Duesseldorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 15th century; peak Jewish population: unknown (see below); Jewish population in 1932/33: approximately 5,5003��
Summary: Duesseldorf was home to a Jewish cemetery by 1418,
indicating that Jews settled there in the 15th century. It
was only at the end of the 17th century, however, when
two wealthy Jewish families moved to Duesseldorf, that
permanent Jewish settlement commenced. In 1890, 1,401
Jews lived in Duesseldorf, constituting the second-largest
Jewish community in the North Rhine region.
In 1712, an ancestor of Heinrich Heine established a
Jewish prayer room on Neusser Street. Later, in 1787, the
Jewish community purchased property on Kasernenstrasse
and, in 1792, inaugurated a synagogue, the Old Synagogue,
there; this house of worship was rebuilt in 1875, after which
it was consecrated for the second time. In response to the
fact that the city’s Jewish population experienced significant
growth during the late 19th century, the community replaced
its synagogue in 1904. The result, a neo-Romanesque building called the Great Synagogue, was equipped with an
organ and seated over 1,000 worshipers. Rabbi Leo Baeck
served the community until 1913, at which point Max
Eschelbacher was hired as rabbi.
In 1904, Duesseldorf’s Orthodox Jews began to conduct
their own services in a prayer room on Bilker Strasse and,
later, on Poststrasse; Eastern European Jews established
additional prayer rooms. Other communal institutions
included a school (opened in 1838) and at least four
cemeteries: on Kasernenstrasse (1705-1884), Bongardstrasse
(1788-1877), Alter Friedhof, Ulmenstrasse (1890-1922) and
Neuer Friedhof, Ulmenstrasse (1922).
In 1933, approximately 5,500 Jews resided in Duesseldorf.
Records indicate that it was at this time that the community
recorded its peak membership figure. Although we do not
know how many children received religious instruction,
records do tell us that up to 300 pupils attended the Jewish
public school, established in 1935. The community also
maintained a mikveh, branches of nationwide Jewish
organizations, a home for apprentices and numerous
charitable associations. Two local Jews were murdered by
the Nazis in 1933 and 1937, respectively.
On Pogrom Night, SA men torched the Great Synagogue,
the school and several prayer rooms; Torah scrolls were set on
fire, Jewish homes and stores were ransacked. Three Jews were
murdered, several committed suicide and 70 were assaulted,
seven of whom died of their injuries. We also know that 20
women and 166 men were arrested on Pogrom Night, after
which, on November 16, 89 men were sent to Dachau.
Many Duesseldorf Jews fled to neighboring countries, so
that by May 1939, the city’s Jewish population had dropped
to 1,831. Between 1941 and 1945, local Jews were deported
to the ghettos and death camps of Eastern Europe. At least
2,213 Duesseldorf Jews were murdered in the Shoah.
After the war, approximately 60 survivors returned to
Duesseldorf, establishing a prayer room on Arnoldstrasse in 1948; and in 1958, a synagogue was inaugurated on
Zietenstrasse. As of this writing, the Jewish community
numbers 7,500 members, many of whom immigrated
to Germany from the former Soviet Union. The former
synagogue site—a memorial stone was unveiled there in
1983—now accommodates the Handelsblatt (commerce
newspaper) Center. In 1987, a memorial center was opened
in the townhouse on Muehlenstrasse.
Two juveniles attacked the synagogue in 2000.
Photo: The burning synagogue on Kasernenstrasse in Duesseldorf on the morning of November 10, 1938. Courtesy of: City Archive of Duesseldorf.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/
www.duesseldorf.de
www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/
www.duesseldorf.de
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia