Holzappel

First Jewish presence: mid-18th century; peak Jewish population: 42 in 1871 and 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 24

In 1843, the Jews of Holzappel formed a community with Jews from Doernberg, Eppenrod, Isselbach and Langenscheid. Holzappel’s synagogue, which was located in a privately-owned house, was renovated in 1844. Jewish burials took place in Cramberg until the community consecrated its own burial grounds. In 1932/33, approximately 24 Jews lived in Holzappel, five in Langenscheid and 26 in Isselbach. Eight schoolchildren studied religion with a teacher from Diez. Services were conducted only on Saturdays and holidays, alternating between the Holzappel synagogue and a prayer hall in Isselbach. The community took preventative action before Pogrom Night by hiding some of the synagogue’s ritual objects and two Torah scrolls in a community member’s home. On Pogrom Night, SA men destroyed the synagogue’s interior and threw Torah curtains and ritual objects into the yard. Three Jewish homes were ransacked, their inhabitants beaten. All Jews, including women and children, were arrested and detained at the council house. Jewish homes in Isselbach were attacked, and we also know that three men from Holzappel and five from Isselbach were sent to Dachau. After the pogrom, the remaining Torah scrolls and ritual objects were sent abroad for safekeeping. The synagogue building was sold for half its actual value. Holzappel’s remaining Jews were deported in 1941/42; Isselbach’s last Jews were sent to old-age homes in Frankfurt in February 1941. At least 12 Jews originally from Holzappel and 10 from Isselbach perished in the Shoah. The former synagogue was converted into a commercial building. Memorial plaques have been unveiled at the synagogue site and at the cemetery.

Bronagh Bowerman

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

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