Neuenhaus

General information: First Jewish presence: 1685; peak Jewish population: 47 in 1895; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
Summary: This town is referred to in different sources as either Neuenhaus or Veldhausen/Neuenhaus. Today, Veldhausen is a district of Neuenhaus. Although the Jewish community of Neuenhaus built a synagogue on Klinkhamerstrasse during the years 1847 to 1858, it was not until 1913 that a synagogue community was formed in cooperation with the smaller Jewish communities of Uelsen, Veldhausen and Emlichheim. In 1856, the community established a school in Nordhorn; later, in 1896, a Jewish school was finally opened in Neuenhaus. Records tell us that a cemetery was consecrated in Neuenhaus in the 17th century, but the earliest known burial was conducted there in 1769. Neuenhaus belonged to the provincial rabbinate in Emden. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was ransacked, Jewishowned businesses and homes were vandalized and Jewish men were deported to Sachsenhausen, where they were interned for several weeks. The following day, a Christian woman arrived at the local Nazi headquarters and protested the outrage by surrendering the medal her mother had been given after the death of her son in World War I. It was not until after Pogrom Night that Jews began to leave Neuenhaus in large numbers; some of them fled to the Netherlands. The remaining Jews were eventually moved into the Reis family home. On July 7, 1942, a member of the Reis family passed away; and on July 29, 1942, the others were deported, most likely to Theresienstadt—none survived. Records indicate that only one local Jew survived the war, making Neuenhaus one of the hardest-hit communities in Lower Saxony. In 1977, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the former synagogue site.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: HH, PK
Located in: lower-saxony