Thuengen

Summary: The Jewish community of Thuengen conducted services in a prayer hall during the 17th century. In the 1860s, the community replaced its 18th-century synagogue with a building that contained a new synagogue, a schoolroom and a teacher’s apartment. The community also maintained a mikveh and a school (in the 19th century), the latter of which was presided over by teachers who also served as cantors and ritual slaughterers. Burials were conducted in Laudenbach. Fifteen Jewish pupils attended the school in 1933. The community ran several welfare and educational associations that year. In 1938, anti-Jewish riots broke out on the eve of the annexation of Austria by the German Reich (in March) and again during the Sudeten crisis. Windows in Jewish-owned homes were smashed, and many residents left in the wake of both incidents. Although the synagogue was not harmed on Pogrom Night, it was attacked in 1938 and its contents, as well as the school building, were destroyed. The majority of Thuengen’s Jews left between the years 1937 and 1939. Of these, 110 emigrated and 56 relocated within Germany. In February 1942, the village’s last three Jews were deported to Izbica. At least 72 Thuengen Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue was used as a factory until the 1980s, when it was converted into an apartment building. A plaque was affixed to the building in November 2007.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, PK-BAV, SZJLB