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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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on the internet
Text from Alina Cala, Hanna Wegrzynek and Gabriela Zalewska:
"Historia i kultura Zydow polskich. Slownik",
edited by WSiP
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-Włodawa 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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