Srem

SREM (Ger. Schrimm; Pol. Szrem; Yid. Strim), town in Poznan province, W. Poland. Jews settled in Srem in the late 16^th century and engaged in commerce, weaving, and goldsmithery. In 1656, during the war between Poland and Sweden, the Polish general S. Czarniecki persecuted the Jews of Srem, and those who survived left the town. In the 1670s Jews resettled in Srem and a community was organized. In 1683 a meeting of the council of the galil (province) of Poznan (see *Council of the Lands) took place there. In the 18^th century Srem Jews engaged in the trade of agricultural products, tailoring, shoemaking, and liquor production. In 1765 the Jewish community numbered 327. In the mid-18^th century Samuel b. Azriel of Landsburg was the rabbi of Srem. From 1815, under Prussian rule, the Jewish population increased, numbering 924 (27% of the total) in 1840 and 1,127 (19%) in 1871. The Jews were engaged mostly in the building trade, tailoring, transportation, and shopkeeping. In the late 1870s many Jews left for Poznan and other cities in central Germany. In 1895 only 607 Jews were left (11%), and this number decreased to 318 (4.5%) by 1910. In the early 20^th century the Srem community maintained charitable institutions and an association for Jewish historical and literary research. In 1921, in independent Poland, there were 103 Jews (1.5%) there.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.