Book of Dembitz (Dębica, Poland) - Translation of Sefer Dembitz

Jews were living in Dębica as early as 1673. They settled in Dębica after being banished from the nearby town of Pilzno. At the beginning of the twentieth century there were about 2200 Jews or about 55% of the population. This vibrant small Jewish community was best known for two independent Jewish communities with two separate rabbinates and communal institutions (for Old Dębica and New Dębica). By the late 1930's there were approximately 3300 Jews still living in Dębica. The Jews were lawyers, doctors, teachers, bakers, butchers, and tailors. When the Nazi forces occupied Dębica in 1939 through 1944, the Jews were imprisoned in the local ghetto to perform forced labor in Pustk w and were finally sent to the Belżec death camp. Approximately 13,000 Jews from the Dębica county were murdered in the Holocaust, including about 3000 Jews from the city