Bornheim

General information: First Jewish presence: 1624; peak Jewish population: 104 in 1888; Jewish population in 1933: 50
Summary: It was not until 1843 that enough Jews lived in Bornheim to warrant the building of a small synagogue. The house of worship was not able to accommodate the growing congregation for long, and the community eventually decided to relocate. While the new synagogue was being built, the Jews of Bornheim conducted services in a building owned by a member of the community. Construction of the new synagogue commenced in early 1866. Interestingly, two churches (one Catholic and the other Evangelical) were being built simultaneously and alongside the new synagogue. The three houses of worship were inaugurated at about the same time in 1866. Two decades later, in 1885, the original synagogue building was torn down and replaced by a new school. On Pogrom Night, Nazis set fire to the Bornheim synagogue and made sure it burned to the ground by feeding the flames continuously. The rubble was carted away a few days later, and in 1939 the city built a bunker on the site. After the war, a new building was erected on the site, which today houses a department store. A memorial plaque was affixed to one of the walls in 1986.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: LJG, SG-NRW, SIA