Deutsche Krone
General information: First Jewish presence: 1623; peak Jewish population: 647 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 250
Summary:
The first available record of a Jewish presence in
Deutsche Krone (present-day Walcz, Poland) is dated
1623. Jews were initially restricted to designated areas,
forbidden from living in the old city and forced to pay
special taxes. By 1698, however, Deutsche Krone had
seven Jewish homes (each housing four Jewish families)
and a synagogue.
The Jewish community grew during the late 18th
century, reaching its peak, 647 Jews, in 1871. Deutsche
Krone suffered two fires during that century: one in
1706 and another, which destroyed the synagogue, in
1771. A new synagogue was built in the early 1790s,
and we also know that the community maintained
an elementary school (1842-1912) and a cemetery.
Deutsche Krone was among the few West Prussian
localities to remain in Germany after World War I.
Although many Jewish-owned businesses were aryanized
during the Nazi period, Jewish peddlers and horse dealers were
able to continue working until November 10, 1938, when the
synagogue (inaugurated in 1921) was burned down in the
pogrom; Jewish-owned businesses were also demolished and
Jewish men taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Only 57 Jews lived in Deutsche Krone on Pogrom Night; those
who had not left the town by March 1940 were interned in
Schneidemuehl and later deported to the East.
Author / Sources: Fred Gottlieb
Sources: EJL, LJG
Sources: EJL, LJG
Located in: posen-west-prussia