Mittelsinn

Summary: This community gave up its synagogue on Brunnenstrasse in 1867, after a storm damaged the building. In 1871, a new synagogue was established at 14 Fellenbergstrasse, just two doors down from the Jewish community center (at 12 Fellenbergstrasse), which contained rooms for the Jewish school and living quarters for the schoolteacher. Although the school was closed in 1924 as a result of insufficient enrollment, it was reopened in 1931. The community maintained its own mikveh, but buried its dead in Altengronau (in Hesse). Germany’s annexation of Austria in March 1938 sparked riots motivated by anti-Semitism in Mittelsinn: Jewish businesses were broken into, windows were smashed and the synagogue was damaged, after which approximately 70 Jews fled. On Pogrom Night, the interiors of the synagogue and of the community center were destroyed, as were the ritual objects. One Jewish home was looted that night. Eight-one Jews left Mittelsinn in 1938, and seven fled in 1939; of these, most relocated within Germany (seven emigrated). By April 1939, no Jews remained in Mittelsinn. At least 68 Mittelsinn Jews perished in the Shoah. Sections of the synagogue and school’s walls survived the war. The community center was later renovated, and a memorial plaque was unveiled opposite the former synagogue site.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, IAJGS, JGEN, PK BAV