Obj. ID: 31574
Memorials Memorial at the Site of New Synagogue in Peine, Germany, 1948
To the main object: New synagogue in Peine, Germany
Name of Monument
No official name
What/Who is commemorated?
The Synagogue of Peine, destroyed on November 11, 1938.
Description
The memorial is shaped like a column topped with a shallow bowl. Its upper section is decorated with a carved ornamental band including the depiction of the Magen David. At the central section, there are three bands of Hebrew, German, and English inscriptions.
Three steps lead to the memorial. On the right and left sides of them lie two more recent slabs bearing a Magen David and the German inscriptions.
Inscription
On the monument:
In Hebrew
Translation: The location of the synagogue of the city of Peine, which was destroyed by the Nazis on the 16th of Marcheshvan, 5699. Woe to me, for I have destroyed My house and exiled My children. [BT, Berakhot 3a]
In German
Hier stand die Synagoge die am 11. 11. 1938 von unberufenen Händen zerstört wurde
Translation: Here stood the synagogue which was destroyed by profane hands 11.11.1938.
In English
Here stood the synagogue which was destroyed by profane hands 11.11.1938
On the right slab (added later), in German
Hans Marburger
Geboren
Am 28.5.1921[?]
Umgekommen
Am 10.11.1938
Kristallnacht
Translation: Hans Marburger / born / on 28 May 1921 [?] / killed / on 10 November 1938 / Night of Broken Glass.
On the left slab (added later), in German
1907-1938
Synagoge
Zerstort Durch
Brandstiftung
Am 10/11.11.1938
Kristallnacht
Translation: 1907-1938 / Synagogue / destroyed by / arson / on 10/11 November 1938 / Night of Broken Glass.
Commissioned by
The municipality of Peine.
sub-set tree: 
As Peine did not have a Jewish community after the war, Siegfried Gross, a representative for Jews in the Hildesheim district, contacted the municipality in early 1947, urging them to restore the Jewish cemetery and return dignity to the neglected site of the former synagogue [Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep. 08141]. When the synagogue site underwent landscaping, children started to use this small green spot as a playground. Gross protested emotionally and demanded a proper memorial instead. His position was bolstered by the local Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime (VVN) and the Central Council of Liberated Jews in the British Zone. The Council pointed out that “a failure to observe Gross's proposal would stand in strict contradiction to the policy applied by the British Military Government regarding the treatment of destroyed Jewish religious institutions.” The municipality understood well the political importance of the case and could not ignore the fact that Gross had been appointed by the Military Government [Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep., Letter of 8 September 1947]. The correspondence reveals that the municipal council had little autonomy in the matter; Gross dictated the specific wording as well as the order of the inscriptions in Hebrew, German, and English [Stadtarchiv Peine, Letter of August 12, 1947]. When the municipality considered omitting the English inscription, it immediately received an inquiry from Gross and a recommendation from a British Kreis Resident Officer (KRO) to include it [Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep., Letter from KRO R.J. Hibberd, received February 5, 1948]. Gross decided on the program and the date of the unveiling ceremony. Thus, while funded and executed by the municipality, the memorial was effectively initiated by Gross and enforced by British officials.
Later, two memorial slabs were added to the memorial.
Presumably, in the 2000s, four information boards with the synagogue history were placed near the memorial site.
Aus der Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinden im deutschen Sprachraum, https://www.xn--jdische-gemeinden-22b.de/index.php/gemeinden/p-r/1562-peine-niedersachsen.
"Novemberpogrome 1938 in Niedersachsen: Peine," pogrome1938-niedersachsen.de., https://pogrome1938-niedersachsen.de/peine/ (accessed March 10, 2026)
Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep. 08141.
Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep., Letter of 8 September 1947.
Stadtarchiv Peine, Letter of August 12, 1947.
Stadtarchiv Peine, Rep., Letter from KRO R.J. Hibberd, received February 5, 1948.