Ober-Gleen

Summary: Although the Jewish community of Ober-Gleen was comparatively small, it had all that a community needed: a synagogue, a school, a mikveh and a cemetery. On one of his visits to Ober-Gleen in 1846, State Rabbi Levy implored the congregation to renovate and enlarge its small synagogue, to which the community responded by establishing a fund for the construction of a new house of worship. Finally, in 1871, the community had enough money to inaugurate the new synagogue. From 1933 onwards, many local Jews immigrated to the United States and to Palestine; by 1939, no Jews lived in Ober-Gleen. Earlier, on Pogrom Night (November 1938), Nazi rioters ravaged and demolished the interior of the synagogue. The destroyed building was appropriated by a metalwork factory and converted into a shop. In 2008, plans were drawn up to redesign the former synagogue building as a cultural center.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: AJ, DJGH