Sagan
General information: First Jewish presence: approximately 12th-13th century; peak Jewish population: 170 in 1880; Jewish population in 1933: 78
Summary: Jews settled in Sagan (Polish: Żagań), in Lower Silesia,
probably during the 12th or the 13th century. By the mid-
14th century, most were living on the Judengasse, or “Jews’
alley,” (present-day Słowackiego). In 1462, after a series
of pogroms, Duke Jan II (Żagań’s last ruler from the Piast
dynasty) expelled Jews from Sagan. It was not until the 19th
century that a new Jewish community was established there,
peaking at 170 members in 1880.
In 1813, the community consecrated a cemetery on
Heideberg, later moving it to Lessingstrasse (present-day
Berka Joselewicza). We also know that in 1857, local Jews
purchased the town arsenal building, located in the medieval
bastion, for use as a synagogue.
Sagan’s Jewish population figures for 1933, 1937 and
1939 are, respectively, 78, 30 and seven. On Pogrom Night
(November 1938), the synagogue was set on fire and Jewishowned
businesses were destroyed.
Additional information about the community’s fate
during the Nazi period is not available, but Yad Vashem
lists the name of a Sagan Jew, Moise Reifman, who was killed
in Auschwitz. A memorial plaque was never erected next to
the former synagogue or cemetery, and Sagan is no longer
home to a Jewish community.
Author / Sources: Benjamin Rosendahl
Sources: EJL, FJG
Sources: EJL, FJG
Located in: lower-saxony