Luebben
General information: First Jewish presence: 14th century; peak Jewish population: 80 in 1920; Jewish population in 1933: 26
Summary: Louis II, Margrave of Brandenburg, expelled Jews from the
town in the 14th century. Records from 1525 mention a
Judengasse (“Jews’ alley”), and also tell us that the local Jews,
having been accused of arson, were once again expelled
from the town fifteen years later. Thereafter sporadic Jewish
settlement continued, but Jews were finally banned from the
town in 1573 and did not return to Luebben for another
three centuries.
A Jewish community, composed largely of textile
merchants, was founded in 1853 or in 1857. Services were
conducted in private rooms until a synagogue, located on
Isaacksche Gasse (later named Schulgasse), was inaugurated
in Luebben. A new synagogue was inaugurated on presentday
Kirchstrasse in or around 1900. We also know that the
communal mikveh and cemetery were established in 1835.
The Judengasse was renamed Zur Bleiche soon after
the 1933 elections. Five years later, on Pogrom Night, the
synagogue was set on fire and the cemetery destroyed. At the
end of 1942, many Jews imprisoned in Luckau were deported
to Auschwitz, among them Jews from Luebben.
At least 28 Luebben Jews perished in the Shoah.
In 1988, a memorial stone was unveiled at the site of the
former synagogue, whose outline was marked on the pavement.
Two years later, in 1990, the name Judengasse was reinstated.
Author / Sources: Beate Grosz-Wenker
Sources: AJ, EJL, LJG, SIA, YV
Sources: AJ, EJL, LJG, SIA, YV
Located in: brandenburg