The first Jews began to settle in Szubin around the middle of the 18th century. Members of the Mycielski family owned the town at that time. The first Jew to settle in the town was Schewach, a petty trader, with his family (his wife, two sons, two daughters). Soon after, Süsskind, Falk and Jacob moved there. The foundations of the Jewish community began to form. In 1750, a cemetery was founded on land donated by Count Mycielski, and a house of prayer was built in 1769.

After a fire consumed the town in 1795, most Jews moved to neighbouring towns. A while later, new settlers appeared. They were Jews expelled from Bohemia in the 18th century. They first settled in West Prussia in Człuchów; however, restrictions against Jews that were part of the politics of the Hohenzollerns forced them to migrate east.

In 1843, a new synagogue was built with no exterior decoration. Contemporaries compared it to a granary. From 1818, there was a one-room Jewish school (Volkschule) in Szubin. During the first decades of its existence, approximately 90 students attended it. The teachers were Gabriel Engel and Loeb J. Brannhardt. The community was officially recognized on 6 September 1834. It also included a number of towns in Szubin County. The largest number of Jews outside of Szubin lived in Rynarzewo (11 in 1886, 8 in 1891), Samoklęski and Godzimierz. In 1857, the community numbered 525 people (98 families), 200 (45 families) in 1901, 215 in 1903, and 187 in 1905.

For many years the kahal included M. Marcus (from 1873 until 1909), C. Lehmann, M. Meyer and S. Rynarzewsky. The kehilla could be proud of its celebrated rabbis and Talmudists. The first was Mosze. He was succeeded by Leser Perl, who had lived in Szubin since approximately 1820. Both were likely advocates of strict religion, which is supported by their correspondence and close relationship with the Orthodox rabbi of Poznań, Akida Eger (1815–1837). Benjamin Mielciner, the next rabbi of Szubin, combined his knowledge of the Talmud with secular education. He incorporated some reforms into his synagogue rituals; for example, he delivered derashot in German. His son, Moses Mielciner, was born in Szubin on 12 August 1828 and died on 18 February 1903 in Cincinnati. After leaving Germany, he settled in the United States. He belonged to a group of some of the most influential American rabbis. He was a professor of Asian languages and the author of numerous works. Szubin also had Dr Ascher (Adolf) Singer as its rabbi, who later also held office in Schildberg and Buchsweiler, where he died in 1889. For a long time, after having completed studies in Wrocław in 1866, S. Sarasohn held the position of chazan and preacher in Szubin. After leaving the town, he became the head chazan in Szczecin. Rabbi Salo Marcus and rabbi Samuel Caro of Sępólno Krajeński, who died in 1887, were also connected with Szubin. Another celebrated community member was Loeb J. Brannhardt, a teacher (born 12 February 1806 in Szubin). His grandparents came from Prague. He began his studies in the local Talmudic school of rabbi Nathan Gaon. He continued his studies in Berlin with rabbi Affa Rosenstein. It is there that he began his secular studies with Zunz and Heinrich Heine. Later he went to England and France. After returning to Szubin, he took over as the head of the Jewish community school on 1 May 1835. The future general von Wittach was one of his students. In 1885, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his career and retired soon after. Other teachers included Gabriel Engel (who later moved to Czarnkowo) and Berenstein (who later moved to Łobżenica).

In 1848, of the 201 buildings in the town, Jews owned 30. They were worth 93,000 thalers, of a total sum of 367,225 thalers.

In the Jewish community, several associations were set up in the 19th century. These included the burial society Chevra Kadisha (led by Meyer Israel and his successor, Moritz Pelz), the First Israeli Women’s Society (led by R. Konicka) and the Second Israeli Women’s Second (led by B. Pelz).

Some memorable events occurred in March of 1816. Two days before Pesach, Szubin’s Jews were attacked by Poles. The allegations of ritual murder by Jews were the motive behind the incident. The accusations came from one “Long John”, who testified that local Jews killed his six-month-old child and hid the body in an oven in Hirsch’s home. Two witnesses supported this claim, who allegedly helped him pull the burning body out of the oven. News of the accusation spread quickly, and an armed mob headed towards the Jewish homes. Residents barricaded themselves inside. About 20 Jewish men gathered together in self-defence. A scuffle ensued. Finally, the mayor arrested “Long John” and interrogated him. He and his two witnesses claimed to have found the child at Hirsch’s. During the interrogation, “Long John’s“ wife appeared. She testified that her husband hid and then killed their child to extort ransom from the Jews. He was arrested and put in prison. The Jews were cleared of the charges brought forth against them[1.1].

The Revolutions of 1848 were part of the history of Szubin’s Jews. In opposition to Polish partisans, local Germans and Jews created a militia. German flags hung from the evangelical church, the synagogue and many other buildings. Residents of the town were divided into two opposing camps. The Germans nominated Goeldner, a court official, as their leader. Local administrative officials became officers, and Braunhardt, a Jewish teacher, became a non-commissioned officer. For six weeks, Germans stood guard day and night, protecting the town and its surroundings against attacks by the Poles. As a result of the riots, one Jewish man, Josef, was killed.

After Poland regained independence, most of the Jewish residents of Szubin moved to Germany. At the beginning of 1921, 100 Jews lived in Szubin; by the end of 1921 – 77, in 1923 – 53, in 1924 – 45, at the beginning of 1925 – 68, in the autumn of 1925 – 40, in 1928 – 35, in 1931 – 32 and in 1939 – between 27 and 31. Community officials also left the town. The last Shubin rabbi, Louis Schmuhl, who had held office since 1901, left before 1921. He was born on 4 May 1875 in Łódz (the son of Icek and Ester née Herber). Before arriving in Szubin, he fulfilled a number of different religious tasks in Gostynin (from 14 September to 31 December 1918), in Borek Wielkopolski (from January 1919 to 30 April 1920) and in Śrem (from 1 October 1920 to 1 September 1921). After his departure in 1922, Calel Jakub Fuks succeeded him as the religion teacher for a few months.

From 1923, Szubin no longer had a teacher or a mohel. Chazan J. Moses also left the town. Members of the kehilla individually paid for their children’s education and a mohel.

The Jewish kehilla in Szubin expanded in 1932. The communities of Barcin, Łabiszyn, Kcynia, Nakło, Mrocza, Łobżenica and Wyrzysk were all incorporated into it. The reorganized kehilla numbered 251 members in 1934, 257 in 1939, and 255 in 1939. Only after reforms were put into place was formal religious supervision restored. Rabbi Efraim Sonnenschein of Bydgoszcz travelled to Szubin. Four times a year, he monitored the slaughtering of animals and religious schooling. Chazans were enlisted in Kcynia (Abraham Lubiński, later Wrocławski), Nakło (Fiszel Jungerlewi, later Srebrnik) and Łobżenica (Flaszer). The last supervisor of the Jewish schooling system was Filip Sommerfeld in 1921. The Jewish school was closed on 1 November 1922. The Jewish students were transferred to an evangelical school.

The last kahal before the war, elected on 13 June 1937, consisted of Manela Rozenberg (chairman) of Nakło, Józef Lewy of Nakło, oMichał Moses of Łobżenica, Joseph Louis of Łabiszyn, Raphael Moses of Kcynia, Szyja Szmulewicz of Kcynia, Maks Kronheim of Radziszyn, Leon Kałowski of Mroczy and Jakub Piechotka of Nakło (with deputies: Dawid Kolażewski of Kcynia, Julius Risenburger of Mrocza, Pinkus Frizt of Łobżenica, Dawid Sztybel of Nakło, Josek Liwszak of Kcynia, Leo Mertin of Nakła and Fabisz Szulcyngier of Szubin.) The kehilla’s estate in 1931 was comprised of a synagogue with half a morgen of land (worth approximately 3,000 zlotys), a residential house at 5 Winnicy Street (1,000 zlotys), a residential house under construction (3,000 zlotys), a forest of about four morgens (1,500 zlotys), and synagogue furnishings (5,000 zlotys). In 1939, the property of the enlarged kehilla was estimated to be worth 64,000 zlotys, movable property at 55,000 zlotys, while some estimated it to be worth 119,400 zlotys and 15,730 zlotys, respectively.

In the 1930s, a boycott against trade with Jews was organized. Traders had to undergo a selection process to be able to trade at local markets. Only Christians were permitted into the marketplace. The traders appealed to a senator in the Polish parliament[[bios:168|Mojżesza Schorra]]. On 12 April 1936, he asked the Ministry of the Interior and the Provincial Governor of Poznań to investigate the matter. The intervention meant that Jews in Szubin were no longer hindered in their freedom of trade. The intervention meant that Jews in Szubin were no longer hindered in their freedom to trade.

Between 8–12 September 1939, the Selbschutz, aided by the Wehrmacht, murdered seven Poles and Jews. The town was incorporated directly into the Third Reich. In the following days, Samuel Szulsinger, among others, was murdered. The remaining Jews were resettled in December 1939. According to some sources, this occurred in November. They ended up in Gorzków in Krasnystaw County, together with Jews from Konin, Słupca and Łódz[1.2].

Bibliography

• A. Heppner, I. Herzberg, Aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart der Juden in den Posener Landen, Koschmin – Bromberg (1904–1908).
• T. Kawski, Gminy żydowskie pogranicza Wielkopolski, Mazowsza i Pomorza w latach 1918–1942, Toruń (2007).