Mondorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 17th or 18th century (see below); peak Jewish pop.: 40-80 in the 19th century (Mondorf and Rheidt); Jewish pop. in 1932/33: 20
Summary: The earliest record of a Jewish presence in Mondorf, dated
1647, mentions three Jewish residents. According to other
documents, however, the history of Jewish Mondorf began
in the 18th century.
The community established a synagogue in the early 19th
century. In 1862, a new synagogue—it included a women’s
gallery—was built on Provinzialstrasse; Jews from the
neighboring towns (including Rheidt) also attended services
there. Mondorf’s Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1883.
In 1932/33, 20 Jews lived in Mondorf. A shochet served
the community, and three schoolchildren received religious
instruction. Later, on Pogrom Night, SA men from Wuppertal
and local residents destroyed the synagogue’s door, windows
and furniture, after which they set the building on fire. Four
Jews from Mondorf and Rheidt were arrested on Pogrom
Night and released several weeks later.
Few local Jews managed to emigrate. Most were deported
in 1942; 19 perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue, which had been converted into a garage,
was damaged in 1945. In April 1984, a memorial plaque was
affixed to the building, now a historical monument.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: EJL, FJG, HU, SG-NRW, SIA
www.niederkassel.de/
www.kopernikus-gymnasium.org/
www.ksta.de/html/
Sources: EJL, FJG, HU, SG-NRW, SIA
www.niederkassel.de/
www.kopernikus-gymnasium.org/
www.ksta.de/html/
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia