On the other hand, there is no doubt about the location of Judengasse or Żydowska street, which was located near the Market Square (currently Szkolna street). It is likely that a synagogue existed there too. The medieval Jewish community in Jelenia Góra was disbaned in the 15th century, when Jews were expelled from many Silesian cities.

They settled in the city again only in the 18th century. The Jewish community in Jelenia Góra was not large - in 1812 there were 35 Jews living here, and in 1852 there were 194 of them. In the years 1840–1867 there was a private Jewish school in the city. The maximum number of the city's Jewish inhabitants, 450, was recorded in 1880. Jews played an important role in the economic life of the city as owners of numerous shops, department stores and factories.

Initially, prayers were held in a private apartment belonging to the merchant Lipfert on Hintergasse, but it soon turned out to be too small for the increasing number of believers. The synagogue was built in 1845 by master mason Moritz Altmann; its later address was Priesterstraße 20 (currently Mikołaja Kopernika street). The solemn consecration took place on September 14, 1846, with the participation of representatives of all local confessions. The founder of the Torah scrolls for the temple in Jelenia Góra was Freudenthal, a merchant. The synagogue building was made of brick with a flat wooden roof topped with a decorative frieze. The entrance from the street led up four steps. The synagogue survived the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938 - it was desecrated, but the building survived. It was not until the early 1970s that  it was demolished along with all the buildings standing along the current Mikołaja Kopernika street.

After World War II, Jelenia Góra became a place where Polish Jews settled. In January 1946, there were 433 of them in the city, and in July of that year - 579. After the Kielce pogrom, which resulted in an emigration panic, the number of the Jewish population began to systematically decline. In November 1946, there were 350 Jews living in Jelenia Góra, and in February 1947 only 300. During 1947, a new group of Jewish settlers appeared, as already in February 1948 there were 569 Jews registered, and in mid-1949 - 654. During this period, many Jewish organisations and institutions operated in the city - including a Jewish committee, a congregation of the Jewish faith, and the Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jewish Population (TOZ).

The Description

In Jelenia Góra, there were two necropolises intended for the Jewish population, and the Jewish community had a Chewra Kadisha traditional funeral society, which organized burials and supported mourners. In the early 1930s, it had 100 members and was led by Max Tichauer.

The first Jewish cemetery in Jelenia Góra was founded about 1818. It was located in the area bounded by the Nowowiejska, Na Skałkach and Studencka streets. Nearby, at Hirschgraben 3, a pre-burial home was located. Previously, burials of Jelenia Góra Jews took place at the Jewish cemetery in Głogów.

No trace of it has survived to this day - it is now a garden square. In 1957, the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Jelenia Góra adopted a resolution to close this cemetery, and it was closed in 1961. According to local reports, until the 1960s there was a boulder commemorating the original purpose of the area, but today there is no trace of it.

Author of the note: Tamara Włodarczyk

References

• Führer durch die jüdische Gemeindeverwaltung und Wohlfahrtspflege in Deutschland 1932-1933 / herausgegeben von der Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Deutschen Juden, Berlin 1933.
• Vogt, M., Illustrirte Chronik der Stadt Hirschberg i. Schl. enthaltend eine historisch-topographische Beschreibung derselben seit ihrem muthmasslichen Usprunge bis auf gegenwärtige Zeit, Hirschberg i. Schl. 1876.
• Wodziński, M., Hebrajskie inskrypcje na Śląsku XIII-XVIII wieku, Wrocław 1996.

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.