Wadersloh

Summary: We know very little about this small Jewish community. Comprised in 1846 of five families, the community joined the Oelde regional synagogue association in 1853. Wadersloh’s Jewish cemetery, located in An der Kirksteige, was consecrated in 1831. Local Jews held their religious services in a series of private residences: one of these homes, used in and around the year 1905, was the Hoelsch family home at 3 Ueberwasserstrasse; another, used some time later, was located at 9 Ueberwasserstrasse. During the pogroms of November 1938, SA men broke into and devastated the prayer room building to such an extent that it had to be demolished. Six Wadersloh Jews are known to have been deported to Riga and Bergen-Belsen, where they perished. Today, the synagogue site accommodates an inn; a memorial plate commemorates the former prayer room.

Author / Sources: Ruth Martina Trucks
Sources: SG-NRW, SIA, YV