Synagogue Selm-Bork
Encyclopedia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
, and a witness of pre-holocaust Jewish life in Westphalia. The exact year of construction is unknown, the first written reference was found in a directory of houses, written in 1818.
Until Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
of 1938, the synagogue was used for prayer. During the pogrom the building was looted and partially destroyed. The Jewish community was forced to sell the building. A coal dealer acquired the building and used it as a barn.
In 1991 the synagogue was restored and opened for the public in 1994, the government declared the synagogue a historic monument.
Today it is used by Etz Ami, a liberal Jewish community.