Berlichingen

General information: First Jewish presence: 1561; peak Jewish population: 249 in 1846; Jewish population in 1933: 68
Summary: Founded in 1632 by the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain, this Jewish community would contribute greatly to Berlichingen’s development as a commercial center. It was in 1632, too, that a regional Jewish cemetery was consecrated there. Services were conducted in a private residence during the 1700s. In 1805/06, a synagogue with living quarters and a mikveh was built in Berlichingen. A school was in use until 1840, and again during the second half of the 1900s. The community—it appointed its own rabbi after 1809— was the seat of a regional rabbinate between 1832 and 1852. Although the community numbered 249 in 1846, the population declined during the second half of the century. In 1933, the 68 Jews of Berlichingen still maintained two charitable societies and a Jewish youth hostel. The synagogue was vandalized and its interior destroyed on Pogrom Night. Several houses were also destroyed, and three men were sent to Dachau. The community was disbanded and its synagogue demolished in 1939. Forty-three Berlichingen Jews emigrated from Germany; two relocated within the country, four died in the town, one committed suicide and one was killed in the Nazis’ “Euthanasia” project. Twenty-five local Jews were deported to the East in 1941/42, and at least 58 perished in the Shoah. A monument was unveiled at the cemetery in 1985.
Author / Sources: Maren Cohen Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-BW
Located in: baden-wuerttemberg