Pattensen

First Jewish presence: 1350; peak Jewish population: 82 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 19

The modern Jewish community of Pattensen was established in the first half of the 19th century. In 1858, the community replaced an older synagogue (built in or around the year 1816) with a new house of worship on Hofstrasse; the new synagogue also housed an elementary school and a mikveh. The Jews of Pattensen maintained two cemeteries: one on Goettinger Strasse (established in 1815), the other on Auf dem Lehmkuhlen (1861). In February 1930, eight schoolchildren attended the Jewish school, which closed down in July of that year. Nineteen Jews lived in Pattensen in 1933. Six pupils received religious instruction, and a shochet was employed. A women’s association (established in 1890), a men’s organization (founded in 1890 or 1900) and a branch of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith were active in Pattensen that year. As early as 1929, Jewish residents were insulted and physically attacked. The old cemetery was leveled in November 1938. On Pogrom Night, SA men destroyed the synagogue, desecrated the cemeteries and broke windows in Jewish homes. Ten men were sent to Buchenwald (via Hanover); they returned in January 1939, but two died later that year. On the morning after Pogrom Night (November 10), Jewish men were forced to step on and destroy Torah scrolls. Approximately 16 Pattensen Jews emigrated or moved to other German cities during the years 1934 to 1938. In 1942, the remaining nine Jews were deported to Trawniki/ Warsaw and to Theresienstadt. At least 19 Pattensen Jews perished in the Shoah. A memorial stone was unveiled at the former synagogue site in the 1980s. The Auf dem Lehmkuhlen cemetery was desecrated in 1968 and again in 1979. We also know that memorial plaques were unveiled at the St. Lucas Lutheran Church and at the Jewish cemetery.

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/ Germansynagogues.com

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