Salzwedel
General information: First Jewish presence: early 14th century; peak Jewish population: 103 in 1840; Jewish population in 1933: 64
Summary: It was not until the early 19th century that a continuous Jewish
presence was established in Salzwedel. The community’s
prayer room—it was located in a private residence—was
destroyed by fire in 1856. Later, at the end of the 19th century,
a small synagogue was inaugurated at 27 am Lohteich. We
also know that local Jews maintained two cemeteries: one,
the older of the two, was located in a small forest between
Brietz and Cheine; the other, built in 1850, was on presentday
Lueneberger Strasse.
In 1932/33, the leaders of the Salzwedel community, with
which the Jews of Luechow were affiliated, were Hermann
Bacharach, Louis Jacoby and Leon Stiefel.
On Pogrom Night (November 1938), SA men destroyed
the interior of the prayer room, wrecked the cemetery and
plundered the few remaining Jewish-owned businesses, the last
of which had all been “aryanized” by year’s end. The remaining
Jews were eventually moved into two houses—27 Lohteich
and 2 Altperverstrasse—from which they were moved, in
1941, to a barracks located on the outskirts of town. Finally,
in the spring of 1942, the remaining Jews were deported to the
Warsaw Ghetto. Three local Jews, all of whom were married to
Christians, survived the war in Salzwedel. At least 34 Salzwedel
Jews perished in the Shoah.
Both Jewish cemeteries still exist, but it is only in the
newer one that one can find intact headstones. The former
prayer room is now a residence.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: FJG, LJG, YV
Sources: FJG, LJG, YV
Located in: saxony-anhalt