German Jewish industrialist and philanthropist (1809–1907)
Noah Wolff
Born
(1809-08-18)August 18, 1809
Died
October 4, 1907(1907-10-04) (aged 98)
Known for
Industrialist, German Jewish community leader
Noah Wolff (August 18, 1809 – October 4, 1907) was an industrialist and Jewish community leader in Neheim, Germany (now Arnsberg). His headstone at the Neheim Jewish Cemetery [de] (German: Jüdischer Friedhof Neheim) was washed away by the Dambusters raid flood in 1943 and unexpectedly found intact in 2012 during a construction project along the Ruhr.[1] The gravemarker was restored and returned to the cemetery.
Wolff and his brother ran a company called Gebrüder Wolff. They originally produced pins, needles, umbrella frames, and fishing tools,[2] and later kerosene lamps and electrical equipment. In 1857 Wolff was the head of the synagogue district Arnsberg[1] and was the main benefactor who funded the construction of the Neiheim Synagogue [de] in 1876. The synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht in 1938 but was restored in 1985 and is used as a community space.[3]
Waltraud Loos: Juden im Hochsauerlandkreis im Zeitalter der Aufklärung und Emanzipation. In: Rudolf Brüschke, Norbert Föckeler: Jüdisches Leben im Hochsauerland. Fredeburg, 1994, ISBN 3-930271-18-4, S. 44
Im Mittelpunkt: Das Licht. BJB 125 Jahre Einbindung in die Industriegeschichte Neheims Arnsberg, o. J., S. 16
Wilfried Reininghaus: Vorüberlegungen zu einer Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte des südöstlichen Westfalens in der Neuzeit. In: Katrin Liebelt: Die Sozialstruktur der Residenzstadt Arnsberg im 17.Jahrhundert (= Untersuchungen zur Wirtschafts-, Sozial- und Technikgeschichte, 14). Gesellschaft für Westfälische Wirtschaftsgeschichte e.V., Dortmund, 1996, ISBN 978-3-925227-38-7, S. XXV