Haltern

General information: First Jewish presence: early 16th century; peak Jewish population: 76 in 1840; Jewish population in 1933: 30
Summary: In Haltern, Jewish settlement began in earnest in the early 1700s. In 1703, local Jews purchased a house and converted it into a synagogue; the condition of the house deteriorated with each passing year, and the building was declared uninhabitable in 1859. The community accordingly purchased a new site and commenced construction work on a new synagogue, which was inaugurated on August 24, 1860. (During the construction period, the older, dilapidated building was temporarily repaired, enabling the community to pray there until the completion of the new synagogue.) The Jews of Haltern suffered anti-Semitic violence long before Pogrom Night: Jewish homes were defaced with anti-Semitic slogans, and the synagogue was vandalized on several occasions. Although the synagogue was nearly defunct by 1938, Nazis nevertheless wrecked its interior and burned its contents on Pogrom Night. The building was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945. At the site, now a garden, a memorial plaque has been unveiled.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-NRW, SIA