Eschweiler
General information: First Jewish presence: 1750; peak Jewish population: 166 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 107
Summary:
Prior to the establishment of a Jewish community, local Jews
conducted services in Max Stiel’s home on Langwahn, where
a Jewish elementary school was later located. According to
records, prayer rooms were later set up on Wollenweberstrasse
and on the corner of Neustrasse/Josefstrasse.
The community established a cemetery and the elementary
school in 1820 and 1858, respectively. Services were
conducted in Weisweiler until September 18, 1891, when
Rabbi Dr. Frank inaugurated a synagogue on Neustrasse
(present-day 17 Moltkestrasse). After the inauguration of
the synagogue, the prayer room at 43 Langwahn was taken
over by the school, the latter of which was declared a public
institution in 1905.
Affiliated with Juelich after the establishment of
the synagogue, the Eschweiler community attempted
to gain independent status between 1912 and 1926.
Ninety-two Jews lived in Eschweiler in 1936. On
the night of November 9, 1938, SA men burned
down the synagogue building and desecrated the
rabbinical vestments. Jewish homes and stores
were wrecked, and Jewish men were sent to the
Oranienberg concentration camp. Forty Jews left
Eschweiler after Pogrom Night.
Between 1933 and 1941, approximately 70
Jews left Eschweiler, of whom half moved to other
German towns, 13 immigrated to Palestine and
20 immigrated to other countries. In 1942, the
remaining 20 Jews were deported in three groups:
15 on March 22, two on June 15, and three on July
3. At least 126 Eschweiler Jews perished in the Shoah. At the synagogue site, now the location of a doctor’s office,
a memorial plaque commemorates the synagogue and the
community.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA, YV
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA, YV
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia