Elbing, Germany

Elbing, now known as Elbląg, is a city in northern Poland, which was formerly part of East Prussia with a long history of Jewish settlement.

The siblings Asta, Jacob and Samuel Berlowtz, all members of the Boys were born in Elbing. They came to the UK as the part of the First Group of the Boys in August 1945.

Background

Elbląg had a Jewish community for centuries, making significant contributions to the city’s cultural and economic life. 

The first Jews settled in the town in 1783. It is known that in 1812 there were 33 Jewish families living in Elbląg and in 1880 there were 549 Jews in the town. In 1812 a Jewish cemetery was established and in 1824 a synagogue was erected. The biggest cigarette factory group in eastern Germany, the Loeser & Wolff cigar factory, was founded in 1874 by a Jew from Elbląg. In 1926, the company employed as many as 4,000 workers.

Third Reich

Persecutions by the Nazis resulted in the mass migration of Jews. In 1933, the town had 367 Jewish inhabitants, and in 1936 – only 207. The remaining Jews were moved to the area of Wyspa Spichrzow, an unofficial ghetto. They were deported to ghettos in Theresienstadt, Łódź, Riga, Piaski and Kaunas.

The Stutthof concentration camp, located near Elbląg, was a major site of Nazi persecution.

Aftermath

After World War II the city became part of Poland. 

There has not been an organised Jewish community in Elbląg since World War II.