In the 16th century, Jews also began to settle Szewska dtreet, and in the following centuries also Jerozolimska, Synagogalna, Tylna, Niecała, Kwiatka (currently Szeroka) streets, and partially Bielska, Grodzka, and Stary Rynek streets.

Jews from Płock specialised in trading grain and wood, which they floated down the Vistula to Toruń and Gdańsk. They were also engaged in crafts, mainly weaving, furriery, butchery, haberdashery, baking, glass production and leasing.

In the 16th century, the Christian townspeople were reluctant to accept the influx of Jewish people, and there were numerous conflicts, including over the cemetery. In 1568, King Sigismund II August agreed to the Jews purchasing the area outside the city walls and allocating it for a necropolis. The city authorities did not approve this decision, and orders to enter the agreement in the city books were refused. The dispute continued through the rule of the next ruler, Stephen Bathory, who in 1580 ordered his subjects to obey the laws and forbade the persecution of the Jewish community.

In 1617, Jews concluded an agreement with the city authorities, thanks to which they were guaranteed freedom to trade and practice certain crafts. However, they were not allowed to brew beer and other alcoholic beverages. In 1648, the townspeople of Płock concluded another agreement with the Jews, which concerned hiberna, i.e. payment for accommodation and feeding of the army stationed in winter.

In 1616, Płock burned down during a fire, and a large number of residents died as a result of the plague in 1603 and 1625. Further destruction was brought by the Swedish invasion in 1657, when only seven houses survived from the Jewish quarter. After the Polish-Swedish war, Jews obtained privileges that allowed them, among others, reconstruction and made it easier to develop empty city squares.

In the 19th century, the city became an important center of grain trade, and small industry also appeared - food, metal and machinery companies. In 1870, Moses Sarna built an agricultural machinery factory, and in 1884 his son opened the first iron foundry. Economic growth encouraged the expansion of the Jewish community. A new Jewish cemetery was founded and a Jewish hospital named after Izaak Fogel was opened.

In the interwar period, all major Jewish political parties had their branches in Płock, including Mizrachi, Poale Zion and the Bund. They were associated with various cultural, educational, sports and professional organisations. Jewish press was published, including 'Płocker Cajtung', 'Dos Płocker Leben' and 'Dos Płocker Wort.' In 1925, the city acquired a railway connection with Kutno.

In 1939, Płock was incorporated into Germany. In an atmosphere of attacks and persecution, the German occupation authorities repressed the Jewish community; the old synagogue was looted, both cemeteries were devastated, and compulsory labor was imposed. In 1940, the Germans issued an order forcing the Jews to wear distinctive markings in public, and then established an open ghetto. It included the following streets: Kwiatka, Tylna, Synagogalna, Jerozolimska, Niecała, and a part of Bielska street. Jews from Rypin, Raciąż, Mława and Sierpc also stayed there.

In 1941, the occupiers began an action to expel Jews, which he gave the code name 'Tempo.' The Germans killed sick and crippled people on the spot, and sent most of the remaining prisoners to the camp in Działdowo, and from there to a town in the Radom district of the General Government. The deportation was preceded by numerous executions, among others in the Brwilno Forests.

The Jewish community existed in the city even after the war. A Jewish Committee was established in Płock, and after its liquidation, a branch of the Jewish Social and Cultural Society was established. There was cultural life, among others, an orphanage, choir; Yiddish language courses were conducted. Despite this, Jews gradually began to leave Plock. After 1959, only three people remained.

The Description

There were two Jewish cemeteries in Płock. The older of the two was founded approx. 1570 outside the city walls, at today's 3 Maja street. The last known burial took place in 1850, but the cemetery operated until the Holocaust. During the occupation, the Germans completely destroyed the necropolis, wanting to transform it into a park, and used the tombstones as building material. Nowadays, there is also a park and a dormitory of the Władysław Jagiełło Secondary School. Only a fragment of the wall has survived from the old cemetery, which served as a fence. In 2018, a mural commemorating the necropolis was created there with text in Polish, Hebrew and English.

Author of the note: Magda Lucima

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.