Gruensfeld

Summary: An early Jewish settlement was destroyed in Gruensfeld during the Rindfleisch massacres of 1298. Jews were forbidden from living in the town between 1576 and 1640, and it was not until the 18th century that the foundations of the modern Jewish community were established. The 16th-century community conducted services in a prayer hall (first documented in 1502). Gruensfeld’s synagogue, built in 1751, was not owned by the community but, rather, by three Jewish families; renovated in 1928, it burned down in 1931. The community was unable to raise funds for a new building, and services were thereafter held in a private residence. We also know that local Jews maintained a mikveh. In 1933, 29 Jews lived in Gruensfeld. One schoolchild received religious instruction from Tauberbischofsheim’s Jewish teacher. Eleven local Jews emigrated, seven relocated within Germany, four died in Gruensfeld and one committed suicide. Although the community was disbanded in July 1938, the prayer hall was nevertheless broken into on Pogrom Night, when the ritual objects were destroyed. The last seven Jews, including a nine-year-old child, were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 12 Gruensfeld Jews perished in the Shoah.

Author / Sources: Yaakov Borut
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-BW