Sterkrade

First Jewish presence: 1830; peak Jewish population: 130 in 1925; Jewish population in 1933: 90

The Jews of Sterkrade founded a joint community with Jews living in the nearby towns of Holten, Hambor and Sterkrade-Holten. Services were conducted in prayer rooms until the establishment, in 1858, of the Holten synagogue on Mechthildisstrasse. In 1898, another synagogue was inaugurated, this time in nearby Oberhausen, on 24 Friedensstrasse. After the Nazis’ rise to power, Jewish-owned stores in Sterkrade were boycotted and Jewish children were expelled from schools. In October 1938, five Polish Jews were deported to the East. On Pogrom Night, Nazi supporters destroyed Jewish establishments. The synagogues in Oberhausen and Holten, the latter of which had been abandoned in 1927 and sold in 1936 (both houses of worship were frequented by many Sterkarde Jews) were burned down under the supervision of the Oberhausen fire department. The Holten synagogue was converted into a residence after Pogrom Night, in which capacity it still exists today. Approximately 36 Sterkrade Jews emigrated from Germany during the Nazi period. In late October of 1941, 11 Jews were deported to the Lodz ghetto; six others were also subsequently deported, and all perished. At least 19 Sterkrade Jews perished in the Shoah. As of this writing, a memorial plaque has never been unveiled in Sterkrade.

Benjamin Rosendahl

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

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