Waldenburg, Germany

WALDENBURG (Polish Walbrzych), Lower Silesia, Germany, today Poland. Jewish settlement commenced in1830. The Jewish population grew from 32 in 1849 to 198 in 1871 and 300 in 1880. A synagogue was consecrated in 1882 and a Jewish cemetery prior to that time. In the late 19th century, the Jewish population began to drop. The cemetery was desecrated in the early 20th century. In 1930, the Jewish population was 219. In 1932, a Nazi youth gang attacked a Jewish merchant. On the eve of the Nazi rise to power, the Jewish population was 240. Among the organizations active in the community were the synagogue choir, the Jewish Youth League, Zionist groups, WIZO, and the Central Union (C.V.), all doing intensive cultural and welfare work even in the Nazi era. With many Jews leaving the city, their number fell to 100 in 1937. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was burned and three Jewish stores were destroyed. Twenty-four Jews remained in 1939 and nine Jews in mixed marriages in November 1942. Nothing more is known about the community under Nazi rule but it may be assumed that those unable to emigrate were deported and perished.