Spotlight: Zakroczym (Grodzisk Mazowiecki Research Area)

Zakroczym is located about 20 miles northwest of Warsaw in the Warsaw District. Its Jewish population numbered 2,211 in 1897 and 1,865 in 1921. According to the Pinkas HaKehillot Polin, Jews were permitted to settle in Zakroczym from its earliest days, with records of a small Jewish community dating back to the 15th century. The community began to expand in the 18th century, and by the 1820s it was formally organized. Economic life flourished from the mid- to late 19th century but declined in the early 20th century. Like most Jewish communities, it had its own institutions and notable local figures. Zakroczym was occupied by the Germans during World War I and then became part of the newly re-established Polish state after the war.

The town was severely damaged in the early fighting of September 1939. By November 1941, the remaining Jewish residents were deported to Nowy Dwor. After World War II, most of the few Jews who remained in the area emigrated to Israel.

Notary Records

Between 1834 and 1919, three different notaries (appointed by local government officials) prepared and maintained legal documents and contracts for both Jewish and non-Jewish residents of Zakroczym. Their work, preserved in the Polish State Archives, has been cataloged, although the corresponding scans are not yet available on the Polish State Archives website. These notarial documents generally record a range of business transactions and family agreements—for example, the purchase or sale of a house, prenuptial arrangements, or divorce proceedings.

Pre-1826 Jewish Vital Records

Mixed civil parish records from 1809 to 1825 document births, marriages, and deaths for both Jewish and non-Jewish residents. Typically, these records must be reviewed individually, as few standardized surnames were in use among Jews; individuals were more often identified by their patronymic (their father’s name).

Jewish Vital Records (1826–1910)

Researchers focusing on Zakroczym are fortunate because birth, marriage, and death records spanning 1826–1932 have survived largely intact.

  • 1826–1867: Records in Polish
  • 1868–1914: Records in Russian Cyrillic
  • Post-1914: Records in Polish

JRI-Poland has fully extracted the surviving records for 1826–1932. We are now just shy of the funding goal needed to upload these extractions to the JRI-Poland NextGen database. An additional $516 is required to complete this project.

To contribute to the Zakroczym Project Town Fund, please visit the Zakroczym Town Explorer project and click on “Make a Donation” on the Zakroczym Vital Records project page. The direct link is:
https://www.jri-poland.org/project-explorer/Zakroczym/vital–records–project–8398/

Donations to JRI-Poland are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers to the extent allowable by law.