Pirna, Germany

PIRNA Saxony, Germany. There is evidence of the occasional presence of Jews in Pirna from the mid-16th century, but a permanent settlement started only in 1870. The community was affiliated to the Dresden community and from 1908 religious instruction was given by teachers from Dresden. The Jewish population in 1890 was 45 individuals and 23 in 1933. In the latter year, two Jews were arrested as Communists. In 1938, a Jew was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of racial defilement (“Rassenschande”). On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938) Jewish stores were looted and wrecked and five Jews were taken to the Buchenwald concentration camp. By May 1939 most Jews had moved away, some were later deported from the cities and countries where they had sought refuge. Only two Jews and ten persons of partial Jewish origin (Mischlinge) were still living in Pirna. No further information about their fate is available.