Roebel

Summary: The Jewish community of Roebel was expelled in 1492, as were many other Jewish communities in Germany. It was not until the early 1700s that Jews were permitted to return in Roebel, after which they established a community and set up a prayer room in a private residence. A small cemetery was consecrated in Roebel in 1720. In 1830, the authorities permitted the community to build a synagogue, a modest building in which local Jews conducted services until after World War I, when most Jews left Roebel. The empty synagogue building was sold in 1930. Although the synagogue building was no longer owned by Jews, SS men set it on fire on Pogrom Night. As the result of the intervention of a neighbor, who feared for his own house, the synagogue did not burn to the ground. In 2000, the municipality took over the former synagogue building and designated it as a landmark. It now serves as a youth center, alongside which stands a building housing an exhibition on the history of the Jews of Roebel.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, LJG, SIA