Huelchenrath
General information: First Jewish presence: 1371; peak Jewish population: 63 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
Summary: The first available record of a Jewish presence in Hulchenrath
(also known as Huelchrath) is dated 1371, when a Jew who
had received a letter of protection resided there. We also
know that, in 1685, another “protected Jew” was permitted
to settle in the town.
Forty-three Jews lived in Hulchenrath in 1806. Although
the community was affiliated with that of Grevenbroich in
or around 1858, local Jews continued to conduct services
in a private residence. Finally, in 1875, the community
inaugurated a new synagogue on Broichstrasse.
In May 1928, not long after anti-Semitic rioters destroyed
its furniture, the Broichstrasse synagogue was sold to a local resident. The building, however, was nevertheless damaged
on Pogrom Night.
Eight Huelchenrath Jews perished in the Shoah.
Repaired in October 1951, the synagogue later
accommodated a slaughterhouse and a sausage factory. A
memorial plaque was affixed to one of the walls in 1988;
and in 1998, three years after the town council took over
the building, it was opened as a memorial and social hall.
Author / Sources: Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Sources: AH, EJL, SG-NRW, SIA, YV
Sources: AH, EJL, SG-NRW, SIA, YV
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia