Hemmerden
General information: First Jewish presence: 1568; peak Jewish population: 39 in 1843; Jewish population in 1933: 31
Summary: The earliest available record of a Jewish presence in
Hemmerden is dated 1568, after which records are silent
about local Jews until 1728, when the city authorities granted
Jakob Isaak a license to trade in priestly garments decorated
by wine-staining and bearing the local lord’s coat of arms. It
was around this time, too, that Jews were granted the right
to conduct services and perform religious rituals.
A synagogue was established in 1787 and a cemetery
in 1813, but it was not until the mid-1800s that the
community was able to build a new house of worship. On
October 20, 1859, the Jews of Hemmerden celebrated this
accomplishment with a festive inauguration.
Although the Nazis had expropriated the synagogue in
early 1938, it was nevertheless destroyed on Pogrom Night.
Concerned about the safety of a nearby fuel depot, the
mayor ordered the rioters not to burn down the synagogue.
The building served as a prisoner detention center for
the duration of the war. Later reconstructed, it is now a
warehouse; a section of the building, however, has been
restored as a memorial.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: LJG, SIA, SG-NRW
Sources: LJG, SIA, SG-NRW
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia