Ottensoos
General information: First Jewish presence: 1537; peak Jewish population: 133 in 1837 (23.3% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 25
Summary: The Jewish community of Ottensoos conducted services in a
prayer hall until 1686, when a synagogue was built in the village
(renovated in 1844). In 1872, one year after the synagogue and
adjacent school (built in 1869) burned down, a new synagogue
was established at 5 Dorfplatz; the adjacent community center
housed a schoolhouse, a teacher’s apartment and a mikveh. Until
the early 1930s, the community employed a teacher who also
performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Local Jews buried
their dead in Schnaittach.
In 1933, a teacher from Schnaittach instructed the
community’s children in religion. By 1936, the community
could no longer gather a minyan. In March of that year the
synagogue’s windows were broken. A Jewish man was arrested
in September of 1938 and later deported to Buchenwald,
where he eventually died.
The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night;
the ritual objects were never found.
Three Ottensoos Jews emigrated and 19 relocated within
Germany. By May 1939, no Jews lived in the village. At least
17 Ottensoos Jews perished in the Shoah.
The former synagogue building, schoolhouse and mikveh
survived the pogrom and World War II. A plaque was
unveiled in Ottensoos in 1988.
Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
www.juden-im-nuernberger-land.de
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
www.juden-im-nuernberger-land.de
Located in: bavaria