Buedesheim

First Jewish presence: 16th century; peak Jewish population: 76 in 1861; Jewish population in 1933: 57

The Jewish community of Buedesheim, officially founded in 1860, consecrated a cemetery that same year. This was followed, in 1871, by the establishment of a synagogue on Speckgasse (later 8 Riedstrasse). We also know that the community maintained a mikveh and, in the 19th century, employed a teacher of religion who functioned as chazzan and shochet. Later, religious instruction was provided by a teacher from Heldenbergen. Five Jewish children studied religion with the Heldenbergen teacher in 1933. In 1936, windows were smashed in three Jewish homes; and in 1937, an explosive was detonated inside the premises of a Jewish-owned business. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night, and the structure was heavily damaged; Jews were locked inside the council building while their homes and businesses were ransacked. The synagogue ruins were cleared in 1941, after which the community was forced to sell the empty plot of land to the local council. During the Nazi period, 20 Buedesheim Jews emigrated, 20 relocated within Germany and seven died in the village. Seven Buedesheim Jews were deported to the East in early 1942; two were sent to Poland in March 1942; and eight were deported to Theresienstadt in September 1942. At least 13 local Jews perished in the Shoah. A memorial plaque has been affixed to the local council building, near the site of the former synagogue. Buedesheim’s Jewish cemetery houses a memorial stone.

Nurit Borut

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

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