Aumund-Vegesack

General information: First Jewish presence: 18th century; peak Jewish population: 150 in 1921; Jewish population in 1933: approximately 110
Summary: Most Aumund Jews were traders, peddlers, butchers and domestic servants. The Jewish community, which also served Jews from neighboring Vegesack and Lesum, erected a synagogue on Kirchstrasse (50 seats for men, 50 for women) in the 1850s. Eighty-one Jews lived in Aumund in the mid-19th century. Burials were conducted presumably in Schwanewede, but the community was able to maintain its own mikveh and school, the latter of which was presided over by a teacher who performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Later, in the early 1900s, the Jews of Aumund established a chevra kadisha, a branch of the Centralverein and a Jewish youth movement. In 1933, approximately 110 Jews lived in Aumund, many of whom left during the subsequent years as a result of economic and social isolation. The community was dissolved in April 1938. On Pogrom Night, Jewish property was vandalized and a number of Jews were arrested; records suggest that the men were deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. SA men from Bremen set the synagogue on fire, after which the building burned down completely. In 1939, the remaining Jews were forcibly moved into designated houses in Bremen. Together with other Jews from the region, most were deported in 1941 and 1942. Between 38 and 53 Jews from Aumund died in the Shoah. A memorial plaque was unveiled at the former synagogue site in 1978.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen; Sources: AH, JG NB1, SIA
Located in: bremen