Binningen

First Jewish presence: 1757; peak Jewish population: 80 in 1817 (approximately 24% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 26

Although we do not know when this community replaced its 17th-century prayer room with the synagogue at 61 Hauptstrasse, records do tell us that the synagogue was renovated in 1841. The nearby Jewish school (63 Hauptstrasse) was closed down at the end of the 19th century, after which the community employed a teacher of religion who performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. The Jews of Binningen also maintained a mikveh, a regional cemetery, and communal institutions that also served the Jews of nearby Brohl, Duenfus, Forst, Gamlen, Hambuch, Kaifenheim, Moentenich, Moselkern, Mueden, Roes and Wirfus. On Pogrom Night, the interiors of both the synagogue and the school were destroyed; Torah scrolls, ritual objects and books were taken into the yard and burned. Jews were assaulted, Jewish-owned homes and business were ransacked and several Jewish men were arrested. Jakob Haas was beaten so badly that he died of his wounds on May 21, 1939. At least 39 Jewish residents of Binningen, 11 from Hambuch, two from Gamlen, and three from Duenfus, Kaifenheim and Wirfus, respectively, perished in the Shoah. Binningen’s cemetery was desecrated several times during the Nazi period (and once after 1945). The synagogue building was converted into a private residence, probably in 1957. Katharina Wolter (née Kraemer), a Jewish writer, has written several books about her life in Binningen.

Esther Sarah Evans

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

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