The Jewish elementary school in Rawicz started its activity in 1825. Prior to that, private tutors were responsible for children's education. In 1872, the institution had 92 students – boys and girls. The school was closed after 1915 (J. Cohn, Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinde Rawicz, Berlin 1915, pp. 81–89).
A document confirming the school's activity is a certificate issued to Cecylia Pasch in 1860. The position number in the header reads: "No I (One)". Below the text, there is the date: "Rawicz, 24 April 1860" and a round stamp: "[...] SCHOOL BOARD/ IN/ RAWICZ". At the level of the stamp, there are signatures: "Rector/ Cohn" and "Examiner/ Kaiser/ pastor and school inspector of the Evangelical/ parish in Rawicz". Below, on the left side, there is the imprint: "School certificate" and a note: "for/ Cecylii Pasch/ from/ Rawicz". The entire text is in the German language.
Cecylia Pasch was born on 12 October 1845 in Rawicz . She was the daughter of merchant Abraham and Joanna née Rosenthal. In October 1872, she married merchant Julius Wilde in Berlin. After the divorce, she remained in Rawicz, where she died on 29 October 1913 (APL, Civil Registry Office Records of Rawicz, file no. 361, no. 266; MOL, Stammbaum der Familie Pasch).
Marcus Heimann Cohn was a long-time teacher, then rector of the Jewish school in Rawicz from 1839 to 1873. He was born in Twardogóra in 1815 and died in Rawicz on 12 July 1877 (APL, Civil Registry Office Records of Rawicz, file no. 23, no. 165; J. Cohn, Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinde Rawicz, Berlin 1915, p. 86).
Pastor Heinrich Ewald Kaiser came from Stryjno in Dolny Śląsk Province. He worked in Rawicz as a deacon from 1853, became the first pastor in 1874, and the superintendent in 1877. He died in Rawicz in 1896 (A. Werner, Geschichte der evangelischen Parochien in der Provinz Posen, Lissa 1904, pp. 309, 310).
The document was donated to the District Museum in Leszno in 2014 by a resident of Wschowa. Several years earlier, the certificate was purchased in one of antique shops in Wrocław.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
