Koenigsfeld
General information: First Jewish presence: 1599 (see below); peak Jewish population: 22 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 14
Summary: Although Jews were granted permission to settle in
Koenigsfeld in 1336, the earliest record of a Jewish presence
there is dated 1599. Local Jews were initially members of the
Niederzissen community.
The tiny Koenigsfeld community established a cemetery in
1838 and a synagogue in the 1840s, which was located on the
upper floor of Bermann Gottschalk’s house on Hauptstrasse.
Jewish schoolchildren from Koenigsfeld, Dedenbach and
Schalkenbach studied religion—usually under the guidance
of a teacher from Niederzissen—in the synagogue building.
The Koenigsfeld community also maintained a mikveh. We
also know that in 1847, the Jews of Koenigsfeld, Dedenbach
and Schalkenbach formed one Jewish community.
On Pogrom Night, the synagogue, which was then owned
by Mathilde Gottschalk, was attacked. After destroying the
synagogue’s interior and windows, SA men publicly burned
the Torah scrolls, ritual objects and broken furniture in the
village square. Mathilde Gottschalk sold the building in
1939, after which it was used for various purposes.
At least nine Jews from Koenigsfeld and five from
Dedenbach perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue building was demolished in 1965, and a
new building was built on the site. At some point during
the 1960s, a section of the Jewish cemetery was fenced off
and restored. The random way in which the 21 surviving
headstones are arranged suggests that they were not placed
on the matching graves. A commemorative
plaque has been affixed to a former Jewish home
at 1 Krumme Gasse.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, SG-RPS
Sources: AJ, SG-RPS
Located in: rhineland-palatinate