Birnbaum

Mława
מלאווה
מלאבה

The earliest documented information on the Jewish community of Mlawais dated 1543.
It is included in a report of a case of blood libel, which mentions the name of the Parnas of the community - Berechia (pol. Boguslaw).
In 1569, there were 23 Jewish families living in the town and in 1578 they had increased to 34.
Thei main sources of livelihood were the livestock trade and crafts.
In 1670, a charge of desecrating the host, plus fires which devastated Mlawa in 1659 and 1692, caused the Jewish population to decrease, while the Jewish population of the suburb of Zabrody, beyond the area of municipal jurisdiction, and the surrounding villages' increased.

In (1807). with the establishment of the grand Duchy of Warsaw, Jews returned to Mlawa.
In 1862, the ghetto and the other restrictions on residence and ownership of real estate were abolished.
When the railway lines from Mlawa to Warsaw (1877) and Gdansk (1883) were opened, trade in grain, livestock, wood, and army supplies, from which many Jews earned their livelihood, increased considerably.

In November 1939, the Germans destroyed all the synagogues in Mlawa, and vicinity.
On December 6th, 1940, the first deportation took place, with 300 Jews deported to Miedzyrzec Podlaski, Lubartow and Lublin.
On December 7th-8th, 1940, the ghetto was established, and liquidated two years later on November 24th, 1942.
The last deportations took place from November 10th, 1942, to December 10th, 1942; almost all the Jews were deported to Treblinka death camp.