Raguhn-Jeßnitz is a town in the district of

Anhalt-Bitterfeld Anhalt-Bitterfeld is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its capital is Köthen (Anhalt). Its area is . History This district was established by merging the former districts of Bitterfeld, Köthen and a large part of Anhalt-Zerbst as part ...

, in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the former municipalities Altjeßnitz,

Jeßnitz Jeßnitz ( is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the Nort ...

, Marke, Raguhn, Retzau, Schierau, Thurland and Tornau vor der Heide. These 8 former municipalities are now ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions of the town Raguhn-Jeßnitz.Hauptsatzung der Stadt Raguhn-Jeßnitz
21 August 2019.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Raguhn was the location of a subcamp of the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

, in which some 500 women and girls were imprisoned and subjected to

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

. The prisoners were almost exclusively

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, but there was also one non-Jewish American, Hungarian, Italian and Turkish woman each.

Politics

The first round of the mayoral elections for the town were held on 18 June 2023 with the candidate from the far-right

AfD Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Germany. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), ...

Hannes Loth party receiving 40.7% of the vote, more than any other candidate. His main rival was the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Nils Naumann who managed to get 36.9% of the vote. won with 51.13% of the vote in a second run-off round on 2 July 2023 despite the fact that his

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

is under the surveillance of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the State of

. He became the first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

References

Anhalt-Bitterfeld Holocaust locations in Germany {{AnhaltBitterfeld-geo-stub