Netra with Datterode

General information: First Jew. pres.: 17th century (Netra), 1595 (Datterode); peak Jewish pop.: 110 in 1861 (Netra), 59 - 1861 (Datt.); pop. 1933: 22 (Netra), 12 (Datt.)
Summary: Netra
The Jewish community of Netra built a synagogue (at 19, Brauhausstrasse) in the early 19th century. Netra was home to a Jewish elementary school until 1924, after which a school for religious studies was established there. We do not know when the community consecrated its first cemetery, but records do tell us that a new cemetery was consecrated in the mid-19th century, and that the first burial was conducted there in 1855. Netra Jews maintained their own mikveh. Between 1933 and 1938, the Jewish population dropped from 22 to six (most Jews relocated to Eschwege). By October 1938, only six Jews still lived in Netra: community chairman Solly Rothschild (a furrier) and his wife and daughter (Frieda and Liesel, respectively); and Moritz Katz (a cattle dealer) and his wife and daughter. On Pogrom Night, Katz was cruelly beaten and sent to Buchenwald, where he perished on November 17, 1938. The synagogue building—its windows had been broken on Pogrom Night—was later used a barn and stable. Records suggest that the Jews remaining Netra by the end of 1939, and certainly the Rothschild family, were later murdered. At least 30 Netra Jews perished in the Shoah. Torn down in the early 1970s, the synagogue was replaced by a garage.

Datterode
During its peak years, the Jewish community of Datterode was affiliated with Reichensachsen; in 1884/85, Datterode Jews joined the nearby Netra community. In Datterode, Jews maintained a prayer room in building referred to as the Judenschule (“Jews’ school’)—it housed a prayer room and, possibly, a school. Several Datterode Jews emigrated after 1933, several relocated within Germany, and two (they were husband and wife) passed away in 1937 and early 1938, respectively. At least 16 Datterode Jews perished in the Shoah. The former Judenschule is now privately owned.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-HNF, YV
Located in: hesse