Former German official speaks at Butler synagogue
A Butler connection spanned the miles and the years and brought a former German official to speak at the B'nai Abraham synagogue, 519 N. Main St., Wednesday night
Tjark Bartels is the former county commissioner of Hameln, a county in northern Germany.
Bartels has a connection to the synagogue, said Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer.
In his former position as county commissioner, Bartels was a strong supporter of the Jewish community, especially of Rachel Arnovitz Dohme, a Butler native who founded the first newly constructed Reform synagogue in postwar Germany. Due to Bartels' support, the county agreed to pay the salary of the synagogue's rabbi.
This is an excerpt from a larger article that will appear in Friday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.
