Wroclaw (Breslau), Poland

 

General

    Wroclaw is a city in southwestern Poland on the Oder River.  It is the fourth largest city in Poland.  The earliest evidence of Jews is a tombstone from 1203.  In 1741, the city fell to Prussia and eventually became part of Germany.  The Jewish population reached its peak in 1925 at over 23,000.  At the start of the World War II, the population was about 10,000.  In 1938, all the synagogues, with the exception of one too close to Christian owned buildings, were destroyed.  As of March 31, 1941, there were 9,184 Jews in the city.  Deportations began in November, 1941.  By 1943, all the Jews, other than partners of mixed marriages, had been deported to various camps.  Today, there are fewer than 100 Jews in the city.  

    The synagogue depicted in the postcard below is the Reform Temple which was completed in 1872.

References

Wroclaw.Com

Encyclopedia Judaica, CD Rom Edition, Keter Publishing

Gutman, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, P. 243-45

Copyright © 1998-2000 Edward Victor