Ingelheim

First Jewish presence: 14th century; peak Jewish population: 200 in 1850; Jewish population in 1933: 59

We know that Ingelheim was home to a Jewish community in the 14th century, as records from 1385-1411 mention a Jewish cemetery (referred to as Judinacker zu Ober-Ingelheim). Although it is highly likely that the community inaugurated a synagogue in the 18th century or even earlier, the earliest available reference to one is dated 1837; records from 1815 mention efforts to raise money for its construction. The synagogue’s address is not mentioned, but the evidence indicates that it was located at 25 Stiegelgasse. It was there, too, that the community inaugurated a Moorishstyle synagogue in 1840; in 1865, the congregation decided to introduce an organ into the service. Other communal institutions included the cemetery on Im Saal (consecrated in 1688), a Jewish women’s organization (1832) and a new cemetery, the last of which was consecrated on present-day Hugo-Loersch-Strasse in 1836. At the cemetery, the oldest grave is dated 1836, the newest 1938. The town was also home to several kosher butchers and a Jewish wine wholesaler. Ingelheim’s Jewish population dwindled during the Weimar period: from 155 in 1919 to 59 in 1933. The synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night. Sold in April 1939, the damaged structure was eventually converted into a residential building. Between December 1938 and December 1939, the Jewish population dropped from 76 to 40; these figured apply to Ober-Ingelheim (Upper Ingelheim), for there were hardly any Jews living in Nieder- Ingelheim (Lower-Ingelheim). According to Yad Vashem, 56 Ingelheim Jews were killed in the Shoah. The Jewish cemeteries still exist, with gravestones dating back to 1726.

Benjamin Rosendahl

Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/germansynagogues.bh.org.il

---