Radzilow, Poland - Memorial to a Once-Vibrant Jewish Shtetl

Geography:

	Location: In the former Lomza Gubernia, near the northeastern border of Poland

	Distance from important shtetls in the area:
		5.7 miles SW of Klimaszewnica; 8.8 miles SSE of Wasosz; 9 miles NNE of Jedwabne; 10.5 miles ENE of Stawiski; 12.2 miles SSE of Szczuczyn; 12.5 miles WNW of Trzcianne; 13.8 miles N of Wizna; 15.5 miles WSW of Goniadz; 17.4 miles S of Grajewo; 19.2 miles E of Kolno; 19.9 miles NE of Lomza

	Coordinates: 53° 24'N / 22° 24'E
	Latitude: 53.4000 Longitude: 22.4000
	Altitude: 406 feet (123 meters)
	Currently in Podlaskie Province, Grajewski District (which includes 5 counties: Grajewo, Radzilow, Rajgrod, Szczuczyn, Wasosz)

	Radzilow is just to the West of the Biebrzanski National Park, a large, protected nature refuge that surrounds the Biebrza River throughout Northeast Poland.

Other Information:

	The town had a population of 671 Jewish residents in 1921. Some residents estimated the Jewish population at about 1,000.
	Spellings include: Radzilowo (Yiddish), Radzilova (Yiddish), Radzhilov
		From: Where Once We Walked. A Guide to the Destroyed Communities of the Holocaust, by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack. Published by Avotaynu, Inc., Teaneck, New Jersey, 1991.

View of Radzilow from afar shows how
small and isolated the town still is
[Large version available upon request]

Announcements:

		New section: Beatrice Field's Video about her trip to Radzilow in 1935

		New section: Molly Gottfried's Audio about her childhood memories from Radzilow before emigrating in 1906

		New section: Rachael Zutkowitz reunion with her 4 siblings after 50+ years

		Updated and improved: Radzilow Street Map

		New book about the tragic events of the Holocaust in Radzilow and the neighboring town of Jedwabne came out June 28, 2004. English version planned. Read Excerpt

		New section: Jeff Kaiser's trip to Radzilow and Szczuczyn

		New section: Radzilow hybrid satellite maps

Radzilow Population Statistics (Compilation of Data From Many Sources):

			Assuming the general population grew steadily from 1857 to 1921, and taking into account that Jews started to emigrate in much larger numbers during the early 1900's (there was a huge drop in their percentage of the population after WWI, from 55% to 34%, and therefore, they accounted for a large drop in the overall population as well), one can extrapolate that, at its high point, from 1905-1914, there were over 2,000 persons living in Radzilow, with Jews making up over 1,000 of those. Take note that these figures do not include surrounding farms and villages right outside of the town itself (see note for 1885).

			Additional notes: i Invading Swedish armies sacked the town in the 1650's. In 1708 Poland became the scene of a war between Russia and Sweden. Swedish armies, commanded by King Charles XII, occupied the Radzilow area and built a fort to command the Biebrza crossings, about 15 km. upstream from Radzilow. i In 1885, the parish of Radzilow, belonging to the dekanate [deanery of the Catholic Church] of Szczuczyn, numbered 2,435 "souls" [believers]. The community of Radzilow, including the town and nearby villages, numbered 4,497 inhabitants.

Radzilow Population Statistics (Compilation)

Year	1564	After Swedish Invasion	1779	1808	1827	1857	1858	1880	1890	1893	1905	1906	1908	1914	1921
Houses	309	40	85	--	101	--	124	163	--	--	--	--	--	--	259
Total Population	1,827	100	435	532	780	1,495	1,539	1,859	--	--	--	--	--	--	1,983
Number of Jews	--	--	--	51	225	639	658	--	--	--	over 1,000	over 1,000	over 1,000	over 1,000	671
Percent Jews	--	--	--	10%	29%	43%	43%	--	38%	41%	51%	54%	51%	55%	34%

Cemetery:

	Photo of the Radzilow Jewish Cemetery, 1939
		The only photo ever uncovered of the cemetery
	Located on Piekna Street. The year of its foundation is unknown, covering a surface of .56 hectares, it's not enclosed, it's desolate, and there are no tombstones; local authorities had used it as (or converted it to) a garbage dump.
		Translated from: Remembrances & Monuments of Jewish Culture in Poland. Assembled, compiled and introduced by Przemyslaw Burchard. Warsaw, 1990.

Synagogue:

	The Synagogue, made of wood in the 17th century, stood until the Holocaust.
		From: Pinkas Hakehilot: Poland - Vol. IV, Warszawa and its Region; Yad Vashem

Current Statistics About the Radzilow District:

	Population: 5,801
	Area: 199 square kilometers
	Population Density: 30 people per square kilometer
	Percentage of Urban Population: 0%
	Percentage of Rural Population: 100%
	Budget (in PLN): 6300000
	Investment Expenditures (in % of budget): 30.1%
	Current Chief Councillor: Kazimierz Gwiazdowski
	Current Council Chairman: Zbigniew Mordasiewicz
		Contact me for addresses and phone numbers
	Economic and Political Statistics - 1996

Visit the Homepage of a School in Radzilow:

	Szkoly w Radzilowie
		Web page about the primary school and gymnasium (high school) in Radzilow and about events occurring in the school and about town. It is in Polish.

Other Sources of Information About Radzilow:

	AMG (American Gathering/Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors)
	COH (Chamber of the Holocaust)
	GUM3, GUM4 (Guide to Unpublished Materials of the Holocaust Period)
	HSL (Hebrew Subscription Lists)
	LDS (Latter-day Saints Family History Library Locality Catalog)
	LYV (Landsmanshaftn Societies on File at Yad Vashem)
	PHP4 (Pinkas Hakehilot: Poland - Vol. IV, Warszawa and its Region)
	SF (Shtetl Finder)
		From: Where Once We Walked. A Guide to the Destroyed Communities of the Holocaust, by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack. Published by Avotaynu, Inc., Teaneck, New Jersey, 1991.

Search This Site:

Take note that this method only finds exact spellings. Many surnames are mentioned throughout the web page with many different spellings, from the original Polish spellings, to Yiddish variants, to transliterated English versions. Surnames in pages like the Ellis Island records can be completely off. While most town name references are standardized to the current Polish spellings, in certain cases some towns can be found using different spellings, depending on the context.

If you enter a certain spelling for a given surname and don't find anything, that doesn't mean it can't be found under alternate spellings. Not to mention the fact that less than a quarter of my material is online, and I don't put a single vital record (birth/death/marriage) on the web page. So, if you believe your family came from Radzilow or any nearby town in Lomza gubernia, please contact me and I will be glad to help you.

Important Note: It doesn't matter if the search result comes up empty because of alternate spellings or because it's not on the web page itself. If your family came from Radzilow or nearby, I almost certainly have more information, so please contact me regardless.

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