Namslau
General information: First Jewish presence: 1785; peak Jewish presence: 239 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 68
Summary: The records indicate that Jews lived in Namslau (present-day
Namyslow, Poland) as far back as the early 1300s; these Jews
lived on the Judengasse, or “Jews’ alley.” Several centuries later,
in the late 1700s, a real Jewish community was established
in the town. Communal institutions included a cemetery
(1794) and a synagogue (1856), and we also know that
local Jews held, for a period, a monopoly on the region’s
production of alcoholic spirits.
The community recorded its peak membership figure in
1871, soon after which, mainly as a result of younger Jews
leaving for larger towns and cities, the Jewish population
began to dwindle. Only 50 Jews still lived in Namslau in
1930, by which point they were being terrorized by Nazi
hoodlums and subjected to discriminatory legislation. A local
Jew was attacked that year, and the cemetery was vandalized.
The synagogue and several Jewish-owned businesses were
destroyed on Pogrom Night. It is presumed that Namslau’s
remaining Jews perished in the Shoah.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, LJG
Sources: EJL, LJG
Located in: silesia