Beverungen

Summary: There is strong evidence to suggest that Jews came to Beverungen in early 1652. While the Christian population of Beverungen was, at first, rather ambivalent toward the Jews, they soon began to tolerate them and eventually allowed them to establish a prayer room. In 1819, permission was granted to build a synagogue; the building, which was poorly constructed, rapidly deteriorated into a state of dilapidation. A new synagogue, on which construction commenced in the late 1840s, was inaugurated in 1852. Five years later, the synagogue was renovated and enlarged to house an elementary school. The synagogue was vandalized by SA men as early as 1934. Later, on Pogrom Night, the SA ransacked and destroyed its interior. The building was turned over to a furniture distributor in 1939; it was eventually converted into an office building, and was still in use as such as of this writing. A memorial stone was placed on the site in 1988.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: LJG, SG-NRW, SIA