Rhaunen
First Jewish presence: 1390; peak Jewish population: 104 in 1895; Jewish population in 1933: 60
The Jewish community of Rhaunen, although never able to establish a proper synagogue, conducted services in prayer halls set up in private residences. Rhaunen Jews were, however, able to employ teachers of religion; during the years 1898 to 1936, Josef Klein held the post of teacher, chazzan and shochet. We also know that the town was home to two Jewish cemeteries, the first of which was consecrated in 1829, the second in 1885. In 1933, 60 Jews lived in Rhaunen. Six children received religious instruction that year, and a women’s association and a men’s charity association were active in the community. Earlier, in 1932, the Jews of Hottenbach and Stipshausen had been affiliated with the Rhaunen community. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior was destroyed; Jewish-owned homes and businesses were looted and damaged, and Jewish men were arrested and sent to the Wittlich prison. The synagogue building was demolished a few days later, after which the property was sold, for much less than its actual value, to a local resident. Most Jews managed to leave Rhaunen. In October 1941, the remaining 17 Jews were deported to the East. At least 20 Rhaunen Jews, 15 Hottenbach Jews and one from Stipshausen perished in the Shoah. The cemetery was desecrated in 1975.Nurit Borut
Notes
Sources: Alemannia Judaica, www.alemannia-judaica.de Beiträge zur Geschichte der Juden in Rhaunen, Hilde Weinreich, Erich Stoll, [publisher] Verein für Heimatkunde im Landkreis Birkenfeld, 1991., , Dokumentation zur Geschichte der jüdischen Bevölkerung in Rheinland-Pfalz und im Saarland von 1800 bis 1945,[published by] Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz in cooperation with the Landesarchiv Saarbrücken in ten volumes between 1972-1997., The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Shmuel Spector [Ed.], [publisher] Yad Vashem and the New York University Press, 2001., Führer durch die Jüdische Gemeindeverwaltung und Wohlfahrtspflege in Deutschland 1923-1933, Andreas Nachama, Simon Hermann [Eds.], [publisher] Edition Hentrich, 1995.
Details
| Date Added | May 19, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Category | Residential |
| Country | DE |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| City | Rhaunen |
| Exhibits | Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany |
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