Klingenberg

Summary: The earliest record of a Jewish presence in Klingenberg mentions the Rindfleisch pogroms of 1298. In 1671 and in 1700, the Judenlandtag (Jewish state parliament) of the Mainz archdiocese convened in Klingenberg. Local Jews conducted services in a prayer room on the second floor of a building located on Froschgasse. The Jewish community employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Burials were conducted in Fechenbach. On Pogrom Night, members of the Nazi party destroyed the prayer room, smashed its windows and threw ritual objects and Torah scrolls out the window. The houses of Klingenberg’s three remaining Jewish families were ransacked that night. Jews were later ordered to pay for the damage; unable to do so, they were forced to sell the prayer room for 20 Reichsmarks. Between 1937 and 1939, seven Klingenberg Jews emigrated and nine relocated within Germany. In December 1939, the remaining three Jews moved to the old-age home in Regensburg, from which they were deported to Theresienstadt in 1942. At least 13 Klingenberg Jews perished in the Shoah. The prayer room building was eventually torn down. On the 70th anniversary of Pogrom Night, in November 2008, a memorial plaque was unveiled in Klingenberg.

Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV