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Wlodawa
[Yiddish: Vladova, Vlodova, Vlodave] - A town
in the Lublin voivodship that received its town charter in approximately
1540; until the nineteenth century, it was been in private hands.
The earliest Jewish settlement dates back to the second half of the
sixteenth century. The Community was founded in the early seventeenth
century under the jurisdiction of the kahal in Brzesc Litewski. During
the Chmielnicki uprising, Cossack detachments massacred Jews from the
surrounding area who had taken refuge in Wlodawa. In the second half of
the seventeenth century, the Community rebuilt itself-a wooden synagogue
was erected at that time. A larger masonry synagogue, along with a
complex for use by the kahal, was built during the years 1764-74.
The town showed impressive growth in the eighteenth century thanks
to the fairs that were held there. The fairs focused on trade in horses,
sheep and cattle brought from Ukraine and Volhynia.
After the Congress of Vienna, Wlodawa became part of the Kingdom of
Poland. A period of stagnation in the early nineteenth century was
followed by an economic revival during the second half of the century,
when the town became the seat of local government at the district
(powiat) level. Wlodawa also acquired a rail link with Chelm and Brzesc
at that time. In 1765, there were approximately 630 Jews living in
Wlodawa; by 1827, this number had grown to approximately 4,500; by 1890,
the town had 6,700 Jewish residents, or 82% of town's total population.
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During the interwar period, Jewish political
groups of all orientations were active in Wlodawa, with their own strong
representation in the local government. The town also had two masonry
synagogues, a library and a Talmud-Torah school. In 1939, there were
approximately 5,600 Jews living in Wlodawa (approximately 60% of the
total population).
During the Second World War, from November 1940 to April 1943, the
Germans founded labor camps in Wlodawa where approximately 600 Jews
worked on land reclamation projects. In early 1942, a ghetto was
created; Jews from the surrounding areas were moved there, as well as
Jews from Mielec, Krakow and Vienna. The ghetto's total population was
5,700. By the end of the year, most of them had died in the death camp
in Sobibor. The final liquidation of the ghetto was carried out in April
1943.
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The buildings of three synagogues have survived
in Wlodawa. The "Great Synagogue", constructed in 1774 in the style of
the late Baroque, has well-preserved interiors. It currently houses the
Museum of the Leczyn-W�odawa Lakes District, which features a large
Judaica collection. The "Small Synagogue", built in 1928, a kahal house
dating back to the nineteenth century and a prayer room are also used by
the museum.
(H.W./CM)
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