Megillah Esther
Object numberM1991/025
TitleMegillah Esther
DescriptionMegillah Esther scroll, ink on parchment, written in Hebrew. It relates the story of how Queen Esther pleaded with King Ahasuerus to save the Jewish people. It is read in synagogue after the evening service on the Eve of the festival of Purim, and again on the morning of Purim.
This scroll was rescued from the flames of the burning synagogue of Saffig near Andernach, Germany, by a Christian neighbour of Herman Hirsch, during Kristallnacht. Hirsch was President of the Jewish community of Saffig. He gave the Megillah to his son, William, who migrated to Australia in 1938.
Donated by William and Lilian Hirsch in memory of their parents.
In memory of the Murdered:
Moritz and Emma Hirsch (nee Hahn) and their son Ernst Hirsch
Hermann and Ida Hirsch (nee Bar)
Helene Klee (nee Hirsch)
The sisters Cilly and Mathilde Meyer
Although the earliest record of a Jewish presence in Saffig is dated 1587, it is likely that Jews lived there before then. By 1863, the Jewish population had peaked at 67 (10% of the total population). Local Jews were members of the Andernach synagogue community from 1866 until 1878. In 1858, the Saffig Jewish community built a synagogue at 3 Kloeppelsberg (present-day Neustrasse). Burials were conducted at the Jewish cemetery in Meisenheim. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), SA troops destroyed the interior of Saffig’s synagogue, broke its windows and burned most of its ritual objects; one Torah scroll and one Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) scroll were saved, and are now kept in New York and Sydney, respectively. In December 1939, the community was forced to sell the synagogue for 270 Reichsmarks, after which the site was used as a shed for storing tools and other equipment. In 1942, Saffig’s remaining Jews were deported. At least six former Jewish residents of Saffig perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was declared a historical monument in 1984. In 1991, the restored building was opened as a memorial and cultural center.
This scroll was rescued from the flames of the burning synagogue of Saffig near Andernach, Germany, by a Christian neighbour of Herman Hirsch, during Kristallnacht. Hirsch was President of the Jewish community of Saffig. He gave the Megillah to his son, William, who migrated to Australia in 1938.
Donated by William and Lilian Hirsch in memory of their parents.
In memory of the Murdered:
Moritz and Emma Hirsch (nee Hahn) and their son Ernst Hirsch
Hermann and Ida Hirsch (nee Bar)
Helene Klee (nee Hirsch)
The sisters Cilly and Mathilde Meyer
Although the earliest record of a Jewish presence in Saffig is dated 1587, it is likely that Jews lived there before then. By 1863, the Jewish population had peaked at 67 (10% of the total population). Local Jews were members of the Andernach synagogue community from 1866 until 1878. In 1858, the Saffig Jewish community built a synagogue at 3 Kloeppelsberg (present-day Neustrasse). Burials were conducted at the Jewish cemetery in Meisenheim. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), SA troops destroyed the interior of Saffig’s synagogue, broke its windows and burned most of its ritual objects; one Torah scroll and one Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) scroll were saved, and are now kept in New York and Sydney, respectively. In December 1939, the community was forced to sell the synagogue for 270 Reichsmarks, after which the site was used as a shed for storing tools and other equipment. In 1942, Saffig’s remaining Jews were deported. At least six former Jewish residents of Saffig perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was declared a historical monument in 1984. In 1991, the restored building was opened as a memorial and cultural center.
SubjectKristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), Holocaust, antisemitism, synagogues, Judaica, religious objects
Object nameMegillah Esther scrolls
Materialparchment
Dimensions
- width: 230.00 mm
width: 440.00 mm
width: 570.00 mm
height: 260.00 mm
Language
- Hebrew
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by William and Lilian Hirsch and Theo Rawack