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Year	General Population	Jews
1765	?	1,662
1880	7,210	4,267
1890	7,526	4,241
1910	8,653	4,363
1921	6,619	3,121
1931	?	3,967

Kałusz was already known as a village from 1464 (according to a different version – 1469). In 1548 (or 1549) the king granted the nobleman Mikołaj Sieniawski the right to found a city by that name. New residents were freed from the tax burden and service to the city owners for a period of ten years. By the mi15^th century, the city of Kałusz was known for its production of furs and textiles, and had an alcohol distillery, a liquor brewery, and a soup factory.

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However, the salt mines of Kałusz formed the backbone of the city's economy. In 1553, there were two salt refineries. In 1571, two salt mines and three refineries are noted. Fifty-five tax-paying householders are noted in the census of 1572. In 1595, Kałusz was plundered and set on fire by a Turkish invasion. The recovery of Kałusz began after the victory of the Polish armies over the Tatars in 1672 and 1675, both in the vicinity of the city. The period of quiet after the aforementioned victories led to a renewal of the flourishing of the city. However, Kałusz lost most of its population during the second half of the 18^th century, whether due to a fire that consumed most of the city or as a result of the plague that felled many victims.

The first mention of Jews in Kałusz is from 1564-1565. Jews leased salt mines during almost every period. During the years 1564-1570, they also leased a flourmill and a gristmill. In 1642, Kopel, a Jew from Kałusz, purchased salt valued at 20,000 zloty along with another Jew of Lwów.

It is almost certain that an organized Jewish community in Kałusz was established only during the latter half of the 17^th century. In 1717, a head tax of 1,350 zloty and 151 groszy was imposed upon the Jews. In 1765, the Jews of Kałusz owned 135 houses, of which sixty-two were large and seventy-three considerably smaller.

The community of Kałusz weakened during the second half of the 18^th century – both from the Jews of the city and the approximately five thousand Jews who were scattered in villages and estates of the nobility of the area. During the 1730s, Yaakov the son of Reb Fishel of Kałusz complained before the ministry that the head of the rabbinical court of Lwów “Twists the law, perverts the justice, and takes bribes from both sides (in court cases), in that he gave to his son Shmuel a verdict in a Torah adjudication case regarding 40,000 and received as a bribe forty red ones. After that, he gave the opposing side a verdict of 20,000 zloty and received a bribe of ten red ones from the second side.”^[1]

The livelihood from salt continued to be a key factor in the livelihood of the Jews of Kałusz also in the 19^th century. In 1872, a ban was placed on someone who impinged on the community's rights for the salt lease. The lessees who impinged on the rights paid the community what the previous lessee had paid, but since the power of the ban had broken, competitors arose who raised the lease fees after several years and gained a monopoly without paying the communal council even one additional coin.

The economic flourishing also continued during the 1880s. Several branches of the economy were in the hands of the Jews at that time, such as the grain, hide, textile, fur, general clothing, lumber, and especially the salt sectors.

In 1904, approximately two hundred Jewish houses were completely burnt down, and the community was compelled to seek assistance from outside agencies. However, the recovery came quickly, and within several years this was expressed by the increase of the Jewish population of Kałusz. However, the situation declined and worsened during the latter years prior to the First World War. In 1912, the local banker Moshe Shpindel became bankrupt, and fled with a sum of 400,000 crowns from deposits by bank customers, most of them poor, who were then left with nothing. In 1913, the charitable fund distributed 595 loans. From the loans granted, we can surmise the professional structure of the Jews of Kałusz at that time, as well as the number of those requiring financial assistance according to sector. The borrowers were: 533 merchants, thirteen tradespeople, sixty-five farmers, thirty-one members of free professions including members of the clergy, for a total of 788 individuals. In 1913, the merchants' bank also tottered due to lack of credit. Dr. Yona Rosenberg, who was the head of the community of Kałusz and also the chair of the credit fund of that bank, was imprisoned as a result of accusations of misappropriation that led to the bank's bankruptcy.

At the beginning of the First World War and the Russian occupation, approximately two hundred Jewish homes were destroyed in the center of Kałusz, and the communal archives went up in flames. In November 1918, Kałusz was under the rule of the Republic of Western Ukraine. At that time, a Jewish militia was set up for self-defense in the wake of pogroms. With the rise of independent Poland, the pre-war communal institutions were disbanded, and a communal council appointed by the Polish authorities rose in their place.

The fact that Kałusz was a large, relatively well-developed settlement contributed significantly to the flourishing of Torah scholarship in the Jewish community. A long dynasty of rabbis and scholars who lived and were active in Kałusz existed in this background. Rabbi Moshe-Shaul the son of Rabbi Yehuda-Leib (died in 1759) was one of the first to serve as the rabbi of Kałusz. Rabbi Binyamin HaKohen Rappoport (died 1771) was the head of the rabbinical court of Kałusz and author of Gvulot Binyamin. During the 1830s, the rabbi of the city was Rabbi Tzvi-Hirsch Teomim, and the Moreh Tzedek^[2] was Rabbi Menachem-Mendel the son of Rabbi Shmuel Stern (died in 1834), the author of Derech Emuna. Rabbi Tzvi-Hirsch the son of Rabbi Meir Chajes was appointed as rabbi of Kałusz in 1852. He moved to Żółkiew and served there until his death in 1855. He was the author of Torat Haneviim, Ateret Tzvi, and other works. Rabbi Shimshon Ornstein was rabbi of the city in 1870. Rabbi Yitzchak the son of Rabbi Avraham Aryeh served from 1880 until his death in 1901. During his time, Rabbi David-Elimelech the son of Rabbi Eliezer Lipman-Jolles, the author of Shufra DeYaakov, and Keren LeDavid also served in the rabbinate. One of the well-known rabbis of Kałusz was Rabbi Yosef Baba'd, who first served as a member of the rabbinical court of Lwów (1908-1910). He was appointed as rabbi of the city in 1910, and served there until 1923. He moved from Kałusz to Vienna, where he served as the chief rabbi of the Orthodox community. He escaped to Amsterdam in 1934; and, in 1940, from there to Manchester, England, where he died in 1943. He was engaged in research jurisprudence, Jewish law, philosophy, and the didactic methodology of pilpul as a method of study. He published articles in Hashiloach.

A “Zion” union already operated in Kałusz in 1895. It organized celebrations on Jewish holidays despite opposition from Orthodox circles in the city. The number of its members reached 150 within a few months. A Zionist club named “Zion” was established in Kałusz in 1898. A Zionist youth organization, which was involved in cultural activities among the local youth, operated locally. In 1911, a chapter of Mizrachi was active in Kałusz, as was a chapter of Jugend in 1912. A professional union of Jewish construction workers, called the Boy Handverker Farein [Construction tradespeople's union] was established in Kałusz in 1912. It was affiliated with

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the headquarters in Stanisławów. In 1906, a struggle between the Zionists and the assimilationists took place within the Jewish community. The latter were mainly practitioners of the free professions. Tensions escalated to the point where two Zionist activists who organized an assembly despite the ban of the civic authorities were arrested.

In 1905, a Hebrew School of the Safa Berura style was established in Kałusz. One hundred students studied there in six classes at that time. In 1906, the community decided to support it with a sum of two hundred crowns annually as a token of appreciation for the contribution of the school to education. In 1911, 130 students of the Tushia Hebrew school received a Hebrew and general education. For most of them, this was the first school in their lives. A Jewish sports organization was founded in Kałusz that year.

The economic situation of the Jews of Kałusz declined noticeably at the conclusion of the First World War. According to incomplete information from 1920, we learn that two hundred Jewish widows and four hundred orphans remained in the city in the wake of the war. 157 houses were burnt down completely, and ninety were severely damaged. The local aid committee received a sum of 34,100 marks of support from the JOINT during the course of three months. It distributed food to 1,800 individuals. According to the data, there were four hundred small scale merchants, 163 tradespeople, fifteen tavern owners, twenty wagon drivers, forty porters, and thirty agricultural workers that year. Among the free professions there were two doctors and seven lawyers.

According to an accounting from 1925, it seems that the “Union of Small-Scale Credit” that operated in Kałusz at that time had 116 members, of whom twenty-nine were small-scale merchants, sixty-one were various types of merchants and agents, twenty were tradespeople, two were agricultural workers, and four were others of various types. 138 loans were granted by the organization, totaling 30,226 zloty.

In 1928, the “Union of Credit Partners” was set up, financed by the JOINT. The Charitable Fund, founded in 1927, distributed fifty-two loans at the sum of 3,154 zloty during the years of 1928-1929. In 1930, the directors of the Union of Jewish Co-operatives in Poland granted a credit of 8,000 zloty to the local credit union. That year, a women's organization numbering thirty members was established. It worked in the realm of social assistance. Its first activity was the distribution of “rolls and a glass of milk” to fifty needy children. The organization collected clothing for the needy and also ensured the provision of free medical assistance. Three doctors operated in that realm, and poor people were given discounts for medication in the pharmacies. In 1931, that organization continued with the aforementioned aid activities, and the number of doctors providing free care to the network grew to four. An orphanage with thirty residents was also founded at that time.

Zionist activity renewed in the city at the end of the war. In 1935, the Achva youth movement and the organization of Zionist Academics united. Hashomer Hatzair, whose chapter numbered 130 members, Gordonia, and Hashachar continued to function until almost the beginning of the Second World War. For the 1933 Zionist Congress, the General Zionists received 102 votes, Mizrachi – 95, Hitachdut – 425, the Revisionists – 1, and the Radicals – 12. The WIZO women's organization played a special role in communal activities. Its activities began in 1933. The chapter organized various performances and cultural activities. A Macabee Sports hall was founded locally by the Zionist organizations.

The Hebrew school that had existed prior to the First World War closed in 1921 due to harassment from the authorities. In 1922, a different Hebrew school under the auspices of the Ivriya organization operated in Kałusz. In 1938, two hundred students studied in the Tarbut complementary Hebrew school. Similarly, a Talmud Torah cheder, supported by the community, existed in Kałusz.

Some Jews joined the Communist movement and its supporters in Kałusz. In 1935, a young Jewish girl was accused of Communist activity in Kałusz. In 1936, two Jews were sentenced for Communist activity: One was sentenced to three years in prison, and the second to a year and a half. In 1937, a young Jewish girl was arrested once again for the crime of Communist activity.

Twenty Jews out of forty-eight members were elected to the city council in 1927. However, not even a single Jew was elected to the city council in the elections of 1931. City council elections took place in 1939, at which fourteen Poles, five Ukrainians, and five Jews were elected.

We have no details about the life of the community during the period of Soviet rule (1939-1941), but we can assume that the changes in the city likely mirrored the governmental changes that occurred throughout the region.

During the first month of German occupation, in July 1941, several decrees were imposed upon the Jews of Kałusz: the duty of wearing a white band with a blue Magen David on the right arm, the confiscation of all radio receivers, the ban on purchasing food provisions in the city market, and harsh restrictions of movement in the city and outside of it. The Ukrainian police, which was in charge of gathering the Jews and accompanying them to forced labor, tortured them resulting in some fatalities.

The Judenrat was set up in July 1941. It was headed by Dr. Dunker. His deputy was Hobshman. In August 1941, the Judenrat was ordered to prepare a list of Jewish intellectuals, who were told that the purpose was to organize them for work. That list included lawyers, doctors, teachers, and other educated people. However, the Germans and the Ukrainian police gathered them and took them out to be murdered in the nearby forest.

Jews from the villages of the region were deported to Kałusz in August and September 1941. Along the way, many of them were murdered by the Ukrainian farmers. Several hundred local Jews were murdered by the Germans and Ukrainian police in the forest next to the village of Piilo.

In December 1941, the Jews of Kałusz were ordered to give over all the furs that they owned. A number of Jews who were accused of not giving over their furs were arrested and transported to Stanisławów, where traces of them disappeared.

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The general suffering worsened during the winter of 1941-1942, and many Jews died of hunger and disease. In March 1942, approximately twenty people died of hunger daily.

In March and April 1942, groups of Jews of Kałusz continued to be taken out to be murdered in the local Jewish cemetery and the surrounding forests. Jews were concentrated into a ghetto at that time.

On August 26, 1942, Gestapo men from Stanisławów arrived in Kałusz, and conducted a hunt for Jews with the help of the Ukrainian police and members of the local population. During that aktion, which lasted for three days, hundreds of Jews of Kałusz were taken to Stanisławów, from where they were sent to be exterminated in the Belzec camp. Many were killed on the streets of the city during that aktion. The local Ukrainians pillaged the property of the deportees. They found many hidden Jews during their searches of the houses of the Jews. Such Jews were turned over to the Germans who murdered them on the spot. A few days after that aktion, the Germans hanged two Jewish brothers from the Filer family next to the Judenrat building. They had been caught outside the ghetto with forged identity papers in their hands. Their bodies were left hanging for some time as a warning to others.

The area of the ghetto was reduced at the beginning of September 1942, nearly reaching the point of complete liquidation on September 15-17, 1942. Some of the victims were murdered next to the city, and the rest were transported to Stanisławów, where they met their deaths. A group of Jewish tradespeople and workers remained in the Kałusz ghetto temporarily to count and organize the Jewish property. Some of them were taken to Stanisławów on October 10, 1942, and the final Jews of Kałusz were taken to Stanisławów on November 3, 1942. They were murdered in the Jewish cemetery of that city along with members of the Stanisławów Jewish community.

Several Jewish families from Kałusz attempted to find shelter with Christian acquaintances, but the vast majority were caught and murdered. The name of the Polish engineer Felksej deserves mention among those who extended help to those in hiding.

During the first days after liberation (on July 27, 1944), there were only three Jewish survivors in Kałusz. After some time, a number of Jews who returned from the Soviet Union arrived. However, they all left in 1945 and moved to western Poland, from where they continued on to the Land of Israel and other countries.

Sources

Yad Vashem Archives: M-1/E 964/810; 03/1657, 03/3006
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (Amt'y): P 83 (E 37)
Central Zionist Archives: A.214-1, A.214-3; F.3-3, S.5-1704; Z.4-234/11 C. Z.4-2996
Archives of the History of the People: 123/VII (Folder 6)
AJDC Archives: Countries – Poland (1919-1921). Localities 22.
Dov of Bolechów, Memories 5483-5565 [1723-1805], Jerusalem 1972, page 34.
“Di Voch” June 2, 1939; “Hamevaser” August 17, 1866; “Hamagid” December 8, 1898, December 26, 1901; “Hamitzpe” December 28, 1904, September 9, 1905, June 8, 1906, August 3, 1906, March 20, 1908, July 2, 1908, December 15, 1911, August 29, 1913; “Stanislaver Nachrichten” June 17, 1912, “Shavua Hechalutz” May 31, 1924.
“Chwila” April 15, 1921, June 16, 1921, January 19, 1922, December 21, 1922, May 5, 1926, June 15, 1927, June 25, 1927, September, 1927, July 4, 1930, July 7, 1930, August 2, 1930, December 3, 1931, January 21, 1932, May 31, 1933, January 4, 1934, February 24, 1934, March 7, 1935, July 27, 1935, November 13, 1935; “Chwila Wieczorna” 1932-1939; Wschód December 31, 1902, November 18, 1903, January 6, 1904, July 22, 1907, February 3, 1911; Zew Młodych 1938 no.12, 1939 no.5.

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