Insterburg
General information: First Jewish presence: 1834; peak Jewish population: 363 in 1880; Jewish population in 1933: 275
Summary: The Jews of Insterburg (present-day Tschernjachowsk,
Russia) inaugurated their first synagogue in 1865; by
1885, two Jewish cemeteries had been consecrated in the
town. The Jewish community developed into the largest
and most important Jewish community in East Prussia,
the center of Jewish life in the region. Insterburg hosted a
convention of Jewish community leaders in 1880, and the
Association of East Prussian Communities (which helped
needy immigrants) and many other Jewish organizations
and associations were headquartered there.
As was the case all over Germany, the Jewish population
dwindled during the tumultuous 1930s. By 1938, over half
of the Jewish population had left Insterburg.
On Pogrom Night, the Nazis set the synagogue on fire and
let it burn to the ground. In his memoirs, community member
Josef Wilkowsky wrote that the ritual objects were burned with
the building; twenty Torah scrolls, the Torah Ark, its beautiful
curtain, and the library were all reduced to rubble and ash.
In May 1939, 90 Jews lived in Insterburg. Those who did
not, or could not, emigrate were deported to concentration
camps.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, LJG
Sources: EJL, LJG
Located in: east-prussia