Versmold
General information: First Jewish presence: late 17th century; peak Jewish population: 65 in 1860; Jewish population in 1933: 31
Summary: Although Jews settled in Versmold in the late 17th century, it
was not until the early 19th century that a functioning Jewish
community was founded there.
Local Jews shared their cemetery with the Bergholzhausen
community. We also know that Versmold’s Jews rented a
room for religious gatherings at some point during the 1830s,
around which time the authorities approved the community’s
request to build a synagogue. The implementation of these
plans, however, proved to be complicated: when construction
was halted, rumors were spread that Christian blood was
required for its completion. Although the use of the building
as a synagogue was later prohibited, it was nevertheless used
secretly for prayer services after its consecration in 1900 (it seated 30 congregants). In Versmold, Jewish children
received religious instruction from traveling tutors.
In 1936, students broke into the synagogue and
vandalized its interior. By 1938, all but one Jewish family
had fled Versmold. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was
burned—a residential building was later erected on its
site—and the town’s three remaining Jews were deported to
Theresienstadt. They never returned.
A memorial to Versmold’s former Jewish community was
later unveiled in front of the city hall.
Author / Sources: Ruth Martina Trucks
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-NRW SIA
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-NRW SIA
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia