Boehl-Iggelheim

First Jewish presence: 18th century; peak Jewish population: 79 in 1848 (Boehl), 44 in 1866 (Iggelheim); Jewish population in 1933: 16

By 1815, this Jewish community had established a synagogue which was also attended by the Jews of Schifferstadt. The synagogue’s location in unknown, but we do know that in December 1840, a new synagogue was established at 43 Schulstrasse, in Boehl. Damaged by fire in 1906, the building was subsequently renovated. Although the Schulstrasse synagogue was rarely used after 1914—services, in fact, were held there mainly on Jewish holidays—the structure was nevertheless renovated in 1920. Burials were conducted in Hassloch. In 1938, only 14 or 15 Jews lived in Boehl-Iggelheim. On Pogrom Night, SA men and members of the Nazi party, accompanied by local residents, systematically destroyed the synagogue’s interior, Torah scrolls, windows, doors and roof tiles. The synagogue also housed an apartment, and although non-Jews were living there on Pogrom Night, it, too, was destroyed. Later, in 1940, the village authorities appropriated the synagogue building, after which it was demolished. Several Jewish families left Boehl-Iggelheim after the pogrom. On October 22, 1940, seven Boehl-Iggelheim Jews were deported to the concentration camp in Gurs, France. Six Boehl-Iggelheim Jews perished in the Shoah. On November 28, 1971, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the former synagogue site in Boehl. In Iggelheim, a plaque lists the names of local victims of the concentration camps.

Maren Cohen

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