Koluszki was first mentioned in 1399, when it was part of the
Jagiellonian-ruled
Kingdom of Poland. In the 14th and 15th century, it prospered along the trade route between
Gdańsk and
Ruthenia. By 1790, there was a grist mill, sawmill, brewery, and inn. Under the
Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the settlement was annexed by
Prussia. It was regained by Poles and included in the short-lived
Duchy of Warsaw in 1807, and afterwards it became part of
Congress Poland following the
Congress of Vienna in 1815, On September 1–3, many inhabitants fled, and Polish
anti-aircraft artillery shot down six German planes. Nevertheless, it was a local center of the
Polish resistance movement, and Polish
partisans were active in the area. The Germans also established a
Jewish ghetto in April 1941. Hundreds of Jews from around the area were sent to the Koluszki ghetto so that the pre-war Jewish population of about 500 swelled to over 3000. Living conditions were horrific with up to ten people living in each room and others living in the streets or in attics. Hunger and typhus epidemics killed many. In October 1942, the
Gestapo and German and Polish police rounded up the ghetto population. A few dozen escaped, as many as 500 were murdered in Koluszki, and the rest were loaded on a train for
Treblinka. There they were immediately gassed. There were a few survivors of unknown numbers among Koluszki's Jewish population. Several Christian Poles helped a few Jews hide, and three, the Krzyzanowski family, were recognized after the war as
Righteous Among the Nations for hiding six Jews. The town was restored to Poland by the
Red Army on January 18, 1945. Its town charter was established in 1949. ==Post==