Rosenberg

Summary: By 1814, the Jewish community of Rosenberg (in presentday Poland) was large enough to necessitate the construction of a purpose-built, wooden synagogue. Later, this modest structure was replaced by a more impressive synagogue (complete with cupolas). The community, largely middle class, was home to many businessmen—one Rosenberg Jew owned a distillery—and professionals. The anti-Jewish boycott of 1933 did not initially affect the Jews of Rosenberg, as the region was then protected by the League of Nations’ convention on minority rights. In 1934, a Zionist training kibbutz, called the Yom Tov kibbutz, was set up in Rosenberg. On Pogrom Night, Jewish-owned homes were vandalized and the synagogue was burned down. Several ritual objects were saved, however, and a Jewish survivor even managed to transfer a Torah scroll to the Philippines. Erich Lewin, the community’s last rabbi, was arrested together with Rosenberg’s Jewish householders; Lewin immigrated to Palestine immediately after his release, as did many others (to other destinations also). In 1942, Rosenberg’s remaining 34 Jews were deported.

Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: EJL, LJG