Muenden

First Jewish presence: 1520; peak Jewish population: 155 in 1875; Jewish population in 1933: 84

In Muenden, a Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1673, proof that this community developed earlier than did most others in the area. Initially, Muenden Jews earned a modest living as dry goods merchants, second-hand clothes dealers and lottery ticket sellers. During the 19th century, however (professional restrictions on Jews were lifted in 1814), local Jews branched out into manufacturing and other industries. The community inaugurated a new synagogue in 1834; and in 1878, after the synagogue was damaged during a fire, the building was renovated and re-consecrated. Muenden’s Jewish elementary school, founded in 1831, was presided over by a series of teachers: Simon Mauer, the first, served for 35 years; in 1925, teacher Theodor Wertheimer celebrated 30 years of service. The anti-Jewish boycott of 1933 unleashed a wave of panic among the seemingly secure Jewish citizens of Muenden, causing many to either emigrate from or relocate within Germany. In 1935, when all large Jewish-owned businesses were “aryanized,” more Jews fled Muenden. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), the synagogue was vandalized—ritual objects were burned in the street—windows in Jewish apartments were smashed and house owners were arrested. Forty-two Jews, Muenden’s last, were deported in 1942. Years later, on the 50th anniversary of Pogrom Night, a memorial plaque was unveiled at city hall.

Harold Slutzkin

Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/ Germansynagogues.com

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