Braunsberg

Summary: The Jewish community of Braunsberg (present-day Braniewo, Poland) was founded in the early 1880s, after which a small prayer hall was consecrated on Lindenstrasse. In 1855, in response to growing population numbers, the community erected a synagogue on Fleischerstrasse. Local Jews also maintained a cemetery on Bahnhofstrasse. Jews and Gentiles coexisted peacefully in Braunsberg. A prominent Jewish dentist from nearby Koenigsberg, who was very active in Braunsberg, received honorary citizenship in appreciation of his work. Of the 80 Jews living in Braunsberg when the Nazis rose to power, most had left by 1939. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), the synagogue was set on fire and the cemetery desecrated, after which the few remaining Jews were forced to abandon their homes and businesses. The synagogue ruins were razed. In 1940, only 10 Jews lived in Braunsberg; no information is available about their fate.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, LJG