The village of Sinzenich and the surrounding areas was home for many Jewish families. Historic information tells us that already in 1750 well to do Jewish families lived in Sinzenich and the serounding Eifel area. The families all had their own businesses. They had a textile shop, a butcher shop, and traded in livestock horses and cows. There were also landowners that rented out pasture and crop fields to local farmers. The Jewish citizen, who lived in Sinzenich had a better living standard, because of the trading monopoly that they had developed a century earlier.
The relationships between the Jewish families and the rest of the people in Sinzenichz was normal. There was no prejudice of one and others believe or traditions. Neither from Jews or Christians.
The Jewish citizens were completely excepted in the social life of the village. Friendships had developed in all kinds of forms. If someone needed help it was done. Together they celebrated and at the venue of Hubberts there were balls were people had good contact with one another. Later in 1932 there were private venues between the village people and there Jewish neighbors, this was solely done so that no problems would occur when the Nazi’s came to power in 1932.
There was a real good mutual respect and confidence. And for the majority of people in Sinzenich there was no grounds to insinuate that there Jewish friends and neighbors where a hostile race of people. During the collapse of the German economy in 1929, strong Antisemitic and radical groups appeared. Most of these groups where quietly tolerated. After the establishment of the NSDAP in 1920 Antisemitische became more stronger and more organized.
In 1933 the Nazi’s put restrictions of all kinds in place, you were not allowed to have a job with state owned office. You were also not allowed to use the parks, theater’s, cinemas or swimming pools. The Nazi’s intimidated the local population, ransack there homes and businesses and looted.
Many Jewish families were able to immigrate to the USA this started in 1935 and some were able to secure visas and passage as late as 1942 others were able to flee and took refugee in Holland and France. At that time the German gouvernement still allowed Jews to leave the country. This was also a time when you still were able to to take your money with you. But many were not so lucky and when you did not had an exit visa you were picked up by the Nazi’s and sent back. Those who stayed behind were rounded up and sent to the concentration camps. After the war there were a few survivors and most of them emigrated to the USA.
During the Kristalnacht of November 9 and 10, 1938. in the morning of November the 9th, the members of the SA
arrived and by the evening of November 10th they started to the herasment of Jewish homes and businesses. They were assisted by 2 village people who were members of SA. The rest of the village people did not wanted to take part of the looting of Jewish property who were there neighbors. In they end they were forced and intimidated by the SA to take part in this.
Only the Sinzenicher farmer Heuken, the father of Anna Mosch, stood with a pitchfork in the middle of the road, to protect the two daugters of Jakob Scheuer from deportation by the SA. He sreamed “ when you want to take these girls, you first have to kill me”. Farmer Heuken was arrested by the SA since he obstructed there work. A few day altar he was released from jail.
The Jewish citizen were fleeing into the Synagogue for protection but soon afterwards they were forced to leave the place and the looting and vandalizing the Jewish owned homes and businesses started.
On November 15, 1938 all Jewish students were removed from the school, but the Dominican nuns in Euskirchen ran a school and took those students in. At the same time all over Germany the repression against the Jewish citizens became more and more repressive. Most of your belongings were confiscated, you could no longer own a radio or telephone or a newspaper. There were restrictions you could not have a regular job and because of this, forced labor was the order of the day. After that the Jews were afraid and they where only allowed to shop from 1 till 2 pm in certain shops.
During Wannsee Conference of January 14, 1942, it was decided that all Jews should be exterminated. More and more Jews were deported and killed. The number of people that were killed was unbelievable.
The Jewish families that were still in Sinzenich were all deported on July 14, 1942 to Bonn-Endenich but they never arrived there. From what is know today they were deported to Cologne and transported to the east in all likelihood to Warschauer. Getto. Children were separated and transported in cattle cars, leaving behind in anguish the parents.The parents were all sent on a later train. The scenes during the separation of parent and children can not described the anguish and fears that they must have felt is unspeakable.