Storkow

Summary: The Jewish community of Storkow was founded in 1812, soon after the town’s residency restrictions on Jews were lifted. Jewish religious services and gatherings were held in a private home, probably at 27 Kirchstasse. In the mid-19th century, two rooms on the ground floor of that building were converted into a synagogue. We also know that Storkow’s Jewish cemetery, consecrated in the 18th century, was located on the road to Reichenwalde (opposite the Storkower Lake). Jews were influential in the town’s economy: Isaac Friedmann opened the first credit institute in 1863 and later became a delegate to the city parliament. Nevertheless, the Jewish community, always small, did not have enough men for a prayer quorum after 1929. The interior of the synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night, and most of the town’s remaining Jews left during the years that followed. Sixteen Storkow Jews died in the camps. In 1980, a memorial plate was unveiled in the cemetery, which had been renovated by that point. An additional plaque has been affixed to the house of one of Storkow’s deported Jews.

Author / Sources: Ruth Martina Trucks
Sources: EJL, LJG, YV