Beuthen Jewish Community
Encyclopedia
Beuthen Jewish Community was one of twenty-five Jewish communities of the district of Oppeln, established in the city of Beuthen (now Bytom
, Poland
) with a Jewish primary school supported by the city, a religious school, 13 charitable societies, and 4 institutions, prior to German invasion of Poland in World War II
. Jews lived there as early as 1421. Beuthen was a border–town between Germany and Second Polish Republic
since the plebiscite of 1922. The new German-Polish border passed just east of Beuthen, so that neighboring Katowice
became part of Poland while Beuthen remained in Germany. The area, however, was kept as an economic unit, with guarantees on the movement of goods, material, and labor.
The Jewish population of Beuthen during the inter-war period was about 3,500 (according to Mokotov) or 5,000 according to a former resident, who recalls that approximately 4,000 of them left Beuthen between 1933 and 1939. On November 7, 1938 Goebbels
delivered a fiery anti-Semitic tirade in Beuthen with a call for vengeance, just after the Kristallnacht
(the Night of Broken Glass). The Jews were made to stand for hours in front of their burning synagogue, built in 1869. During World War II Beuthen's Jews numbering at about 1,300, became the first ever Holocaust transport
to be gassed inside "Bunker I" at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, all murdered on February 15, 1942 at the onset of the Nazi German Holocaust in Poland
.
Bytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) with a Jewish primary school supported by the city, a religious school, 13 charitable societies, and 4 institutions, prior to German invasion of Poland in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Jews lived there as early as 1421. Beuthen was a border–town between Germany and Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
since the plebiscite of 1922. The new German-Polish border passed just east of Beuthen, so that neighboring Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
became part of Poland while Beuthen remained in Germany. The area, however, was kept as an economic unit, with guarantees on the movement of goods, material, and labor.
The Jewish population of Beuthen during the inter-war period was about 3,500 (according to Mokotov) or 5,000 according to a former resident, who recalls that approximately 4,000 of them left Beuthen between 1933 and 1939. On November 7, 1938 Goebbels
Goebbels
Goebbels, alternatively Göbbels, is a common surname in the western areas of Germany. It is probably derived from the Old Low German word gibbler, meaning brewer...
delivered a fiery anti-Semitic tirade in Beuthen with a call for vengeance, just after the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
(the Night of Broken Glass). The Jews were made to stand for hours in front of their burning synagogue, built in 1869. During World War II Beuthen's Jews numbering at about 1,300, became the first ever Holocaust transport
Holocaust trains
The Holocaust trains were railway transports run by German Nazis and their collaborators to forcibly deport interned Jews and other victims of the Holocaust to the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps....
to be gassed inside "Bunker I" at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, all murdered on February 15, 1942 at the onset of the Nazi German Holocaust in Poland
Holocaust in Poland
The Holocaust, also known as haShoah , was a genocide officially sanctioned and executed by the Third Reich during World War II. It took the lives of three million Polish Jews, destroying an entire civilization. Only a small percentage survived or managed to escape beyond the reach of the Nazis...
.