Bernburg, Germany

A Jewish resident is mentioned in 1301, and in the second half of the 15th century, there is evidence of a Jewish settlement. A modern community developed from the end of the 17th century. With more than 200 individuals at the beginning of the 19th century, the Jewish population of Bernburg peaked in 1887 at 400. The community established two synagogues in 1731 and 1835. From the 1830s, the community defined itself as Liberal. By 1933, the Jewish population had shrunk to 172 individuals. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was looted and burned down, Jewish businesses and homes were wrecked, and Jewish men were taken off to the Buchenwald concentration camp. By May 1939, 75 Jews remained in the urban district of Bernburg. Of those who did not manage to emigrate, most were deported, including 16 in 1942 to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Only Jews married to non-Jews remained in Bernburg. Bernburg also served as the location of one of the Third Reich's “euthanasia" centers, and about 20,000 people, including Jews, were gassed there.