Jewish people returned to the town during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) but did not settle there permanently until the 18th century. The first Jewish residents of Żary belonged to the Gubin community. In the mid-19th century, after their number had increased to 50, they established an independent kehilla. Apart from Żary, it included Krzystkowice, Raszków, and Kunice Żarskie. It was probably then that a cemetery was founded, and a synagogue was built.

The community of Żary was small but influential. One of its members with great merits in service to the town was Johanna Knopf, who established a foundation in her name. In the years 1911–1913, she also funded the creation of an idyllic garden (German: Lustgarten), considered one of the town's greatest attractions. The residents of Żary unveiled a decorative boulder in the garden commemorating the founder. The houses and shops of affluent Jews stood out from other buildings in the town. Some of them have survived to this day, mostly those on the north side of the Market Square. In 1930, the community’s property included a synagogue at today's 14 Podchorążych Street (currently a Pentecostal church), a cemetery, and a ritual slaughterhouse. In 1932, the synagogue community in Żary consisted of 90 people. After 1933, most of the affluent Jewish inhabitants left the town for Palestine and the United States. Those who remained paid for this decision with their lives. In May 1939, 72 Jews and 18 people of mixed Jewish origin lived in Żary. Data from November 1944 shows seven Jewish residents.

In 1945, Jews from the Eastern Borderlands and Central Poland began to arrive in Żary. By 1946, there were as many as 4,000 Jewish people in the town, but no more than several hundred after 1949. Jews live in Żary to this day, although no official community exists in the town. There is an active branch of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews, headed by Alicja Skowrońska.

The local synagogue was set on fire during the Kristallnacht (9/10 November 1938). However, the building survived and was used by the Jewish newcomers after 1945. In 1968, it was taken over by the municipal authorities, exchanged for the building of the former monastery hospital at 3 Zaułek Klasztorny Street. In 2010, the community returned the building to the town for financial reasons. The current seat of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Żary is located at 2 Pszenna Street.

The Description

There are two Jewish cemeteries in Żary – the old and the modern one. The latter is in fact a section of the municipal cemetery at Szpitalna Street. The new cemetery, open since 1946, covers an area of 0.03 hectare. In 2018, there were 60 tombstones on its premises, most of them from the second half of the 20th century, with inscriptions in Polish and Yiddish. The area is fenced with a modern metal fence on a brick base. The area is accessed through a separate locked gate. The cemetery is still open.

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