Nieder-Woellstadt

Summary: Although Jews lived in Nieder-Woellstadt in the early 1700s, it was not until nearly a century later that they founded a community and established a synagogue, the latter of which was housed in a stately farmhouse. In 1830, the community established a small synagogue, a cemetery, a mikveh and a school. In Nieder-Woellstadt, the Jewish schoolteacher also served as shochet and chazzan. All but a few local Jews had left for Frankfurt am Main and its vicinity by 1930. On Pogrom Night, Nazis vandalized and plundered the defunct synagogue, after which they drove a tractor into the walls; they then proceeded to the cemetery, smashed its stone wall and knocked over the headstones. Memorial plaques were unveiled at the synagogue site and at the cemetery in 1978 and 1988, respectively.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: AJ, DJGH, LJG