Schweinfurt

Summary: By the 15th century, Schweinfurt’s medieval Jewish community had established a mikveh and a cemetery. Jews were persecuted in Schweinfurt throughout the Middle Ages. In 1863, by which point the town was home to a prayer hall, the Jews of Schweinfurt founded a community. One year later, a district rabbinate was established in the town. In 1874, the community inaugurated a synagogue (at 14 Siebenbrueckleingasse) and a Jewish section in the municipal cemetery. (This section was purchased by the Jewish community in 1908.) A community center was built near the synagogue in 1888, and the synagogue was renovated in 1928. In 1933, Dr. Salomon Stein was district rabbi. The community’s teacher/ chazzan instructed 31 children that year, and several Jewish associations and branches of nationwide Jewish organizations were active in the community. Rabbi Stein was replaced by Dr. Max Koehler in 1934. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night, as were some of its ritual objects. Torah scrolls were trampled on, and the community’s offices, classrooms and mikveh were wrecked. Jews, including the elderly and the sick, were marched through town, verbally abused, and pelted with stones. Approximately 30 Jews, including Rabbi Koehler, were deported to Dachau. Jewish homes and businesses were severely damaged that night. During the Nazi period, 225 Schweinfurt Jews emigrated, 221 relocated within Germany and 39 died in Schweinfurt. Thirty were deported to Izbica in April 1942; and twenty-six were deported to Theresienstadt in September of that year. At least 102 Schweinfurt Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1939, the synagogue and community center were sold to the municipality at a greatly reduced price, after which the buildings were converted into a fire station. The former synagogue was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1943. Memorials were erected at the synagogue site and at the cemetery in 1973 and 1991, respectively.

Author / Sources: Dorothea Shefer-Vanson and Nurit Borut
Sources: AJ, PK-BAV