Andernach

First Jewish presence: 12th century; peak Jewish population: 141 in 1925; Jewish population in 1933: 115

According to the traveler Benjamin of Tudela, Andernach’s 12th-century Jewish community was an important one. Jewswere persecuted in and expelled from the town during the Middle Ages; however, several communal institutions were established during this period. In fact, records indicate that Andernach was home to a synagogue in the 13th century, a mikveh in the 14th century and a cemetery in 1334 and in 1423. Andernach’s modern-day Jewish community, founded in the mid-19th century, consecrated a cemetery in the 1880s (enlarged in 1928). The members of this community initially conducted religious services in a private residence and, later, in a hall belonging to a local brewery. In 1933, the community inaugurated a synagogue; that same year, a teacher/chazzan instructed 20 schoolchildren in religion. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was burned down together with its ritual objects and Torah scrolls. Rioters ravaged Jewish homes, and Jewish men were sent to Dachau. The synagogue site was sold to the municipality for 1,000 Reichsmarks, but even that was withheld from the community as payment for clearing the rubble. Nine Jews lived in Andernach in 1940. Of these, one family (five members) managed to emigrate; the remaining four were deported to the East in 1942. At least 36 Andernach Jews perished in the Shoah. Memorial plaques have been unveiled at the former synagogue site and at the entrance to the Jewish cemetery.

Nurit Borut

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

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