Losice, Poland
Losice (Polish: Łosice; Russian: Lositsy;
Yiddish: Loshits) is a town in the Lublin province of Eastern Poland.
Jews likely first
settled in Losice at the end of the 17th century. By the
beginning of the 18th century, records show that townsmen complained to
the king about competition from Jewish craftsmen. A synagogue was
erected in the 18th century against an annual payment of
200 zlotys.
In 1765, there were 389 Jewish poll tax payers in Losice
and its vicinity. The community numbered 654 (42% of the total population)
in 1827 and 917 (54%) in 1857. From then on its numbers increased
considerably due to the horse markets in the town, in which large
numbers of Jewish dealers took part. The Jewish population numbered
2,396 (71%) in 1897 and 2,708 (70%) in 1921.
Before the outbreak of
World War II there were about 2,900 Jews in Losice.
The community was liquidated on Aug. 22, 1942, when all the Jews of the town were
deported to
the Treblinka
extermination camp.
Sources: Encyclopaedia
Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
Halpern, Pinkas, index; B. Wasiutyński, Ludność
żydowska w Polsce w wiekach XIX i XX
(1930), 34; ICA, Rapport pour l'année
1925; M. Baliński and T. Lipiński, Staro żytna
Polska (1845), IIIa; Yad Vashem Archives. Łshits, L'zekher an umgekumener
Kehille (1965). |