Reckendorf
General information: First Jewish presence: early 17th century; peak Jewish population: 302 in 1814 (31.8 % of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 20
Summary: In 1732, the Jewish community of Reckendorf replaced its
prayer room with a synagogue at 3 Ahornweg; the synagogue
was rededicated in 1752 (having been rebuilt after the
roof collapsed) and renovated thoroughly in 1851. The
community established a cemetery in 1798, a mikveh in 1821
and an elementary school in 1829 (it closed in 1910). After
1880, Reckendorf Jews no longer employed their own rabbi. By the mid-1920s, there were no longer enough Jews in
Reckendorf to hold public prayer services. Accordingly, the
synagogue’s ritual objects were sent to Bamberg (where they
were destroyed on Pogrom Night).
The synagogue’s interior was wrecked on Pogrom Night;
the debris was burned on the outskirts of the village. Jewish
homes were damaged severely. The village authorities
appropriated the synagogue building in July 1939.
Thirteen Reckendorf Jews emigrated and others relocated
within Germany. In 1942, a Jewish woman
from Reckendorf died in an old-age home in
Wuerzburg; in April of that year, the village’s
last Jewish family (three Jews) was deported, via
Wuerzburg, to Izbica. At least ten Reckendorf
Jews perished in the Shoah.
In 2005, the former synagogue building
was reopened as a cultural center; a memorial
plaque was unveiled there in 2006. Items from
the synagogue’s geniza (storeroom for holy
books and ritual items) were discovered during
renovations, and have been on display at the
cultural center since 2007.
Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
www.juden-in-bamberg.de
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
www.juden-in-bamberg.de
Located in: bavaria