Gartz

Summary: Not much is known about the few Jewish families who lived in Gartz in the early 1480s. The town’s first Jewish community, founded in or around 1845, traced its roots back to the Jews who arrived in the town after 1812. Gartz’s first synagogue, located in the annex of a house on Koenigstrasse (present-day 178 Pommernstrasse) was consecrated in 1862. Records suggest that the local Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1880 and enlarged on two occasions. Located on a hill near Heinrichshofer Strasse, the Jewish cemetery was used until 1935. Today, approximately 25 tombstones, some of which are broken, are still standing. Jewish families started to leave Gartz in the 1920s; by 1930, only six local shops belonged to Jews. The synagogue was burned down and the cemetery destroyed on Pogrom Night. By the end of November 1938, the last Jews had left Gartz. At least 20 local Jews perished in the Shoah. The Jewish cemetery, which lay abandoned for many years, has been maintained since 1988. The town of Gartz has been called Gartz (Oder) since 1992.

Author / Sources: Beate Grosz-Wenker
Sources: AJ, EJL, JV, LJG, SIA