Kerpen
General information: First Jewish presence: Middle Ages; peak Jewish population: 150 in 1857; Jewish population in 1933: 75
Summary: During the First Crusade, Archbishop Hermann III made
Kerpen a place of refuge for the terrorized Jewish population
of the surrounding area. The community, however, was
destroyed in the Black Death pogroms of 1348/49.
In or around 1720, several Jews established themselves
in the town as traders, brewers and moneylenders. The
community opened a cemetery and a synagogue in 1823
and 1830, respectively. Kerpen was also home to a Jewish
school between 1823 and approximately 1939; there, the
average enrollment was between 10 and 20 pupils per year.
Many Jews left Kerpen after the Nazis’ election victories.
On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was vandalized, as were
the remaining Jewish homes.
In 1941/42, the remaining 35 Jews were deported to the
camps, from which they did not return. The synagogue, which
had been forcibly sold to the municipality at a bargain price,
was used as a warehouse and later converted into a residence.
In 1988, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the entrance
to the municipal cemetery.
Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia