Rheydt, Germany

A Jewish merchant is mentioned in 1571 and three to five families were present in the second half of the 18th century. From 1819, Jews from the surrounding villages began to settle in the city. The Jewish population rose to 88 in 1846 and 263 (total 22,658) in 1885. The community was attached to the Krefeld consistory under French rule and then became part of the Moenchengladbach regional congregation in 1854 and an independent congregation in 1890 with three satellite communities (Odenkirchen, Giesenkirchen-Schelsen, and Rheindahlen). A synagogue was consecrated in 1876 with an attached mikve, indicative of the Orthodox leanings of the community. With the development of the textile and shoe industries in the city in the late 19th century, a number of Jews opened factories. Jews were active in social and economic societies. The Jewish population grew to a peak of 390 (total 78,227) in 1925 and in 1929 the city was united with Moenchengladbach. During the Weimar period, a number of Jewish enterprises continued to prosper. The Stern shoe factory employed 345 workers in 1928. In mid-1933, 351 Jews remained in the city. On 11 May 1935, SA troops desecrated the Jewish cemetery, Jewish homes were vandalized, and windows were smashed. In July, Jews were banned from local swimming pools, preceding other German cities. Before the mid-1930s, few Jews left the city and according to Gestapo lists, 11 Jewish stores were still open in 1938. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was destroyed with its Torah scrolls and religious articles. A number of Jews were sent to the Dachau concentration camp. On the night of 11 November, two Jewish apartments were destroyed. In December 1938, the Stern shoe factory was transferred to German ownership. From early 1939, Jews were mobilized for forced labor, the men on swamp reclamation and road work, the women in textile plants, mostly mending army uniforms. In May 1939, 232 Jews remained, a population drop of a third since 1933. Deportations began in fall 1941. On 27 October, 20 or 21 Jews were deported to the Lodg ghetto; on 10 December, 40 or 48 were sent to the Riga ghetto; on 22 April 1942, 14 were deported to Izbica in the Lublin district (Poland) and on 15 June another seven; on 24 July, 65 or 71 were sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto.