Beuthen was a town in Silesia. After 1945, it became Bytom, Poland. Although there had been a medieval Jewish community in the town, the Jewish population did not begin to grow until the early 1700's. By 1932, the Jewish population was about 3,500 (3.77% of the total population. During Kristallnacht, the synagogue and many Jewish stores were destroyed. By 1939, many Jews had left leaving a population of about 1,300 Jews. By 1942, most of the remaining Jews were deported, primarily to Auschwitz.
Below is the thumbnail of the front of a cover from Beuthen addressed to the Judenrat in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The cover contains the cachet of the Jewish Adminstration in Beuthen. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Cover" in the left frame to return.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 134-36
Copyright © 2003 Edward Victor