Israelite welfare educational institution for boys

The Israelite reformatory in Repzin was founded in 1901 in the castle of the Pomeranian village of Repzin (now Rzepczyno, Poland). Financed by the Berlin merchant Eugen Rosenstiel and under the auspices of the German-Israelite Community Association, it was intended to provide a denominational care facility for young boys from all over the German Reich. The young people mostly came there by court order or on the initiative of their parents; they were between around six and twenty-one years old and ranged from „difficult“ children to those who had already become delinquents.

The concept combined school education with practical training: In workshops such as shoemaking, carpentry and tailoring, as well as in agriculture and gardening, the boys were to be prepared for a simple working life. At the same time, they received lessons in general education, religion and Hebrew. The daily routine was strictly structured: very early rising, domestic chores, long working and learning hours, little free time. Material conditions ranged from simple to harsh - sleeping quarters, straw beds, little hot water, meagre but kosher food. Physical punishment was considered a legitimate means of education, as was customary at the time.

From the very beginning, the institution suffered from serious structural problems. The remote, structurally problematic castle, chronic underfunding, the high cost of kosher care and the lack of qualified and permanent staff made operations difficult. In addition, there were conflicts of authority between the state school inspectorate, the rabbi, the Berlin Board of Trustees and the home management. The composition of the boys' group also led to frequent conflicts, escapes and individual crimes. The long-serving director Adolf Baronowitz and his wife Else were dismissed in 1929, the home was closed in 1930 and the institution moved to Berlin.