Breyell
General information: First Jewish presence: mid-19th century; peak Jewish population: 44 in 1905; Jewish population in 1933: 26
Summary: In 1899, the 18 Jews of Breyell formed a synagogue
association in cooperation with Jews from
neighboring towns. Breyell’s Jewish population
steadily increased (44 in 1905), in response to which
the community inaugurated a new synagogue on
October 21, 1910.
Very little is known about this small Jewish
community. An extant photograph of the synagogue,
however, shows an ornate, neo-Romanesque building
with many bow-shaped windows.
According to a report issued in connection to the
War Reparation Act of 1952, the Breyell synagogue
was destroyed on Pogrom Night. Records suggest
that Jakob Klaber, a cattle trader, purchased the
synagogue site, after which, faced with the expense
of removing the rubble, he sold the site to the
Breyell municipality for 300 Reichsmarks. The War
Reparation report also states that 26 local Jews (the
entire Jewish population of 1933) perished in the
Shoah. As of this writing, no memorial has been
erected in Breyell.
Photo: Synagogue of Breyell in 1910. Courtesy of: District Archive of Viersen.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Sources: EJL, SG-NRW, SIA
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia