Meinerzhagen

First Jewish presence: 1750s; peak Jewish population: 51 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 43

Although Jews lived in Meinerzhagen in the 1750s, it was only in the early 19th century that a permanent Jewish presence was established there. Local Jews attended services in Lieberhausen (or Lieberhause) until the 1840s, when a prayer room was opened in Meinerzhagen. In 1927, a prayer room with 50 seats was established at 37b, Hauptstrasse. The Jewish community maintained cemeteries on Schwarzenberg (1813-1913) and Heerstrasse (1881-1945), the latter of which was purchased in 1910. In 1933, 43 Jews lived in Meinerzhagen. According to records, a shochet served the community in that year. Meinerzhagen’s prayer room was closed at some point before Pogrom Night. On the morning of November 10, 1938, SS men set its ritual objects—they had earlier been stored in a private residence— on fire and damaged a Jewish shop. A local Jew who had been arrested on Pogrom Night committed suicide after his release. Between 1935 and 1941, 15 local Jews emigrated and nine relocated within Germany. In 1942, 11 Jews were deported. At least 13 Meinerzhagen Jews perished in the Shoah. The prayer room building, which was later converted into a residence and shop, was torn down in 2005/06. A memorial stone commemorates Meinerzhagen’s deported Jews.

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

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

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