Philippsburg

First Jewish presence: 1337; peak Jewish population: 94 in 1843; Jewish population in 1933: 50

The medieval Jewish community of Philippsburg was massacred in the Black Death pogroms of 1348/1349. By 1615, Jews had once again established a presence there. In 1850, the community replaced its prayer room with a synagogue at 17 Alte Kirchenstrasse. Adjacent to the synagogue were a mikveh and a school, the latter of which housed an apartment for a teacher who also served as shochet and chazzan—Moritz Neuburger held this post from 1889 until 1929. We also know that, in 1889, a cemetery was consecrated at Im Sand auf dem Wall. Three of Philippsburg’s Jewish children studied religion in 1933, and a chevra kadisha was active in the town. Later, on Pogrom Night, the synagogue was burned down; Jewish men were deported to Dachau that night. Seventeen local Jews emigrated, three relocated within Germany, five died in Philippsburg and 21 were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 29 Philippsburg Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1968, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the synagogue site, then an armaments factory. The factory was converted into a residential building in the 1980s, and the same plaque was affixed to that building. Moritz Neuburger survived the war and returned to Philippsburg. He died there in 1954 and was buried at the Jewish cemetery.

Heike Zaun Goshen

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

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