History of the Jewish community of Bialystok (), the capital of Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland, dates back to the mid-17th century. The local Jewish community grew rapidly, and from the beginning of the 19th century made up more than half of the entire population of Bialystok: until the First World War, Jews made up 75% -66% of the city's population, but between the two world wars the proportion of Jews dropped to 50%-60% of the residents.
The great development of the city and the Jewish community in it, is related to the development of the textile industry in Bialystok in the 19th century. In 1850, the first Jewish factory was established, and as early as 1867, about half of the 89 weaving factories in Bialystok were Jewish-owned.
The city developed a system of Hebrew, elementary and high schools, many youth movements, diverse from Jewish society, and also published a press in Yiddish.
With the German occupation in World War II, a Nazi ghetto was established for the Jews of Bialystok. During the last stages of the ghetto's existence, between 16 and 20 August 1943, a major revolt took place in the Białystok ghetto, led by members of the youth movements. Few fled to the forests and continued to fight as partisans, and the rest of the Jews of Bialystok, about 50,000, were mostly sent to Auschwitz extermination camp.
History
Early years
Jewish settlement in Podlaskie Voivodeship dates back to the 15th century, when small groups of the Mosaic faith appeared in Bielsk Podlaski. In 1522, the Trakai voivode, Olbracht Gasztołd, brought nine Jewish families to Tykocin.
The village, founded in the first half of the 15th century, which later became the city of Białystok, fell into the hands of the Branicki family in 1685. Jews lived there as early as 1658, which is confirmed by the information in the chronicle of the board of the Jewish religious community in Tykocin. It is known that in 1661 the poll tax was paid by 75 Jews from Białystok. In 1663, the chronicle noted that 75 Jewish men and women of over 14 years lived in Bialystok. The Białystok Jews were initially subordinate to the community in Tykocin.
In 1691, a special district was separated for them in parts of the land obtained in 1691 from the Catholic Church, located near the southern frontage of the Central Market Square (the so-called "pastewnik" behind Suraska Street). On July 11, 1692, the legal situation of Jews in Bialystok was settled - they were allowed then to own a temple and cemetery. In the eighties and nineties of the seventeenth century a large group of Jewish settlers came from Brest-Litovsk. As a result, there were economic and religious tensions, and their accumulation was accusing Jews of ritual murder. According to Christian sources, six-year-old Gabriel, born on March 22, 1684, was abducted by the Jewish leaseholder from Zwiereki - Szutka - to Białystok, where he was also killed. Regardless of the tensions, the Jewish population very quickly began to play an increasingly important role in the development of the city. heir economic position and demographic potential is evidenced by the construction in 1718 of a house of prayer (Beth midrash) in the city. A document issued by the Białystok jewish community (kehillah) dates back to 1711, in which he received PLN 1,000 from Teresa Wydrzycka, in exchange for which he was to pay 10% of the sum transferred annually, and after the death of the borrower, interest was to be reduced by 25%.