Iserlohn
General information: First Jewish presence: 1230; peak Jewish population: 300 in 1895; Jewish population in 1933: 188
Summary: Although records from 1230 mention a Jewish resident
in Iserlohn, it was not until the 17th century that a Jewish community was established there. During the early 18th
century, Lutherans often attacked local Jews at Easter time.
Banned from trade and crafts, Iserlohn Jews earned a living
through peddling, ritual slaughtering and moneylending.
In 1790, Jewish children worked in local factories making
buttons and needles.
In Iserlohn, a Jewish cemetery was inaugurated in 1819.
Later, in 1831, the community built a synagogue and school
on Mendener Strasse. Local Jews became more prosperous in
the late 19th century, specializing in the textile trade; Iserlohn
was also home to Jewish industrialists, doctors, lawyers and
teachers.
Jewish commerce declined during the Nazi period, and
the Jewish population dropped from 132 in 1936 to 87 in
1939. Earlier, in October of 1938, 12 Jews (four families)
were expelled to Poland. In 1941/42, the remaining Jews
were forcibly moved into one house, after which they were
deported to the East. Eighty-one Iserlohn Jews perished in
the Shoah.
The synagogue site—the building was torched and
destroyed on Pogrom Night—now accommodates a
department store. A memorial plaque has been affixed to
the building.
Author / Sources: Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Sources: AH, EJL, SIA, YV
Sources: AH, EJL, SIA, YV
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia