Neustadt Oberschlesien, Germany

Neustadt (Polish Prudnik), Upper Silesia, Germay, today Poland In 1534, the Jewish population was 25 (total 114). The community established a synagogue in 1540 and a cemetery in 1541. In 1570, the Jews were expelled and banned from trading in Neustadt and the neighboring villages. The community was reestablished in the 19th century. In 1840, the Jewish population was 147 (total 6,058). The community was constituted as a legal body in 1854. A new cemetery was consecrated in 1861 and a synagogue in 1877. Samuel Fränkel, who also started the burgeoning textile industry, funded the construction of the Synagogue. In 1880 the population was 184 and in 1925 it was 110. The Nazi racial laws were not put into effect until July 1937 because of the League of Nations’ minority rights convention. During this period, a pioneer training farm was set up near the city. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was set on fire and in 1939, only 31 Jews remained. Many were expelled to General Gouvernment territory in July 1942. On 19 November, ten Jews were still in the city. Their fate is unknown.