Krefeld-Linn

First Jewish presence: 18th century; peak Jewish population: 46 in 1824; Jewish population in 1933: 42

During the early 18th century, the Jews of Linn managed their communal affairs in cooperation with neighboring Jewish communities (a number of which used Linn’s Jewish cemetery), for the village was then too small to merit the establishment of an official Jewish community. Although the village was eventually incorporated into the larger town of Krefeld, home to a large Jewish population and a synagogue, Linn Jews continued to conduct services in a rented prayer room. At some point during the mid-19th century, Philipp de Greiff, a wealthy Christian silk manufacturer, bequeathed his entire assets for the purpose of building a synagogue in a suitable location; after much debate, it was decided to build the new house of worship in Linn. In 1865, the large building was erected at 92 Rheinbabenstrasse. We also know that the synagogue’s dome was renovated in 1926. On Pogrom Night, rioters set the synagogue building on fire. The flames, however, failed to damage the sturdy outer walls— those were torn down by the fire brigade the following day. Today, a simple grassy plot marks the Rheinbabenstrasse synagogue site, in front of which (on the sidewalk) a memorial plaque was erected in 1988.

Ruth Martina Trucks

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

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