Jewish community Wilhelmshaven
The Jewish community in Wilhelmshaven existed until 1940. Originally, Wilhelmshaven formed a double community with the Jews of the surrounding Oldenburg villages of Bant, Heppens and Neuende, which were then united in 1911 to form the Rüstringen synagogue community. The Jewish communities in Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen were finally united on April 1, 1937 with the creation of Großwilhelmshaven.
history
Jewish life in Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen can be traced back to the beginning of the 19th century. At first, however, the information is very sparse. In his book Die Oldenburger Judenschaft the former regional rabbi Leo Trepp writes : "In 1817 Moses Arons from Rustersiel had Cerf Isaac from Verden as a private teacher and slaughterer. The teacher asked for further work permits, his employer issued him a certificate, but was only able to do so sign two crosses. "
Around 1870 the Jews began to use the facilities of the Jewish community in Neustadtgödens in today's urban area , such as the synagogue there . After an intervention by the Emden regional rabbinate, the Landdrostei Aurich (as the closest Prussian authority) ordered that the Jewish residents of Wilhelmshaven should be assigned to the synagogue community in Neustadtgödens . An official contract between the so-called "Wilhelmshavener Group" and the community of Neustadtgödens was signed on January 13, 1876. Nevertheless, the Jews in Wilhelmshaven did not agree with membership of such a distant synagogue community and kept trying to break away from it. First they joined the "Free Religious Association Bant" and founded the "Israelitische Vereinigung Wilhelmshaven" in the 1880s. In 1899 this closed out of the Neustadtgödens community. In December 1900 the merchant Lois Leeser was elected the first chairman of the community. On April 1, 1901, the Wilhelmshaven synagogue community was recognized as independent by the district president in Aurich as the "synagogue and religious school community with the seat in Wilhelmshaven". The young congregation still used a rented prayer room in the “Berliner Hof” hotel for their services. A first independent prayer house was inaugurated on February 28, 1902 in Börsenstrasse. This was also used by the Jews in the neighboring Oldenburg towns of Bant, Heppens and Neuende. Although good relations existed between the churches, each had its own board of directors. The Jews in the Oldenburg territories, which were combined to form the Rüstringen synagogue community in 1911, were also subordinate to the state rabbinate in Oldenburg, while the Wilhelmshaven Jews were part of the state rabbinate in Emden. The double congregation grew steadily and so the planning for the construction of a synagogue building began. For this, the municipality in Wilhelmshaven acquired a plot of land in a central location on the corner of Börsenstrasse and Parkstrasse. Construction work began in 1913 after the government in Aurich had approved the necessary loans. Despite the outbreak of war, the work progressed steadily and so the synagogue was opened on September 22nd, 1915 by the Oldenburg Rabbi Dr. Mannheimer to be consecrated. The representative building of the community, which was still small at the time, was at the intersection of Börsenstrasse and the corner of Parkstrasse and cost 130,000 marks (ℳ) . Based on the synagogue in Essen, it combined elements of Art Nouveau and Neo-Baroque and also served as a place of worship for the Jewish marines. Among other things, it contained a traditional immersion bath ( mikveh ). The basement of the synagogue was clad with bosses . Above it rose an almost square building that was bricked and plastered; the high domed roof sat on a very low drum. The windows of the building were decorated with figural scenes, which is very rare in synagogues. On the east side the tables of command, the Star of David and a golden cup were shown; on the west side Moses with the commandments, a crown and the Sabbath candlestick; the other two sides were decorated with symbolic representations of the twelve tribes of Israel. In total, the synagogue offered space for 400 people, which was far too big for the double congregation. The peak was reached in 1925 with 239 people.
191 Jewish persons were registered in Wilhelmshaven-Rüstringen in 1933. By 1938, due to the increasing disenfranchisement under National Socialism, around 100 Jews had left the city. In the early morning of November 10th, the synagogue was set on fire by a large amount of gasoline being poured out. The fire brigade was only present to secure the surrounding buildings. Since the fire did not initially have the desired effect, it was started again on the morning of November 10th. He completely destroyed the roof structure and the rest of the building. At the same time as the synagogue was destroyed, the Jewish shops and houses that had existed until then were devastated or destroyed. Numerous Jewish residents were taken from their homes and taken into so-called protective custody. The 34 men were brought to what was then the “Jahn Hall” and from there to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . By May 1939 another 45 Jewish residents of the city were able to emigrate. Those who remained were deported and murdered in the following years.
Community development
The Jewish communities in Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen were finally united on April 1, 1937 with the creation of Großwilhelmshaven. The Jews in Bant, Heppens and Neuende were united in 1911 to form the Rüstringen synagogue community.
| year | Wilhelmshaven | Bant | Heppens | New end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | - | - | - | 5 |
| 1850 | - | - | - | 4th |
| 1855 | - | - | - | 7th |
| 1858 | - | - | 3 | unknown |
| 1880 | - | 8th | unknown | unknown |
| 1885 | 47 | 9 | 10 | 8th |
| 1890 | unknown | 20th | unknown | unknown |
| 1895 | 76 | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| 1900 | unknown | 37 | unknown | unknown |
| 1905 | 103 | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| year | Wilhelmshaven | Rüstringen | ||
| 1925 | 127 | 112 | ||
| 1933 | 109 | 82 | ||
| year | Wilhelmshaven | |||
| 1939 | 75 | |||
Memorials
The synagogue square in Wilhelmshaven on Börsenstrasse and the corner of Parkstrasse and a memorial plaque in the former “Jahn-Halle” commemorate the persecution of Jews.
Synagogenplatz, located on the site of the former synagogue, was prepared as a memorial in the 1970s. On November 10, 1980, in addition to the already existing inscription on the floor, an information board was set up: “Synagogenplatz - inaugurated on November 10, 1980 - in memory of the synagogue built in 1915. It was burned down and destroyed by the NSDAP on the Night of Crystal on November 9, 1938 ”. Every year on the anniversary of the pogrom night , the city of Wilhelmshaven, together with the German Trade Union Federation and the Protestant and Catholic parishes of Wilhelmshaven, organize a commemoration on Synagogenplatz. The commemoration traditionally begins at 6 p.m. with an ecumenical evening prayer in one of the Wilhelmshaven churches. This is followed by a silent walk from the respective church to Synagogenplatz. Here the event is commemorated with a wreath-laying ceremony and short speeches.
On November 9, 2008, two name steles with bronze plaques were set up on Synagogenplatz. The name steles, which were designed by the artist Hartmut Wiesner , bear the names of the 113 Wilhelmshaven Jews who were killed in the Holocaust . It was set up on the initiative of the “Synagogenplatz Working Group”, to which churches, trade unions and the city of Wilhelmshaven belong. In addition, the ground plan of the former synagogue was traced by light-colored stones on Synagogenplatz. A new notice board explains details about the synagogue building.
The memorial plaque was created in 2000 by the Sander artist Traud'l Knoess and is located in the former "Jahn-Halle", where the Jewish roommates were initially moved. Today the building is used by the Coastal Museum Wilhelmshaven. In the publicly accessible entrance area of this facility is the bronze plaque with the Hebrew inscription “You had to go, you are not forgotten”.
Sources of quotation
- ^ Leo Trepp, The Oldenburger Judenschaft. Image and model of Jewish existence and becoming in Germany , Oldenburg 1973, p. 167.
- ^ Herbert Obenaus (Ed.): Historical manual of the Jewish communities in Lower Saxony and Bremen. Wallstein, Göttingen 2005. ISBN 3-89244-753-5 , p. 1552
- ↑ Hartmut Büsing, ... endured so much 'unspeakable suffering. On the history of the Rüstringer and Wilhelmshaven Jews , Wilhelmshaven 1986, p. 35 f.
- ^ The synagogue in Wilhelmshaven on alemannia-judaica.de
- ↑ Hartmut Büsing, ... endured so much 'unspeakable suffering. On the history of the Rüstringer and Wilhelmshaven Jews , Wilhelmshaven 1986, p. 123.
See also
literature
- Herbert Reyer, Martin Tielke (ed.): Frisia Judaica. Contributions to the history of the Jews in East Frisia . Aurich 1988, ISBN 3-925365-40-0
