The community consisted of 22 families, 160 people in total. Jews paid a poll tax of 12 groschen per person and a yearly fee to the dominion – 2 thalers and 20 silver groschen plus one groschen for the cemetery. In addition, they paid municipal taxes and 2 silver groschen per family to the Municipal Council.

It is uncertain when the local Jews built the first synagogue. According to preserved sources from 1824, the community concluded an agreement with the von Schlichting family for the purchase of a square at the end of Pfortengasse, 19 cubits wide and 53 cubits long (Wrocław measurement system). The lot had the number 58. At that point, there was already an old synagogue standing in the square; it was to be replaced with a new house of prayer at the expense of the community. It was to be 15 cubits wide and 23 cubits long.

In 1890, only 21 Jews lived in Szlichtyngowa. In the years 1912–1913, it was decided to merge the local Jewish community with the community in nearby Wschowa. In 1913, the synagogue plot was sold at an auction. The further history of the building is unknown. Before World War II, only one Jewish family lived in Szlichtyngowa. During the war, they were deported to Berlin, and then transported to the Nazi German Auschwitz extermination camp in 1944.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Szlichtyngowa is located in the forest 1 km north-west of the town, in the area belonging to the village of Górczyna. In order to reach it, it is necessary to go to the end of Leśna Street in Górczyna and then turn left onto a dirt road near the last houses. The cemetery has an area of 0.18 ha and is the only out of a dozen pre-war Jewish cemeteries from the borderlands of Silesia and Greater Poland to have survived in a good condition to the present day. It was established in the 18th century. The whole area is surrounded by a stone and brick wall 1.5 meters high; on the south-east side there is an entrance gate. In the inspection of the cemetery conducted in 2018, about 50 complete matzevot and several dozen fragments were recorded. All the slabs are made of sandstone and the inscriptions are in Hebrew and German. Few are ornamented. Granite or marble matzevot have not survived. The oldest tombstone dates back to 1751 and stands on the grave of Rachel, daughter of David. One of the newest tombstones, dating from 1923, marks the resting place of Rosa Goldstein. The last burial in the cemetery took place in 1934, but the monument has not survived. Several monumental oaks grow on the premises.

At the meeting of the Wschowa District Council of 27 April 1972 (resolution no. 60/53/72), a decision was made to liquidate the cemetery. However, it was eventually withdrawn, and in 1989 the cemetery was entered into the register of monuments under the number 1156/A. In the 1990s, four 19th-century matzevot from Wschowa were laid at the cemetery.

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