The Jews must have lived in Strzelce Opolskie already in the Middle Ages, however, no sources are available which could prove the information about their stay in the town at that time.

In 1742, during the First Silesian War, the majority of Silesia (except Cieszyn Silesia and the Duchy of Troppau) came under the Prussian rule.
The Silesian Jews were delighted with the Prussian sovereignty because they hoped that their life would improve. Rabbi Marcus Brann, a Jewish historian, described their expectation in the following way: “the Jews who had been oppressed turned to a young Prussian king, who entered Silesia in December; they were full of hope and trust that the flame of justice and mildness would light dark paths of their lives” [[refr:"nazwa"|M.Heitmann, H.Lordick, Przyczynek do historii Żydów na Śląsku [w:] Przebudź się serce moje i pomyśl, Berlin, Opole 1995, s. 52 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 35.]].

At first the Prussian authorities did not pay any attention to the Silesian Jews, but later Frederick II introduced some measures to limit freedoms enjoyed by the Jewish community, by imposing various types of taxes, which contributed to the economic benefits of the state.
The Kingdom of Prussia introduced its first legal regulation concerning the Jews in 1748. The document obliged of the Jews, who had been living in Silesia for at least a year, to pay equivalent of 10% of their property, in case they would emigrate. Special restrictions were imposed on those Jews who did not succeeded in their business. Those who bankrupted or were found guilty of avarice, lost their right to live in Silesia and had to leave the country. [[refr:"nazwa"|Archiwum Państwowe w Gliwicach, Akta Miasta Gliwice sygn. 6246, 6247, 6248, 6249 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 35.]].
In such circumstances in the first half of the 18th century the owner of the property of Strzelce Opolskie, Duke Karl Samuel Colonna, permitted craftsmen to settle in front of the Gate of Kraków (Cracow) in Strzelce Opolskie. There were also the Jews among the craftsmen who were settling there. Duke Colonna had a house built in the suburbs for the craftsmen who wanted to settle in the town, because if they settled in the suburbs (outside the borders of the town) they did not have to pay taxes on their products and goods. The first Jew whose name was mentioned in historical records was Salomon, brought to the town by Duke Colonna in 1749. Salomon hired a house from the Duke and was engaged in the sale of beer in the center of the town. However, when the townsmen of Strzelce started protesting the Higher State Office decided to annul the lease agreement on the renting of the house to Salomon, who had to leave the town [[refr:"nazwa"|Piotr Smykała, Żydzi strzeleccy.]].

On April 17, 1750 the Prussian authorities issued The Prussian Main Regulations and General Privileges, which specified in details the legal, social, political and economic situation of the Jews. This is what Jacob Jacobson wrote about these Regulations: „As in all other parts of Germany the Regulations were formulated in such a way that they helped to sustain a definite number of the Jews living in the state, permitted them to run specified activities within the economic system of the state and imposed the highest possible taxes in return for the state protection and the permission to stay in Silesia.” [[refr:"nazwa"|J.Jacobson, Die Judenburger-Bucher der Stadt Berlin, Berlin 1962 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 36.]].
The most important legal deed which defined the status of the Jews in Silesia (except for Wrocław and Głogów) was so-called “Juden Reglement” issued on December 2, 1751. It compelled landowners and magistrates to notify the county eldership office and the Royal Office of Tolerance of any Jew who had settled in the area within 14 days. If a Jew wanted to settle in Silesia, he had to be a craftsman and have at least 200 thalers. Within 14 days he had to appear in a suitable Landrath (equivalent to today’s county eldership), and then in the Office of Tolerance so that he could be entered into a register. There, an official noted down his first name, surname, date and the place of birth, the place of previous residence, the reason for his immigration, his occupation, the number of family members and predicted duration of his stay in Silesia. In this way a control system of the influx of the Jews to Silesia was introduced. At the same time the Prussian authorities did not tolerate any beggars and vagrants [[refr:"nazwa"|D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 35.]].
The life of the Jewish community in Silesia was monitored closely. No Jews coming from outside the province (except those families in which a mother was from Silesia) could be hosted without a permission granted by the authorities. All strangers had to be registered. If a private tutor was employed in Silesia, his family had to stay outside the province. The number of servants was limited to two, and what is more, servants could live together with their children under the age of 15. The children of 15 and older had to support themselves on their own. The Jews were forbidden to rent farms and inhabitants of villages could trade with raw leather only in towns. The Jews also were not allowed to leave their place of residence without paying tolerance fees. Every quarter of a year all the Jews living in Silesia were inspected by state dragoons who performed duties of the police.[[refr:"nazwa"|J.Oczko, Żydzi w Sośnicowicach.]].

In September 1768 the Prussian authorities forbade the Jews to establish new cemeteries and build new synagogues without paying for special licenses. The subsequent Prussian regulations permitted the Jews to settle down only in villages and perform the jobs of inn-keepers, craftsmen, bakers and leaseholders of breweries belonging to the gentry.

In 1776 the Prussian authorities ordered that all the Jews living on the left bank of the Odra River would be removed to the right bank of the river. In the new area they could only find residence in villages. After a few years, in September 1779, the Prussian authorities changed their decisions and then they commanded all the Jews to leave the villages and live in towns. Then Gliwice was pointed out as the main place of residence for the Jews. On August 17, 1780 Wrocław Chamber decided that 5 towns would host relocated Jews: Tarnowskie Góry, Mysłowice, Mikołów, Lubliniec and Bieruń Stary [[refr:"nazwa"| W.Jaworski, Z dziejów Żydów bieruńskich, Bieruń Stary 1989, s. 5 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 36.]].
On August 8, 1781 King Frederick II issued an edict which ordered the Jews to leave the villages in the Upper Silesia and move to the town in order to get involved in trading. Four villages were exempt from the order: Langendorf (Wielowieś), Czieschowa (Cieszowa), Kraskau (Kraskowa) oraz Städtel, mistaken for Sośnicowice, while in fact it was the village of Miejsce[[refr:"nazwa"| E. Ziviera, Rozwój osadnictwa żydowskiego na Górnym Śląsku, 1915 r. [w:] Zeszyty gliwickie t. 30, Gliwice 2002, s. 243 [w:] J.Oczko, Żydzi w Sośnicowicach.]].
In 1787 the Prussian authorities withdrew their regulations imposing on the Jews an obligation to move to a selected town, because the town they had left started to suffer from great economic loss.

In such circumstances the Jews started to settle down in Strzelce Opolskie again. The General Tables of Prussia of 1790 prove the presence of the Jews in Strzelce in that year. In 1791 13 Jews lived in the town [1.1]. They were subject to the Jewish Office of Tolerance in Gliwice. In 1791 the Prussian authorities permitted the Jews to form their own guilds. However, Christian craftsmen and merchants launched protests, because they wanted to prevent the Jewish competition. In the second half of the 18th century the Jews of the Upper Silesia had to buy official certificates for entire families so that they could be domiciled in the area. The permissions were called Toleranz Accise and Nahnung Geld or Toleranz Zettel.

From 1789 to 1799 the European consciousness was influenced by the French Revolution to a great extent. The ideas of equality and brotherhood spread all over Europe by French soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. It started the Jewish Enlightment Movement (Haskalah) which aim at the emancipation of the Jews. Influenced by those ideas, the Prussian authorities began introducing social and economic changes which finally brought about changes in the situation of the Jewish population in the Kingdom of Prussia.
On April 17, 1797 the Prussian authorities adopted the General Statutes for the Jews (General-Juden Reglement für Süd und Neu-Ostpreussen), which still considered the Jews to be a separate class. Although the Jews were granted the town citizenship to some extent, the division of the Jews into the supported and the tolerated was still preserved [[refr:"nazwa"|A.Eisenbach, Emancypacja Żydów na ziemiach polskich 1785-1870, Warszawa 1988, s. 128-129 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 37.]].
In February 1808 the Prussian authorities revoked all feudal privileges of guilds and towns, including De non tolerandis Judaeis privilege. Since then, having been given the consent by the authorities, the Jews were able to settle down in all Silesian towns and to acquire real estates without limits.

On March 11, 1812 King Frederick William issued the Edict on the Citizenship Relations (Edikt die Burgerlichen Berhaltnisse der Juden), commonly known as the Emancipation Edict. The royal edict made the Jews citizens of the Kingdom of Prussia, enjoying full rights. From then the Prussian Jews were called citizens of the state (Statsbürger) or countrymen (Inländer). The Prussian citizenship was granted to those who assumed a surname and a first name and were able to speak German. Special diplomas, which confirmed that the Jews had obtained full citizenship rights, were issued. In accordance with the edict the Jews could settle down and perform their jobs freely. They were also able to practice their religion and acquire real estates without any limits. What is more, the Jews gained an possibility to study and work at universities. The possession of citizenship rights also meant the obligation to do military service (from 1813 they were subject to conscription). The king only reserved the right to make decisions concerning the holding of the posts in the Prussian state administration by the Jews. New legal regulations abolished the Jewish judiciary and kehillas were considered to be private law associations. Selma Stern thinks that the edict of 1812 was the beginning of „the economic, cultural, as well as subsequent political, emancipation of the Jews“. Consequently, it also contributed to the rise of liberal kehillas, apart from conservative ones, especially in Silesian industrialized towns [[refr:"nazwa"|S.Stern, Der preusische und die Juden, Erste Abteilung Darstellung, Tubingen 1971 [w:] D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 39.]].

In July 1821 the Prussian authorities forbade the Jews to sign documents in Hebrew and ordered that all the formalities had to be dealt with in German. According to the data of 1828 in the entire county of Strzelce 567 Jews resided, constituting 1.8% of its overall population [1.1.1]. In his work J.G. Knie claims that in 1832 112 Jews lived in Strzelce, which made up about 8% of the total population. However, in the entry concerning the information about the town a mistake was made and the correct year of 1832 should have been quoted [1.2]. The Jewish community consisted of craftsmen and alcohol sellers. Two burial associations, Chewra Kadisza and women’s burial association ran its activities in the town. Historians suppose that the Jews of Strzelce belonged to the kehilla in Pyskowice or Krapkowice then. The Jews were actively engaged in the public and social life of Strzelce. They were elected to the Town Council and received aid from Christian charities[1.3].
The growing Jewish population started to make efforts to establish a Jewish cemetery, which must have been formed between the 1830s and 1840s. The cemetery was placed on the outskirts of the town, west of the town center, in the proximity of a Y-junction of roads leading from Strzelce to Gogolin and Opole. On its area a house of Chewra Kadisz, a burial brotherhood, which was used as a pre-burial house, was built. Soon after the cemetery had been established, the kehilla of Strzelce obtained legal independence. The kehilla in Leśnica was its branch. In 1845 as many as 140 Jews lived in the town, comprising 6.6 % of the total population [1.4].

On June 23, 1847 the Prussian authorities issued The Act on Jewish Relationships (Gesetz über die Verhältnisse der Juden), which also defined a great number of legal issues concerning organization and activities of kehillas. It also specified the territorial range of synagogue districts. The District (Kreis) consisted of Synagogue quarters (Synagogenbezirke), which could not fall outside the borders of the District. When in a certain District there was only one synagogue, the name of Synagogenbezirk was used in documents interchangeably with the name of Synagogengemainde, a synagogue commune. The aim was to unify the regulations concerning Jewish communities. If in a District there were several synagogues, the Jews were to stay with the synagogue to which they had belonged previously. Each Synagogue District had its own statute, college of representatives and managing board, appointed pursuant to the municipal ordinance (Statdordnung). The stipulations of the statutes of Districts were to be the same. The statutes had to deal with the issues connected with the burial place and in the main locality of each District there had to be a Jewish cemetery. The statutes were also to specify the relationship between a college of representatives and a managing board. The kehilla had its legal form and its members were obliged to pay fees to maintain the kehilla. The amount of the fees depended on the possessed property and generated incomes (the poor were exempt from the fees).
Each independent and adult man was obliged to hold at least one office in the kehilla without receiving any remuneration for his work. Only men who were ill and who had reached the age of 60 could be discharged from this obligation. If such a person refused to perform the duties, he lost his election right and had to pay higher fees. The members of the local synagogue were obliged to choose its representatives. The election right was granted to adult men who had belonged to the kehilla for 3 years, had unblemished records and paid fees regularly. They chose a college of representatives of 9 people from its composition. The representatives could act jointly and they were responsible to the entire kehilla. Their term lasted for 6 yeas, while after 3 years five representatives were chosen by ballot and then replaced by new representatives. The elections were called by a state commissioner and the managing board announced the election date in public. The presence of 50 people was required, otherwise another election date was announced
The course of the election was supervised by two to three so-called Wahlzeugen. The elections were secret and based on the principle of the majority of votes. If a member of the college decided to resign when the term of the college lasted, additional election was conducted. The representatives selected a chairman from the composition of the college. It was usually the eldest person. The college held meetings once every four weeks. The assembly took decisions by the ordinary majority when 2/3 of the members were present. If the number of votes was equal, the vote of the president was decisive.
The representatives lost their posts in one of the following cases: they were under tutelage, their bankruptcy proceedings were commenced, they had stopped paying fees, they were imprisoned or deprived of citizenship rights. The college of representatives chose a Managing Board (Gemeinde-Vorstand), which implemented resolutions taken by the college. The Board was composed of three members, called administrators (Vorsteher), who were required to have been living in a certain locality for at least 6 years. The term lasted 6 years, however, after 3 years two members resigned and they were replaced with two new elected members. The Board chose a president of the kehilla. The members of the Board were approved of by the state authorities. In each synagogue community, religion had to be taught by a qualified religion teacher who should be employed if the community had sufficient resources. The community also took care of the poor and the sick. The college of representatives appointed officers of the cult (rabbi, chazzan, mohel), who were to be accepted by the Board. They were to perform their duties for 3 years. A seated place in a synagogue had to be paid for [[refr:"nazwa"|J.Oczko, Żydzi w Sośnicowicach.]].

In November 1847 King Frederick William IV passed an act which granted the Jewish population political and citizenship rights equal to the rights enjoyed by Christians. In 1850 the Prussian parliament accepted a new constitution which ultimately confirmed that the Jews had been given citizenship rights. Willy Cohn described this event in the following way: “Generally [the constitution] ended this long process. Also a Silesian Jew, whose existence had been frequently threatened for half a century, could perform his job in the country which had become his homeland“[[refr:"nazwa"|D.Walerjański, Z dziejów Żydów na Górnym Śląsku do 1812 roku [w:] Pismo Muzealno-Humanistyczne Orbis, Muzeum Miejskie w Zabrzu, Katowice 2005, t. V, s. 39.]].

In 1850 the members of the Jewish commune bought a few plots by the Nowy Rynek (New Market), which was later used to build a synagogue. The synagogue in Strzelce Opolskie was built most probably at the beginning of the 1850s. The researchers found out that it was also used by the inhabitants of Gogolin.

In 1872 the Upper Silesian Association of Synagogue Communes (Oberschlesische Synagogen-Gemeinden) was formed. The Jewish commune of Strzelce also belonged to it. A joint Protestant and Jewish school was established in 1874 [1.5].

A boom in the population of the kehilla of Strzelce occurred in the 1880s. In 1880 there were 509 Jewish residents in the town, which made up 11% of all the inhabitants.[1.1.3]. The kehilla had its own library and a great number of associations were active there, among others womens’ associations, burial associations, youth and charity organizations, as well as sports clubs. In the town a lot of Jewish stores and craft workshops were situated, which clustered mainly within today’s Market, Myśliwiec Market and Żeromski Market, as well Krakowska and Opolska Streets. The Jews also ran inns and restaurants.

In 1932 145 Jews lived in Strzelce, which comprised 1.5% of the total population. The kehilla was managed by Heinrich Perl, who was its president. Paul Wachsner i Dr Koenig were his deputies; the former one being a secretary at the same time. Kurt Naumann was the President of the College of Representatives and Willy Nothmann and Max Angress were his deputies. In 1932 Dr Feinberg was the rabbi in the kehilla. He taught the Jewish religion to 17 children [1.6].

On May 6, 1932 a group of Jewish sportsmen from Strzelce took part in a big rally of young Jewish groups, organized in Taciszewo. The rally assembled groups from Gliwice, Strzelce Opolskie, Bytom, Opole, Koźle, Zabrze, and Racibórz, including 250 participants altogether. The climax of the meeting was a speech given by a rabbi, dr Ochsa, who discussed the worsening situation of young Jews in Germany. He encouraged the young not to gave up their strivings and tried to overcome the difficulties. Several times during the rally the participants commemorated German homeland in honor of which a shout was given three times “Long live!”. The event finished with the national anthem being sung. "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles..."[[refr:"nazwa"|J. Schmidt, Udział członków gminy żydowskiej w życiu kulturalnym Gliwic [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 101-102.]].

In the 1932 elections, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) achieved a spectacular success and entered the Reichstag as the largest political party. On january 30, 1933, the Reich's president Paul von Hindenburg designated Adolf Hitler the Reich's chancellor, who was to represent the majority in parliament which consisted in NSDAP and DNVP (the German nationalist right). The same day, the NSDAP party board prepared the first nationwide anti-semitic operation, the so-called anti-Jewish boycott, the chief-in-command of which was Julius Streicher. The aim of the boycott was separating Jewish and Aryan shops with special markings, and boycotting Jewish physicians and lawyers[[refr:"nazwa"|R. Kaczmarek, Narastanie antysemityzmu w prasie gliwickiej 1933-1939 [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 205.]].
The operation was carried out in Kluczbork, just as in the whole of Germany, on April 1, 1933. Before the Jewish shops, offices, and practices, military posts manned by officers of the SA (Die Sturmabteilungen der NSDAP - the NSDAP stormtroopers). Their presence unsettled and discouraged most of the klients of those establishments.
On Monday, April 3, 2933, the NSDAP party board, yielding to the international pressure, held up the boycott. The operation of marking the Jewish shops, planned for April 5, was canceled, and the local SA militia was informed that the operation will be rescheduled[[refr:"nazwa"|R. Kaczmarek, Narastanie antysemityzmu w prasie gliwickiej 1933-1939 [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 206.]].

In April 1933 the representatives of the NSDAP proceeded to limit the rights of Jewish citizens in Germany. The Prussian minister of Justice, Hans Kerrl ordered that they begin talks with doctors and lawyers associations in Upper Silesia. The aim of the talks was to remove Jewish physicians and lawyers, and to limit their opportunity for pursuing their line of work. The limit of 2 lawyers per city in the Upper Silesia was set then. Jewish judges was similarly repressed. Since their office was by appointment, they could not be removed. The NSDAP's solution was to send them off for long-term holidays or early retirement. Minister Kerrl announced that those decisions are "means that will serve purging Prussian courts of racially alien influences, thus bringing them back their authority and ensuring that the nation will remain calm in the future"[[refr:"nazwa"|R. Kaczmarek, Narastanie antysemityzmu w prasie gliwickiej 1933-1939 [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 207.]].
In the medical circles, the NSDAP's first move was to replace the management of the Upper Silesian physicians' union (Obershlesischer Aerzteverband), whose president was a citizen of Gliwice, dr Haase. At the same time, the German National Health Service and the universal companies terminated the contracts of all the Jewish doctors they employed. From now on they could only run private medical practices[[refr:"nazwa"|R. Kaczmarek, Narastanie antysemityzmu w prasie gliwickiej 1933-1939 [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 207.]].
In the whole of Germany the so called "Aryan Paragraph" (Arierparagraph) was passed, by the power of which all non-Christians were forbidden to be part of various organizations, unions and associations.

On April 7 1933 a resolution about the restructuring of the German administration (Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Beamtentums) was read out. It removed Jews from national service[[refr:"nazwa"| F. Połomski, Ustawodawstwo rasistowskie III Rzeszy i jego stosowanie na Górnym Śląsku, Katowice 1970, s. 51.]].

Earlier, on March 31, 1933, in Gliwice, a Jewish worker Franz Bernheim was fired from a department store (Deutsches Familien Kaufhaus). On May 12, 1933, he appealed before the League of Nations Council in Geneva, who appointed a special committee for investigating the matter. The Council's decision granted the Jewish minority in Upper Silesia legal protection for the period of validity of the Polish-German convention from 1922 (it ceased to be valid on July 15, 1937). On June 6, 1933, August von Keller, a representative of the Reich in the League of Nations, pledged in the name of Germany that the legal state from before April 1, 1933 will be reinstated in the Upper Silesia. Thus the Upper Silesian Jews enjoyed fully their civil and public rights until 1937. Unfortunately, it was impossible for other Jews to enjoy similar freedoms[[refr:"nazwa"|L. Jodliński, Petycja Bernheima, Zwycięstwo Dawida nad Goliatem [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 207.]].
All the anti-Semitic resolutions and the escalation of racial slur lead to an increase in Jewish emigration from Kluczbork. Most of the Jews left for Western Europe or the US. In 1933 there were 275 Jews living in Kluczbork, and only 63 in 1936[1.7].
On September 15, 1935, at a NSDAP rally in Nurymberg, the so-called Nurymberg Resolutions (Nürnberger Gesetze) were passed, which aim was to sanction the legal inequalities based on the race and blood criteria. According to those criteria, Jews were to be completely stripped of their rights. Jews could now be stripped from their German nationality and lose their legal protection and private property. They were forbidden to perform functions in the administration offices and in the army, they could not post up the national flag. Marriages between Aryans and non-Aryans were now forbidden. Any intimate relations between them were considered profanation of the Aryan racial honor (Rassenschande) and were subject to punishment. The resolution set the criteria for determining who is a Jew, who a "citizen" (Mischling), and who a full-blooded Aryan[[refr:"nazwa"| K. Jonca, „Noc Kryształowa” i casus Herschela Grynszpana, Wrocław 1998, s. 66.]].
For Jews living in the Upper Silesia, the official commentary of the ministerial secretary Wilhelm Stuckart proved extremely important: "...because apart from citizens of German blood there are also Reich citizens of similar origin, admitting German nationality to Poles or the Dutch is an open issue[[refr:"nazwa"|R. Kaczmarek, Narastanie antysemityzmu w prasie gliwickiej 1933-1939 [w:] Żydzi Gliwiccy, red. B. Kubita, Muzeum w Gliwicach, Gliwice 2006, s. 210.]. This left a door open for the Silesian Jews. because of the Polish-German convention of 1922, which protected the minorities. Its aim was to protect the German minority in the plebiscite territory, but in the present situation it was used by the Jews for the protection of their own rights.
On July 15, 1937, Poland and Germany decided not to prolong the convention about the protection of the rights of minorities in the Upper Silesia. This meant  that the anti-Semitic regulations were in power in the German Upper Silesia as well.
In 1938 - by the power of the ministry of internal affairs' disposition, Jews were obliged to assume new, typically Jewish names. Women were to assume the name "Sara," men - "Israel."

In 1939, there were still 70 Jews living in Strzelce[1.8]. In 1939 the city council inquired to buy the devastated building of the synagogue. In spring that year it was used as a military equipment warehouse. The authorities of Strzelce Opolskie planned a general overhaul of the building. On May 20, 1942, all were deorted t the Theresienstadt ghetto. On November 19, 1942, there were only 10 Jews in Strzelce. Their fate remains unknown[1.1.8].In June 1943, the cemetery lot was taken as property by the Gestapo.