What Do You and 200 Russian Jews in Hameln, Germany, Have in Common? . . . Everything!

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Synagoge in der Bürenstraße
View of the original synagoge
destroyed during Kristallnacht
The Jüdische Gemeinde Hameln (JGH) was established in 1997 by Rachel Dohme, an American-born Jewish woman, and seventeen Jewish men and women.  Over the past seven years, the congregation has grown to become an active and vibrant community with 200 members, most of whom are from the Former Soviet Union.  JGH has brought Judaism back to Hameln, where, until the Second World War, a thriving Jewish community had existed for almost 800 years.  Together, we are working to restore Progressive Judaism to Germany, the land of its birth.

On November 9, 1938, Hameln’s charming synagogue on the Buerenstrasse was destroyed during Germany’s nation-wide Kristallnacht attack on Jewish institutions, businesses, and individuals.  The president of the synagogue was brought to the site, forced to his knees, and compelled to watch the building burn.  The Jewish community was then forced to pay for the leveling of the parts of the building that were not destroyed by the fire.  The city then appropriated the land and created a small park where the synagogue had formerly stood.

“Synagogue Platz 1” — 1 Synagogue Place

“Synagoge Platz 1” — 1 Synagogue Place

On January 1, 2002, an historic event occurred.  After a year of negotiations, JGH bought back the land on the Buerenstrasse with the intention of building a new synagogue in Hameln to serve the entire Jewish community.  In recognition of the importance of this civic undertaking, the city of Hameln renamed the area “Synagoge Platz 1” — 1 Synagogue Place.

With your help, we will build and endow the first Progressive synagogue to be built in post-war Germany.  Your generous contributions are tax deductible through the Jewish Appleseed Foundation, an American 501(c)(3) corporation that is our partner in this historic undertaking.

May you be blessed for your act of Tzedaka!

Learn more about the Hameln Jewish Cultural Center, its architect, and design.

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