Bad Segeberg

Summary: The community established a prayer hall, located in a Jewish-owned house on 84 Luebecker Strasse (present- day 2 Luebecker Strasse), in 1755; the prayer hall was converted into a synagogue in 1842, and renovated in 1853. Bad Segeberg Jews maintained their own cemetery, established in 1792, and employed a teacher of religion who also served as chazzan and shochet. Several Jewish children’s organizations and a school for home economics were active in Bad Segeberg. Jews from Neumuenster and Klein Niendorf were affiliated with the community in 1913 and 1917. In 1933, approximately 20 Jews lived in Bad Segeberg, 47 in Neumuenster. All Jewish institutions had been closed or sold by 1938. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior was destroyed. Jews were arrested, and two were sent to Sachsenhausen. By 1942, only one Jew (he was married to a Gentile) lived in in Bad Segeberg, and four in Neumuenster. At least 10 Bad Segeberg Jews and 12 from Neumuenster perished in the Shoah. British authorities appointed the aforementioned Jew as mayor in 1945, a post he held until 1950. The synagogue building, appropriated by the municipality in 1943, was demolished in 1962. Memorials were erected at the former synagogue site (1989) and at the former children’s institute (1991). The new Jewish community of Bad Segeberg was founded in 2002.

Author / Sources: Nurit Borut; Sources: HJKS, PK-NW, SKLSH, VJLBS