Kleinheubach

General information: First Jewish presence: 1326; peak Jewish population: 142 in 1871 (10.2% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 36
Summary: The Jewish community of Kleinheubach established the following institutions: a synagogue on the Judengasse, or “Jews’ alley” (7-8 Gartenstrasse) in 1728; a cemetery in 1730; a new synagogue and mikveh, built on the old synagogue site, in 1808; a new mikveh in 1838; and, finally, a separate school building in 1911. Beginning in 1831, the community employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of shochet and chazzan. We also know that the school closed down in 1922. In 1933, 36 Jews lived in Kleinheubach; eleven Jews from neighboring Grossheubach were affiliated with the community. The mikveh, no longer in use after 1926, was sold in 1935. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior and ritual objects were destroyed, after which the building was sold to a private individual. During the Nazi period, 14 Kleinheubach Jews emigrated and 11 relocated within Germany. Two were deported to Izbica (via Wuerzburg) in April 1942, as was Grossheubach’s last Jewish family. Kleinheubach’s last Jew was sent to Wuerzburg in April 1942, and deported from there to Theresienstadt in September 1942. At least 16 Kleinheubach Jews, and the family of seven from Grossheubach, perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was used as a storage site after the war; a commemorative plaque was later affixed to the building. The mikveh, restored in 1992, is now a memorial.
Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
Located in: bavaria