WOLOMIN

WOLOMIN (Pol. Wołomin), town in Warszawa province, east central Poland. The town developed toward the close of the 19th century, and, situated on the Warsaw-Bialystok railway line, became a commercial and industrial center. Jews   numbered 3,079 (49.3% of the total population) in 1921. Although they were active in the town's development, during the 1930s they were ousted from their positions and by 1939 their proportion in the town's population had fallen to 22% (3,000 Jews). In general, Jews earned their livelihood from commerce, from such crafts as dyeing, baking, tailoring, and joinery, and from renting houses to summer guests. Some Jews also owned tanneries and glass factories. Communal and cultural activities revolved around the Peretz Library and the maccabi and Ha-Po'el societies. Jews won five of the municipal council's 24 seats in the 1934 elections. Ze'ev Bergeisen, who was rabbi from the early 1900s until the Holocaust, had a profound influence on the life of the Jewish community. (Shimshon Leib Kirshenboim) -Holocaust Period On the outbreak of World War II there were about 3,000 Jews in Wolomin. A large-scale Aktion took place on Oct. 4–6, 1942, when over 600 Jews were shot in Wolomin and the rest deported to the treblinka death camp. After the war the Jewish community of Wolomin was not reconstituted.