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Skoki (German: Schokken) is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 3,779 inhabitants (December 2004). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Skoki.
Skoki [Pol], Schokken [Ger] Hebrew: סקוקי 19 miles NNE of Poznań (Posen), 20 miles WNW Gniezno (Gnesen), 9 miles S of Wągrowiec. Jewish Population: 182 (in 1895) 1900: Schokken, Posen, Preußen, Germany 1930: Skoki, Wągrowiec powiat, Poznań województwo, Poland
Yad Vashem lists 147 individuals that had a connection to Skoki=Schocken=Skokken who perished in the Holocaust.
The Steinheim Institute list of Rabbi's includes Heimann Brohn, died 1860 and Judah Leib Halevi, died March 23, 1819 and Hirsh Hakohen Skag, died unknown, all connected to Skoki.
Source from www.sztetl.org.pl accessed June 2016:
VERIFIED ARTICLE Translator name :Skrivanek The earliest references to Jewish settlement in Skoki come from the second half of the 18th century. The city was established in 1367. Jews reportedly settled there earlier, but no documents concerning them were preserved. The book of the City Court from 1694–1796 confirms that Jews lived and owned houses in Skoki [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 945.].
A Chevra Kadisha was established in the community around 1730. The first written record of Rabbi Itzig dates back to 1747. Successive rabbis of Skoki known from documents were: Hirsch (1769), also a dayan in Poznań; Aron Hakohen (1773); Jechiel Michel (1778); Jehuda Loeb Halevi (1791–1819); Schene Nathan (1813); Fisch Ohlenburg (1845); Chaim Brohn (ok. 1860); Itzig Kochmann (1861–1870); Benjamin Segall (1878) [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), pp. 945–946.]. Jewish doctors practiced in Skoki from the 18th century. Their names were: David Rofe (about 1768), Salman (1772), Mordechaj (1798–1802), Itzig (1804–1805) and Jona Rofe (1822) [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 946.].
According to records, in 1770 the town was inhabited by 338 Jews. By 1895 their number had dropped to 182 [Skoki, in: The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder (eds.), vol. III, New York (2001), p. 1193.]. According to a document from 1826, the Jewish community in Skoki had had a synagogue “from time immemorial”. A record from 1819 states that a kosher slaughterhouse in the city had existed “for 44 years at least”. A certificate issued by the city council on 27 September 1819 states that the synagogue was insured for 2,750 thalers, the slaughterhouse for 1,000 thalers and the cemetery for 75 thalers, which was less than the buildings' actual value [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 946.].
In the 18th century Jews had to pay multiple fees to the owners of the city, sometimes in kind, for example in spices. On one occasion, the community was compelled to pay a tribute of 150 thalers in spices to the lord. When going to the market in Środa, Mosze Posner, a representative of the Jewish community, had to supply the manor kitchen with 400 thalers' worth of spices. On the occasion of a feast held by the lord, representatives of the community had to contribute spices and gunpowder worth 500 thalers. At the same time, the market tax was raised significantly – from 70 to 170 thalers annually. That sent the Jewish community into debt and forced it to borrow money from one of the monasteries in Bydgoszcz. Jewish butchers were required to deliver the best cuts of meat to the manor kitchen. Sometimes the same fees were imposed twice or the in-kind contributions demanded involved products which the community did not have, which necessitated travel to other cities; in addition, false accusations were put forward against the Jewish community to extort money in penalties [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 947.].
About 1746 the Rashi Association (Raschi-Verein) was established in Skoki. In 1913 it was replaced by the Association for Jewish History and Literature (Verein fuer juedische Geschichte und Literatur). There was no Jewish school in Skoki. Around the year 1800, Jewish children attended the Evangelical Reformed school. Afterwards, a public [city-owned?] school was established and a Jewish teacher was employed [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 948.].
The synagogue burned down in 1796. A fundraiser for its reconstruction was organized, to which the Jewish community in Koźmin Wielkopolski contributed 10 thalers. In 1867 funds were raised for the renovation of the synagogue and mikveh [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 948.].
Skoki was the hometown of the Magdeburg cantor Aron Salomon Natanson. Among those who fought on German battlefields were: Markus Hirschhorn and Elias Fuchs in 1864; in 1866 – Moses Dattel (non-commissioned officer), Elias Fuchs, Michaelis Kochmann, Markus Hirschhorn, and in 1871 – 5 unknown Jews from Skoki [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 949.].
The community started to dwindle rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th century. Another decrease took place when the Greater Poland region became part of the revived Polish state. By 1895 only 182 members were left [A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 949.], and 66 were left in 1921. Most of the Jews, feeling a connection with German culture, chose to emigrate. In 1922 an association of the Jewish inhabitants of Skoki, chaired by Julius Kochmann, was founded in Berlin.
By the outbreak of World War II the Jewish population of Skoki had dwindled to about 50. In 1939, they were all deported to the territory of the General Government, where they shared the fate of the local Jewry [Skoki, in: The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder (eds.), vol. III, New York (2001), p. 1193.].
Bibliographic note
A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden und der juedischen Gemeinden in den Posener Laender, Koschmin – Bromberg (1909), p. 949. Skoki, in: The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder (eds.), vol. III, New York (2001), p. 1193."
From the International Jewish Cemetery Project:
"Alternate names: Skoki [Pol], Schokken [Ger]. 52°40' N, 17°10' E, 19 miles NNE of Poznań (Posen), 20 miles WNW Gniezno (Gnesen), 9 miles S of Wągrowiec. 1900 Jewish population: 182 (in 1895). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), X, pp. 685-686: "Skoki". This town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec powiat, with 3,779 inhabitants in 2004is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Skoki. Established in 1367, the town was always involved in handicrafts, particularly cloth weaving up to the 19th century. Besides thee town of Skoki, Gmina Skoki contains the villages and settlements of Antoniewo Górne, Antoniewo-Leśniczówka, Bliżyce, Brzeźno, Budziszewice, Chociszewko, Chociszewo, Dzwonowo, Dzwonowo Leśne, Glinno, Grzybowice, Grzybowo, Ignacewo, Jabłkowo, Jagniewice, Kakulin, Kuszewo, Lechlin, Lechlin-Huby, Lechlinek, Łosiniec, Miączynek, Młynki, Nadmłyn, Niedarzyn, Niedźwiedziny, Pawłowo Skockie, Pomarzanki, Potrzanowo, Raczkowo, Rakojady, Rejowiec, Rościnno, Roszkówko, Roszkowo, Sława Wielkopolska, Sławica, Stawiany, Szczodrochowo and Wysoka. [July 2009] US Commission No. POCE000444 Alternate German name: Schokken. It is in the region of Poznan at 52º4017º10, 40 km from Poznan. The cemetery is located on ul. Antoniewska. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews. Local: Urzad Miasta i Gminy, ul. Ciastowieza 11, tel. 69. Regional: Wojewodski Konserwator Zabytkow, 81-716 Poznan, ul. Koscuiszki 93, tel. 696464. 1921 Jewish population was 66, 4.6%. The unlandmarked Conservative cemetery is about 0.5 km from the town. The isolated suburban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence or gate. No stones are visible. Part of the market square was paved with stones from the cemetery. Seven stones are in the manor park. The municipality owns property now used as a park. Properties adjacent are agricultural. There has been no maintenance or vandalism in the cemetery in the last ten years. Security and vegetation are very serious threats. Pniewski Fracomi [sic], Poznan, ul. Pnyfyorewskieg completed survey in August 1991. Documentation: Heppner, Aus Vergorkyesheit... He visited in June 1991 and interviewed local people. Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 July 2009 23:26" Accessed June 17, 2016
From JewishGen Family Finder JGFF we find a few researchers looking for data on these family names as follows: Mannes, Jacobson, Rosenthal, Lowe, Levy, Losynski, Cohn and Lyons. Complete researcher contact information may be sourced from JGFF. Accessed March 1, 2021.