Jews were already resident in Stralsund in the 13th century. Since the beginning of the 15th century there was a Judenstraße in Stralsund. Until the Reichspogromnacht in 1938, there was a synagogue in its immediate vicinity. At that time, Jewish inhabitants lived all over the city center; there was never a ghetto in Stralsund as in other German cities. In 1934, Judenstraße was renamed "Jodestraße". This was initiated by the NSDAP, whose local office had the address Judenstraße. The renaming was justified with the invented Stralsund family Jode.