Bobowa

Bobowa is a town (formerly village) in the Gorlice County, Poland. Administratively attached to the Lesser Polish Voivodeship, it is located 18 kilometres from Gorlice, at Biała Tarnowska River. It was formerly a village, being granted a town status since 1 January 2009.

History

The village was home to a yeshiva, notable as a historic centre of Hasidism, created and led by the tsadik of Bobov. In 1900 the Jewish population of Bobowa numbered 749.

It was also the home of Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski who became "President of Poland for a day" in 1939. During the Second World War it became a "concentration village" where the Jews from the surrounding area were imprisoned. The general's brother Kazek was the mayor and was able to save at least one Jew. Almost all were finally killed. This is described by one of the few survivors Professor Samuel P. Oliner of Humbolt State University, California. He describes these events in his autobiography, Restless Memories. He devoted his academic career to the study of Altruism, having himself been rescued by a Polish peasant woman called Balwina.

After the war Grand Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (The Second) (1907 – August 2, 2000) re-established the Bobov (Hasidic dynasty) in America. He was the son of Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam (1874-1941) of Bobov (Bobowa), who died in the Holocaust. Initially based in the neighbourhood of Borough Park in Brooklyn, New York, it now has branches in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn; Monsey, New York; Miami; Montreal; Toronto; Antwerp; London and Israel.

Bobowa is also one of two (besides Koniaków) villages in Poland famous for traditional art of lace-making. Since 2000 it houses an annual Bobbin lace Festival.

Tourist attractions

Among the tourist attractions of Bobowa is the All Saints Church (14th century) and the St. Sophia Church at the local cemetery, built in late 15th century and surrounded by a picturesque wall built in the 17th century. In addition, there is a 17th-century szlachta manor house (commonly referred to as the castle by the locals). This was Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski's house. There are also remnants of fortifications from the same period. The village's Jewish heritage is represented by a 1778 synagogue and a Jewish cemetery.

People

• Bobov Hasidic dynasty
• Wojciech Bobowski
• Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski

References

• Oliner S, Oliner P. The altruistic personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe. New York: The Free Press; 1988.
• Oliner S. Restless Memories, Berkeley, California: Judah L. Magnes Museum; 1979.
• Gilbert M. The Boys; triumph over adversity. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson; 1996.
• Szuflada Generała Wieniawa, edited by Elżbieta Grabska and Marek Pitasz, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw 1998
• Testimony held at Yad Vashem about Bobowa during the German occupation
• Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Poland, Volume III (Poland)