Memorial stone for the former Wandsbek Synagogue
The synagogue of the Wandsbek Jewish community was a simple brick building with arched windows that was inaugurated in the summer of 1840. It was located in the rear courtyard at Langereihe 13-16, a street now known as Königsreihe. In the early 1930s, the Wandsbek Jewish congregation had about 200 people.
Persecution by the Nazis brought Jewish religious life in Wandsbek to an end in October 1938. During the pogroms throughout the Reich on the night of 9 November 1938, the Wandsbek Synagogue was desecrated. The building was not burned down, but only because it was in the middle of a residential area. In February 1939, the Jewish community was forced to sell the synagogue property. The building was then used to store wood, and an air-raid shelter was built on part of the property. The synagogue building was torn down in 1975.
Memorial stone
A block of flats currently stands on the site of the former synagogue on Dotzauerweg. The Wandsbek district assembly placed a memorial stone across from this block in 1988 in memory of the former Jewish community and synagogue in Wandsbek. The dedication ceremony was attended by Hella Rosenheim (née Bamberger), the daughter of the last Wandsbek rabbi.
The text on the memorial stone reads:
The synagogue of the Jewish community in Wandsbek once stood on the street formerly known as Lange Reihe. The house of worship was inaugurated in 1840. Its founder was Isaak Hartwig (1776–1842). There had previously been a prayer room on this street. The rabbis Dr David Hannover (1833–1901) and Dr Simon S. Bamberger (1871–1961) served here. During the Reich-wide November pogrom, the police ensured that no fire was set here around 10.11.1938. However, SA men later broke into the building and vandalized it. The property had to be sold in 1939. The building was bombed out in 1943 during the war.
ALWAYS RESPECT THE BELIEFS AND THOUGHTS OF OTHERS!
Wandsbek District Assembly 1988
Directions to the memorials in the Hamburg-Wandsbek district