Illumin8! Reflections
The word "Hanukkah" means "dedication," which is about devoting someone or something for a particular purpose. For each of the holiday's eight nights, Rabbi Knopf and several congregants offer a reflection. We hope you'll use these ideas when lighting your candles each night. And, just maybe, you'll be inspired to dedicate yourself to a higher purpose this year. Hanukkah Same'ah! Happy Hanukkah!
Night 7: Rededication
By Inge Windmueller Horowitz
On November 9, 2017 a rededication took place in Beckum, Germany, the town where I was born, in remembrance of Kristallnacht, not Hanukkah. But they don’t know about Hanukkah. Since 1938, there have been no Jews in Beckum.
The Synagogue where I was a student and where my family prayed was defiled on Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. In 1967 the building was totally demolished. Now, a sensitive citizen, Stefan Wittenbrink, current Chairman of the the local historical society Heimatverein, initiated a plan to create a Stele. A replica of the former synagogue in bronze will stand upon a 6-pointed concrete pedestal. This Stele was dedicated at the site of the former Synagogue, on November 9, 2017.
Mr. Wittenbrink was mentored by Hugo Krick, a citizen of Beckum who befriended our family. On a visit in Richmond, Hugo spoke emotionally from the pulpit at Temple Beth-El.
Mr. Wittenbrink wrote to me: “Nearly 30 years ago Hugo Krick invited me to the Heimatverein and we became friends. Two years ago Hugo’s widow, Maria asked me to show Beckum to visitors, Daniela and David. When we were in front of the place of the former Synagogue I did not know how it had looked. Later, in the district archives, I found some very exact drawings. My goal is to preserve as much original history as possible. The Synagogue was certainly the center of the Jewish people in Beckum. Through the Stele, the Synagogue will be three-dimensionally present and visible for all who pass by. It is - as in miniature - retrieved from the darkness of the history of Beckum, now and in the future. The peaceful, inviting quotation can be read twice in Hebrew and in German – as it once was above the Synagogue entrance: 'This House is a Prayerhouse for All People.' On Kristallnacht, Erich Stein, owner of the cement factory and one of the few remaining Jews, was forced to go atop a ladder and chisel off the welcoming Hebrew expression above the entrance.”
My message which was read at the Dedication:
“The beautiful model of the former Synagogue reminds me of my time in this building. From 1936 until we left in September 1937, I came here every school day. Public school was no longer an option for Jewish children. Lehrer Jacob Rafael, who also conducted Sabbath services, taught the eight Jewish students.
"I am grateful to my relative, Daniela Neumann, for traveling to Beckum as our representative at the dedication. I thank Stefan Wittenbrink for this initiative, the Heimatverein, and the City of Beckum for commissioning a fitting memorial to the former Synagogue, and by extension, the former Jewish community of Beckum.”
