Jewish community of Danzig
Encyclopedia
The Jewish Community of Gdańsk (Danzig) dates back at least to the 15th century. For many centuries it was separated from the rest of the city. Under Polish rule, Jews acquired limited rights in the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the incorporation into Prussia
the community largely assimilated to German culture. Between the two world wars, during the period of the Free City of Danzig
persecution of Jews in the region intensified after the Nazis came to power. During World War II
and the Holocaust the community was virtually eliminated; currently it counts around 100 members and the city hosts an annual festival of Jewish culture.
and a year later, the Grand Master of the Order
, Siegfried von Feuchtwangen
, forbid Jews to settle or remain in the city in an edict of non-toleration ("de non tolerandis Judaeis"). The knights weakened the restriction in early 15th century under pressure from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Witold, and as a result a limited number of Jewish merchants from Lithuania
and Volhynia
were allowed to come to Danzig. Around 1440 a "Judengasse" ("Jewish Lane", modern Spichrzowa) and around 1454 a Jewish settlement existed.
After the end of the Thirteen Years' War the city returned to Poland and Jewish merchants came to trade from all over Poland and Lithuania. Many of them received special privileges from the King of Poland in regards to both the internal (along the Vistula river) as well as trans-Baltic trade. Others acted as agents of the szlachta
(Polish nobility) in commercial matters.
In 1476, on the initiative of the King of Poland, Casimir IV Jagiellon
the city council allowed two Jewish merchants to have equal rights with other merchants. Danzig's semi-autonomous status within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
however allowed the city to refuse citizenship and trading rights to outsiders, thus the rights of Jews in the Kingdom did not apply in Danzig (similar restrictions also applied to Scots
and Mennonites, many of whom also settled around the city). On the insistence of local merchants, Jews had to move to the Schottland suburb outside of the city's boundary in 1520, subsequently Jews also settled in other places outside of the jurisdiction of the city.
The city burghers continued to curtail the rights of Jews in the city throughout the 16th century, particularly in regards to trade. This was opposed by the Jewish merchants through a boycott of the Danzig owned banking house in Kowno (which had to be closed down) and through the intercession of the Polish Kings on behalf of the Council of the Four Lands.
In 1577, Danzig rebelled
against the election of Stephen Báthory as King of Poland and an inconclusive siege of the city commenced
. The negotiations that finally broke the stalemate included concessions by the Polish king in religious matters that also concerned Jews. Jewish religious services were not allowed in the city and in 1595 the city council again permitted sojourns only during the fair days. In the 1620s Jewish merchants were allowed to stay for the Domenic Fair and remain 4 days after its closure.
At the beginning of the 17th century, almost half a thousand Jews lived in the city and, in 1620, King Zygmunt III Waza enforced an edict permitting the Jews to live within the city. A few years later, Jews were allowed to trade in grain and timber, first in one part of the city, then all of it.
In 1752 a city ordinance regulated a tax of 12 Florin per month for a Jewish merchant, 8 Florin for an assistant and a 4 Florin for a servant. 50 Jewish families received citizenship in 1773 and 160 Jews were allowed to reside in the city.
in 1772, when the suburbs became Prussia
n while the city of Danzig remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1793. The 240 Jewish families (1,257 persons) of the Danzig suburbs received a General-Privilege in August 1773, which guaranteed their legal status. As Gershon C. Bacon states:
Although the emancipation edict of 1812
improved the legal status of Jews in Prussia, anti-Jewish riots happened in 1819 and 1821 and the legal rights of Jews were often questioned by local officials.
In the 19th century the communities of Altschottland (modern Stary Szkoty), Weinberg (modern Winnicka), Langfuhr (modern Wrzeszcz), Danzig-Breitgasse (modern Szeroka) and Danzig-Mattenbuden (modern Szopy) were still independent and elected their own officers, built synagogues, ran charitable institutions and chose their own rabbis. The Altschottland community started an initiative to unify the Jews of Danzig in 1878. A committee was established in 1880 and in February 1883 elections were held for a unified Kehilla
board. In 1887 the new founded Synagogen-Gemeinde (Synagogue-kehilla) opened the Great Synagogue
. Danzig Jewry at that time was a liberal, German-Jewish community and most Danzig Jews considered themselves "Germans of the Mosaic persuasion" and spoke German.
Many Danzig Jews volunteered for military service
in World War I
, about 95 of them died in service, a memorial plaque was later displayed in the Great Synagogue and shipped to New York
's Jewish Museum
in 1939.
under the protection of the League of Nations
. The number of Jews in Danzig grew rapidly as visa restrictions did not exist and many Jews from the areas attached to Poland after World War I
, the Second Polish Republic
and refugees of the Russian Civil War
settled here or were awaiting visas for the US or Canada
.
Danzig Jewry, aided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
took care for these refugees, which were housed in a transit camp in the port area. Between 1920 and 1925 some 60,000 Jews passed through Danzig. The influence of Eastern European Jews, often sympathizing with Zionism
, caused tensions within Synagogengemeinde Danzig. Besides the traditional Centralverein Danziger Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (CV; Central Association of Danzig Citizens of Jewish Faith), led by Bernhard Kamnitzer
, Jews from Russia and Poland founded the new "OSE" association, which also provided for charitable services such as a kindergarten, a public soup kitchen, a clothing store, occupational counselling, and a job service, as well as for a theatre for the people's edification and entertainment.
The OSE further ran a health centre in the former Friedländersche Schule on Jakobstor street #13. The native Jews tried to maintain their German-Liberal style community and their leadership made several attempts to restrict the participation of foreigners in the election of the Repräsentantenversammlung (legislative assembly of representatives) of Synagogengemeinde Danzig. However, naturalised immigrants could vote so that also proponents of "Agudas Jisro'el" and "Misrachi"
, forming Jüdische Volkspartei
ran for seats and eventually won some.
In 1920 the "Jung-Jüdischer Bund Danzig" (Young-Jewish Association Danzig) was founded, a newspaper, the Jüdisches Wochenblatt (Jewish weekly), was published from 1929 to 1938 as well as the Zionist Danziger Echo
(until 1936).
A new synagogue was built on Mirchauer Weg in Langfuhr (Wrzeszcz) in 1927. In 1931 the first world conference of the Betar
was organized in Danzig.
(parliament) elections of 1933 and 1935. The Nazis took over the government in 1933 and as a result Jews were dismissed from public service and discriminated in public life. The presence of the League of Nations' High Commissioner however still guaranteed a minimum of legal certainty. In summer 1933 an "Association of Jewish Academics" was founded, which protested against the discrimination of Jews to the Senate and the League of Nations. Though the League declared several acts of the Nazi-government unconstitutional, this had no effect on the actual situation in the Free City. Following the example of the Jüdischer Kulturbund
in Berlin
a similar association existed since September 1933.
In October 1937 a Pogrom
was initiated, which caused the flight of about the half of the Jewish community within a year. In 1938, the Nazi Party's Gauleiter
of the city, Albert Forster
, initiated an official policy of repression against Jews; Jewish businesses were seized and handed over by Gentile Danzigers, Jews were forbidden to attend theaters, cinemas, public baths and swimming pools, or stay in hotels within the city, and, with the approval of the city's senate, barred from the medical, legal and notary professions. Jews from Zoppot (Sopot) were forced to leave that city within the Danzig state territory. The Kristallnacht
riots in Germany were followed by similar riots between 12 and 14 November 1938. The Synagogues in Langfuhr, Mattenbuden, and Zoppot were destroyed and the Great Synagogue was only saved because Jewish war veterans guarded the building.
Following these riots the Nazi senate (government) introduced the racialist Nuremberg laws
in November 1938 and the Jewish community decided to organize its emigration. All property, including the Synagogues and cemeteries, was sold to finance the emigration of the Danzig Jewry. The Great Synagogue on Reitbahn street was taken over by the municipal administration and torn down in May 1939. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee paid up to $50,000 for the ceremonial objects, books, scrolls, tapestries, textiles and all kind of memorabilia, which arrived at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
on 26 July 1939. The extensive collection of Lesser Giełdziński was also shipped to New York
, where it was placed at the Jewish museum
.
departed and by September 1939 barely 1,700, mostly elderly, Jews remained.
After the invasion of Poland by Wehrmacht
and SS Heimwehr Danzig
, followed by the German annexation of Danzig Free City, about 130 Jews were held in a "ghetto" in a building on Milchkannengasse street (today's ulica Stagiewna), and another group was imprisoned, along with the city's Poles, at the Victoriaschule, an old gymnasium building, were they were beaten and tortured. There were also camps at Westerplatte
and Ohra (modern Orunia)
. Jews from Zoppot were executed in the Piaśnica forest murders
. In 1940 another ghetto was created, which held about 600 individuals.
The last group that managed to leave for Palestine departed in August 1940, with many of them facing the Patria disaster
in Haifa
port. Of those who remained, 395 were deported during February and March 1941 to Warsaw Ghetto
and 200 from the Jewish old age home were sent to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Some were also taken out into the Baltic sea on barges and drowned.
At the end of World War II
22 Jewish partners of mixed marriages, who had remained in the city, survived. About 350 individuals, from the areas surrounding the city, reported to the regional offices of the Central Committee of Polish Jews
in the summer of 1945.
and Poale Zion-Left members, as well as the Polish Communist Party. Members of the Bund however were excluded and not allowed to join by the Communist authorities. The religious organization Jewish Religious Organization of the (Pomeranian) Voivodeship (Wojewódzkie Żydowskie Zrzeszenie Religijne) was created in October 1945 and reacquired the synagogue in Wrzeszcz in the same year. However, the religious life of Gdańsk's Jews was slow during this time, partly because a good portion of those present in the city were non-religious and partly because of general anti-religious persecutions carried out by the Stalinist regime during the period 1947–53.
During the March 1968 events, a major student and intellectual protests against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland, the communist authorities instigated a wave of antisemitism as part of a "anti-Zionist" campaign. Jews of Gdańsk were also affected, as exemplified by the repressions directed at Wiktor Taubenfigiel, the director of the Gdańsk hospital. Jakub Szadaj, a native of Gdańsk involved in Jewish cultural activities in the city and a prominent member of the democratic anti-communist opposition, was also arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison (later commuted to five). Szadaj was exonerated of all charges in post-Communist Poland in 1992. An exhibit of photographs and documents entitled "Marzec '68" (March '68) covering the events was held in the Great Synagogue in 2010. However the general subject of what impact the events of 1968 had on the Jewish community in Gdańsk has not yet been studied extensively.
According to the In Your Pocket City Guide
no member of the contemporary Jewish community is a descended of a prewar resident. However, Jakub Szadaj, for example, is the son of Moses Szadaj, a citizen of the pre war Free City of Danzig.
An annual festival, the Baltic Days of Jewish Culture
(Bałtyckie Dni Kultury Żydowskiej), has been taking place in Gdańsk since 1999. It is organized by Social and Cultural Organization of Jews in Poland (Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Żydów w Polsce) and Jakub Szadaj.
In 2001 the only remaining pre-war synagogue, used as a warehouse for store furniture and as music school after World War II, was transferred to the Jewish community. Since September 2009 the complete "New Synagogue" serves for religious purposes again.
A photo exhibit "Żydzi gdańscy—Obrazy nieistniejącego świata" (Jews of Gdańsk—Images of a lost world) was held in the Opatów Palace in Oliwa
in 2008. The exhibition included more than 200 photographs documenting the history of the Jewish community in the city from the end of the 19th century until 1968.
The Independent Gmina of the Mosaic Faith (Niezależna Gmina Wyznania Mojżeszowego) represents about 100 Jews in the city, mostly from Progressive Judaism
. In addition to helping with the organization of the Baltic Days of Jewish Culture, it offers Hebrew lessons and keeps contact with the Beit Warszawa congregation in Warsaw.
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
the community largely assimilated to German culture. Between the two world wars, during the period of the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
persecution of Jews in the region intensified after the Nazis came to power. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Holocaust the community was virtually eliminated; currently it counts around 100 members and the city hosts an annual festival of Jewish culture.
Early history
A Jewish community in Danzig proper did not exist until the 15th century. The earliest records indicate that Jews were present in Gdańsk as early as 11th century. In 1308 Gdańsk was taken over by the Teutonic KnightsTeutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdansk)
The city of Danzig was captured by the State of the Teutonic Order on 13 November 1308, resulting in a massacre of its inhabitants and marking the beginning of tensions between Poland and the Teutonic Order. Originally the knights moved into the fortress as an ally of Poland against the...
and a year later, the Grand Master of the Order
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, Siegfried von Feuchtwangen
Siegfried von Feuchtwangen
Siegfried von Feuchtwangen was the 15th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1303 to 1311.Von Feuchtwangen was born in Feuchtwangen in Middle Franconia, and was a relative of the earlier Grand Master Konrad von Feuchtwangen. He took the office after his predecessor, Gottfried von...
, forbid Jews to settle or remain in the city in an edict of non-toleration ("de non tolerandis Judaeis"). The knights weakened the restriction in early 15th century under pressure from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Witold, and as a result a limited number of Jewish merchants from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
were allowed to come to Danzig. Around 1440 a "Judengasse" ("Jewish Lane", modern Spichrzowa) and around 1454 a Jewish settlement existed.
After the end of the Thirteen Years' War the city returned to Poland and Jewish merchants came to trade from all over Poland and Lithuania. Many of them received special privileges from the King of Poland in regards to both the internal (along the Vistula river) as well as trans-Baltic trade. Others acted as agents of the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
(Polish nobility) in commercial matters.
In 1476, on the initiative of the King of Poland, Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
the city council allowed two Jewish merchants to have equal rights with other merchants. Danzig's semi-autonomous status within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
however allowed the city to refuse citizenship and trading rights to outsiders, thus the rights of Jews in the Kingdom did not apply in Danzig (similar restrictions also applied to Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
and Mennonites, many of whom also settled around the city). On the insistence of local merchants, Jews had to move to the Schottland suburb outside of the city's boundary in 1520, subsequently Jews also settled in other places outside of the jurisdiction of the city.
The city burghers continued to curtail the rights of Jews in the city throughout the 16th century, particularly in regards to trade. This was opposed by the Jewish merchants through a boycott of the Danzig owned banking house in Kowno (which had to be closed down) and through the intercession of the Polish Kings on behalf of the Council of the Four Lands.
In 1577, Danzig rebelled
Danzig rebellion
The rebellion of the city of Danzig in 1570s against the election and rule of Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory began on 12 December 1575 and ended on 16 December 1577...
against the election of Stephen Báthory as King of Poland and an inconclusive siege of the city commenced
Siege of Danzig (1577)
The Siege of the city of Danzig in 1577 by king Stephen Báthory of Poland ended militarily inconclusive.The conflict begun as the city of Danzig, along with the Polish episcopate and a portion of the Polish szlachta, did not recognize the election of Bathory to the Polish throne and instead...
. The negotiations that finally broke the stalemate included concessions by the Polish king in religious matters that also concerned Jews. Jewish religious services were not allowed in the city and in 1595 the city council again permitted sojourns only during the fair days. In the 1620s Jewish merchants were allowed to stay for the Domenic Fair and remain 4 days after its closure.
At the beginning of the 17th century, almost half a thousand Jews lived in the city and, in 1620, King Zygmunt III Waza enforced an edict permitting the Jews to live within the city. A few years later, Jews were allowed to trade in grain and timber, first in one part of the city, then all of it.
In 1752 a city ordinance regulated a tax of 12 Florin per month for a Jewish merchant, 8 Florin for an assistant and a 4 Florin for a servant. 50 Jewish families received citizenship in 1773 and 160 Jews were allowed to reside in the city.
Kingdom of Prussia
The situation changed with the First partition of PolandFirst Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
in 1772, when the suburbs became Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n while the city of Danzig remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1793. The 240 Jewish families (1,257 persons) of the Danzig suburbs received a General-Privilege in August 1773, which guaranteed their legal status. As Gershon C. Bacon states:
This was the beginning of the association of Danzig Jewry with Germany, the German economy and German culture, which lasted until the dissolution of the community in the Nazi era.
Although the emancipation edict of 1812
Jewish Emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
improved the legal status of Jews in Prussia, anti-Jewish riots happened in 1819 and 1821 and the legal rights of Jews were often questioned by local officials.
Kehilla (modern)
The Kehilla is the local Jewish communal structure that was reinstated in the early twentieth century as a modern, secular, and religious sequel of the Qahal in Central and Eastern Europe, more particularly in Poland's Second Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukrainian People's Republic,...
board. In 1887 the new founded Synagogen-Gemeinde (Synagogue-kehilla) opened the Great Synagogue
Great Synagogue (Danzig)
The Great Synagogue , was a synagogue of the Jewish Community of Danzig in the city of Danzig, Germany . It was built in 1885-1887 on Reitbahnstraße, now Bogusławski Street...
. Danzig Jewry at that time was a liberal, German-Jewish community and most Danzig Jews considered themselves "Germans of the Mosaic persuasion" and spoke German.
Many Danzig Jews volunteered for military service
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, about 95 of them died in service, a memorial plaque was later displayed in the Great Synagogue and shipped to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
in 1939.
Free City of Danzig
After World War I Danzig became a Free CityFree City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
under the protection of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. The number of Jews in Danzig grew rapidly as visa restrictions did not exist and many Jews from the areas attached to Poland after World War I
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
, the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
and refugees of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
settled here or were awaiting visas for the US or Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Danzig Jewry, aided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is a worldwide Jewish relief organization headquartered in New York. It was established in 1914 and is active in more than 70 countries....
and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
HIAS
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was founded in 1881. The constant flow of Jewish immigrants from Russia gave birth to the society. HIAS assists Jews and other groups of people whose lives and freedom are at risk, through rescue, relocation, family reunification, and resettlement. Since its inception...
took care for these refugees, which were housed in a transit camp in the port area. Between 1920 and 1925 some 60,000 Jews passed through Danzig. The influence of Eastern European Jews, often sympathizing with Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, caused tensions within Synagogengemeinde Danzig. Besides the traditional Centralverein Danziger Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (CV; Central Association of Danzig Citizens of Jewish Faith), led by Bernhard Kamnitzer
Bernhard Kamnitzer
Bernhard Kamnitzer was a German jurist and Senator of the Free City of Danzig.-Biography:Kamnitzer was born in Dirschau , he studied law at the Universities of Danzig and Königsberg .Kamnitzer served in World War I and was severely wounded, he later worked as a lawyer and a judge in...
, Jews from Russia and Poland founded the new "OSE" association, which also provided for charitable services such as a kindergarten, a public soup kitchen, a clothing store, occupational counselling, and a job service, as well as for a theatre for the people's edification and entertainment.
The OSE further ran a health centre in the former Friedländersche Schule on Jakobstor street #13. The native Jews tried to maintain their German-Liberal style community and their leadership made several attempts to restrict the participation of foreigners in the election of the Repräsentantenversammlung (legislative assembly of representatives) of Synagogengemeinde Danzig. However, naturalised immigrants could vote so that also proponents of "Agudas Jisro'el" and "Misrachi"
Mizrachi (Religious Zionism)
The Mizrachi is the name of the religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius at a world conference of religious Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. Bnei Akiva, which was founded in 1929, is the youth movement associated with Mizrachi...
, forming Jüdische Volkspartei
Folkspartei
The Folkspartei was founded after the 1905 pogroms in the Russian Empire by Simon Dubnow and Israel Efrojkin. The party took part to several elections in Poland and Lithuania in the 1920s and 1930s and did not survive the Shoah.-Ideology:...
ran for seats and eventually won some.
In 1920 the "Jung-Jüdischer Bund Danzig" (Young-Jewish Association Danzig) was founded, a newspaper, the Jüdisches Wochenblatt (Jewish weekly), was published from 1929 to 1938 as well as the Zionist Danziger Echo
Danziger Echo
Danziger Echo was a Zionist Jewish newspaper in the Free City of Danzig, edited by Theodor Loevy and Paul Bermann. The publication of Danziger Echo was stopped on July 18, 1936, as the government of the Free City issued a ten-month suspension of the paper....
(until 1936).
A new synagogue was built on Mirchauer Weg in Langfuhr (Wrzeszcz) in 1927. In 1931 the first world conference of the Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
was organized in Danzig.
Persecution
In the 1920s and early 1930s anti-Semitism grew and the local Nazi party took power in the VolkstagVolkstag
The Volkstag was the parliament of the Free City of Danzig between 1919 and 1939.-History:After World War I Danzig became a Free City under the protection of the League of Nations....
(parliament) elections of 1933 and 1935. The Nazis took over the government in 1933 and as a result Jews were dismissed from public service and discriminated in public life. The presence of the League of Nations' High Commissioner however still guaranteed a minimum of legal certainty. In summer 1933 an "Association of Jewish Academics" was founded, which protested against the discrimination of Jews to the Senate and the League of Nations. Though the League declared several acts of the Nazi-government unconstitutional, this had no effect on the actual situation in the Free City. Following the example of the Jüdischer Kulturbund
Jüdischer Kulturbund
Jüdischer Kulturbund, or Der Jüdische Kulturbund, was a Cultural Federation of German Jews, established in 1933...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
a similar association existed since September 1933.
In October 1937 a Pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
was initiated, which caused the flight of about the half of the Jewish community within a year. In 1938, the Nazi Party's Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
of the city, Albert Forster
Albert Forster
Albert Maria Forster was a Nazi German politician. Under his administration as the Gauleiter of Danzig-West Prussia during the Second World War, the local non-German population suffered ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and forceful Germanisation...
, initiated an official policy of repression against Jews; Jewish businesses were seized and handed over by Gentile Danzigers, Jews were forbidden to attend theaters, cinemas, public baths and swimming pools, or stay in hotels within the city, and, with the approval of the city's senate, barred from the medical, legal and notary professions. Jews from Zoppot (Sopot) were forced to leave that city within the Danzig state territory. The Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
riots in Germany were followed by similar riots between 12 and 14 November 1938. The Synagogues in Langfuhr, Mattenbuden, and Zoppot were destroyed and the Great Synagogue was only saved because Jewish war veterans guarded the building.
Following these riots the Nazi senate (government) introduced the racialist Nuremberg laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
in November 1938 and the Jewish community decided to organize its emigration. All property, including the Synagogues and cemeteries, was sold to finance the emigration of the Danzig Jewry. The Great Synagogue on Reitbahn street was taken over by the municipal administration and torn down in May 1939. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee paid up to $50,000 for the ceremonial objects, books, scrolls, tapestries, textiles and all kind of memorabilia, which arrived at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
on 26 July 1939. The extensive collection of Lesser Giełdziński was also shipped to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where it was placed at the Jewish museum
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
.
Holocaust
In early 1939 about 3,500 Jews, most of them Danzig citizens, were still living in the city. In March 1939 the first transport to PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
departed and by September 1939 barely 1,700, mostly elderly, Jews remained.
After the invasion of Poland by Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and SS Heimwehr Danzig
SS Heimwehr Danzig
SS Heimwehr "Danzig" was an SS unit established in the Free City of Danzig before the Second World War. It fought with the German army against the Polish Army during the invasion of Poland...
, followed by the German annexation of Danzig Free City, about 130 Jews were held in a "ghetto" in a building on Milchkannengasse street (today's ulica Stagiewna), and another group was imprisoned, along with the city's Poles, at the Victoriaschule, an old gymnasium building, were they were beaten and tortured. There were also camps at Westerplatte
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
and Ohra (modern Orunia)
Orunia-Sw. Wojciech-Lipce
Orunia-Św. Wojciech-Lipce is one of the quarters of the city of Gdańsk, Poland.- History :Ohra was an estate of Arthur Schopenhauer's family, his grandfather, Andreas Schopenhauer, died here in 1794.-Demographics:-External links:*...
. Jews from Zoppot were executed in the Piaśnica forest murders
Mass murders in Piaśnica
The mass murders in Piaśnica were a set of mass executions carried out by Germans, during World War II, between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piasnica Wielka in the Darzlubska Wilderness near Wejherowo. Standard estimates put the number of victims at between twelve thousand and fourteen...
. In 1940 another ghetto was created, which held about 600 individuals.
The last group that managed to leave for Palestine departed in August 1940, with many of them facing the Patria disaster
Patria disaster
The Patria disaster on 25 November 1940 was the sinking by the Haganah of a French-built ocean liner in the port of Haifa, in which 260 people were killed and 172 injured....
in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
port. Of those who remained, 395 were deported during February and March 1941 to Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
and 200 from the Jewish old age home were sent to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Some were also taken out into the Baltic sea on barges and drowned.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
22 Jewish partners of mixed marriages, who had remained in the city, survived. About 350 individuals, from the areas surrounding the city, reported to the regional offices of the Central Committee of Polish Jews
Central Committee of Polish Jews
The Central Committee of Polish Jews also referred to as the Central Committee of Jews in Poland and abbreviated CKŻP, was a state-sponsored political representation of Jews in Poland at the end of World War II...
in the summer of 1945.
Present day
Jewish life in Gdańsk began to revive as soon as the war was over. Jewish committees were organized within the city and region. In particular the Regional Jewish Committee (Okręgowy Komitet Żydowski) was composed of members of Ichud, Poale ZionPoale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
and Poale Zion-Left members, as well as the Polish Communist Party. Members of the Bund however were excluded and not allowed to join by the Communist authorities. The religious organization Jewish Religious Organization of the (Pomeranian) Voivodeship (Wojewódzkie Żydowskie Zrzeszenie Religijne) was created in October 1945 and reacquired the synagogue in Wrzeszcz in the same year. However, the religious life of Gdańsk's Jews was slow during this time, partly because a good portion of those present in the city were non-religious and partly because of general anti-religious persecutions carried out by the Stalinist regime during the period 1947–53.
During the March 1968 events, a major student and intellectual protests against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland, the communist authorities instigated a wave of antisemitism as part of a "anti-Zionist" campaign. Jews of Gdańsk were also affected, as exemplified by the repressions directed at Wiktor Taubenfigiel, the director of the Gdańsk hospital. Jakub Szadaj, a native of Gdańsk involved in Jewish cultural activities in the city and a prominent member of the democratic anti-communist opposition, was also arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison (later commuted to five). Szadaj was exonerated of all charges in post-Communist Poland in 1992. An exhibit of photographs and documents entitled "Marzec '68" (March '68) covering the events was held in the Great Synagogue in 2010. However the general subject of what impact the events of 1968 had on the Jewish community in Gdańsk has not yet been studied extensively.
According to the In Your Pocket City Guide
In Your Pocket City Guides
In Your Pocket is a European city guide publisher and online tourist information provider. As of April 2008 it publishes city guides to 68 destinations and provides free online information to over 100 cities in 23 countries in Europe, from Athens to Zürich, Ljubljana, Belfast to Bucharest, Tallinn...
no member of the contemporary Jewish community is a descended of a prewar resident. However, Jakub Szadaj, for example, is the son of Moses Szadaj, a citizen of the pre war Free City of Danzig.
An annual festival, the Baltic Days of Jewish Culture
Baltic Days of Jewish Culture
Baltic Days of Jewish Culture is an annual two day festival of Jewish culture which takes place in Gdańsk, Poland at the beginning of June. The festival has been held since 1999....
(Bałtyckie Dni Kultury Żydowskiej), has been taking place in Gdańsk since 1999. It is organized by Social and Cultural Organization of Jews in Poland (Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Żydów w Polsce) and Jakub Szadaj.
In 2001 the only remaining pre-war synagogue, used as a warehouse for store furniture and as music school after World War II, was transferred to the Jewish community. Since September 2009 the complete "New Synagogue" serves for religious purposes again.
A photo exhibit "Żydzi gdańscy—Obrazy nieistniejącego świata" (Jews of Gdańsk—Images of a lost world) was held in the Opatów Palace in Oliwa
Oliwa
Oliwa, also Oliva is one of the quarters of Gdańsk. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, while from the west with Matarnia and Osowa...
in 2008. The exhibition included more than 200 photographs documenting the history of the Jewish community in the city from the end of the 19th century until 1968.
The Independent Gmina of the Mosaic Faith (Niezależna Gmina Wyznania Mojżeszowego) represents about 100 Jews in the city, mostly from Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism , is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life...
. In addition to helping with the organization of the Baltic Days of Jewish Culture, it offers Hebrew lessons and keeps contact with the Beit Warszawa congregation in Warsaw.
Demographics
| year | number of members |
|---|---|
| 1765 | 1,098 (outside of the city's boundary) |
| 1816 | 3,798 |
| 1880 | 2,736 (2.4% of total population) |
| 1885 | 2,859 |
| 1895 | 2,367 |
| 1900 | 2,553 |
| 1905 | 2,546 |
| 1910 | 2,390 (1.4% of total population) |
| December 1910 | 2,717 |
| November 1923 | 7,282 (2,500 Danzig nationals, 4,782 non-citizens) |
| August 1924 | 9,239 |
| August 1929 | 10,448 |
| 1937 | 12,000 |
| 1939 | 1,666 |
Notable members
- Max AbrahamMax AbrahamMax Abraham was a German physicist.Abraham was born in Danzig, Imperial Germany to a family of Jewish merchants. His father was Moritz Abraham and his mother was Selma Moritzsohn. Attending the University of Berlin, he studied under Max Planck. He graduated in 1897...
- Salomon AdlerSalomon AdlerSalomon Adler was a German painter of the Baroque period, active in Milan and Bergamo as a portrait painter. He was the mentor of Fra Galgario. Born in Danzig , died in Milan...
- Ike AronowiczIke AronowiczYitzhak "Ike" Aronowicz was the captain of the immigrant ship SS Exodus, which unsuccessfully tried to dock in British-occupied Palestine with Holocaust survivors on July 11, 1947, after the end of World War II...
- Aaron BernsteinAaron BernsteinAaron David Bernstein was a German Jewish scientist, author and reformer.-Biography:His translation of the Song of Songs and his publication of Young Germany established his reputation as a writer among the literary critics of Berlin...
- Avraham DanzigAvraham DanzigRabbi Avraham Danzig was a Posek and codifier, best known as the author of the works of Jewish law Chayei Adam and Chochmas Adam; he is sometimes referred to as "the Chayei Adam".-Biography:...
- Samuel EchtSamuel EchtSamuel Echt was a German historian and teacher.-Biography:Echt was born in Norgau, East Prussia, Germany . He worked as a teacher and historian....
- Alfred FlatowAlfred FlatowAlfred Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was Jewish....
- Levin GoldschmidtLevin GoldschmidtLevin Goldschmidt was a German jurist.From 1847 to 1851 he pursued his studies at the universities of Berlin, Bonn, and Heidelberg, receiving his doctor's degree in 1851 from the University of Halle...
- Salome Gluecksohn-WaelschSalome Gluecksohn-WaelschSalome Gluecksohn-Waelsch was a German-born U.S. geneticist and co-founder of developmental genetics.- Life and scientific career :...
- Theodor HirschTheodor HirschTheodor Hirsch was a German historian who was a native of Altschottland, Danzig. He was a cousin to historian Siegfried Hirsch .-Life and career:...
- Maximilian Kaminsky, father of Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
- Bernhard KamnitzerBernhard KamnitzerBernhard Kamnitzer was a German jurist and Senator of the Free City of Danzig.-Biography:Kamnitzer was born in Dirschau , he studied law at the Universities of Danzig and Königsberg .Kamnitzer served in World War I and was severely wounded, he later worked as a lawyer and a judge in...
- Isaac Landau, father of Moshe LandauMoshe LandauMoshe Landau was an Israeli jurist. He was the fifth President of the Supreme Court of Israel.-Biography:Landau was born in Danzig, Germany to Dr. Isaac Landau and Betty née Eisenstädt...
- Israel Lipschutz
- Hugo MünsterbergHugo MünsterbergHugo Münsterberg was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to Industrial/Organizational , legal, medical, clinical, educational and business settings. Münsterberg encountered immense turmoil with the outbreak of the...
- Hugo NeumannHugo NeumannHugo Neumann was a German jurist, politician of the Free City of Danzig and writer.-Biography:Neumann was born in Berent to Max Neumann...
(1882–1962), politician - Meir ShamgarMeir ShamgarMeir Shamgar was President of the Israeli Supreme Court from 1983 until 1995.-Biography:Shamgar was born Meir Sterenberg in the Free City of Danzig to Eliezer and Dina Sterenberg.He emigrated to Palestine in 1939.He was arrested by the British in 1944 for anti-British activity and being...
, President of the Israeli Supreme Court - Rutka LaskierRutka LaskierRutka Laskier was a Jewish teenager from Poland who is best known for her 1943 diary chronicling three months of her life during the Holocaust.-Biography:...
, Holocaust victim and diarist, called the Polish Anne Frank