Loecknitz
General information: First Jewish presence: 19th century; peak Jewish population: 37 in 1925; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
Summary: Records suggest that a Jewish family first settled in Loecknitz
in the early 19th century. The community, members of which
were mainly craftsmen and merchants, never experienced
considerable growth.
In Loecknitz, Jews established a prayer room on the
upper floor of a commercial building, where the rabbi from
Pasewalk conducted services three times a year. Local Jews
were affiliated with the community in Pasewalk, and it was
at the cemetery there that they buried their dead.
Beginning in April 1933, Nazis and their supporters
often hung boycott posters on Jewish-owned shops. Later,
on Pogrom Night (November 10, 1938), SA and SS
men vandalized the prayer room, smashing windows and
burning—this was done outside the building—furniture,
books and ritual objects. A Jewish family was assaulted that
night.
After the beginning of World War II, Jews were sent to a
camp located between Prenzlau and Pasewalk. In February
1940, most local Jews were deported to the concentration
and extermination camps in Eastern Europe. At least 18
Loecknitz Jews were murdered in the Shoah.
In 1988, a memorial stele was unveiled at the site of the
former prayer room. The stele was desecrated several times
during 2003, as a result of which it was replaced, in 2010, with
a commemorative stone; the stone, too, was vandalized in 2011.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: FJG, LJG, SIA, W-G, YV
www.links-lang.de/presse/11466.php
Sources: FJG, LJG, SIA, W-G, YV
www.links-lang.de/presse/11466.php
Located in: mecklenburg-western-pomerania