First Jewish presence: 1730; peak Jewish population: 62 in 1903; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
The earliest record of a Jewish presence in St. Toenis is dated 1730. The Jews of this small town joined the official synagogue district of Kempen in 1854, but kept their autonomy by maintaining their own prayer room. This prayer room, in use from around the year 1850 onwards, was located at the corner of Kaiserstrasse and Marktstrasse. On August 30, 1907, the community inaugurated a synagogue on Willhelmstrasse. Although St. Toenis’ Jewish population of 1933 is not known, the fact that the synagogue was still in use that year indicates that it was considerable. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was broken into by SA men from Huels, who set fire to the building; the structure burned to the ground, as the fire department protected only the surrounding buildings. Jewish-owned businesses were also wrecked that night. The deportations of St. Toenis’ Jews began in 1941. At least 12 Jews from St. Toenis died in the Shoah. In 1983, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the former synagogue site.Benjamin Rosendahl
Notes
Sources:The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Shmuel Spector [Ed.], [publisher] Yad Vashem and the New York University Press, 2001., Feuer in dein Heiligtum gelegt: Zerstörte Synagogen 1938 Nordrhein-Westfalen, Michael Brooke [Ed.], Meier Schwarz [foreword], [publisher] Kamp, 1999., Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, www.yadvashem.org/wps/portal/IY_HON_Entrance
Details
| Date Added | Mar 25, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Category | Residential |
| Country | DE |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| City | St. Toenis (Sankt Tönis) |
| Exhibits | Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany |
Have additional information, photos, connections, or other resources to contribute?
Help Us in the race against time to time document Jewish history!
