Korbach

Summary: Although Jews lived in Korbach (Corbach) as early as the 15th century, it was not until 1760 that a functioning Jewish community was established there. That community belonged to the district rabbinate in Kassel. Local Jews initially conducted services in a private home. Some sort of prayer hall or room existed in the town by 1892, and in 1895 the community inaugurated a new synagogue with a seating capacity of 130, an organ, and an elevated section for a 16-member choir. The Korbach community, which eventually aligned itself with Reform Judaism, maintained a mikveh, a Jewish elementary school (1890-1900), a school for religious studies, and a cemetery (1774-1935). The cemetery, located near the Henxengarten, contains 114 extant stones; headstones could not be purchased for those Jews who passed away in Korbach in the years 1938 to 1940. Beginning in the late 18th century, the community employed a teacher who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Moritz Goldwein, the community’s last schoolteacher, took up this post in 1927; he moved to Kassel on an unspecified date, and was deported from there, together with his wife, in 1942. In 1932, the leaders of the community were Edmund Mosheim and Siegmund Stahl. Seventeen children studied religion with Moritz Goldwein. The synagogue, school and community center were destroyed on Pogrom Night; the synagogue was set on fire, but the blaze was extinguished to prevent damage to neighboring homes. Thirty-nine Jews lived in Korbach in 1939. Deportations took place in September 1941 and in 1942. At least 58 Korbach Jews, one from Berndorf and four from Goddelsheim (affiliated Jewish communities) were murdered in the Shoah. In 1947, a memorial stone was unveiled at the Jewish cemetery; and in 1996, another memorial was unveiled in Korbach. The former synagogue site now accommodates the “Tempel” kindergarten.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL