Drove

General information: First Jewish presence: mid-1600s; peak Jewish population: 66 in 1919; Jewish population in 1933: 36
Summary: In 1865, the Jewish community of Drove built a new synagogue. Erected on the same site on which an older house of worship had once stood, the new building also served the neighboring Jews of Untermaubach, whose synagogue had been closed down as a result of structural damage. On Pogrom Night, members of the SS murdered Drove’s remaining Jews. Although the town’s non-Jewish population was sympathetic to the plight of their Jewish neighbors, they were unable to stop the outrages committed that night, when SS men ordered the fire department to pour gasoline around the synagogue building and set it on fire. It is rumored that the local Catholic church offered the Jews refuge; the SS commandment, hearing of this, warned that his men would burn down the church if any Jews were found there. Memorial stones were unveiled at the synagogue site in 1971 and in 1987.
Photo: The synagogue of Drove in 1928 (postcard). Courtesy of: City Archive of Kreuzau.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: SIA, EJL, SG-NRW