Additional information
by A. Sh Sztejn (Editor), G. Wejszman (Author), Jerrold Landau (Translator)
Sochaczew, located in central Poland is a town about 44 miles due west of Warsaw, whose Jewish presence dates back to the 15th century. The first reported Jew in town was in 1463 - a doctor. Life was not easy for the Jews due to an alleged "blood libel" in the mid- 16th century, and the rabbi was punished with a death penalty, along with several other inhabitants. In the 19th century the Jewish community grew. Sochaczew became a great Hasidic center, first led by Tzaddik Abraham Bornsztajn.
In the later part of the 19th century reconstruction of the synagogue began after the previous one was burned down. Being on the road between Berlin and Warsaw many of the Jews fled during World War I.
There were several town "personalities" such as Chaikel the Wagon Driver that were written about in addition the many rabbis. There were workers' movements and professional unions as well as a Bund and Communist Circle. Memories of some of the survivors are related in the book.
The synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis when they entered the town in September 1939, and the town was destroyed during World War ll. Many of the Jews ended up in the Warsaw ghetto and some ended up in the Skarzyko Work Camp. 4,000 Jews lived in the town at the start of the war. Few survived. Today, there are no Jews in the town.
