Meseritz

Summary: Annexed by Prussia in 1793, the town of Miedzyrzecz was not returned to Poland until 1945. Jews had settled in Meseritz in the 14th century, and their numbers increased in the early 16th century. Feared as economic competitors, Jews were often expelled from the town during the 16th and 17th centuries; in the decades leading up to and following 1700, a combination of wars and pestilence claimed the lives of many Meseritz citizens, including those of 1,700 Jews. In 1795, however, 560 Jews lived in the town (18 % of the total population). In 1824, much of the Jewish quarter and the 35-yearold synagogue were destroyed in a fire. One year later, the community established a new synagogue in the classical style. The Jewish population dropped markedly during the second half of the 19th century, so that very few Jews lived in Meseritz on Pogrom Night (November 1938), when the synagogue was burned down, the few remaining Jewish-owned stores were destroyed, and the Jewish men imprisoned. By March 1940, all remaining Jews had been sent to detention camps, from which they were later deported to the East.

Author / Sources: Fred Gottlieb
Sources: EJL, LJG