Rottweil

Summary: Rottweil’s medieval Jewish community was annihilated in the Black Death pogroms of 1349, and it was not until the 18th century that a new Jewish presence was established there. Initially affiliated with Muehringen, the Rottweil Jewish community became independent in 1924. The modern community congregated in prayer halls until 1861, when a synagogue and school were built on Kameralamtsgasse; the school was presided over by a teacher who also served as shochet and chazzan. A Jewish cemetery was consecrated in Rottweil in 1850. In 1933, nine Jewish schoolchildren studied religion in Rottweil. Two charitable organizations, a women’s association and a youth association were active in the town. The community was disbanded in the summer of 1938. On Pogrom Night, Jewish property was vandalized and destroyed, as were the synagogue’s interior and ritual objects. The building was sold to a local merchant in December of that year. Fifty-one local Jews emigrated, 36 relocated within Germany, seven died in Rottweil and four were deported to the East in 1942. At least 12 Rottweil Jews perished in the Shoah. The cemetery houses a memorial stone (1966) and a plaque (1990). Another plaque was affixed to the synagogue building in 1979. The new Jewish community of Rottweil was founded in 2002.

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, HU, PK BW