Gescher

Residential - Gescher, North Rhine-Westphalia

First Jewish presence: approximately 1770; peak Jewish population: unknown; Jewish population in 1933: unknown

The Jews of Gescher conducted services in a rented room at 1 Armlandstrasse. The community was affiliated with that of Coesfeld from 1865 until 1912, after which it was associated with the community in Borken. In Gescher, a cemetery was consecrated in 1867 (on Suedlohner Damm). On Pogrom Night (November 10, 1938), rioters vandalized the prayer room and damaged Jewish-owned stores. At least 34 Gescher Jews perished in the Shoah. As of this writing, the building that once housed the prayer room serves as an apartment block and shop. We also know that the cemetery, which was heavily damaged during the Nazi period, was desecrated and nearly destroyed in 1988.

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

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

Notes

Sources: Führer durch die Jüdische Gemeindeverwaltung und Wohlfahrtspflege in Deutschland 1923-1933, Andreas Nachama, Simon Hermann [Eds.], [publisher] Edition Hentrich, 1995., Zentral Archiv zur Erforschung der Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, Heidelberg University at: www.zentralarchiv.uni-hd.de Lexikon der jüdischen Gemeinde in Deutschen Sprachraum, Klaus Dieter-Alicke, [publisher] Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2008., Synagogen Internet Archiv, www.synagogen.info

Details

Date Added	Feb 19, 2020
Category	Residential
Country	DE
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
City	Gescher
Exhibits	Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany

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Gescher

First Jewish presence: approximately 1770; peak Jewish population: unknown; Jewish population in 1933: unknown

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

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

Notes

Details

Have additional information, photos, connections, or other resources to contribute?

Jason Guberman

Executive Director

Jason Guberman-P., A social entrepreneur who specializes in building broad coalitions and melding intellectual and technical innovation, serves as founding Executive Director of Digital Heritage Mapping and is the coordinator of the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life.

Joshua Shamsi

Project Director

Joshua Shamsi, is Project Director for the Atlas of Jewish Life and Lead Photographer/Outreach Director for the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life.

Eddie Ashkenazie

Researcher

Eddie Ashkenazie, is a Yeshiva University PhD student focusing his studies on the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in the modern era.

Avital Hirsch

Avital Hirsch graduated Magna Cum Laude from Binghamton University with a BA in language and linguistics. She has studied in Rome at Istituto Lorenzo de Medici.

Glenn Dynner

Editor

Glenn Dynner. Professor of Religion, Sarah Lawrence College. BA, Brandeis University. MA, McGill University. PhD, Brandeis University. Scholar of East European Jewry with a focus on the social history of Hasidism and the Haskalah.

Chrystie Sherman

Photographer

Born in Chicago, Chrystie Sherman was educated at the University of Vermont, the University of Paris, and New York University Graduate School of Film and Television.

Gentian Xhaxiu

Researcher

Gentian Xhaxhiu, was born in Tirana, Albania, in April 1988. He has attained a Master Degree in “EU Business Law” and has successfully completed the Annual Programme of the School of Political Studies of the Council of Europe.