Błaszki ([ˈbwaʂkʲi]; German: Schwarzau) is a town in Sieradz County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,992 inhabitants as of December 2021.

History

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Błaszki was founded in the 14th century.

Jewish community

1700s to Holocaust

The first historical mention of Jewish residents dates back to 1717. In the 1860s, Jewish residents accounted for 60% of the total population. Until the 1920s an estimated 400 Jewish families and 215 Christian families resided in Blaszki. The Jewish community was frequently targeted by anti-Semitic attacks. Additionally, they were the victims of organized anti-Jewish boycotts which arranged to open a Christian shop next door or directly across from every Jewish shop. The Holocaust brought an end to this community. In september 1939, immediately after the German invasion of Poland, the Nazis arrested ten of the most important members of the community and executed them On December 20, 1939, the Błaszki Jews were transported to Łosice, Sarnaki and Sokołowo.

Legacy

In 1932 a local Zionist activist and writer Herman Solnik [pl], published Fun alṭn ḳloysṭer (From The Old Monastery, in Yiddish), a book of tales and legends about Błaszki and the then Kalisz County.

Notable people

• Isaac Meir Kanal (Rabbi of Blaszki 1907-1922)
• Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky
• Phillip Blashki