Schlawe

Summary: Schlawe’s first Jewish resident settled there in or around 1718. By 1812, 17 Jewish families resided in the town. The community maintained a synagogue at 23 Muehlenstrasse and a cemetery at Stolper Vorstadt. In 1933, Schlawe was home to 80 Jewish residents. A teacher (he was also the community’s chazzan) instructed eight schoolchildren in religion. Two Jewish charity organizations were active in Schlawe that year: an Israelite women’s charitable society and a chevra kadisha, founded, respectively, in 1866 and 1874. An association for the study of history and literature was also active in the community, as was a social club. The synagogue was demolished on Pogrom Night, and several Jews were arrested and taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In 1937, local residents chased a Jewish groom through the town, shouting anti-Semitic slogans. Several Schlawe Jews immigrated to America, 25 immigrated to Palestine and others made their way to Berlin. The remaining Jews were deported in the summer of 1942; one local Jew, probably married to a Christian, was spared. At least 12 Schlawe Jews perished in the Shoah.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: EJL, FJG, GKJP, R, YV