Burgdorf-Salzufflen
General information: First Jewish presence: 17th century; peak Jewish population: 114 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 37
Summary:
The Jews of Burgdorf-Salzufflen were engaged in many
trades, including textiles, leather, spices and ritual slaughter.
In 1694, the community consecrated a cemetery on Am
Finkenherd (present-day Uetzer Strasse). A 17th-century
prayer room (it was later converted into a synagogue) on
Braunschweiger/Knickstrasse was destroyed in a local fire
in 1809, after which, in 1811, a new synagogue was erected
on Poststrasse.
Beginning in 1786, private tutoring took place in Jewish
homes. The earliest record of a Jewish school is dated 1841;
the teacher lived in the synagogue and also served as chazzan
and shochet. It was in the 19th century, too, that a charitable
organization and a Jewish women’s association became active
in Burgdorf.
As a result of the economic boycott, many Jews left
Burgdorf after 1933. On Pogrom Night, the town’s last
Jewish-owned store was vandalized. The synagogue’s
interior was destroyed and the building was later (in 1939)
appropriated by the municipality, after which the site served
as headquarters for the local Hitler Youth and, between 1944
and 1959, as a public library. Burgdorf ’s Jewish cemetery
was closed in 1939.
Between 1941 and 1943, Burgdorf ’s last 11 Jews were
deported to concentration camps. At least 18 died in the
Shoah.
The former synagogue was converted into a store in 1961. In
1978, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the site and, in 2008,
the building became a historical monument and cultural center.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, HU, JGNB1, SIA
www.ff-burgdorf.de
Sources: AH, HU, JGNB1, SIA
www.ff-burgdorf.de
Located in: lower-saxony