RADYMNO

RADYMNO (Yid. Redem), town in Rzeszow province, S.E. Poland; between the two world wars in the province of Lvov. The town was founded in the 14th century by the Polish king Casimir the Great. In 1640 King Ladislaus IV granted it the privilege de non tolerandis Judaeis, excluding Jews from the town. Subsequently Jewish settlement was discontinued until the first partition of Poland and the incorporation of Radymno into Austria in 1772, although during this period a few Jews were granted the right of residence. In 1644 the Jew Benko was granted the right by the owners of the town to settle in Radymno with his family and trade there. When a survey of the   population carried out in 1711 showed some Jews living there, they were expelled on the demand of the townsmen. Jews who settled in the town from the close of the 18th century engaged in commerce. The Jewish population gradually increased, and around 1880 numbered 898 (46.8% of the total population). During World War I the number declined, and in 1921 there were 808 (42.3%). After World War I and the incorporation of Radymno into independent Poland, it lost its importance. The Jewish population became impoverished, Jewish communal activities, particularly in the sphere of social relief, began to wane. Elections to the community council were held in 1927, and Jews also took part in the municipal elections of 1934. The community came to an end during the Holocaust. (Shimshon Leib Kirshenboim)