Soegel

First Jewish presence: 18th century (second half ); peak Jewish population: 92 in 1913; Jewish population in 1933: 77

In 1913, when the Jewish community recorded its peak population figure, most Soegel Jews were peddlers, cattle and horse traders, butchers and merchants. An early 19th-century prayer room was located in the former kennels of a local castle. In 1837, local Jews purchased a residential building (on present-day Pohlkamp) in which, during the 1840s, they established a synagogue and a mikveh. The Jewish cemetery near Loruper Weg was consecrated in the early 19th century too. From the 18th century onwards, the Jews of Soegel employed teachers of religion. Records suggest that a proper Jewish school was established in the town in 1882, and that it was presided over by a teacher who served as shochet and chazzan. The community also maintained a youth movement, a women’s organization and a branch of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith. On Pogrom Night, members of the SA burned down the synagogue; several ritual objects were saved by a non- Jewish family. Jewish men were arrested, and some were sent to Dachau and to Sachsenhausen; they were later released. The Jewish school was closed down in 1940. In December 1941, 38 local Jews were deported to Riga; in 1942, 25 were deported to Theresienstadt. At least 60 Soegel Jews died in the Shoah. The Jewish cemetery—it was desecrated in 1947—has been cared for by the municipality since 1999.

Heike Zaun Goshen

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

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