Jewish Memorial at the Site of the Former Synagogue Paderborn

Around 1800, the Jewish community of Paderborn built a synagogue and a school building in Padergasse. When this became dilapidated, the Jewish community acquired a plot of land on the Busdorf-Immunität in December 1860. After the Jewish school was built and a neighboring plot of land was purchased, the new synagogue in the Moorish style was inaugurated in August 1882. It was prominently featured by an octagonal central building (octagon) made of bricks and onion domes, and it had space for 190 men and 103 women. During the November pogroms, the SS, with the participation of the city building council and the head of the city's vehicle fleet, set fire to the synagogue on November 10, 1938. On November 30, 1939, the Jewish community was forced to transfer all of its property to the city. The ruins of the old synagogue were demolished. After 1945, a Jewish memorial was erected on the site of the Old Synagogue.In 1959, a New Synagogue was inaugurated not far from the Old Synagogue.Source: Wikipedia

The Jewish communities in Europe, whose centuries-old tradition is often only documented by commemorative plaques or monuments, were honored - especially in these difficult times with rapidly growing, openly expressed anti-Semitism - by awarding the "International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen" to the President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and the Jewish communities in Europe.
"In recognition of his outstanding work for peace, the self-determination of peoples and European values, for tolerance, pluralism and understanding, and in recognition of his significant commitment to interreligious and intercultural dialogue, the Board of Directors of the Society for the Award of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen in 2024 honors the President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and together with him the Jewish communities in Europe. With this award, the Charlemagne Prize Board wants to send a signal that Jewish life is a natural part of Europe and that there must be no place for anti-Semitism in Europe. Jewish life is an important part of European history and the present - now and in the future. (...) Together with the President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and the Jewish communities in Europe, the Board of Directors of the Society for the Award of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen in 2024 is honoring the outstanding representative of European Jewry and Jewish life in Europe, which has enriched our continent for centuries and will and must always have its place here."