Locations

Mecklenburg was home to Jewish residents over many centuries, who contributed to regional town life and thus always helped shape the character of Mecklenburg's towns.

While during the first phase of Jewish settlement in Mecklenburg until 1492 there were likely Jewish families settled in almost all towns, truly developed Jewish communities existed only in a few Mecklenburg towns, among others in Teterow and especially in Parchim. This changed in most country towns with the beginning of the Jewish resettlement. After the expulsion of all Jews from Mecklenburg during the Sternberg Host Desecration Trial of 1492 and their subsequent nearly 200-year absence, they gradually returned toward the end of the 18th century. By around 1750, Jews were again living in at least 30 Mecklenburg towns. Even though the magistrates of the country towns were initially rarely pleased about this for various reasons, they ultimately did not dare to oppose the privileges granted by the state government and the Grand Dukes and the associated settlement rights of the new protected Jews (Schutzjuden). In contrast, the seaport cities of Rostock and Wismar -- the latter especially after several pogroms against resident Jews during the first settlement phase -- stubbornly and successfully resisted Jewish immigration, and this until about the middle of the 19th century.

In the second phase of settlement, there was hardly a town in Mecklenburg that did not have at least a small Jewish community. Every town housed, alongside Christian shops, at least one Jewish trading business at its marketplace. With the progressive loosening of professional restrictions, Jewish doctors and lawyers were later especially present in the towns alongside merchants, traders, and manufacturers.

As expected, during the peak of Jewish population development in Mecklenburg around the middle of the 19th century, the numerically largest communities existed in the major cities such as Schwerin and Rostock or in the residential city of Alt-Strelitz. But considerable communities also later emerged in smaller country towns like Stavenhagen and Guestrow.

While the Jewish communities had already shrunk by the end of the 19th century due to migration to major cities or emigration overseas, National Socialism brought the definitive end to every Jewish community in Mecklenburg.

Shortly after the Second World War, a new Jewish state community did form, but due to its few members and the new political conditions in the GDR, it could hardly achieve any significance. Only with German reunification did Jewish communities form again through the immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union, but now only officially in Rostock and Schwerin, as well as a smaller branch of the Schwerin community in Wismar.

By Gramenz, Jürgen / Ulmer, Sylvia (created: Sep 20, 2015)

Altentreptow

Bad Doberan

Bad Sülze

Boizenburg (Elbe)

Brüel

Burg Stargard

Bützow

Crivitz

Dargun

Dassow

Demmin

Dömitz

Feldberg

Friedland

Fürstenberg (Havel)

Gadebusch

Gnoien

Goldberg

Graal-Müritz

Grabow

Grevesmühlen

Güstrow

Hagenow

Insel Poel

Klütz

Krakow am See

Kröpelin

Kühlungsborn

Laage

Ludwigslust

Lübtheen

Lübz

Magdalenenlust

Malchin

Malchow

Marlow

Marnitz

Mirow

Netzeband

Neubrandenburg

Neubukow

Neukalen

Neukloster

Neustadt-Glewe

Neustrelitz

Parchim

Penzlin

Plau am See

Prebberede

Ratzeburg

Rehna

Rerik

Ribnitz-Damgarten

Rossow

Rostock

Röbel (Müritz)

Schwaan

Schwerin

Schönberg

Stavenhagen

Sternberg

Tessin

Teterow

Vellahn

Waren (Müritz)

Warin

Wesenberg

Wismar

Wittenburg

Woldegk

Wredenhagen

Wrodow

Zarrentin am Schaalsee