Westerburg
General information: First Jewish presence: 1328; peak Jewish population: 135 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: approximately 100
Summary: Jews from the surrounding villages of Willmenrod,
Neunkirchen, Pottum, Weltersburg and Rennerod belonged
to the Jewish community of Westerburg.
Westerburg’s 18th-century Jewish community conducted
services in a number of different prayer rooms. In 1824,
a synagogue with 53 seats for men and 34 for women
was inaugurated on Wilhelmstrasse (that synagogue was
renovated in 1844). A new synagogue was built on the
same site in 1910, and the Jewish
community also maintained a school
whose teacher performed the duties of
chazzan and shochet. Westerburg had
three Jewish cemeteries: a medieval
cemetery, a cemetery established in
1860 and used until 1922/23 and,
finally, a cemetery located next to the
town’s general burial grounds.
In 1933, nine Jewish children
received religious instruction. Two
Jewish associations (one for men, the
other for women) were active in the
community, with which the Jews of
Gemuenden and Willmenrod were
affiliated.
On Pogrom Night, the interior of
the synagogue was destroyed. Later, in
early 1939, the community was forced
to repair the building; in March 1939, the site was sold for
a mere 175 Reichsmarks.
Most local Jews emigrated from or relocated within
Germany. In 1941 and 1942, Westerburg’s remaining Jews
were deported. At least 36 Westerburg Jews and six from
Willmenrod perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue building was converted into a residence
after the war.
Author / Sources: Yehoshua Ahrens
Sources: AJ, EJL, FGW
Sources: AJ, EJL, FGW
Located in: rhineland-palatinate