Gilgenburg

Summary: Although Jews were forbidden from living in Gilgenburg (Dabrowno in today’s Poland) for many centuries, records suggest that Jewish merchants did business there well before 1791, when one Jakob Itzig applied for permission to settle in the town. The Jewish community maintained a synagogue, a Jewish school and a cemetery. In 1932/33, the leaders of the community were L. Benjamin, H. Wolff and G. Loewenburg; Isidor Schneider was the chazzan. Only 47 Jews lived in Gilgenburg in 1933, and the synagogue was sold in 1937. Seventeen Jews lived in Gilgenburg in 1938. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night (November 9-10, 1938), but the building withstood the ensuing fire. We also know that in 1941, Gilgenburg’s remaining Jews were deported. The Jewish cemetery was later damaged by the Red Army.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans Sources: EJL, FJG, LJG www.ostpreussen.net www.findingaids.cjh.org