It is not known when Jews settled in Żagań (German: Sagan). It is possible that it was in the 12th-13th centuries when they appeared in nearby towns such as Bolesławiec, Legnica, and Zgorzelec. Until the mid-15th century, they lived in a Jewish quarter (in the vicinity of today's Słowackiego Street [ul. Słowackiego]). In the mid-15th century, under the influence of religious activities, including those of Jan Kapistran, a wave of pogroms and expulsions swept through Silesia, affecting the Jews of Żagań as well. In 1462, the last Piast ruler of Żagań, Duke Jan II, expelled them from the town.

The reestablishment of the Jewish community occurred only in the early 19th century. In 1857, the Jewish community purchased a medieval bastion from the town for 1000 thalers, which was located on the town's meadow, and adapted it into a synagogue. The building was situated at the intersection of today's Jana Pawła II Street (ul. Jana Pawła II) and Wolności Square (Plac Wolności). It was a structure with dimensions of 22 x 6.5 metres, rounded on the entrance side. Above the main entrance, on the front, there were two tablets with inscriptions in Hebrew. The higher-placed tablet read: "This House shall be a House of Prayer for all People." The inscription above the entrance read: "This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it." Inside, there was a foundation plaque with an inscription in German: "The temple was built in 5617 by the collective and unanimous effort of the members of the Jewish community in Żagań...". During the Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938, the synagogue was burnt down, and Jewish shops were destroyed. Before 1945, a weeping willow was planted in the place where the synagogue once stood, and it still grows there to this day .

The Jewish community in Żagań owned its meadows, farmland, a timber depot (known as Holzhof), and there was a Jewish school and kosher slaughterhouse on Wilhelmstraβe (present-day Podchorążych Street [ul.  Podchorążych]). In 1880, the community had 170 members. Later, the number gradually decreased. In 1932, out of 18,000 inhabitants, there were only 100 Jews. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, the number decreased to 78, and in 1937, it further declined to 30 . Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, only 7 Jews remained living in Żagań.

Andrzej Kirmiel