Old Synagogue (Meschede)
The old synagogue in Meschede was built in 1878. It served as a place of worship for the Jewish community in Meschede until it was destroyed during the November pogroms in 1938.
history
The Jewish community in Meschede included the city as well as the surrounding area. In addition to the former mayorships of Eversberg and Meschede, this also included the communities of Bödefeld and Rarbach and Fredeburg . About 50 Jewish residents lived in Meschede itself around 1850. Before the synagogue was built , rooms in a residential building on Mittelstrasse, today's Gutenbergstrasse, were used. The new synagogue building was inaugurated in August 1879; The speech was given by Rabbi Jacob Horowitz from Krefeld .
The new building was characterized by large arched windows and a protruding middle section with a double-leaf entrance door. The building was a two-story representative brick building. In the window above the front door there was a five-pointed star instead of the usual six-pointed Star of David . In the course of the monument protection procedure and the restoration of the building at the end of the 1990s, the Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments particularly urged the preservation or renewal of the five-pointed star in the windows as an architectural feature. The reason why the municipality in Meschede decided on this symbol is unknown. It is also unknown whether the stars were present from the start or were added later.
The windows on the side walls were glazed with colored glass. The prayer room extended over both floors. As usual, there was a gallery for the women, which also contained a harmonium. The house also had a caretaker's apartment and the cantor's room , which was also used for religious instruction.
In the morning hours of November 10, 1938, towards the end of the nationwide pogrom night , SS men broke into the building, destroyed the interior and caused further damage to the building before they hoisted the swastika flag . Only a few days later, the synagogue board was forced to sell the building to the city of Meschede.
During the Second World War , the building served as accommodation for French prisoners of war . In February 1945 the upper floor was destroyed by air raids. The city sold the rest of the building, which housed a carpenter's shop. In 1991 the city of Meschede acquired the building again without initially changing anything in terms of use.
In 1994 a citizens 'initiative was formed with the aim of converting the building into a citizens' center. The renovation work began in 1997. Prime Minister Johannes Rau spoke at the opening ceremony in 1999 . Today the building is used for various events.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Klaus-Dieter Alicke: Lexicon of the Jewish communities in the German-speaking area. Volume 2: Großbock - Ochtendung. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-08078-9 ( online version ).
- ↑ Wilfried Oertel: The old synagogue Meschede. The five-pointed star - a Jewish symbol? In: Yearbook Hochsauerlandkreis. 1999, ISSN 0931-1149 , pp. 109-112.
- ^ Stephan Teutenberg: Synagogue in Meschede
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 50.5 ″ N , 8 ° 17 ′ 9.7 ″ E