Oberthulba

Summary: The Jews of Oberthulba conducted services in a prayer hall until 1872, when a synagogue was dedicated at what would later become 12 Ledergasse (renovated in 1931). The community maintained a mikveh and a schoolhouse, the latter of which was presided over by a teacher who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet; by the 1920s, however, local Jews were no longer able to employ a teacher. Burials were conducted at the cemetery in Pfaffenhausen until that burial ground was closed in July 1938, after which Jews buried their dead in Geroda. In 1936, a Jew was stabbed and severely wounded outside the village. In 1937, 31 members of the Brith Chalutzim Dati’im (an Orthodox Zionist group) studied agriculture in Oberthulba. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night, as were its ritual objects and prayer books. Jewish houses were vandalized, and four Jews were deported to Dachau. Between the years 1936 and 1940, 15 Oberthulba Jews emigrated, at least one relocated within Germany and four died in Oberthulba. An elderly woman was sent to Wuerzburg in March 1942, and was then deported to Theresienstadt in September. In April of that year, 11 Jews were deported to Izbica (via Wuerzburg). At least 23 Oberthulba Jews perished in the Shoah. Two memorial plaques were later affixed to the former synagogue building.

Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV