Kreuzburg, Germany

KREUZBURG (Pol. Kluczbork) Upper Silesia, Germany, today Poland. Jews are first mentioned in 1414, but permanent settlement dates only from the mid-18th century. The Jewish population was 24 in 1772 and 48 in 1830. The first Jewish prayer house was built in 1840. The community grew rapidly in the following decades, reaching a peak of 406 in about 1869. Jewish educational facilities were maintained and a synagogue was consecrated in 1885. In 1926, the Jewish population was 174. A new cemetery was opened in 1928 and in the 1920s the Zionists and a branch of the Jewish War Veterans Association were active. Kreuzburg was a hotbed of antisemitism from the late 19th century, and in the years preceding the Nazi rise to power the racist right initiated violent antisemitic activity. The antisemitic periodical Kreuzberger Nachrichten was published there. The Jewish population was 160 in 1933. The Nazi racial laws were not put into force until 16 July 1937 owing to the application of the League of Nations' minority rights convention to the area. Nonetheless, Jews suffered from discrimination throughout the period, including violent incidents. The Jewish population dropped to 102 in 1935 and 81 in 1937. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue and Jewish stores were set on fire. Subsequently most Jews emigrated, with just one reported remaining in November 1942. There is no information on the fate of the rest of the community.