Nalbach

First Jewish presence: 1591; peak Jewish population: 68 in 1858; Jewish population in 1933: 24 (10 in Diefflen)

The earliest records of a Jewish presence in Nalbach and in nearby Diefflen (an affiliated community) are dated 1591 and 1723, respectively. The Jews of Dillingen were members of the Nalbach community until 1903. Burials were conducted in Dillingen. Nalbach and Diefflen Jews conducted services in in prayer rooms, located in in private residences, until 1854, when a synagogue was inaugurated in Nalbach (at 17 Mittelstrasse). Although the synagogue burned down in 1890, it was rebuilt soon afterwards and renovated in 1922. During the 19th century, the community employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Many Jews left Nalbach after the Saarland was returned to the German Reich in March 1935. The synagogue was sold in 1937, after which a section of the building was demolished. On Pogrom Night, Jews were dragged from their homes and beaten, Jewish homes were plundered and what remained of the synagogue’s interior was demolished. On October 22, 1940, the remaining Jews were deported to Gurs. At least 21 former Jewish residents of Nalbach and Diefflen perished in the Shoah. The synagogue, damaged by artillery fire during the war and later used as a storage site for agricultural products, was demolished in 1951.

Esther Sarah Evans

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

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