Meseritz
General information: First Jewish presence: 14th century; peak Jewish population: 1,155 in 1840 (24% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 105
Summary: Annexed by Prussia in 1793, the town of Miedzyrzecz was
not returned to Poland until 1945. Jews had settled in
Meseritz in the 14th century, and their numbers increased
in the early 16th century. Feared as economic competitors,
Jews were often expelled from the town during the 16th and
17th centuries; in the decades leading up to and following
1700, a combination of wars and pestilence claimed the lives
of many Meseritz citizens, including those of 1,700 Jews.
In 1795, however, 560 Jews lived in the town (18 % of the
total population).
In 1824, much of the Jewish quarter and the 35-yearold
synagogue were destroyed in a fire. One year later, the
community established a new synagogue in the classical style.
The Jewish population dropped markedly during
the second half of the 19th century, so that very few Jews
lived in Meseritz on Pogrom Night (November 1938),
when the synagogue was burned down, the few remaining
Jewish-owned stores were destroyed, and the Jewish men
imprisoned. By March 1940, all remaining Jews had been
sent to detention camps, from which they were later deported
to the East.
Author / Sources: Fred Gottlieb
Sources: EJL, LJG
Sources: EJL, LJG
Located in: posen-west-prussia