A light for each other and rewards

There was a liturgy. It started already the day before and especially at this location. At the commemoration of the victims of the reichspogromnacht of 1938 on friday, the jewish mitburger arnold and sofie seliger were among the people who found their way to the former synagogue. Only in name, but as a "stumbling block" but literally.

It may soon have gathered about 200 people in front of the former house of god. The menorah, the seven-armed luminary, sent candlelight into the darkness of the night in front of the former main portal. As did the candles that many visitors brought with them to the place that was the spiritual center of the jews in lichtenfels.

"Making peace without weapons"

Here was symbolism to be found. Twelve blocks of stone lie around a tree, signifying the twelve tribes of israel. There, close to them, stood mayor andreas hugerich and gazed into the flames. A woman in the crowd turned to her neighbor and pleaded that this annual commemoration of the events of 9/11 should not be held in front of the synagogue. On the 10. November 1938 always take place here. Other people held a banner with the words "create peace without weapons" to the high.

The remembrance of the past and the concern for the future came together in judengasse at about 6 p.M. "On behalf of the protestant and catholic youth, i greet you. I am thrilled that there are so many who have found their way here.", deanery youth officer reiner babucke, stepping up to the microphone in front of the synagogue. He was assisted by pastoral counselor tomas reich.

Together they created musical and textual contemplations with the pastors helmuth bautz and georg birkel from bad staffelstein. One of the most impressive sentences of the evening, spoken in silence, was as follows: "what must we do so that we do not forget how quickly people become pitiless monsters??" the answer was given by a song, sung from all throats: "stay here and watch with me."

Prelude to the mass extermination

Probably 400 people of the jewish faith were murdered throughout the reich on the night of 9 november 1938. On the 10. November 1938 by anti-jewish actions nazi mobs the death. So also violent thugs went through lichtenfels, plundering and destroying shops of jewish citizens, ramming the synagogue door with a beam, smashing its windows and destroying its interior. Here too, as throughout the reich, a prelude to the mass extermination of the jews.

In lichtenfels, too, jewish citizens were harmed, humiliated and tormented. For them bautz always extinguished a light at the menorah, but for a better future together birkel should light there again later. Birkel also recalled civil courage, resistance movements such as the weibe rose, the kreisau circle or those of the generals of the 20th century. July.

For one hour, people were to stand together and pray together. As they parted again, they revealed the view of the two stumbling stones in front of the synagogue. They belong to arnold and sofie seliger, who died in 1941 and 1938.