Początki żydowskiej przestępczości zorganizowanej na ziemiach polskich w XIX w. Przypadek lubelskiej Kolejki

The article looks at the history of the gang known as Kolejka, operating in Lublin in the 1880s and 1890s. It was probably the oldest and largest urban Jewish criminal group in the country, whose structure and forms of activity bore clear characteristics of organized crime. The text consists of an introduction (the state of research and the sources used are discussed) and two main parts: descriptive and analytical. The first presents the history of the gang, including the genesis of its creation, naming issues, social background of members, composition and internal organization, methods of operation, relations with the authorities and finally its demise - arrests and trial. In the second, an attempt was made to define the nature of the gang according to contemporary and modern-day records and interpretations of law (domestic, European and American). The reasons for the formation of the gang (economic, social and historical) were also explained, and its characteristic features were indicated, distinguishing it from other Jewish criminal groups operating in Poland in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.