Hagen

Summary: Records from 1786 mention a Jewish cemetery, indicating that it was during the 18th century that Jews first settled in Hagen. A prayer room had been consecrated there by 1800, but its location is not known. We also know that the community founded a Jewish school in 1853. In 1870, nine years after local Jews inaugurated a proper synagogue, the community recorded its peak membership figure (80). Between 1900 and 1930, Hagen’s Jewish population remained at exactly 60. Records reveal very little about Hagen during the early Nazi period. On Pogrom Night, SS men burned down the synagogue. At least 13 Hagen Jews were killed during the Shoah. Several memorial sites in Hagen and nearby Beverstedt commemorate Jewish life in the region.

Author / Sources: Benjamin Rosendahl
Sources: EJL, JGNB1, LJG, YV