Jewish Community of Stommeln
Jewish community of Stommeln refers to the historical Jewish community in today's Pulheim district of Stommeln. Its presence is already documented in the Middle Ages, was violently interrupted during the Black Death pogroms in 1349, and was re-established from the early 18th century. In the 19th century the community reached its numerical peak; in the 20th century it declined sharply and effectively ceased to exist around 1930. The last Jewish residents remaining in Stommeln were deported in 1942. The Stommeln Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery on Nagelschmiedstraße have been preserved; both now serve as places of remembrance and learning.
History
Middle Ages and early modern period
Jewish residents in Stommeln are documented by charters from 1305 and 1321. As a result of the Black Death pogroms, the medieval community was probably wiped out in 1349.Resettlement and the 19th century
A renewed settlement of Jewish families is attested from the beginning of the 18th century. In 1831/1832 a prayer room or first small half-timbered synagogue was established in a rear courtyard. With the growth of the community, a new building was erected on the same site in 1881/1882 and solemnly inaugurated on 11 August 1882. The number of community members reached its peak in 1861 with 78 people; by 1890 it had fallen to 40.Decline in the early 20th century
After the First World War there was increased migration to the cities. Around 1926 the last community leader presumably moved to Cologne; by around 1930 the community had de facto dissolved due to the lack of a minyan. For 1932/1933 around ten Jewish residents are recorded in Stommeln.Nazi era and the Holocaust
In May 1937 the synagogue building was sold by the Cologne Synagogue Community, as legal successor, to a farmer from Stommeln and was subsequently used as a storage space; as a result, the building remained undestroyed during the November pogroms of 1938. The last Jewish residents living in Stommeln were deported in 1942; since 1988 a commemorative stele at the Jewish cemetery has borne their names.Community institutions
Synagogue
The synagogue built in 1881/1882 is set back "in the second row" behind today's address Hauptstraße 85. In 1979 the City of Pulheim acquired the derelict building; it was restored from 1981 to 1983 and opened to the public on 2 October 1983. Since 1990/1991 the former synagogue has served as the venue for an internationally noted art and remembrance project, within which site-specific artistic interventions are realized annually.Jewish cemetery
The Jewish cemetery on Nagelschmiedstraße was established before 1861 and was in use until 1937. Devastated during the Nazi era, it was restored in 1967. Today, 25 gravestones survive; since November 1988 a stele at the entrance has commemorated the Jewish citizens of Stommeln murdered during the Nazi period.Demographics
1861: 78 community members1890: 40 Jewish residents
1932/1933: about 10 Jewish residents
Commemoration
Since 1990/1991: "Synagogue Stommeln" project with annual site-specific interventions by international contemporary artists.1988: Commemorative stele at the Jewish cemetery listing the names of the murdered.