This elaborately designed chandelier made of gold-plated brass once adorned the synagogue in Rheinböllen. It most likely dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century and already used electricity. The chandelier also decorated the dining room of a restaurant for quite some time. Members of the “Förderkreis” (sponsoring group) purchased the lustre in 2012 after discovering it in a private garage; hoping to preserve an impression of the synagogue’s former splendour.
The synagogue in Rheinböllen was constructed between 1830 and 1841, but is used today merely as a workshop and storehouse. The building wasn’t destroyed during the “Reichspogromnacht” (Night of broken glass) in 1938 only because the last head of the local Jewish community, Simon Grünewald, had already arranged for its sale to a master painter from Rheinböllen and the transaction had been officially concluded in October 1938. Worship services were no longer being held in the synagogue at this time. In 1933, only about 20 persons of Jewish faith lived in Rheinböllen, but these, too, all left the village over the following years due to the growing disfranchisement and economic boycotts. Simon Grünewald and his wife were among the last to leave Rheinböllen and move to Frankfurt, but only after succeeding in sending their three sons to safety abroad.
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