efforts to create a local religious community. They owned a cemetery located on the land granted by Zelman Lubranitzer, and in 1815, they started building a one-floor brick synagogue at Waliszewo Street (today Kotlarska Street). However, a synagogal supervision board was established in Pułtusk only in the late 1820s.
The first well-known rabbi of Pułtusk was Lejzer Kohn from Warka. The last rabbi holding this function in the 1830s was Israel Ber Loewenthal.
In 1875, a great fire broke out in Pułtusk. Many houses, including the Jewish district and the synagogue, burned down. In times of restoration, many Jewish co-operatives and credit associations were established.
In 1914, when the lands of northern Masovia turned into a restless arena of Russian–German fights, many refugees of Jewish faith came to Pułtusk. At that time, the commune established the Jewish Rescue Committee, which sought accommodation for refugees and supplied food and drugs to them. At the end of July 1915, when the Germans captured Pułtusk, they bestowed special favours upon Jewish merchants; many of them were allowed by the authorities to go to Germany for trade purposes.
Before 1918, the Jewish inhabitants of the city were strongly divided in terms of worldviews. Some of them felt sympathy for left-wing and revolutionary movements. However, the Orthodox Aguda, whose activists organised a girls’ school in 1922, also strengthened its influence. In the 1930s, a unit of the Mizrachi Zionist–Orthodox Organisation was also active in Pułtusk.
In the early 20th century, there were 27 cheders (Jewish primary schools) in the city, in 1900, they were attended by 486 pupils. In 1922, private cheders and Talmud Tora schools were available to children from poorer households. Jewish children could attend the seven-grade Primary School no. 3 at Kotlarska 4 Street. In the school year 1930/1931, it was attended by 601 Jewish pupils. In 1918–1928, a private co-educational gymnasium functioned at the same street. Part of the Jewish youth attended Pułtusk gymnasiums: the Piotr Skarga State Gymnasium for Boys and the Klaudyna Potocka State Gymnasium for Girls.
Sports enthusiasts could pursue their passions in the Makabi Jewish Sports Association established in 1924. Sportspeople from Makabi and cultural activists from the Circle of Music Lovers joined forces to create the Jewish Music & Sports Circle ‘Ha-Koach’ in 1930. The inhabitants of Pułtusk owed many ambitious cultural events to their activity.
From the mid-19th century until the outbreak of World War II, the Jewish community in Pułtusk accounted for 40–50% of all inhabitants.
On 7th September 1939, the German troops captured Pułtusk; one month later, the city renamed into Ostenburg was incorporated into the Third Reich. As a German city, it had to be Judenrein – ‘free of Jews’. The persecutions of the Jewish population started almost immediately after the capture of Pułtusk by the Germans. The invaders robbed, beat and killed them. On 26th September 1939, they drove a few thousand Jews out of the city. They were tormented, for example, when crossing the bridge on the Narew. Some of them were forced to swim across the river; many were drowned or shot. Some exiles headed for Warsaw, whereas others marched towards Białystok. The Jewish community has never been revived since then.
Bibliography:
Samsonowicz H., Lolo R. (ed.), Dzieje Pułtuska. Tom I do 1795 roku, Pułtusk 2016.
Koseski A., Szczepański J. (ed.), Dzieje Pułtuska. Tom II 1795-1989, Pułtusk 2017.
Szczepański J., Społeczność żydowska Mazowsza w XIX–XX wieku, Pułtusk 2005.
Pultusk, [in:] The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, ed. S. Spector, G. Wigoder, vol. 2: K–Sered, New York 2001, p. 1039.
Bartoszewicz A., Bartoszewicz H., Pułtusk. Obraz kartograficzny miasta od końca XV do początku XX wieku, Pułtusk 2010.
The collection of the Regional Museum in Pułtusk.
Photo captions:
The building of the synagogue at Kotlarska (formerly Waliszewo) Street – a photograph from the beginning of World War II
A Jewish marketplace – a photograph from before World War II
The Pułtusk market square with Jewish stalls – a photograph from before World War II The layout of the Peripheral City of Pułtusk from 1821, including the Borough for Jews (marked with a red circle)