Wesseling
General information: First Jewish presence: early 16th century; peak Jewish population: 120 in 1930; Jewish population in 1933: 61
Summary: The earliest record of a Jewish presence in Wesseling is from
the early 16th century. By the late 18th century, seven Jewish
families had settled there; in 1885, Wesseling became the
center of religious and social life for the Jewish communities
of Hersel, Sechtem, Oedenkoven and Waldorf. Most local
Jews earned a living as craftsmen, small business owners or
livestock traders. Communal institutions included a
synagogue, first documented in 1822,
whose premises contained 40 seats for
men, a women’s gallery and a Jewish
elementary school; two charitable
associations (one for men, the other
for women); and, finally, a cemetery
on Roemerstrasse (consecrated in 1783).
On April 1, 1933, all Jewish-owned
shops were boycotted and one Jewish
cattle trader was beaten to death;
these events persuaded many Jews to
leave Wesseling. On Pogrom Night
(November 1938), rioters destroyed
Jewish dwellings and set the synagogue
and neighboring Jewish homes on
fire. The old Jewish street, called the
“Jews’ alley” (or Judengasse), however,
still exists.
During the years 1933 to 1938, the Kibbutz Bemaaleh
movement prepared young local Jews for life in Palestine;
one of the branches of this organization founded Kibbutz
Afek in Israel.
Twenty-two Jews from Wesseling had emigrated by 1938;
those who stayed were moved into so-called “Jews’ houses”
and, later, deported. By 1942, only two Jews, both of whom
were married to Christians, lived in Wesseling.
Commemorative stones were later unveiled in memory
of the Jewish cemetery and the synagogue.
Photo: The synagogue of Wesseling before 1938. Courtesy of: City Archive of Wesseling.
Author / Sources: Swetlana Frank
Sources: FJG, LJG, SG-NRW
Sources: FJG, LJG, SG-NRW
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia