Saffig

First Jewish presence: 1587; peak Jewish population: 67 in 1863 (10% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: unknown

Although the earliest record of a Jewish presence in Saffig is dated 1587, it is likely that Jews lived there before then. By 1863, the Jewish population had peaked at 67 (10% of the total population). Local Jews were members of the Andernach synagogue community from 1866 until 1878. In 1858, the Saffig Jewish community built a synagogue at 3 Kloeppelsberg (present-day Neustrasse). Burials were conducted at the Jewish cemetery in Meisenheim. On Pogrom Night (November 1938), SA troops destroyed the interior of Saffig’s synagogue, broke its windows and burned most of its ritual objects; one Torah scroll and one Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) scroll were saved, and are now kept in New York and Sydney, respectively. In December 1939, the community was forced to sell the synagogue for 270 Reichsmarks, after which the site was used as a shed for storing tools and other equipment. In 1942, Saffig’s remaining Jews were deported. At least six former Jewish residents of Saffig perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was declared a historical monument in 1984. In 1991, the restored building was opened as a memorial and cultural center.

Esther Sarah Evans

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

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