The village of Diepenau, with a population of around 4,000, is located in the southern district of Nienburg, on the border to North Rhine-Westphalia (Minden-Lübbecke district); Diepenau, with its five districts, belongs to the velvet community light.

Two Jewish families in the village of Diepenau can be found in the 1780s; in the neighboring village of Lavelsloh, three families resided at the same time. Their narrow livelihoods consisted of slaughtering and retailing, and they also ran a small agriculture.

In the 1840s, the synagogue district of Diepenau was founded, which, in addition to Lavelsloh, were also associated with the local lighthouses, sturgeons and warmths. Within the congregation, there was always ” quarreling, discord, hatred, envy, intrigue and intrigues of all kinds” , which considerably affected the life of the community. Worship meetings took place in a house in Lavelsloh until the beginning of the 1840s; when this proved to be dilapidated, they were transferred to a building in Diepenau for a short time. A few years later, the small community acquired a garden plot, and after the building permit had been granted by the Landrostei, a synagogue building was built here, and the landrabbiner Meyer was inaugurated. The financing of the construction burdened the community members strongly, especially since the departure of several families the debt could not be reduced.

The visit of the synagogue in Diepenau did not correspond to the expectations of the district council, since the Jews of Uchtes and Warmens were afraid of the long way to Diepenau and therefore visited the prayer room in light.

On a temporary basis, the small community had employed a teacher who gave religious instruction to the few children; besides, he also exercised the office of the shaker.

On a small burial ground in Lavelsloh, deceased memorial members were buried since the beginning of the 19th century; a separate cemetery in Hamme was available for the neighboring sites of Wacht and Warmsen.

Jews in Diepenau:

— 1846 ………………. 7 Jewish families, * * with Lavelsloh

— 1852 ………………. 82 Jews, *

— 1863 ………………. 17 Jewish families, ** ** incl. Light & Warmsen

— 1896 ………………. 3 “”, *** *** in Lavelsloh

— 1913 ………………. 2 “”,

— 1925 ………………. 8 Jews (7 of them in Laversloh),

— 1932 ………………. 4 “.

Information from: N. Kratachwill-Gertich (Red), Diepenau, in: H. Obenaus (eds.), Historical Handbook of the Jewish Communities in Lower Saxony .., Vol. 1, p. 464

In the 1890s, the synagogue building, which had meanwhile become dilapidated, was tried to sell – probably without success (?) Because of the declining number of members of the community and the continuing indebtedness of the municipality.

By 1910, only two families of Mosaic faith lived in Lavelsloh. In August 1938 the last Jewish inhabitants left the village together with the Samenfeld family. 

The deportations during the Nazi era also fell victim to individual members of the former Jewish community Diepenau.

At the Jewish cemetery in Lavelsloh – the last burial took place here in 1937, two years later the area was closed by the NS authorities – still 25 gravestones are still preserved.

Five Jewish families lived in Uchte around 1810, who also had a prayer room since the 1830s. Together with the Jews from Warmsen, they used a cemetery site in Hammerdresch (Uchte). Since 1882, the Jews of Uchtes possessed the status of a synagogue community, which also included the Jewish inhabitants in Warmsen, Meierhof and Stüriede. Shortly there was a tiny religious school.

In the 1920s, eight families (with about 30 people) belonged to the small community. By the end of the 1930s, most Jewish residents had left their homes.

Today you will find about 30 – 35 gravestones dating from around 1850 to 1933 on the hidden funeral area (on the Hannoverschenstraße towards Stolzenau).

In 2015, eleven so-called “Stolpersteine” were moved to members of three Jewish families who were formerly living in the light.