Synagogue (Eisleben)
The former synagogue was built in Eisleben in 1850 and is a protected cultural monument .
Building history
In 1814, the growing Jewish community bought the house in what is now Lutherstrasse, which probably dates from the 15th century. At that time the street was called "Lange Gasse" and the houses were two-story and eaves. The house was initially used as a religious school and cantor's apartment ( Chasan apartment ).
In 1850 it was converted into a synagogue . For this purpose, the upper floor and roof were removed and two new upper floors in half-timbered construction were placed on the old ground floor walls. The prayer room with a women's gallery was built here.
In the 1920s the main entrance was relocated and the stairs changed. In addition, the painting was revised.
In 1938 the synagogue was desecrated during the November pogroms. The cantor Gustav Mosbach was mistreated and parts of the inventory were destroyed. The synagogue was not set on fire because the neighboring houses would also have burned down. In 1939 the state expropriated the Jewish community and the synagogue became private property. In 1940 the house was to be converted into a residential building, which was probably not possible due to the war.
After the war, the synagogue was initially used as emergency quarters, then it was used by the New Apostolic Church . In the 1960s, it was converted into a residential building. The two-storey light strips on both facades were closed or divided. The air space of the women's gallery was closed and the prayer room was divided into smaller rooms. Since the roof was not maintained, water seeped into the house for decades and destroyed the historic wooden structure.
In 2002 the city of Eisleben acquired the house on the initiative of a support association . It has been gradually restored since then. Preservation was not yet assured in 2007.
History of the Jewish Community
The first settlement of Jews in the Mansfelder Land began in the 14th century in the course of the development of local mining. The Jüdenhof in Eisleben is first mentioned in 1451 , a small square adjacent to the market square where Jews lived. This place could be locked at its two exits on certain occasions. An expulsion of Jews in Eisleben before 1451 is probable, but not proven. About 50 Jews lived in the city at the time of the Reformation . The anti-Judaism of the Reformation, in the first place by Martin Luther himself, led in 1543 to an edict of the Elector of Saxony , which deprived the Jews the residential, commercial and draft law. The Jews left the city and mostly avoided the Kingdom of Poland .
It was not until the end of the 18th century that Jews settled in Eisleben again. The first were the merchant families Simon , Löwenstein and Schutzer . After the number of Jews in Eisleben became so large that one could form a community, the Jews of Eisleben inaugurated their prayer room on September 9, 1814 in the rooms of a residential and commercial building in Langen Gasse (today Lutherstrasse 25). Here the Sabbath and the corresponding religious celebrations were observed. In the 19th century the synagogue also served as a religious school and home for the cantor. A cantor has been employed since the 1830s. From 1863 to 1876, Mohel Samuel Hamburger was named cantor , Rabbi Professor Enoch at the end of the 19th century and Max Frank as cantor in the 1920s . The last cantor was Gustav Mosbach , who lived in the house with his family.
In 1925 there were 88 members in the municipality in the urban district. In addition there were 43 members from the Mansfeld Seekreis, 35 from the Mansfelder Gebirgskreis and more from the Sangerhausen and Artern districts . They were mostly merchants, bankers and lawyers.
During the time of National Socialism , Jews were discriminated against, as everywhere in Germany, so that many left the city or even the country. In 1938, 42 Jews were named in the city, at least 21 of whom were murdered in the Shoah . Among those who could not decide to emigrate and therefore perished were the families who had lived the longest in Eisleben and the surrounding area, such as the Bratel family, the Rosenthal family, Katzenstein and the Mosbach family.
With that the Eisleber Jewish community ceased to exist. The survivors are scattered all over the world. Not a single one has returned.
literature
- Holger Brülls: Synagogues in Saxony-Anhalt , Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 978-334500653-1
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Burkhard Zemlin: "Stadtführer Lutherstadt Eisleben", Bindlach 1996
- ↑ Germania Judaica GJ III / 1, 1987, p. 294
- ↑ "Memorial Book - Victims of the Persecution of Jews under the National Socialist Tyranny in Germany 1933–1945" Federal Archives 2007
- ↑ Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs 'and Heroes' Remembrance Authority [1]
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 '37.6 " N , 11 ° 32' 54.7" E