Winnweiler
General information: First Jewish presence: 1673; peak Jewish population: 165 in 1848; Jewish population in 1933: 27
Summary: During the years 1819 to 1899, this community’s prayer
room was located in the house of a local Jewish family, the
same house in which a Jewish school operated from 1830
until 1845. The prayer room was moved to a new location
(a building at 18 Neugasse) in 1899, just two years before
the community dedicated a synagogue on Synagogengasse,
or “synagogue street” (present-day Gymnasiumstrasse).
Winnweiler’s Jewish cemetery, consecrated in the early 18th
century, is one of the largest (with 346 intact gravestones)
in the Palatinate region. We also know that the Winnweiler
community was able to employ a teacher of religion, who
performed the duties of chazzan and shochet.
In 1933, seven Jewish schoolchildren studied religion
with a teacher from Rockenhausen. A welfare society and
a women’s association were active in the community, with
which the five Jews of Lohnsfeld were affiliated.
On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was burned to the
ground. The ruins were blown up shortly afterwards, and
the site was sold to the local council in December 1939.
The remaining Jews received virtually nothing from the sale,
as the council deducted money spent on demolition and
manpower.
Winnweiler’s remaining eight Jews were deported to
Gurs, France, on October 22, 1940. At least 16 local Jews
perished in the Shoah.
In 1984, a memorial stone was unveiled at the former
synagogue site. The Jewish cemetery has been renovated.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, FGW
Sources: AJ, EJL, FGW
Located in: rhineland-palatinate