Mondorf

First Jewish presence: 17th or 18th century (see below); peak Jewish pop.: 40-80 in the 19th century (Mondorf and Rheidt); Jewish pop. in 1932/33: 20

The earliest record of a Jewish presence in Mondorf, dated 1647, mentions three Jewish residents. According to other documents, however, the history of Jewish Mondorf began in the 18th century. The community established a synagogue in the early 19th century. In 1862, a new synagogue—it included a women’s gallery—was built on Provinzialstrasse; Jews from the neighboring towns (including Rheidt) also attended services there. Mondorf’s Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1883. In 1932/33, 20 Jews lived in Mondorf. A shochet served the community, and three schoolchildren received religious instruction. Later, on Pogrom Night, SA men from Wuppertal and local residents destroyed the synagogue’s door, windows and furniture, after which they set the building on fire. Four Jews from Mondorf and Rheidt were arrested on Pogrom Night and released several weeks later. Few local Jews managed to emigrate. Most were deported in 1942; 19 perished in the Shoah. The synagogue, which had been converted into a garage, was damaged in 1945. In April 1984, a memorial plaque was affixed to the building, now a historical monument.

Heidemarie Wawrzyn

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

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