Rohrbach
General information: First Jewish presence: 1689; peak Jewish population: 122 in 1865; Jewish population in 1933: unknown (30 in 1937)
Summary: The Jews of Rohrbach initially lived on the Judengasse, or
“Jews’ alley,” where they apparently established their first
prayer room.
By the early 19th century, local Jews were congregating in
a prayer hall at 54 Rathausstrasse (in a Jewish-owned home).
The community soon outgrew that hall, and, in 1845, built a
synagogue at 35-37 Rathausstrasse; the building also housed
a Jewish elementary school (closed in 1876). Nearby, at 49-
51 Rathausstrasse, was the mikveh. Burials were conducted
in Wiesloch until 1927, after which the community used
the Bergfriedhof cemetery in Heidelberg (Rohrbach was
incorporated into the city of Heidelberg that year).
In 1937, approximately 30 Jews lived in Rohrbach. On
April 1, 1937, the community was disbanded.
On Pogrom Night, SA members broke into the synagogue
and destroyed the wooden furniture with axes. The broken
pieces were piled up along with books and files and set
on fire, but the fire brigade, fearing that the fire would
spread, extinguished the blaze. The building, however, was
demolished at some point before May 1940. At least one
Rohrbach Jew perished in the Shoah.
A memorial stone was unveiled at the former synagogue
site in 1985.
Author / Sources: Nurit Borut
Sources: AJ, PK BW
Sources: AJ, PK BW
Located in: baden-wuerttemberg