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Demise of Danzig’s Great Synagogue
by Ernie Solit

The story of the Jewish community in Danzig is just as twisted, violent and bizarre as that of Danzig itself. The end of the tale is that most of the members of the community survived the Holacaust... but at a heavy cost, in extortion to the Nazis.

The Jews were unwelcome in Danzig for many centuries. No Jewish settlement in the city proper was allowed from the 10th to the 18th Centuries. During this time, control of Danzig shifted from Poland to the Teutonic Knights, and back to Poland again. In 1308, the Knights (not in the image of Galahad or Lancelot), wiped out 50% of the Slavic population. Even though Poland regained control in 1466, the character of the population remained predominately German. The Swedish Wars of the Seventeenth Century. . . the takeover by Prussia in 1772.. .the Free City status offered by Napoleon in 1807 - these actions did nothing to open the City to Jewish settlement.

During much of this period, they were allowed into the City during the times when trade fairs were open, but they had to leave shortly afterward. By the Eighteenth Century, there appeared small Jewish settlements in the suburbs of Altschottland, Weinberg and Langfuhr. They received a “General Privilege” in August, 1773, from the Prussians, which gave them legal status as Prussian citizens. However, full legal equality did not occur until 1869... and it did not put an end to anti—Semitism.

Five separate suburban Jewish communities grew during the second half of the Nneteenth Century: Altschottland, Weinberg, Langfuhr, DanzigB reitgasse, and Danzig-Mattenbuden. Each had its own synagogue. A Prussian law passed in 1847 that ordered the establishment of a single Jewish community in each city had no effect, and this group of five persisted until 1883, when a unified Board authorized the new Great Synagogue of Danzig, which was completed in 1887.

There were many schisms within the Jewish community...Geriiian Jews against Russian Jews...Orthodox versus Conservative versus Liberals versus Zionists. The rise of German Nationalism before World War I, and the growth of National Socialism in the 1930’s increased the pressures manyfold, until the Danzig Senate ordered the Jews to evacuate the city by the autumn of 1939. The congregation sold off the ritual objects, the real estate and the Great Synagogue itself .which was then torn down. The exodus continued until November 1941, when the Nazis stopped all emigration.

Thanks to John Gilroy, David Kerr and Fred Behrendt for copies of postcards that contained photos of the Great Synagogue. Much of the information presented is from DANZIG 1939: TREASURES OF A DESTROYED COMMUNITY, published by the Jewish Museum, New York, 1980.

 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 69 - October - November - December - 1990, Page 11.