New Synagogue (Einbeck)
The former New Synagogue in Einbeck , a town in the Northeim district in Lower Saxony , was inaugurated on September 1, 1896. The synagogue was located at Bismarckstraße 17, outside the half-timbered old town, surrounded by contemporary villa developments. There was a green area on the opposite side of the street, the Mühlenwall.
architecture
The synagogue was built from 1895 in the Moorish style, a style established in historicism , according to plans by the Cologne architect Sigmund Münchhausen . More like a chapel in size, it took on the shape of larger synagogue buildings. Facing the street, on the north side, was the main entrance, flanked by two polygonal corner towers. To the west, across from the Torah shrine, there was a side entrance. Dark red brick layers alternating with light horizontal bands made of natural stone as well as lightly contrasting window and door frames gave the outer walls an unusually colorful effect. A high, double-shelled, slated dome spanned a central room over a square base, which was surrounded on three sides by two-storey porches, but on the east side, also recognizable from the outside, had a three-polygonal niche for the Torah shrine .
The choice of the Moorish style can be interpreted as an expression of the increased self-confidence of the Jewish community.
Interior decoration
Although the north facade was particularly architecturally accentuated, the interior was oriented to the east. In the middle of the east wall, flanked by two columns ( Jachin and Boaz ), was the Torah shrine in a small niche. In front of the Torah shrine was the lectern, to which three steps each led up to the left and right.
The seats on the ground floor reserved for men were, comparable to church pews, facing the Torah shrine on either side of a central aisle. With its interior design, the Einbeck synagogue took over elements of the liberal Jacob temple in Seesen .
The north-western corner tower opened up the women's gallery (north, south and west gallery) as a staircase.
destruction
The events in Einbeck during the November pogroms in 1938 are mainly known in the dubious form in which the then District Administrator Kurt Heinrichs (NSDAP) described them in retrospect in 1970, in such a way that he exonerated himself. As a result, "at least a dozen SS men from Gandersheim " under the direction of the SS Sturmbannführer von Törne, who died in the war, acted as arsonists on the night of November 9th to 10th . (The same group is also held responsible for the arson at the Jacobstempel in Seesen , shortly before midnight.)
The Einbeck fire brigade laid a hose line to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring houses. District Administrator Heinrichs and Mayor Otto Hildebrecht (NSDAP) "stood on the wall, saw ... the gruesome spectacle and couldn't intervene."
“It was part of the National Socialists' tactics that the SS from outside were held responsible. "It wasn't one of ours - we couldn't do anything." A recent book publication and ... contemporary witness statements show that Einbecker was also involved in the destruction of the synagogue. Some of the arsonists are still known by name today. SS members from Einbeck fetched "a lot of pine shavings" from a courtyard in Tiedexer Strasse and used these fire accelerators to go to the "Jewish temple", as the synagogue was popularly called ... "The SA and SS carried the stolen Torah scrolls through Einbeck's pubs, yelling .
memorial
Opposite the former synagogue, at the foot of the Mühlenwall, is a memorial designed by the sculptor Kurt Lehmann and inaugurated on November 9, 1969. It is a bronze plaque flanked by two concrete steles on which a menorah can be seen. A bronze plaque was set on the floor with the inscription that had stood above the main entrance of the destroyed synagogue: הלוא אב אחד לכלנו הלוא אל אחד בראנו “Aren't we all children of one father? Didn't a God create us? ”This is a quotation from the Bible ( Malachi 2:10).
See also
literature
- Thomas Kellmann: City of Einbeck. (Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany, architectural monuments in Lower Saxony, Volume 7.3), Michael Imhof Verlag 2017, pp. 546-547. ISBN 978-3-7319-0511-0
- Susanne Gerdes: Jews in Einbeck in the 19th century , in: Elke Heege (ed.): Lost, but not forgotten. Jewish life in Einbeck , Isensee, Oldenburg 1998, pp. 17–72. ISBN 3-89598-562-7 .
- Klaus-Dieter Alicke: Lexicon of the Jewish communities in the German-speaking area. 3 volumes. Gütersloher Verlagshaus , Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-08035-2 ( online edition ).
- Kurt Heinrichs: November 9, 1938 in Einbeck , in: Südhannoverscher Heimatkalender 1970, pp. 130-131. Reprint: Stadt Einbeck (ed.): On the history of the Jews in Einbeck. Three essays, Einbeck 1988, pp. 29-32.
- Christine Wittrock: Idyll and abysses. The history of the city of Einbeck from below 1900–1950 . Pahl-Rugenstein, Bonn, 2nd edition 2013, ISBN 978-3-89144-465-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 48 '49.4 " N , 9 ° 52' 8.8" E
Individual evidence
- ↑ Horst Hülse: Einbeck in the early days . In: Einbeck history association (Hrsg.): History of the city of Einbeck . tape 2 . Einbeck 1992, p. 74 .
- ↑ Susanne Gerdes: Jews in Einbeck in the 19th century . S. 47 .
- ↑ Christine Wittrock: Idyll and Abysses. The history of the city of Einbeck from below 1900–1950 . Pahl-Rugenstein, Bonn, 2nd edition 2013.
- ^ Kurt Heinrichs: November 9, 1938 in Einbeck (reprint) . S. 29 .
- ^ Dietrich Kuessner: The pogrom night in the state of Braunschweig. Retrieved January 12, 2018 .
- ^ Kurt Heinrichs: November 9, 1938 in Einbeck . S. 29 .
- ↑ On November 9, 1938, the synagogue was destroyed. In: Einbecker Morgenpost. November 9, 2013, accessed January 12, 2018 .
- ↑ Christian Riemenschneider: First check in five city and regional museums - a pilot project for provenance research in southern Lower Saxony. 2017, p. 31 , accessed January 12, 2018 .