Jüdischer Niederrhein

As late as August 1840, the Chief Rabbi Dr. Ullmann had submitted an application for the establishment of a Jewish elementary school - a predecessor of today's elementary schools. This application was supported by Mayor Leysner of the city of Krefeld. A school building was erected towards the end of the same year. The school rooms were located at Lohstraße 613. From 1853, the Jewish school moved to premises at Petersstraße 159 (today house number 41) due to lack of space. In 1860, the Jewish community acquired the house at Felbelstraße 15 (later 26) to accommodate its growing student body.

A Jewish cemetery appears in the sources for the first time in 1751. It was located on the crossroads. Since the burial ground was already completely occupied in 1778, the Linner magistrate left the adjacent field piece to the Jewish community.

The Jewish cemetery in Krefeld Uerdingen was established before 1844. The former burial ground was located in the triangle between Duisburger Straße and the old Friedhofsstraße. Burials were held here until 1942, the same year the Jewish community was forced to sell the site under National Socialist pressure. IG Farben (Bayer AG) acquired the property. The cemetery was leveled and built over. No graves or gravestones remain. On site, there is no evidence of the former burial ground.

On 6.12.1964 the Jewish community inaugurated a prayer hall on the corner of Rheinstrasse and Philadelphiastrasse, which provided space for about 130 people. Due to the growth of the Jewish community, the space quickly became too small. Since 1978, the Jewish community had rented rooms on the second floor of the house Wiedstraße 17 for conversion into a prayer hall. This prayer hall could be referred 1981.

Shortly after the end of the war in 1945, Jewish life in Krefeld revived. About ten Jews joined together to form a (new) Jewish community. The silk manufacturer Fritz Leven became the head of the community. The community initially met in his private house at Bismarckstrasse 118. 116 and 118 belonged to the Jewish community of Krefeld. The community grew again. At the end of the 1960s it had about 120 people. This number remained fairly constant for the following decades.

From 1848, Fischeln's small Jewish community set up its own prayer room at Marienstraße 37. To hold a service, however, the room could be used only years later, because previously the number of minyan (10 Jewish males are required for a service, otherwise it can not be held) had not been reached.

Around 1910, at the latest by the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the prayer room was no longer used.

In the middle of the 20th century, the basement floors of today's Hindenburgstraße 20/22 always showed damp spots after heavy rainfall. When investigating the cause, one came across a hole about 20 meters deep, at the lowest point of which were old wooden planks. According to oral tradition, this is supposed to be a so-called "Judenbrunnen" in earlier times. This was a (non-Jewish) name for a mikveh, a ritual bath in Judaism.

On November 9, 1764, the new synagogue was consecrated in what was then Juden-Kirch-Straße 44, now Mennonitenkirchstraße.

Before that, the service had been held in the house of Krefeld's Mendel Meyer ab, which today, unfortunately, can no longer be located exactly.

The first leader of the community was Baer Abraham Onderich from Metz. For this synagogue, the banker Isaac Meyer donated ten years later a bench for cultic purposes (circumcision), which is preserved to this day and is with the Jewish community in Krefeld.

Since 1978, the Jewish community had rented premises on the second floor of the house Wiedstraße 17 for conversion into a prayer hall. This prayer room could be occupied in 1981. By the growing number of members of the congregation the place was hardly sufficient already in the 1990s.

see description "Jewish community center" and "Krefeld synagogue".