Muenchweiler

General information: First Jewish presence: 1682; peak Jewish population: 178 in 1834/35 (approximately 25% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 13
Summary: In 1806, the community inaugurated a synagogue on Hauptstrasse; the synagogue, which was repainted in 1903/04 and renovated in 1910, contained 40 seats for men, 25 for women, a schoolroom and living quarters for the rabbi. Local Jews buried their dead in Winnweiler. In 1933, a teacher from Rockenhausen instructed three schoolchildren in religion. A Jewish welfare association and the Goldmann Foundation for new brides were active in the community, with which the Jews of nearby Neuhemsbach were affiliated. Ten Jews lived in Muenchweiler in 1938. On Pogrom Night, SA men took ritual objects and prayer books from the synagogue and burned them in the street, after which, in 1939, the community was forced to sell the synagogue to the local council. Six Muenchweiler Jews emigrated, two died in the village and two, Muenchweiler’s last, were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 17 local Jews perished in the Shoah. French POWs were housed in the synagogue in 1944/45. Later, in 1950, ownership of the building was transferred to the official Jewish community of Rhineland Pfalz. Sold yet again in 1953, this time to the municipality, the synagogue was then converted into an office for the mayor. Records do not tell us when the building was sold to a private buyer, but we do know that the site was declared a cultural monument in 1993.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: FJW, SG-RPS, SMZG
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