Mendig

First Jewish presence: 1663, peak Jewish population: 68 in 1910; Jewish population in 1933: approximately 78 (see below)

The first available record of a Jewish presence in Mendig, a decree dated 1663, granted Jews the right to access willow trees from the forest. Local Jews initially conducted services in a private residence in Niedermendig (Lower Mendig). Inaugurated in 1886, the community’s synagogue in Niedermendig served the Jews of both Nieder and Obermendig (Upper Mendig). Although Mendig Jews were never able to establish their own school, they did maintain a cemetery just outside of Niedermendig. Community members, most of whom were (at least until the 20th century) strictly observant Jews, attended the synagogue daily, bought kosher meat in Thuer and educated their children in religion: local Jewish children were able to study religion at the Jewish school in nearby Thuer or with private tutors. In 1933, approximately 39 Jews (13 families) lived in Niedermendig. The population figure for 1936, which applies to all of Mendig, is 78. The synagogue was burned down on Pogrom Night, after which the ruins were demolished. Most Mendig Jews emigrated during the following months and years; those who stayed behind were eventually deported. In late July 1942, Mendig was declared “Judenrein” (cleansed of Jews). According to Yad Vashem, 25 Mendig Jews were killed in the Shoah. Mendig is no longer home to a Jewish community. A memorial plaque, erected next to the former synagogue site, commemorates the destroyed community. The defunct cemetery is now located within a residential area.

Benjamin Rosendahl

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

---