Sachsenhagen

First Jewish presence: early 17th century; peak Jewish population: 58 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 22

In 1885, when this small Jewish community recorded its peak population figure, most Sachsenhagen Jews were cattle traders, butchers and merchants. By the mid-1700s, the community had established a prayer room (located in a private residence) and a burial site. The earliest records of a proper synagogue and a cemetery, the latter of which was located at the Duehlholzgaerten, are dated 1823 and 1835, respectively. Sachsenhagen was home to a Jewish school from 1859 to 1889, but the teacher was frequently replaced, and there was no chazzan or shochet during those years. In 1870, the community finally inaugurated a synagogue; the building also housed a school whose teacher may have served as shochet and chazzan. Several local Jews were active in the town’s social and political life. In response to the increasingly dire political situation, many Jews left Sachsenhagen after 1933. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), three Jews were arrested. Although the synagogue was not burned down that night (so as not to damage neighboring buildings), rioters destroyed its windows and interior. The synagogue building was used as a barn until 1967, when it was converted into a residential building. At least 21 Sachsenhagen Jews perished in the Shoah.

Heike Zaun Goshen

Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/ Germansynagogues.com

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