“THE PROMISED LAND”

The nearly 700-year history of the Jewish community in Wrocław ended with physical extermination by the German government. Few surviving Jews, scattered throughout Lower Silesia, were unable to rebuild the former structures. In 1945, a completely new chapter began in the Jewish history of the region.

In June, the Regional Jewish Committee, led by Jakub Egiet, began operating. The communist authorities allowed the establishment of the Yishuv, a structure resembling a Jewish autonomous district. It was to be established in Lower Silesia, with its headquarters in Dzierżoniów, where the largest Jewish population resided.

The revival of Jewish life in Lower Silesia was remarkable. The Central Committee of Jews in Poland reactivated the Society for the Protection of Jewish Public Health in Poland, which opened its branches in Lower Silesia in the autumn of 1946. Soon, a network of about fifteen clinics, medical centers, and first-aid stations, including dental clinics, emerged, along with the largest hospital in Wałbrzych, named after Dawid Guzik. The Jewish Religious Community established its headquarters near the Synagogue under the White Stork. By 1948, there were already 26 Jewish schools, including a ballet school and two music schools, where Yiddish and Hebrew were the languages of instruction.

The revival of Jewish life in Lower Silesia was remarkable. The Central Committee of Jews in Poland reactivated the Society for the Protection of Jewish Public Health in Poland, which opened its branches in Lower Silesia in the autumn of 1946. Soon, a network of about fifteen clinics, outpatient clinics, and first-aid stations, including dental clinics, emerged, along with the largest hospital in Wałbrzych, named after Dawid Guzik. The Jewish Religious Congregation was located near the Synagogue under the White Stork. By 1948, there were already 26 Jewish schools, including a ballet school and two music schools, where the languages of instruction were Yiddish and Hebrew.

Jews played a significant role in the post-war cultural life of Lower Silesia. For a short time, Dzierżoniów became the most important Jewish city in Poland. Symche Natan directed the first post-war theatrical performance here, based on a text by Sholem Aleichem, entitled “The Bloody Joke.” Orchestras performed, and choirs sang in Dzierżoniów. By mid-1946, this small town in Lower Silesia was home to dozens of smaller and several larger cultural institutions. From 1946 onwards, the Lower Silesian Jewish Theater (Niderszleziszer Jidiszer Teatr) existed in Wrocław, under the direction of Ida Kamińska, with the renowned director Jakub Rotbaum.

Throughout Lower Silesia, theatrical groups and other local initiatives emerged, including in Wałbrzych, Świdnica, and Zagórze Śląskie. The press flourished, with the newspaper “Nowe Życie – Tribune WKŻ na Dolnym Śląsku” being published in large quantities. The “Niderszlezje” publishing house, which specialized in publications in Yiddish, was also very active. Film productions were also being created. In the famous documentary “Der jidyszer jiszuw in Niderszlezien” from 1946, the integration of the new territories into the Polish state was supported. However, the creation of a Jewish pavilion at the Exhibition of Recovered Territories was blocked by the state authorities. This signaled that the activities of Jews in Lower Silesia, which were so strong in the first year after the war, had to begin to decline from 1946 onwards.

Żydzi przybywający na obszar Dolnego Śląska w pierwszych powojennych miesiącach próbowali odtwarzać swoje życie po tragedii wojny i Holocaustu. Pojawiały się jednak codzienne problemy oraz konieczność odnalezienia się w nowym miejscu, w którym obecni byli jeszcze Niemcy i coraz większe rzesze przesiedlanej ludności polskiej. Były wprawdzie nieliczne próby odwetu na ludności niemieckiej, ale jakakolwiek zemsta nie była tak ważna. Stawała się jednak ona istotnym elementem światowej polityki, na którą zwykli ocalali nie mieli wpływu. Na Dolny Śląsk przybyli Żydzi ortodoksyjni, liberalni oraz grupy lewicowe, przedwojennego PPS-u, Bundu, a także grupy, które jawnie sprzyjały nowemu systemowi. Działały również ugrupowania syjonistyczne, działające na rzecz utworzenia niezależnego państwa żydowskiego na terenie Palestyny. Był to istny tygiel.

Jews arriving in Lower Silesia were quickly allowed to establish a Jewish Religious Congregation. The communist authorities did this as early as February 6, 1945, three months before the Soviet troops captured Wrocław. The religious life of Wrocław’s Jews centered around the only synagogue that survived, the Synagogue under the White Stork. Soon, institutions of the Jewish community began to operate, including the religious school Talmud – Tora. Two Jewish cemeteries also came under the administration of the Congregation: the old cemetery on Ślężna Street and the new cemetery on Lotnicza Street. In addition to the mentioned synagogue, there was also a “small synagogue” – the *Shul*, also known as the day synagogue, located near the synagogue, and prayer rooms in Wrocław’s Ołbin district. The limited damage to this district favored the revival of life, as it was where Polish repatriates settled. Two prayer rooms for Jews were located on Żeromskiego Street and Oleśnicka Street. There were also food warehouses and kosher butcher shops in that area. A *mikveh* (ritual bath) that survived the war, and the Bikur Chojlin Association, which was responsible for the sick and the poorest members of the community, also operated there. Religious services were conducted by Rabbi Szulim Trejstman starting in 1946.

Prężnie rozwijająca się gmina żydowska w Jaworze została zniszczona w czasach rządów nazistowskich. Przetrwały po niej liczne ślady, w tym funkcjonujący od początku XIX w. cmentarz przy obecnej ul. Czesława Miłosza. W wyniku powojennego ruchu ludności w Jaworze osiedliła się kilkusetosobowa grupa Żydów, funkcjonująca w ramach Komitetu Żydowskiego i Kongregacji Wyznania Mojżeszowego. Społeczność ta przejęła cmentarz żydowski, na którym w przededniu święta Jom Kipur, 4 października 1946 r., zorganizowała nietypowy pochówek, na pamiątkę zbrodniczych działań Niemiec w okresie II wojny światowej. W obecności przedstawicieli partii politycznych, organizacji żydowskich i polskich pochowano tałesy oraz pewną partię mydła RIF, która, z dużym prawdopodobieństwem, była wykonana z tłuszczu pomordowanych więźniów. W uroczystości wzięło udział ponad 150 osób. Ta wyjątkowa ceremonia przypominała o losie milionów pomordowanych Żydów, a dla władz komunistycznych miała być także manifestacją wobec zbyt niskich wyroków w Norymberdze dla zbrodniarzy niemieckich. Sam cmentarz wykorzystywany był do roku 1958, a w roku 1974 został ostatecznie zamknięty. Zdewastowany doczekał w 1990 r. wpisu do rejestru zabytków, a w XXI w. częściowej renowacji.

For some, Lower Silesia was the Promised Land, while for others, it was merely a stopover in the vast post-war migration. Between 1946 and 1947, the communist authorities did not place significant obstacles in the way of Jewish emigration, but poverty, exhaustion, and acts of antisemitism discouraged many Jews from staying in Poland. After the Kielce pogrom in July 1946, Jakub Egit pressured the city authorities to provide protection for Jews and for the committees. From that point on, guards armed with weapons stood at the entrance to the Committee, which deepened the frustration and sense of alienation.

The activities of legitimate Zionist organizations in Lower Silesia, as well as the work of Bricha (an organization that helped European Jews emigrate to Palestine) and other institutions assisting in emigration, provided an additional incentive to leave. It is important to remember that during this time, the movement of people, especially Jewish people, was enormous in Lower Silesia. At the beginning of 1949, approximately 50,000 Jews lived in Lower Silesia, but according to one of the last population censuses of Jewish people from the late spring of that year, only 43,135 people of Jewish nationality were registered. At the end of 1948, the Soviet Union’s initially favorable attitude towards Israel also changed. Consequently, the attitude towards the Jewish population in all countries of the Eastern Bloc also changed. Zionist parties were gradually being eliminated and were increasingly viewed unfavorably by the communist authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland.

The massive wave of emigration between 1949 and 1950 led to a drastic reduction in the Jewish population in Wrocław and Lower Silesia, and marked the final end to the hopes of establishing an autonomous Jewish settlement structure in post-war Poland. The dream of a new life proved to be a great illusion.