Gross Strehlitz, Germany

GROSS-STREHLITZ (Pol. Strzelce Opolskie) Upper Silesia, Germany, today Poland. There is no evidence of a Jewish presence before 1812. In 1832, the Jewish population was already 112 and in 1840 it was 140. A synagogue and cemetery were opened in the 1850s. Jews were active in public and social life. They were elected to the municipal council from the 1820s and received support for the community's needs from Christian welfare agencies. The Jewish school was amalgamated with the city's municipal and Protestant schools in 1874 to create a single school in the mostly Catholic settlement. The Jewish population climbed to 509 in 1880. The community maintained a library and numerous institutions, including welfare and youth organizations. A new Jewish sports club was started in 1933. With the Nazi rise to power in 1933, the Jewish population stood at 114. On Kristallnacht (9- 10 November 1938), the synagogue was set on fire and five Jewish stores and a number of Jewish homes were destroyed. Seventy Jews remained in 1939. Deportations to General Gouvernement territory and the Theresienstadt ghetto commenced on 20 May 1942. On 19 November 1942, there were still ten Jews in Gross-Strehlitz. Their fate is unknown.