The only remaining Synagogue in Manitowoc has officially closed its doors for good.
The Anshe Poale Zedek Synagogue, or more commonly referred to as the APZ Synagogue, can trace its roots back to the early 1800s as one of the few remaining members, Howard Zimmerman explained to Seehafer News.
“Jewish people started to come to Manitowoc in 1860,” Zimmerman said. “It took until 1900 before enough of them had come here and settled, started little businesses or were working here. They bought a building from First Lutheran Church.”
From that point, the congregation continued to grow.
“In about 1920, they had enough people her that they built a brick building,” Zimmerman stated. “They had about 35 families. That was operative until about 1954 when they bought the old Lutheran Chuch for a second time. By that time we had about 65 families here.”
But over the years, many families began to leave the area due to several different reasons, including the invasion of big box stores, which put their small business out of business.
This resulted in them putting their building up for sale. Zimmerman said “It didn’t take more than a week, before Pastor Matt Sauer called our Rabi, and said ‘We have a place for you. Our chapel isn’t being used, and we will lease it to you.’”
They remained there for several years, but now, with numbers dwindling even further down to around 10 families, the local Jewish congregation has decided it is time to dissolve the Synagogue and use the remaining money for good in the community.
Zimmerman said, “We are going to be giving what money we have left to some charities here in Manitowoc, and the rest will probably go to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation for scholarships.”
The APZ Synagogue will be forever immortalized outside of their current place of worship inside the First Presbyterian Church with a plaque they received through Manitowoc Trophy.
Jim Behnke, the owner of the local trophy and sign shop, said he is proud to be a part of the preservation of the Synagogue’s history.
“They have been customers of ours for a long time, and we really appreciate the support,” he said. “Hopefully we gave back to them in that time to help them with the cost.”
The Synagogue officially ended their over 120-year tenure in Manitowoc after their final service on Saturday (March 20th).
