Hohenlimburg
General information: First Jewish presence: 1350; peak Jewish population: 149 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 81
Summary:
The Jews of Hohenlimburg established a
synagogue, a cemetery and a school in, respectively,
1870, 1885 and 1906. The community was able
to employ a shochet, and we also know that local
Jews, many of whom were engaged in trade and
crafts, were socially and politically active.
Thirty-four Jews had left the town by November
1938, by which point prayer services were no
longer held in the synagogue. That same month,
on Pogrom Night, rioters set the defunct synagogue on fire
and destroyed Jewish homes and businesses. Jewish men
were sent to concentration camps, and others were taken
for forced labor.
By 1942, another 21 Jews had left Hohenlimburg. Of
the 34 local Jews who moved to other German towns, seven
perished in concentration camps. Nine were deported to
the East from Hohenlimburg in April of 1942, as were four
others on unspecified dates. All perished.
The former synagogue building, now a community center,
bears a memorial plaque. The building has been restored and
is protected as a historical monument.
Author / Sources: Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Sources: AH, EJL, SIA
Sources: AH, EJL, SIA
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia