Chicago 1900's At the turn of the 20th century a small group of German Jews settled on the South side of Chicago and established two Synagogues Ezra and Habonim. The two Synagogues differed in their observance but both Synagogues were committed to the traditions of the German Jewish Community. In 1940 the two Congregations formed a single Synagogue in response to the violence of Nazi Germany's 1939 Kristallnacht rampage. The two merged in 1972, moving to the north side location. As the second generation moved to the northern suburbs a satellite Synagogue known as Northbrook Congregation Ezra Habonim was formed. While the Synagogue has had many new families join without a connection to the original German Jewish Community we continue to pride ourselves in the history of our forbearers. Today we still have many of the founding German Jewish families who continue to be members of our Shul. To this very day we are committed to telling the story of the Holocaust and the plight of the German Jewish Community as it was affected by the Hitler and Nazi Germany. To that end we are committed remembrance ceremonies for Kristallnact and Shoah.