Embken
General information: First Jewish presence: 1783; peak Jewish population: 59 in 1885 (10% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: unknown (43 in 1930)
Summary:
The history of Jewish Embken began in 1783, when a Jew
named Lester Cain was permitted to settle there. In 1866
or 1867, prior to which prayer services had been conducted
in a private residence, the Jewish community purchased a
building on Neffetalstrasse (formerly Kirschlandstrasse)
and converted it into a synagogue; in the adjacent house,
which was also owned by the community, the synagogue’s
caretaker lived free of charge. We also know that Embken’s
Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1884, and that the
congregation belonged to the district synagogue association
of Dueren.
Anti-Semitic violence erupted in Embken as early as
1935. Later, on November 10, 1938, SA men ravaged the
synagogue; a boy removed the Star of David from the roof.
Using straw from Theo Classen’s barn as fuel, the rioters set
fire to the building, which burned down to its foundations.
Outside, SA men burned the Torah scrolls and ritual objects.
Kahn’s house was ravaged on Pogrom Night, and the Schwarz
family home was set on fire.
Seven local Jews were deported to the East at the outset
of the war. According to Yad Vashem, at least 34 Embken
Jews perished in the Shoah.
As a result of post-war vandalism, the Am Muehlberg
cemetery now has only 26 gravestones. In 1985, 1987 and
1988, the cemetery was heavily damaged. As of this writing,
a memorial has never been erected in Embken.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
www.hans-dieter-arntz.de/
www.duereninfo.de/
www.hans-dieter-arntz.de/
www.duereninfo.de/
Located in: north-rhine-westphalia