Błaszki

Błaszki ([ˈbwaʂkʲi]; German: Schwarzau) is a town in Sieradz County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,992 inhabitants as of December 2021.^[3]

Błaszki
The Independence Square
Flag Coat of arms
Błaszki
Coordinates: 51°39′N 18°26′E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Łódź
County	Sieradz
Gmina	Błaszki
Government [1]
• Mayor	Piotr Świderski
Area [2]
• Total	1.62 km2 (0.63 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2021)[3][4]
• Total	1,992
• Density	1,230/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	98-235
Area code	+48 43
Car plates	ESI
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Website	http://www.blaszki.pl/

History

Błaszki was founded in the 14th century.^[5]

Jewish community

1700s to Holocaust

The first historical mention of Jewish residents dates back to 1717.^[5] In the 1860s, Jewish residents accounted for 60% of the total population.^[5] Until the 1920s an estimated 400 Jewish families and 215 Christian families resided in Blaszki.^[6] The Jewish community was frequently targeted by anti-Semitic attacks.^[6] Additionally, they were the victims of organized anti-Jewish boycotts which arranged to open a Christian shop next door or directly across from every Jewish shop.^[6] The Holocaust brought an end to this community.^[5] In september 1939, immediately after the German invasion of Poland, the Nazis arrested ten of the most important members of the community and executed them^[5] On December 20, 1939,^[5] the Błaszki Jews were transported to Łosice, Sarnaki and Sokołowo.^[6]

Legacy

In 1932 a local Zionist activist and writer Herman Solnik [pl], published Fun alṭn ḳloysṭer (From The Old Monastery, in Yiddish), a book of tales and legends about Błaszki and the then Kalisz County.^[7]

Notable people

• Isaac Meir Kanal (Rabbi of Blaszki 1907-1922)^[6]
• Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky
• Phillip Blashki

References

1. "Burmistrz". bip.blaszki.pl (in Polish). Bulletin of Public Information of Gmina Błaszki. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
2. "Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 1 October 2022. Category K1, group G441, subgroup P1410. Data for territorial unit 1014024.
3. "Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 1 October 2022. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P1336. Data for territorial unit 1014024.
4. "Local Data Bank". bdl.stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. Retrieved 1 October 2022. Category K3, group G7, subgroup P2425. Data for territorial unit 1014024.
5. "Blaszki Old Jewish Cemetery". ESJF Surveys -. 24 October 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
6. Lask, I. M. (Israel Meir) (1968). The Kalish book. Tel-Aviv : Societies of Former Residents of Kalish and the Vicinity in Israel and U.S.A. pp. 86–89. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
7. Solnik, Herman (1932). Fun alṭn ḳloysṭer legendn un dertseylungen. Ṿarshe : Ṿilner farlag fun B. Ḳletsḳin. Retrieved 23 February 2022.

External links

• Official website (in Polish)
• Błaszki in the 1880 Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (in Polish)
• Błaszki in the 1900 Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (in Polish)
• Jewish community of Błaszki on Virtual Shtetl
• Online text of Von Dem Alten Kloster