Mehring

General information: First Jewish presence: 1663; peak Jewish population: 57 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: approximately 30
Summary: Mehring’s 19th-century Jewish community established two communal institutions: a cemetery, located on the western edge of the village, and a synagogue at 16, Kirchstrasse (next door to a pastor’s home). The first floor of the synagogue building housed a school for religious studies whose teacher performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. The community also maintained a mikveh, but we do not know when or where it was built. In 1933, by which point the seven Jews of nearby Fell had been affiliated with the Mehring community, approximately 30 Jews still lived in Mehring. Ownership of the synagogue was transferred to the municipality in 1936. By the fall of 1938, all Jews had left the village, a fact that did not prevent the Nazis from destroying the former synagogue building on Pogrom Night. At least eight Jews originally from Mehring perished in the Shoah. A kindergarten and library were later established inside the former synagogue. After 1945, however, the building was converted into a residential property. A memorial stone has been unveiled in the Jewish cemetery, which was desecrated and plundered during the Nazi period.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen Sources: AJ, EJL, FJG www.mehring-mosel.de