Duisburg-Ruhrort

First Jewish presence: 17th century; peak Jewish population: 520 in 1910; Jewish population in 1932/33: 150

Several Jewish families settled in Duisburg-Ruhrort in the 17th century. The Jewish population experienced considerable growth in the 19th century, peaking at 520 in 1910. Community members conducted services in a private residence—the house also accommodated a schoolroom—until August 13, 1841, when a synagogue was inaugurated at 21 Landwehrstrasse. At the community center, located in front of the synagogue, a school and an apartment for its teacher were built in 1843. Enlarged in 1751, the Jewish cemetery on Rheinbrueckenstrasse/Rheinallee served the community from 1730 until 1894; the new cemetery on Beeck was consecrated in 1893. In 1933, 150 Jews resided in Duisburg-Ruhrort; twenty nine schoolchildren received religious instruction. Two Jewish welfare associations—one for men, the other for women—provided services to the sick and indigent. A Jewish youth league was active in the community. The synagogue was heavily damaged in the pogrom of November 9-10, 1938; local Jewish men were sent to Dachau. By February 1939, the synagogue ruins had been torn down; and in September 1939, the remaining Jews were forcibly moved into a so-called Judenhaus (“Jews’ house”). At least 34 Duisburg-Ruhrort Jews were murdered in the Shoah. A memorial plaque has been unveiled at the former synagogue site, on which a new building was erected.

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

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

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