Eschwege
General information: First Jewish presence: 13th century; peak Jewish population: 549 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: 421
Summary: Jews were persecuted in Eschwege in 1295 and, records
indicate, during the Black Death pogroms of 1348/49.
The re-established Jewish community, home to a district
rabbinate, founded the following institutions: a synagogue
and mikveh in 1692 (at 20 Unter dem Berge); a yeshiva in
1727; an elementary school in 1827; a new synagogue—134
seats for men, 74 for women—in 1838 (at 4 Vor dem Berge); a new school in 1839 (at 3 Schulstrasse); and, finally, a
cemetery in 1853 (consecrated near Elsa Brandstroem
Strasse). We also know that Eschwege’s Orthodox Jews
formed their own minyan in 1858, and that the synagogue
was renovated in 1925.
Forty pupils received religious instruction in 1932; in
1933, 28 children attended the Jewish school. Dr. Heinrich
Bassfreund was rabbi, and several Jewish associations and
branches of nation-wide organizations were active in the
community.
Windows in a Jewish-owned business were smashed in
1936, Jewish children were assaulted in 1937 and a Jewish
teacher was arrested in 1938. Eschwege’s Jewish school closed
in 1939.
On Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior was destroyed,
Jewish homes were ransacked and Jewish men were paraded
through the streets before being deported to Buchenwald,
where four died. After the pogrom, the municipality used
the synagogue building as a depot.
In 1939, the remaining Jews (including those who were
sent to Eschwege from other communities) were moved to
so-called “Jews’ Houses.” Two hundred and twenty-two
Eschwege Jews emigrated, approximately 190 moved to
other German cities, 36 passed away in Eschwege and two
committed suicide. In 1941/42, 109 Jews were deported. At
least 190 Eschwege Jews perished in the Shoah.
After World War II, Displaced Persons (they were housed
in a local DP camp) and Jewish returnees from the camps
conducted services in the synagogue. Closed down after
the last of these left the area in 1948, the synagogue was
converted into a New Apostolic Church in 1954. Several
memorial plaques to the former Jewish community have
been unveiled in Eschwege.
The cemetery was desecrated in 1980.
Photo: The synagogue of Eschwege. Courtesy of: Unknown.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AL, DJGH, EJL, FJG, PK-HNF, SIA, YV
Sources: AL, DJGH, EJL, FJG, PK-HNF, SIA, YV
Located in: hesse