Zimmersrode

Summary: The history of Jewish Zimmersrode dates back to the 16th century. The Jews of nearby Waltersbrueck were affiliated with Zimmersrode’s modern Jewish community, which peaked in 1905 at 67 (10 % of the total population). Earlier, in 1850, Zimmersrode Jews built a schoolroom onto the synagogue on Bornstrasse (formerly called the Judengasse, or “Jews’ alley”). The head of the community in 1932 was Max Rothschild, the treasurer Sally Abraham. Levi Katz of Borken instructed eight children in Zimmersrode in religion in 1931 to 1932, and a Jewish sisterhood and brotherhood, both of which carried out welfare activities, were active in the community: the sisterhood was led by Daniel Stern’s wife, the brotherhood by Max Rothschild. Thirty-nine Jews lived in Zimmersrode in 1933. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), while local Jews hid in the home of a notary, the synagogue was destroyed; Jewish property was ransacked by locals that night. In early 1939, 13 Jews lived in Zimmersrode; between December 1938 and April 1939, the remaining Jews were brought to Kassel, where they were moved into so-called “Jews’ houses.” At least 32 Jews from Zimmersrode, 10 from Gilsa and one from Roemersberg (both were affiliated communities) perished in the Shoah. What was left of the synagogue after the pogrom was demolished in 1940.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, LJG