Breslau, Germany - '45 Aid Society

Breslau, now known as Wrocław, in western Poland, had a long-standing Jewish community, with a large, prominent Reform Jewish congregation.

Background

The oldest Jewish tombstone found in the city dates back to 1203. In 1290, Wrocław had the second largest Jewish community in east central Europe, after Prague. The Jews of the city worked primarily as moneylenders and traders; a smaller minority worked as artisans.

During the 14th century, however, the Jews of Wrocław were the victims of a number of outbreaks of violence, notably a pogrom in 1349 at the time of the Black Death. Jews were expelled in 1453 and forbidden to live in Wroclaw until 1744.

In 1741 the city was annexed by Prussia, and in 1744 Frederick II allowed Jews to form an official community. The Jewish population grew rapidly.

Wrocław became an important centre for the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment). Both communities – the orthodox and the liberal – were active in the religious and cultural lives of the Jews of the city, and were led by distinguished rabbis and scholars. The number of Jewish residents in the city was 19,743 in 1900, and 10,300 in 1939.

Third Reich
In November, 1938 Jewish cultural, social, and educational activities were halted and synagogues and Jewish schools were destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogroms.

Beginning in September 1941, the Jews were driven from their homes and crowded into ‘Judenhauser’, to be deported later to transit camps in Silesia, and from there to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.

From April 1942, the remaining Jews were deported to Auschwitz, Sobibór extermination camp, and ghettos in Riga or Theresienstadt. Of the 3,800 deported to Theresienstadt, only 200 survived.

Aftermath

After World War II, the city along with most of Lower Silesia, became part of Poland.

Beginning in May 1945, Wrocław was a transit centre for Jewish survivors returning from concentration camps in Silesia and Poland. Jews from former Polish territories that had been annexed to the Soviet Union during the war began arriving in the city in waves beginning in 1946, making Wroclaw the largest Jewish community in Poland. Though the number of Jews in Wroclaw rose to 17,747 in 1946, after the pogrom in Kielce in July of that year the numbers dropped considerably.

By 1974, there were 3,000 Jews in Wrocław. A Jewish revival began during the late 1980s.

Present-day

The Jewish Community of Wrocław currently has approximately 300–350 registered members, though the broader Jewish-identifying population is estimated at around 800.

Visiting Wrocław

Wrocław is the historic capital of Silesia and it has changed hands repeatedly over the centuries. At different points throughout history, the city has been in the Kingdom of Poland, Bohemia, the Austrian Empire, Prussia and Germany. In 1945 the city became a part of Poland again as the borders of Poland were moved westwards in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The German population were expelled, among them German Jewish survivors. They were replaced by Poles from Vilnius and Lviv.

Getting there & around

There are direct flights from the UK to Wrocław–Copernicus Airport.

Wrocław Główny is the city’s main train station and serves as a major transit point for the Polish rail network, with many daily trains departing and arriving from all of the major cities in the country. There are also excellent bus and road connections.

The city centre is easily walkable and taxis are relatively cheap. Take a taxi to visit the two Jewish cemeteries.

There are tours to Gross Rosen 2kn south of Rogiźnica.

Wrocław

What to See

Synagogue & Jewish Community

The White Stork Synagogue (Włodkowica Street, entry fee) The synagogue was severely damaged on Kristallnacht in 1938 but after a complete renovation reopened in 2010. It is the focal point for religious and cultural life, featuring a synagogue, a kosher cafe, and exhibition spaces.

The New Synagogue (located at today’s Łąkowa ul. 6 is marked by a small memorial) The synagogue was built for liberal Jews in 1872 and the second largest in Germany. It was destroyed on Kristallnacht.

A full walking tour of Jewish Wrocław leaflet is available at the synagogue.

Memorial

The Holocaust memorial is next to the synagogue.

Odertor Railway Station (Dwórzec Nadodrze), Wrocław

Odertor Railway Station (Dwórzec Nadodrze) Jews had to wait for deportation at collection points in front of the White Stork Synagogue and the vicinity of the present Nadodrze Station from where the majority of the trains left. There is no memorial.

In May 1942 trains also left from Wrocław Główny, the main station.

There is an extraordinary collection of photographs taken in secret of the deportation on w atlas.lastseen.org/en/image/breslau/18

Cemetery

Old Jewish Cemetery (ul. Ślężna) This is perhaps the most well-preserved testament to the former strength of Wroclaw’s pre-war Jewish community, with over 1200 gravestones. Closed in 1942, in 1945 it saw fierce fighting – some of the tombstones have eerie bullet holes.

New Jewish Cemetery (ul. Lotnicza) The fifth-largest Jewish cemetery is located northwest of the centre. Founded in 1902 when the Ślężna Street cemetery became too small, and is still in use by Wrocław’s Jewish community. It contains a memorial to Jewish soldiers killed in World War I.

Visiting Gross Rosen

Gross Rosen

Muzeum Gross-Rosen (Ofiar Gross Rosen; w gross-rosen.eu; free) Initially a satellite of Sachsenhausen, Gross Rosen became an independent camp in 1941. Until 1943, it held mostly Polish and German political prisoners, when 57,000 Jewish prisoners were imprisoned here. Prisoners worked in the granite quarry. It was also a destination for many of the death marches endured by the Boys.

The camp was evacuated in February 1945; some of the original buildings remain.

Note that Gross-Rosen and its subcamps are not easy to visit if you don’t have a car.

Present day Country:

Poland

Pre 1939:

Germany

1938-1945:

Third Reich

Ghetto:

Theresienstadt Ghetto
Riga Ghetto

Associated Boys:

Peter Harringer

Map:

Map of Wroclaw, Poland (modern-day Breslau, Germany).

Gallery: