Neisse

Summary: According to records, Neisse was home to a Jewish cemetery by 1350 and to a synagogue by 1410. Jews were expelled from Neisse in 1468, and it was only in 1834 that a new community and synagogue (with a classroom) were established in the town. Beginning in the 1860s, however, not long after reaching its peak population, the community started to dwindle as more and more Jews left for the bigger cities. Neisse Jews enjoyed a wide array of social and cultural institutions throughout the 1920s. The Reich Federation of Jewish Front Soldiers was active in the community, as were several Zionist youth movements and the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith. With the rise of National Socialism, Zionist activities were intensified and classes in Hebrew were organized. The synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night, as were Jewish communal buildings and Jewish-owned homes and businesses, after which all Jews who were able to left the country. In 1942, the remaining 90 Jews were deported to the death camps.

Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: EJL, LJG