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
Sources: HH, PK
Located in: lower-saxony