Otto Kaiser (preacher)

Otto Kaiser (born April 15, 1880 in Hamm , † December 16, 1925 in Mülheim an der Ruhr ) was a German rabbi and Jewish religion teacher.

Live and act

A few years after his birth, his parents moved to Mülheim an der Ruhr, where he attended elementary school. After attending secondary schools in Gelsenkirchen and Münster, he trained as a primary school teacher at a Münster teacher training institute. After the final exam in 1899 and another additional exam in Soest, he took up his first job as a teacher and cantor for the Jewish community in Werl in 1900 .

After completing his military service in 1902/03, he moved to Mülheim an der Ruhr, where he took up a position as a teacher at the Dickswall School and as a rabbi for the Jewish community. During his term of office, the planning and construction of the new synagogue fell, for which the renowned Düsseldorf architect Josef Kleesattel was engaged. On August 2, 1907, Otto Kaiser was able to inaugurate the new prayer house with a solemn service.

In 1906 he married Eleonore Mond (1882–1944), who was later murdered by the National Socialists in Auschwitz . The relationship resulted in four children who survived the Holocaust by emigrating. Otto Kaiser himself died at the end of 1925 after a long and serious illness.

literature

• Gerhard Bennertz: Educator for real, noble people: Otto Kaiser , in: Barbara Kaufhold: Jews in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2004, pp. 190–206.

Web links

• Mülheim's synagogues from 1794 until today
• The inauguration of the new Mülheim synagogue on Viktoriaplatz
• "Stolperstein" in Mülheim an der Ruhr for Eleonore Kaiser