Rescued from a burning synagogue

Megillah Esther scroll, ink on parchment, written in Hebrew. The Megillah 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, Germany, by a Christian neighbour of Herman Hirsch, during "Kristallnacht". On this night in November 1938, SA troops destroyed the interior of Saffig’s synagogue, broke its windows and burned most of its ritual objects. Herman Hirsch was President of the Jewish community of Saffig. He gave the Megillah to his son, William, who brought it wish him when he migrated to Australia in 1938.

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, including Herman Hirsch and his wife Ida, who were murdered.