Namslau

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