November pogroms of 1938 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld

Riots against Jews during the pogrom of 9/10 November 1938 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld; setting fire to the synagogue and destruction of shops belonging to Jewish citizens. On 9 November 1938, a perpetrator was in the Thelen restaurant in Neuen-Gerstenstraße in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. His mother-in-law phoned to say that an order had been issued by the NSDAP district leadership in Düsseldorf that the shop windows of Jewish businesses were to be smashed and the synagogue set on fire. The perpetrator first wanted to check with the NSDAP district leadership and called the NSDAP district leadership from the Thelen pub, who confirmed the order from the Gauleitung Düsseldorf. Two other perpetrators had now turned up at the pub. They were travelling in a motorised taxi. The driver was told to wait outside the pub. One of the perpetrators, after learning of the arson and destruction order, sought out his supervisor. He woke him up and told him the order. Together they went to the Thelen pub. About half an hour later, five perpetrators drove out of the pub with empty wine bottles. They drove through Herzogstraße and Königstraße in the car, where a number of windows of Jewish businesses were smashed with the empty bottles. An SA man also joined them. One of the perpetrators received a telephone call from the NSDAP district headquarters in Wuppertal from the NSDAP head of propaganda in Düsseldorf confirming that an order had been issued by the Gauleitung Düsseldorf to destroy Jewish shops and set fire to the synagogues. He was to pass the order on to the NSDAP formations, looting was to be stopped and non-Jewish property was to be protected. He then tried to contact the NSDAP district leader, but was unsuccessful. He therefore drove to the synagogue in the car together with three other perpetrators. A small can (presumably containing petrol) was taken from the NSDAP district leader. At the synagogue, the perpetrators got out of the car and walked to the door. There were already 30-50 SA men there, some of whom had already entered the synagogue. The main door was locked, so a side entrance was used. A fence was climbed over. In some places, at the altar, under desks and on a table in the small meeting room, pitch torches were already burning. An explosion occurred, blinding one of the perpetrators, who had to be led out. A castellan who wanted to see what was going on was prevented from trying to extinguish the fire. The perpetrator also threatened the castellan of the synagogue with the words: "We'll hang you, we'll make a big deal out of you." The castellan's wife, who lived in an administration building next to the synagogue, was abused by unknown men. The altar and staircase were damaged, as were the furnishings and religious artefacts. The fire brigade arrived at around four a.m. and began to extinguish the fire. The fire was extinguished by 7 a.m., but the synagogue was not completely destroyed. In the afternoon of 10 November 1938 and in the night of 10/11 November 1938, new fires broke out, completely destroying the synagogue.