Łask

Łask (

Łask was founded in the 11th century, and from the 14th century it was the seat of the powerful Łaski

In 1793 Łask was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland, in 1807 it became part of the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw, and in 1815 it was designated as part of Congress Poland, later forcibly incorporated into Russia. The Polish population took part in 19th-century Polish uprisings and patriotic manifestations.^[2] At the same time, Łask saw an influx of Jewish people fleeing persecution in Russia (see Pale of Settlement).^[2]

In 1903 the town was connected to the railway line and industrial plants were built. During World War I, the town was occupied by Germany, and after the war, in 1918 it was re-integrated with Poland, as Poland regained independence. In 1919, Łask became a county seat within the Łódź Voivodeship.^[2] By 1939, "there were 3,864 Jews out of a total population of 6,000 people living in the town."^[7]

World War II

With the

In January 1940, it was reported by the

In 1941, hundreds of other Jews were brought to the area from surrounding regions. At the same time, the Germans destroyed the old Jewish cemetery in the town, and paved the sidewalks of the town with its gravestones. A year later, on August 24, 1942, a "liquidation" of the ghetto was carried out. Those who were infirm or ill were murdered outright, and all the other Jews were taken to a church outside the town. There they were examined, and 760 selected Jews were transferred to the Łódź Ghetto, some of the ill were killed on the spot, and the remainder of the 3,500 Jews were transported to the Chełmno extermination camp, where they were killed. Later, the Germans hunted down the remnant Jews hiding in the town and killed them all.^[10] A wall plaque in Łask commemorates "the 3,517 Lasker Jews exterminated by the Nazis during August, 1942."^[11] Only about 20 Lask Jews survived the war, one hidden by a Christian farmer.^[12]

Following the arrival of the

It was administratively located in the Sieradz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.

A detachment of the

• Jan Łaski (1456–1531), Primate of Poland.^[14]
• Hieronymus Łaski (1496–1542), Polish diplomat.^[15]
• Jan Łaski (1499–1560), Protestant reformer.^[16]
• Olbracht Łaski (died 1604), Polish alchemist
• Aaron Karfunkel, 18th century rabbi
• Mieczysław Wolfke (1883–1947), Polish physicist
• Genowefa Kobielska (1906–1993) track and field athlete, competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics
• Magda Femme (born 1971), Polish pop singer
• Ilona Felicjańska (born 1973), Miss Polonia 1993
• Dr Luke
  (born 1973), Pop music composer/producer
• Artur Golański (born 1992) a Polish footballer

Twin towns

Łask is

• Dannenberg, Germany
• Lahoysk, Belarus

See also

• History of the Jews in Poland
• List of shtetls in Poland
• List of villages and towns depopulated of Jews during the Holocaust

References