A walk in the footsteps of the Błażowa Jews is one of the new tourist attractions in the Błażowa Commune. This walk provides an opportunity to explore sites connected to the Polish-Jewish heritage of our town while offering a vivid history lesson. We warmly invite you to check it out.
The earliest mention of Jews in Błażowa dates back to the mid-17th century. During the economic boom in the second half of the 19th century, they became the town’s financial elite, acquiring real estate, investing in trade, and establishing credit and economic associations. Social and cultural life also flourished during this period. However, the economic crisis of the late 19th century led many Jews to emigrate, primarily to the United States.
Błażowa was recognised as a centre of Hasidism. Before World War I, Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Szapiro, known as Tzvi Latzaddik and the grandson of Tzvi Elimelech of Dynów, lived in the town.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the Jewish community in Błażowa numbered over 900 individuals. During the occupation, due to the resettlement of people from other towns, this number increased to approximately 1,100. An open ghetto was established, and its residents were ultimately resettled to the Rzeszów ghetto in June 1942, from where they were transported to the Bełżec extermination camp, where they were murdered. After the war, the Jewish community in Błażowa did not recover.
We have created a PDF map of Błażowa available in Polish, English, and Hebrew. This map can be printed and folded into a guidebook:
How to fold a map: click here
We have also created video guides in English to help you navigate locations on the map more easily:
Map of Błażowa
This activity was carried out as part of the SHTETL ROUTES NETWORK INCUBATOR training program organized by the „Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Center in Lublin. The program is part of the „Mi Dor Le Dor Europe” project coordinated by AEPJ (European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage). Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the grant provider are responsible for them.
Project: Magdalena Kowalska-Cheffey and Jakub Heller. Map Zuzanna Heller
All rights reserved: Blazowa’s Informal Historical Group „To Save From Obscurity”