[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||97px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”22px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][dipi_breadcrumbs bc_home_icon=”off” bc_hover_item_bg_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” items_text_color=”#b0b0b0″ border_color_all_items=”#FFFFFF” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/dipi_breadcrumbs][et_pb_nextend_smart_slider_3 slider=”13″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_free_form=”.selector {|| size: 90%;||}” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_nextend_smart_slider_3][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”Inter|900|||||||” title_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” title_font_size=”32px” module_alignment=”left” custom_padding=”59px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22title_text_color%22%93}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Inter|300|||||||” header_3_font=”Inter|300|||||||” header_3_text_align=”justify” header_3_text_color=”#959595″ custom_margin=”-24px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was marked not only by tremendous intellectual and technological progress but also by the increasing assimilation of the Jewish community with the German inhabitants of the city. The Jews were becoming so integrated into the urban fabric that they no longer constituted a distinct minority, as they had in previous centuries. This was perfectly illustrated by the figure of Julius Schottl\u00e4nder, an industrialist, philanthropist, and the only Jewish owner of a landed estate in Prussia. There was probably no citizen in 19th-century Wroc\u0142aw who was more deserving of recognition. He owned the Southern Park, supported the city’s expansion southward, which resulted in magnificent residential districts full of residences of wealthy and influential inhabitants. Wroc\u0142aw owes him the organization of today’s Grunwald Square district, where he laid out and named two streets after the members of his family: Paulstra\u00dfe and Gertrudenstra\u00dfe (now Micha\u0142a Wroc\u0142awczyka and Benedykta Polaka). By the end of 1913, it seemed that any wave of persecution against the Jewish community would only be a vague memory of a past and tragic history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/historiaodzyskana.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Podcast-6-czesc-1.-Czas-prosperity.mp3″ title=”Part 1. A Time of Prosperity” album_name=”Podcast FBK” _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”–et_global_heading_font|600|||||||” title_text_color=”#FFFFFF” title_font_size=”33px” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.48)” background_image=”https:\/\/historiaodzyskana.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/czas-prosperity.png” background_size=”stretch” background_blend=”darken” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_audio][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/historiaodzyskana.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Podcast-6-czesc-2.-Czas-prosperity.mp3″ title=”Part 2. A Time of Prosperity” album_name=”Podcast FBK” _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”–et_global_heading_font|600|||||||” title_text_color=”#FFFFFF” title_font_size=”33px” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.48)” background_image=”https:\/\/historiaodzyskana.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/czas-prosperity.png” background_size=”stretch” background_blend=”darken” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_audio][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_accordion toggle_icon=”4||divi||400″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”45daa919-3f03-483a-83eb-b203211bb2ae” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22,%22body_link_text_color%22%93}” custom_css_open_toggle=”border: none;” body_link_text_color=”#18a0fb”][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Wroc\u0142aw Department Store” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n
In the late 19th century, Wroc\u0142aw experienced significant economic growth, which was a result of the period of peace in the unified Germany. Legal and social prejudices against Jews, who made up over 5% of the city’s population, had already begun to disappear. At the same time, they were extremely influential, constituting almost half of the wealthy middle class. However, the progressive assimilation of the conservative and liberal communities was much slower than in the western parts of Germany. Wealthy Jews already lived outside the traditional Jewish quarter and moved to the villa district in the south of the city, building magnificent suburban residences.<\/p>\n
The multi-story department stores built in the Old Town were a true testament to the Belle \u00c9poque[1]<\/sup><\/a>, representing the latest architectural concepts. The widespread use of the elevator, invented in the 1850s, and the latest technological solutions made it possible to build increasingly taller department stores with large, glazed surfaces. These attracted a variety of businesses and offered a wide range of products.<\/p>\n [1]<\/sup><\/a>The period in European history that lasted from the end of the 19th century to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was a time of relative peace, prosperity, and technological progress, especially in France and Western Europe.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”The Cohn House” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n In 1903, the Trautner department store was built, a remarkable work by the Jewish architects, the brothers Paul and Richard Ehrlich. They presented their design in 1901 to one of the wealthiest residents of Wroc\u0142aw, Louis Cohn. [1]<\/sup><\/a>On the plot at Rynek 49, they designed a seven-story, glass-fronted department store in the Neomanierist style, with a distinctive glass globe encircled by a film strip. The building impressed with its style, and the department store offered access to luxury goods. It quickly became a valued destination for the wealthy residents of Wroc\u0142aw. After the Nazis seized power, the property was taken from the Jewish owners and transferred to a new, German owner for a small fee.<\/p>\n \n [1]<\/sup><\/a> He is the father of Willy Cohn, who later wrote moving diaries describing, among other things, the period of the destruction of the Jewish community in Wroc\u0142aw in the 1930s.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Lewy's dresses and the empire of the Barasch brothers.” open=”off” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||”]<\/p>\n The former merchant houses, located on the streets of the Old Town and \u015awidnicka suburb, are a testament to the rich history of Jewish Wroc\u0142aw. The Louis Lewy Jr. department store was designed in 1904 on the plot at Rynek 39-40. The store was combined with a tailoring workshop and became famous throughout Germany, mainly due to its women’s coats and unique gloves.<\/p>\n In 1904, the Bracia Barasch Department Store was also established. The Barasch brothers were wealthy owners of several similar establishments throughout Germany. Occupying several plots on Kurzy Targ, Szewska, and Rynek streets, it was one of the largest department stores in Silesia and throughout the empire. It impressed with its delicate combination of light Art Nouveau and the richness of Neo-Baroque. The architect of the building was the Bavarian architect Georg Schneider. The Bracia Barasch Department Store was distinguished not only by its sophisticated and diverse range of goods but, above all, by its characteristic glass globe, supported by four copper sphinxes. It crowned the tower located in the northern part of the building. It was a symbol of the greatness of the family business and a promise of its expansion. Due to interwar reconstruction and a fire, the very image of the globe did not survive, nor did the Art Nouveau facade of the building. In the 1930s, it was taken from its rightful owners and, through forced sale, ended up in German hands. Today, it is the Feniks Department Store.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Rze\u017anicza 32-33 (B\u00fctnerstrasse)” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n Department stores from the early 20th century were characterized by large windows that let in a lot of light into the sales areas and allowed the goods inside to be displayed. In 1901, a multi-purpose building was built at 32-33 Rze\u017anicza Street, serving not only as a retail space but also as an office, warehouse, and production facility. The impressive facade of the building was designed by the Schlesinger & Benedict design firm, commissioned by two Jewish merchants and manufacturers, Leo Schlesinger and David Eljakim Gr\u00fcnbaum. The company mainly produced and sold men’s ready-to-wear clothing in standardized sizes, which was a novelty at the time. The building has many details that combine different eras in the spirit of eclecticism: from the Romanesque period, through the pointed forms of Gothic architecture, and references to mythological figures. This makes it one of the most magnificent examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Wroc\u0142aw. After World War II, the well-preserved building, along with its infrastructure, was reopened in Polish Wroc\u0142aw, and the “Intermoda” Clothing Industry Plant, a state-owned enterprise producing clothing, was opened there.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Pasa\u017c Niepolda” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The residents of Wroc\u0142aw associate the Niepold Passage with a place for nightlife and entertainment. The entire area, located at 51 Ruska Street, owes its name to Wilhelm Niepold, a merchant of colonial goods. In 1903, he purchased the dilapidated buildings of the former orphanage and hospital, and a year later, he built the largest commercial and service arcade in Wroc\u0142aw on their site. It housed several dozen companies, craft workshops, and shops, including a Jewish restaurant. The complex of buildings in the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance, and Art Nouveau styles survived the war. To this day, the building retains a medallion with the image of the founder and figures of two builders holding the attributes of their profession.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Saint Jerome (the Ehrlich brothers)” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The famous brothers Richard and Paul Ehrlich designed many public buildings in Wroc\u0142aw. Their monograms can still be seen today on the former Jewish hospital at Sudecka Street 92-96. In the early 1910s, they were hired by Julius Schottl\u00e4nder, an industrialist, philanthropist, and the only Jewish owner of a landed estate in Prussia. There was probably no citizen in the 19th century who was more deserving of Wroc\u0142aw. He owned the Southern Park, supported the city’s expansion southward, which resulted in impressive residential districts, full of residences of wealthy and influential residents. Wroc\u0142aw owes him the organization of today’s Plac Grunwaldzki district, where he laid out and named two streets after the members of his family: Paulstra\u00dfe and Gertrudenstra\u00dfe (now Micha\u0142a Wroc\u0142awczyka and Benedykta Polaka). He was a philanthropist and founded and funded foundations supporting the Jews of Wroc\u0142aw: the Jewish Home for the Elderly and the Jewish Home for Nursing Sisters.<\/p>\n In 1911, Paul, the son, inherited his father’s empire. A Doctor of Philosophy and honorary senator of the University of Wroc\u0142aw, he opened a new department store at the present-day address of 34 \u015awidnicka Street, which was named in memory of the former St. Jerome’s Hospital that once stood on that site. The modern building, with its reinforced concrete ceilings, was decorated with bas-reliefs by the renowned German sculptor and professor at the Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, Richard Schipke. The artist chose works full of symbolism and allegory, referring to the function of the building and the achievements of the Belle \u00c9poque. The sculpture of Hermes symbolized trade, and the sculpture of a man with a hammer and a cogwheel represented the developing industry. <\/em>The unusual combination of the Greek god Zeus and a locomotive symbolized two further human achievements: the harnessing of electricity and the energy of coal and steam. The beauty of the architecture and sculpture complemented the art galleries, cafes, and luxury shops. This place quickly attracted the wealthiest residents of Wroc\u0142aw.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”The Real \u201cChameleon\u201d” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The first years after the end of World War I were a time of crisis, hyperinflation, and unemployment. The situation improved only in the mid-1920s, when global markets stabilized and the German state returned to international trade. The metropolis, which, after the change of German borders and Poland regaining its independence, became one of the most important eastern German cities, gained new opportunities for development. The number of residents increased, and new commercial enterprises were established.<\/p>\n The emerging potential was utilized by the Jewish entrepreneur, Rudolf Petersdorf. He entrusted the design of the new department store on O\u0142awska Street to Erich Mendelsohn, a distinguished Jewish designer who was one of the creators of modernism in architecture and the author of designs for numerous public buildings throughout Germany. In Wroc\u0142aw, he designed a building, drawing inspiration from American solutions and trams, combining functionality with minimalism. The opening of the new shopping center was planned for the evening, and the mystery was enhanced by covering the building’s structure with a black cloth. The glazed building broke the rectangular form with a rounded structure, and when illuminated, it looked very modern. The architect achieved everything that Petersdorf wanted. The futuristic form and large glazed windows attracted crowds of customers. The entrepreneur could compete with the largest in the industry. Mendelsohn’s timeless work has survived; today, it is still a distinctive department store known as Dom Handlowy Kameleon.<\/p>\n \n \n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Wertheim” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n Georg Wertheim was a Jewish entrepreneur from Stralsund who revolutionized the way his parents’ small shop was run by introducing the possibility of exchanging goods, fixed prices, and a quality guarantee. He quickly gained recognition and became the owner of large department stores. The competition for the design of his new department store was won by Hermann Derenburg from Berlin. In eight months, despite the Great Depression, a building was constructed on \u015awidnicka Street. The owner spared no expense and bought a steel mill and a brick factory to speed up the construction work. Opened in 1930, Wertheim impressed with its simple modernist design and luxurious interior. The restaurant on the fifth and sixth floors was particularly impressive, from which, in good weather, one could see the panorama of the Karkonosze Mountains. Rich decorations combined modernism with Art Deco ideas, especially in the form of the sculptures above the entrance on \u015awidnicka Street. During World War II, the department store was severely damaged, but it was rebuilt and restored to its former function. The Universal Department Store “Pedet,” now called “Renoma,” still dominates the southern part of \u015awidnicka Street.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Old cemetery” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n It miraculously survived the torrent of history, which could have washed it away from the urban landscape, leaving only a memory in the annals of history. Nazi laws, the actions of the SA, Kristallnacht, and finally the capture of Festung Breslau and post-war devastation could have contributed to the destruction of this place. The passion of a few people, including Dr. Maciej \u0141agiewski, and the interest of German, left-wing politicians in the grave of Ferdinand Lassalle, the founder of the first socialist party in history, saved this unique place. The necropolis was entered in the register of monuments in 1975, and in 1984, on the 120th anniversary of the death of the Wroc\u0142aw socialist, renovation work began. Today, it is the Museum of Cemetery Art, part of the Wroc\u0142aw City Museum, and also one of the most famous Jewish cemeteries in the city.<\/p>\n \n The cemetery on Lohestrasse, today\u2019s \u015al\u0119\u017cna Street, was established in 1856 on the grounds of the village of Gajowice (Gabitz), because the older cemetery on Gwarna Street was no longer sufficient for the Jewish community. The first person buried there was Lobel Stern, a 35-year-old accountant. In the presence of Rabbi Abraham Geiger, the author of the eulogy, the cemetery was officially consecrated and its operation inaugurated. It was used until 1942, but even at the beginning of the 20th century, this cemetery had become too small, so the community opened a new one on Lotnicza Street in 1902.<\/p>\n \n In the history of Wroc\u0142aw and Lower Silesia, this cemetery is unique. It functioned during a time when large Jewish estates were being established, and traditional communities were engaged in disputes with the followers of Haskalah. The cemetery is a testament to the emancipation of German Jews, becoming a true pantheon of distinguished Wroc\u0142aw residents and an enduring treasure trove of sepulchral art. The oldest tombstones have the typical form of simple upright gravestones, with Hebrew inscriptions, a date from the Jewish calendar, and simple, barely noticeable ornaments. On the tombstones from the early 20th century, greater diversity can be seen, and they begin to acquire individual characteristics, reflecting the styles of many eras, even incorporating Sephardic influences (derived from the medieval, Islamic, and Mozarabic cultural sphere of the Iberian Peninsula). German became more common, placed alongside the Hebrew inscriptions, as well as the dates from the Gregorian calendar. In connection with regulations that established the height of the cemetery fence at 150 cm, the municipality allowed the burial of the deceased near the wall. The order did not specify the height of the graves, so high monuments began to be erected on the borders of the plot.<\/p>\n \n It is impossible to list all the great people buried in the cemetery on \u015al\u0119\u017cna Street; among them are doctors, lawyers, outstanding scientists, musicians and artists, poets and writers, the parents of a saint, activists fighting for human rights, philanthropists and industrialists. Ferdinand Lassalle, the founder of the first workers’ party in Germany, Clara Sachs, an excellent impressionist, and the parents of Edith Stein, Augusta and Siegfried, are buried here. The great Julius Schottl\u00e4nder, an industrialist and philanthropist, and Ferdinand Julius Cohn, a botanist and Robert Koch’s collaborator in research on a vaccine for anthrax, also have their graves here. Finally, Friederike Kempner, the “Jewish nightingale” and “Silesian swan” \u2013 a poet, writer, and pro-democratic, emancipation activist \u2013 rests here.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”New cemetery” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n It had to be created due to the growing number of members of the community, which in the late 19th century reached over twenty thousand. Challenges arose right from the beginning, as the city, interested in creating a third municipal cemetery, drew attention to the possibility of purchasing a plot of land in G\u0105d\u00f3w, belonging to Count Remus von Woyrsch from Pilczyce. At the same time, the Jewish community also wanted to buy it and concluded an agreement with the city council, under which the city council purchased the land but resold part of it to the community for the needs of the Jewish cemetery. Finally, in 1898, the transaction was completed. However, the plot was reduced to accommodate the future expansion of Lotnicza Street, which was the main route leading from Wroc\u0142aw to Berlin.<\/p>\n \n Another problem turned out to be more serious and costly. The Wroc\u0142aw commandant protested because the cemetery was adjacent to a military area. The possibility of contaminating drinking water sources could also have been a reason for halting the construction. A compromise was reached, and drainage was installed, which ultimately ended the dispute. The author of the cemetery design, as well as the most important buildings \u2013 the chapel, the funeral home, and the headquarters \u2013 was Paul Ehrlich, a building advisor and a well-known architect of Jewish origin. Hugo Richter, an outstanding Silesian patriot and activist who was then serving as the director of municipal gardening, was responsible for the landscaping and greenery. Hans Rumsch, the president of the Association of Artistic Crafts, was the author of the large mural under the dome of the cemetery chapel. The total cost of the entire project amounted to 445,948 marks. For comparison, a skilled worker earned less than 100 marks per month at that time.<\/p>\n \n The official opening of the cemetery on February 14, 1902, brought together crowds of Wroc\u0142aw residents, not only of Jewish origin. Among the invited guests were Julius Schottl\u00e4nder, Emil Sachs, and Max Cohn. The cemetery was very innovative from an engineering point of view, as many cost-saving solutions were applied. For example, sewage and excess rainwater were collected in special settling tanks and drained through pipes laid below the burial level, which was a sanitary requirement and one of the elements of the agreement with the military. The cemetery had a modern pumping and treatment plant, designed by the outstanding Wroc\u0142aw professor of chemistry, Franz Hulwa, a member of the board of the Silesian Fish Breeders Association. His fondness for wine and fish ponds contributed to the creation of small treatment plants serving various facilities. One of the first was installed underground in the cemetery. Many plants were planted, and thanks to the involvement of Paul Ehrlich, greenhouses were built in the cemetery, and plants were grown independently. Soon, a greenhouse and a boiler room were added. The entire complex of buildings of the cemetery was completed by 1928.<\/p>\n \n The history of the necropolis is intertwined with the turbulent history of the 20th century. After World War I, an honorary field was established here, commemorating the German soldiers of Jewish origin who died in the Great War. A cenotaph, a symbolic tomb, was created, and its authors were the Ehrlich brothers. One of the extremely rare tombs is a tohel, which is the only known building in Lower Silesia erected above a tombstone to emphasize the merits of the deceased. This one in Wroc\u0142aw stands above the grave of Mina Ciry Majzel, who was the wife of the rabbi of \u0141\u00f3d\u017a. A medical facility was also opened on the cemetery grounds. Victims of labor camps and those who died during 1945 were also buried here. After the end of the war, the cemetery, which was in good condition, was subjected to continuous acts of vandalism. Despite this, the cemetery remained in operation, and Jews who arrived in Lower Silesia were buried there. In 1983, it was entered in the register of monuments, and in 1996 it was transferred to the Union of Jewish Religious Communities. Reconstruction work is ongoing.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Kirkut in Jelenia G\u00f3ra” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n In Jelenia G\u00f3ra, a town located in an intermountain basin, the Jewish cemetery, preserved after the war, sometimes became a burial place for new residents of the city. The post-Yalta change of borders and population movements meant that German-speaking residents of Lower Silesia were replaced by Poles, as well as surviving Jews, who settled in large numbers in this native “wild west.” If they formed a cohesive group, they buried their loved ones in the surviving cemeteries.<\/p>\n \n The new cemetery, located on present-day Sudecka Street, was established in 1879. The old cemetery, located near Nowowiejska Street, was already too small for the growing Jewish community. The impressive cemetery, with its mortuary maintained in the Neoclassical style, was served by the chewra kadisha, which had been established in the early 19th century. The old cemetery did not survive the war, but the new one was preserved in good condition. After the end of the war, Jews who came from the former territories of the Second Polish Republic were buried there. However, the number of members of the community decreased, and maintaining the cemetery required time and money. The city authorities closed it in the 1950s, and in the 1970s it was destroyed by administrative decision because it was said to have a “negative impact on the appearance of the city and its recreational and tourist values” (similar treatment was given to the Evangelical cemeteries).<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Balloon ride ” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”on”]<\/p>\n Six years after the invention of the balloon, the Frenchman Pierre Blanchard made a flight in Wroc\u0142aw, during which he admired the panorama of the city and its surroundings. The balloon landed in Marcinkowice, a small village near Trzebnica, and was accompanied by crowds of residents until the end. In the 19th century, ballooning became widespread. In 1879, one of the first tourist flights took place, which was commemorated on a commemorative medal, distributed to the participants of the flight and to all who came to watch it. It featured a panorama of Wroc\u0142aw along with an image of the New Synagogue, also known as the Synagogue on Wygonie (am Anger), which was the second largest in Germany and the largest in Silesia.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Jews in the service of the emperor.” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n Throughout Europe, numerous pogroms against the Jewish population took place. Antisemitism, human envy, and xenophobia have existed for centuries, and during times of crisis, scapegoats were sought to alleviate human frustration. However, there were also times when Jews lived relatively well. In the Wilhelmine Empire, many Jews underwent a process of assimilation, which made them Germans or German Jewish citizens. Many of them were decorated for their courage and self-sacrifice on the battlefields during the wars of unification and the Great War. In the end, many Jews supported their country’s efforts in building its power; these included, for example, Fritz Haber, a Nobel laureate and inventor of mustard gas, the well-known businessman and Buddhist Walter Tausk, or the historian and respected teacher, Willy Cohn. However, all of them may have been disappointed by the state, which ultimately contributed to their deaths.<\/p>\n \n Before the Nazi Party came to power, almost 40,000 Jews lived in Lower Silesia. The largest community was in Wroc\u0142aw, where there were nearly 30,000 (in 1925, about 23-25 thousand, which was 4% of the city’s total population). The German Empire, and later the German Republic, were their homeland. To a large extent, they were assimilated; some of them abandoned Judaism, choosing Christianity or remaining religiously indifferent. They differed almost nothing from their non-Jewish neighbors, because they were Germans. But this was only an illusion of a shared home\u2026<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Nobel laureates” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world of science. Over the past 120 years, nearly 1,000 people have been awarded the prize, including several Poles. However, the history of Nobel laureates from Lower Silesia is less known, and a significant group among them were members of the Jewish community.<\/p>\n The academic community in the Silesian capital flourished throughout the 19th century and up to the 1930s. For Jews, one of the avenues for advancement was a scientific career. In the Prussian society, which was based on feudal traditions, academic titles represented a unique path to social recognition, which was not accessible to most of the former social classes, including Jews. Possessing these titles not only conferred prestige and status in Germany but also opened doors to social circles. This was particularly important for conducting scientific research and artistic activities.<\/p>\n Among the fourteen Nobel laureates associated with Lower Silesia, five of them had Jewish roots: four were associated with the natural sciences, and one with the economic sciences. Paul Ehrlich, born in Strzelin, was a distinguished chemist and bacteriologist. He became famous for his pioneering research on the immunity of organisms, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1908. He was also recognized as one of the fathers of chemotherapy. His research concerned substances of inorganic origin that helped to combat difficult-to-cure diseases, including syphilis.<\/p>\n Fritz Haber\u2019s research was applied in agriculture, and the synthesis of ammonia increased crop yields almost fourfold. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his discovery. Haber\u2019s next work involved the use of chemical weapons during World War I, specifically in the battles of Ypres and Bolim\u00f3w. Further research was intended to contribute to German victory. Haber\u2019s wife, Clara, who was an accomplished chemist, could not accept his actions and committed suicide. Further research on insecticides was interrupted by the rise of the Nazis, and Haber was forced to emigrate, where he died in 1934. The insecticide, Zyklon B, which Haber\u2019s colleagues continued to work on, was used by the Germans in the horrific machinery of the Holocaust to kill people in gas chambers.<\/p>\n Otto Stern was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1943 for his contribution to the development of the molecular beam method and the discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton. The physicist, who came from \u017bory, studied in Wroc\u0142aw, first at the renowned Johannes Gymnasium, where representatives of many faiths learned and taught in a spirit of tolerance. Among those who worked there was the famous historian and author of a diary, Willy Cohn. Although the school that Stern attended had a humanities focus, he completed his studies in physical chemistry and later obtained a doctorate from the Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universit\u00e4t. He collaborated with many outstanding scientists, including Albert Einstein. The rise to power of the NSDAP forced Stern to emigrate to the United States, where he continued his work in the field of molecular physics. He was one of the absolute record holders in the number of nominations for the Nobel Prize, having received as many as 82.<\/p>\n In 1954, the Nobel Committee awarded two prizes in the field of physics. Walter Bothe received one for his coincidence method and the discoveries made using this method, and Max Born received the other for his fundamental research in the field of quantum mechanics, in particular for his statistical interpretation of the wave function. Born, who came from Wroc\u0142aw, became one of the three great physicists who created quantum mechanics. His work became the foundation of modern physics. He was another outstanding German scientist who, due to his origin, was forced to emigrate. In 1933, he went to Great Britain, where he worked, among other places, in Cambridge and Edinburgh. After the war, he returned to Germany and worked in G\u00f6ttingen, where, aware of the destructive power of nuclear weapons, he became, together with Albert Einstein, one of the signatories of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. The document became the beginning of a global discussion on arms control and the pursuit of gradual disarmament.\u00a0<\/p>\n The last of the Nobel laureates, Reinhard Selten, was born in Wroc\u0142aw in 1930. His father was Jewish, and his mother was Protestant. As a young man, he experienced the difficult fate of a mixed-race individual, and therefore, although he was gifted in mathematics, he could not develop his interests at school. His father’s death probably saved him from deportation to a concentration camp, which befell most of the Jews of Wroc\u0142aw in 1942. He left with his mother and survived the last years of the war by hiding in Saxony, Austria, and Hesse. In 1961, he was invited to a conference on game theory at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA. Selten became interested in game theory, for research in which he received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 (together with John Harsanyi and John Nash). He only visited Wroc\u0142aw in the 1990s, promoting his second passion after economics \u2013 the Esperanto language.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Other scholars.” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n It is impossible to list all the outstanding figures in science and the arts of Jewish origin who were born or developed their careers in Wroc\u0142aw and Lower Silesia. Among the great scientists is also Ferdinand Lassalle, the founder of the socialist movement, whose slogans and actions were adopted as the banner of the European labor movement. He died tragically as a result of a lost duel over the affections of his beloved and was buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery at the present-day ul. \u015al\u0119\u017cna. The outstanding dermatologist and venereologist Albert Neisser also lived and worked in Wroc\u0142aw, and he contributed to the understanding of the mechanism of action of bacteria that cause syphilis. The outstanding artists, Clara Sachs and Eugen Spiro, left behind a vast collection of paintings and graphics, known throughout the world and still adorning many galleries and museums today. There were also many women among the scientific elite: Edith Stein, a philosopher, a saint of the Catholic Church, and the patron saint of Europe, murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau, born in Wroc\u0142aw’s O\u0142bin, and Clara Immerwahr, a doctor of chemistry, an outstanding researcher of sparingly soluble salts.<\/p>\n In 2019, on the 132nd anniversary of the birth of Hedwig Kohn, another Wroc\u0142aw-based researcher, the largest internet search engine, Google, honored her with a special graphic. Hedwig Kohn deserved such recognition because she was an outstanding physicist, a researcher of spectrophotometry, and one of the three women in Germany who obtained a habilitation in physics before 1933, which allowed her to independently teach the subject. She supervised many doctoral dissertations. However, due to her Jewish origin, she had to flee Germany and in 1940, she left for Sweden, and from there, via the USSR, she traveled by the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok, from where she sailed to the USA.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”Assimilation” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n It seemed, however, that the 19th century brought change to Germany, especially after the Hohenzollerns\u2019 emancipation policies and the unification of the empire. Wroc\u0142aw, with its strong, albeit heterogeneous, Jewish community, was no exception. Jewish families, undergoing a process of assimilation into Silesian and German culture, held a strong position in society and contributed to the atmosphere of the Wilhelminian era. At the beginning of the 20th century, almost half of the Jews actively practiced Judaism, while the rest were indifferent or had converted to Christianity. Emerging large fortunes, such as that of the Schottl\u00e4nder family, supported the development of the city and the region. It seemed that the old times would never return, especially since the Empire was far from the persecutions observed, for example, in Russia or in France with the Dreyfus affair.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title=”The New Synagogue (also known as the Synagogue on Wygon, located on present-day \u0141\u0105kowa Street).” open_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” closed_toggle_text_color=”#1f1f1f” closed_toggle_background_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e%22:%91%22toggle_text_color%22%93}” toggle_text_color=”gcid-5a9fdf91-df28-41b5-b5fe-62687ea35f4e” toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” toggle_font_size=”21px” closed_toggle_font=”Inter||||||||” open=”off”]<\/p>\n The impressive building was erected in 1872 on the initiative of a group of Wroc\u0142aw Jews who were involved in the Haskalah movement as early as the 1840s. The liberal and growing community needed a place for prayer. In 1864, for a considerable sum for the time, 240,000 thalers, the construction of the synagogue began, which could accommodate 1,850 people (1,050 men and 800 women). In a competition, the design of a well-known Jewish architect, Edwin Oppler, who was an advocate of assimilation with German culture, was selected. Oppler said: “German Jews, in a German state, also build in a German style,” and therefore he considered the Neoromanesque building to be authentically German. The monumental structure was distinguished by a dome with a diameter of 18 m, rising to a height of 73 m.<\/p>\n \n The official opening of the synagogue took place on September 29, 1872, with the participation of the Orthodox rabbi, Gedaliah Tiktin, and the rabbi of the liberal community, Manuel Joel. It was a gesture of reconciliation that ended a long-standing dispute within the Jewish community of Wroc\u0142aw. The synagogue impressed with its style, execution, and the paintings by Gisbert M\u00fcnster. It dominated the area of today’s \u0141\u0105kowa, Podwale, and Tadeusz Ko\u015bciuszko streets. It became a significant symbol of the Jewish presence in Wroc\u0142aw. For this reason, it had to disappear during the Kristallnacht, on November 9, 1938, in Nazi Germany. The walls of the synagogue were so strong that sappers were employed to carry out its demolition.<\/p>\n \n The distinguished historian, Willy Cohn, wrote in his memoirs:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThere were serious riots last night! The milkman told my wife this morning that the New Synagogue was set on fire, and the shops were vandalized.\u201d<\/p>\n November 10th<\/p>\n It seems that something bad is happening in the city! The new synagogue is still burning! [\u2026]All Jewish shops have been destroyed, as reported today in the \u201cNeueste Nachrichte,\u201d and the New Synagogue continues to burn. Apparently, all synagogues have been destroyed.<\/p>\n November 11th<\/p>\n The dome of the New Synagogue has collapsed, and the interior is completely burned out. [\u2026]I no longer believe in the rebuilding of Jewish life in Germany. [\u2026]The atmosphere in the streets is [\u2026]very anti-Semitic, and people are rejoicing in what has happened to the Jews. [1]<\/sup><\/a>A terrible description of the collapse of the New Synagogue, where my father used to pray and which is associated with my earliest memories.<\/p>\n \n