Sachsenhagen
General information: First Jewish presence: early 17th century; peak Jewish population: 58 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 22
Summary: In 1885, when this small Jewish community recorded its
peak population figure, most Sachsenhagen Jews were cattle
traders, butchers and merchants.
By the mid-1700s, the community had established a
prayer room (located in a private residence) and a burial site.
The earliest records of a proper synagogue and a cemetery,
the latter of which was located at the Duehlholzgaerten, are
dated 1823 and 1835, respectively. Sachsenhagen was home
to a Jewish school from 1859 to 1889, but the teacher was
frequently replaced, and there was no chazzan or shochet
during those years.
In 1870, the community finally inaugurated a synagogue;
the building also housed a school whose teacher may have
served as shochet and chazzan. Several local Jews were active
in the town’s social and political life.
In response to the increasingly dire political situation,
many Jews left Sachsenhagen after 1933. On Pogrom Night
(November 1938), three Jews were arrested. Although the
synagogue was not burned down that night (so as not
to damage neighboring buildings), rioters destroyed its
windows and interior. The synagogue building was used as
a barn until 1967, when it was converted into a residential
building.
At least 21 Sachsenhagen Jews perished in the Shoah.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, JGNB1
www.schaumburgerlandschaft.de/
Sources: AH, JGNB1
www.schaumburgerlandschaft.de/
Located in: lower-saxony