Leobschuetz

Summary: Although Jews lived in Leobschuetz (present-day Glubczyce, Poland) for approximately 200 years during the Middle Ages—records from that time mention a Jewish-owned brewery—they were expelled from the town in 1543. It was not until 1810, in fact, that Jews returned to Leobschuetz. The community consecrated two cemeteries—one in 1814, the other in 1892—and maintained a prayer hall in the home of a carpenter (17 Wasserstrasse) until 1865, when a proper synagogue was built on the corner of Kochanowski and Koszarowa. A Jewish sisterhood, a charity for transients and a school for higher education were active in Leobschuetz. Gustav Hollaender (1855-1915), a renowned Berlin violinist, composer and conductor, was born in Leobschuetz. The synagogue was vandalized in 1927, the walls smeared with anti-Semitic slogans. Nevertheless, Nazi authorities were unable to enforce their racist laws until 1937, as Leobschuetz was protected by the League of Nations’ Minority Rights Convention. On Pogrom Night, however, Jewish Leobschuetz suffered the same fate as did Jewish communities all over Germany. The synagogue was burned to the ground, Jewish-owned stores and homes were destroyed and 10 men were arrested. Seventy-four Leobschuetz Jews perished in the camps.

Author / Sources: Ruth Martina Trucks
Sources: EJL, FJG, LJG, YV
www.sztetl.org.pl