Lelow

LELOW (Pol. Lelów), village (formerly a town) in Kielce province, S.E. central Poland. Several dozen Jewish families were living in Lelow in 1547, but in 1564 only six families remained; each paid the king one red guilder residence tax and a certain quantity of spices for the right to slaughter cattle. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries Jews played an important part in the Lelow fairs. In the first part of the 18^th century they had grown to a considerable community, paying 741 zlotys poll tax in 1718 and an annual average of 1,050 zlotys in 1733–37. In the district, which included the communities of Lelow, Naklo, Janow, Pilico, Szczekocin, and Zarki, there were 3,415 Jews in 1765, when 335 Jewish poll-tax payers were recorded in Lelow and 18 villages were under the community's jurisdiction. By an agreement with the townsmen, in 1778, the Jews were released from the payment of municipal taxes, as well as from the duty of billeting the troops. Between 1823 and 1862 Jewish residence was restricted to a specific quarter. The community numbered 269 (29% of the total population) in 1808, 339 (39%) in 1827, 480 (53%) in 1857, 720 (60%) in 1897, and 638 (52%) in 1921. Before the outbreak of World War II there were about 700 Jews in Lelow. The Jewish community was liquidated in September 1942, when all the Jews were deported to *Treblinka death camp. After the war the Jewish community of Lelow was not reconstituted.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.