Burgsteinfurt
General information: First Jewish presence: 1337; peak Jewish population: 227 in 1894; Jewish population in 1933: 117
Summary:
The first Jewish community of Burgsteinfurt, numbering 109
members, disappeared after the Black Death persecutions of
1348/49. Jews did not return to Burgsteinfurt until 1662,
when a new community was established there.
Services were conducted in a makeshift synagogue
(located in a private residence) until 1744, when the
authorities finally permitted the Jewish community to build
a synagogue. Completed in 1764, the building also housed
an apartment for the teacher and a school, the latter of which
taught children from many surrounding towns. In 1841,
the school received official governmental recognition. Local
Jews were proud of the fact that their town was home to two
Jewish cemeteries and the largest matzo factory in Europe.
On Pogrom Night, between 40 and 50 members of the
Hitler Youth smashed the windows of the synagogue and
ransacked the interior; the next day, the youths returned and
proceeded to burn down the building, after which, two weeks
later, the building was razed and the site cleared.
At the site, which at the time of this writing was still
vacant, a stone monument has been unveiled.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia