Rahden

Summary: Four Jewish families lived in Rahden in 1690, but it was only during the 18th century that a Jewish community developed there. In 1852, the Jews of Rahden built a synagogue whose premises also accommodated classrooms for a Jewish school. From the 1920s onwards, many Jews left Rahden as a result of economic hardship. On Pogrom Night, when only 34 Jews still lived there, the synagogue was burned down. At the site, now a parking lot, a memorial plaque commemorates the destroyed synagogue. Of the 34 Jews who witnessed Pogrom Night in Rahden, most left during the early years of the war, mostly for other towns or cities in Germany. On July 28, 1942, three local Jews were deported. Most of the Jews who left the town after Pogrom Night were later deported to the camps.

Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: EJG, LJG, SG-NRW